NERO WRITES

Sometimes it seems to me that being 'woman' is not enough. The word is so inadequate that something has to be added to it. Married woman. Strong woman. African woman. Today I am going to dwell on African woman. If you happen to be born in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and other African countries, and to African parents and you are female, you must be an African woman, (and by that I don't mean looking like an African physically) or you are not a woman. Just something that looks like a woman. When people say, 'true African woman', they mean a lot of things. For instance, doing house chores forever must be a hobby. 'I am tired' must not be heard from your mouth. African women don't get tired. Infact if after doing all the house chores available in the house, you must create a chore. Thou shalt hate to relax. You must  be bouncing up and down like a yo-yo. I remember the times I spent in some people's houses. After washing t...

All our lives we have been familiar with the 'h' word. Help. We've heard it many times from people and have even uttered it ourselves. If you say you haven't, then I think you must be another Almighty God (and me I know there is only one Almighty God).        Everybody needs help. The word 'help' conjures up images of Love. Freedom. Goodwill. Service. Friendship. And so naturally, we welcome help. But stop for a minute. Sometimes that 'h' word has a negative ring to it for me, so I reject it. Strange? Let's see. Times like when Harry 'helps' me with 500 Naira and then expects me to lie on my back at his say-so and expects to dictate what I do and where I go and who I talk to. Like when my father's cousin's sister's mom bought me biscuit when I was eight years old and because of that expects me to seat for JAMB for her son. And then my favorite scenario. It's cooking time. Mommy asks you to carry that small 'b...