When Princess Diana died, I was in Makurdi. Sitting on the cold tiles on the floor of my parents bathroom, crying. Yes, I let drama wash over me sometimes. When Aaliyah died, I was at university and seriously worried about my friend Nkem. Nkem absolutely adored Aaliyah. She dressed like her (wore half top in Gwagwalada), mimed and performed all her…
Right at the end of 2015, I walked out of a one month old job with no new job in sight. I needed to keep myself busy. A friend and I had talked about making a podcast, had gone as far as buying a microphone (thanks Festus!), but still hadn’t done anything with it. I decided to do one by…
It was the last day of my life in Lagos. I make it sound like I am writing this from beyond the grave but I just mean that I moved. What else do you do when you feel a city doesn’t want you anymore? The next morning I was going to get on a 6.25am flight to London. But that…
Feminism is a “dirty” word. And as with any dirty word, people would rather not be labelled with it. They twist themselves into knots to avoid the tag even if they believe in its basic tenets. Sometimes they call themselves humanist, which is another kettle of fish. Even the Oxford dictionary links the definition of rabid (marked by excessive enthusiasm for…
This was the week that, for the first time, I felt a bit British. And strangely, Brexit made it happen. I voted Remain. My overriding sentiment being that of a Nigerian mother: “Leaving to where? My friend, will you sit down!” I live in Bristol, a city that voted in. I work in a university and I think my colleagues…
When it feels like my brain is pounding against my skull, I know that I’m learning something new. Not just new but complex enough to make never before used synapses painfully snap into place . I was listening to Professor Sean B Carroll talk about the ideas that ground his book based on the Serengeti. In a talk that was part of the…
You’ve probably heard the story by now. Bread. Tinie Tempah. TY Bello. Then came the luxury flat, features by international news outlets, elocution lessons and an influx of brand endorsements. If you haven’t heard about Olajumoke Orisaguna, you can catch up here. I’m always interested in the way Nigerians react to popular events. It reveals so much about the bits…
One of my favourite things to do is listen to people smarter than I am or who know more about a particular subject than I do. It’s why I love TED talks and my dream job would be going from place to place listening to intelligent people say intelligent things (for the most part). My idea of doing something adventurous is…
This essay by Saeed Jones, Literary Editor for Buzzfeed, is one that I revisit from time to time and always share whenever I go back. Written in 2013, Saeed talks about the church, his family and his feelings as a growing gay teen. The essay is heartbreaking because Saeed realizes that his grandmother’s religion takes precedence over her love for her…
I enjoyed 2015, I think. This is not some life affirming, deep post though. You will not come away feeling like a bit of your life just slid into place. But if you do…fair enough. Here’s just some things that I, Mnena, I’m glad I did in 2015. Farafina Workshop. This was my 3rd try and encouraged by Buhari’s win…