After my SSCE in 2014, I fell sick. 

Our family doctor noticed a growth on the front part of my head and my family was referred to Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to see a neurosurgeon.

A CT scan was done, and the scan showed that I had a brain tumour. I soon had a convulsion and was rushed to the hospital. I was placed on a drug that would sustain me until the time of my surgery. 

On the 8th of April 2014, I had my surgery. It lasted for 2 days because of a complication. I lost a lot of blood. My survival was 50/50, but I got better. 

I was placed in the ICU for a week. The doctor asked me different questions like if I knew my name and where I was. I answered all the questions correctly because all my senses were intact except for my sight. I had gone blind. The surgery affected my eyesight. I was in the hospital for close to 2 months. The doctors couldn't tell what happened exactly. They tried all they could, then said nothing could be done about my eyes. 

I could no longer do things by myself or go out alone. After 2 years, my family wad directed to an Indian hospital in Lekki called Vedic Lifecare Hospital. They did an MRI scan and it was discovered that there was a mistake during the first surgery that affected the optic nerve - the nerve connecting my eyes to my brain. They said they would need to carry out a corrective surgery at the headquarters in Manipal, India.

My bill is about 6 Million Naira for the flight, the hospital bills and hotel lodging after the surgery because I would have to stay as an outpatient for 2 weeks before returning to Nigeria. My family has been reaching out to people since November 2016: family, friends, and the public. I'm still hoping and looking up to God that there will be a way. 

April 8th, 2017 will make it 3 years since I've been blind. Nothing that has happened has affected my faith in God; rather it has strengthened me even more. I know everything will be fine someday. 

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To support Chidera, kindly contact:

Raquel Jacobs: 08025857485

Chidera’s mum: 07033233946

I've been a single mum for 8 years.

Although I was married for 7 years, it was an abusive marriage. I was beaten and talked down to by my husband and it really affected my self-esteem. It was a very difficult time, coupled with the fact that I had 2 children. The abuse got so frequent, I had to go to the hospital for treatment. I also developed high blood pressure.

One of the times a beating was going on, my son who was 3 years old at the time, started jumping up and hitting his dad, saying, "Leave my mum alone." I had a flash of insight and understood if my kids kept growing up in that kind of situation, one day my son might decide to beat up his dad, in my defence. That was when I decided, enough was enough. I had stayed for 7 years because I was scared of what people would say.

When I left, I didn't have a game plan. All I knew was my life was very important and I didn’t want my kids to grow up in such an environment. My older daughter was very withdrawn and fearful because of all the fights. My son was also getting aggressive. And, I had to resign from my job at a bank.

Reality stepped in, because it was a case of me going from grace to grass. A couple of close friends abandoned me and I once contemplated suicide.

I had a lot of bitterness against my ex. One day, someone called and said God told her to tell me to forgive my ex and pray for him. That was a terrible period for me. It took me 3 months to obey. Every time I opened my mouth to pray for him, curses would come out. I forgave him by the 3rd month. 6 months later, I got a job to pursue my dreams.

One thing that keeps me going is God. I know it sounds very cliché, but the truth is, my story is a story of grace and resilience. I still have some very tough times because being a single mum is not easy. Besides financial demands, there's also the emotional task of raising kids on your own.

I'm a shoemaker.

I'm the MD/CEO of Shoe Speed and we make, fix and sell shoes. We also have an academy that has trained over 600 people in the last 9 years. 

I discovered my love for shoes when I was 7. We were about 10 kids (siblings and cousins) living with my mum. On a particular Sunday, I was quite restless and was disturbing the peace of the house. My mum felt she needed to keep me busy, so she put the school shoes of all the kids together and gave them to me to shine. Each child had about 2 pairs, so I had a minimum of 20 pairs of shoes to shine. I didn't like it because I knew it was going to keep me busy, but I got excited at some point, especially when I saw the transition of dirty looking shoes into shiny ones. They all came to pick up their shoes and they loved them. So subsequently, I would pay them to shine their shoes. I later developed the hunger and thirst for footwear.

I studied Accounting at the University. I was on a first class in my first year but it later dawned on me that I wasn't cut out to be an accountant. Every lecture was boring so I used to read to pass. 

I started asking questions and getting people's opinions about shoemaking. Everyone discouraged me but I didn't give up. I decided to take a stroll around my area during the weekend and I saw a small cubicle not too far from my street with a young man making footwear. I walked up to him and introduced myself. I told him I wanted to learn what he does. He looked up, sized me up and shook his head. He said in Yoruba, "Eni to lori o ni fila" meaning, you have all the opportunity yet you don't appreciate it. He looked at me and said, “If I have the opportunity you have, I won't be doing this dirty job.” I told him I see a future in this and I see a time where Nigerians will be glad to make shoes. I would leave school on Fridays, hang around him and observe what he was doing during the weekends.

Today, I have promoted a different perspective about the art and the business of shoemaking and I have created jobs for people. I have received awards from the Government and the private sector and I have a long list of clientele in and out of the country.

In January 2014, a doctor said the nerve on the left side of my face was dying. Another said it was a partial stroke. I Googled and the information online said Bell’s Palsy. The left side of my face droped 5 inches, just like that. There were signs, but I didn't know. I thought I was just tired.

I was depressed and sad. I cried and couldn't resume school. I was in Ghana all by myself and didn't know who to go to. 

I called my mum and told her the left side of my face was dropping. 

I couldn’t keep water in my mouth because it spilled out. At bedtime, I had to pull my left eye together because it would still be open. I couldn’t taste anything because my tongue was dead. My speech changed too and I was scared. 

Three women were in my house during this period. I met them on the bus. It was their first time in Ghana and they asked where they could get an affordable hotel. I told them to manage my room with me. Our meeting (and me asking them to stay in my house was God’s plan). I didn’t know them from anywhere. If they were not there, I probably would have committed suicide. But, God planted them in my life the night before it all started and they were like Angels. 

Mum called her pastor, her pastor called me and prayers started. 

The doctor said some people don't recover and if I’m lucky my face would go back to normal. I was told not to put pressure on the face; anger or sadness. How would I not be sad in my predicament? 

The doctor said there was no medicine for my condition, but he advised that I take Vitamin C and an antibiotic that was so expensive, I couldn't afford it.  I turned to God. (It's funny because I couldn't remember the last time I prayed until this happened). “Lord, I know I hardly talk to you but I’m in trouble and I need you to fix me please. You created me, so please if you have any spare part that belongs to me, now is the time to use it”, I prayed. Does God laugh? If he does, then he must have had a good laugh that day.

God started his work on me. He heard my cry and listened. He fixed and remoulded me and made me even more beautiful.

I started gaining confidence in myself not too long ago.

When I was 6 months old, my neighbour’s 10-year-old son poured very hot pap (ogi), fresh from the fire, all over me, from head to toe. I still have a few scars from the incident.

Because of that incident, I went through nursery and primary school without a strand of hair on my head. Not one. Imagine a child going to school bald. I hardly made friends and I kept to myself a lot. I was also shy and couldn't look at people in the eye. As you can imagine, I became depressed at a young age.

In primary school, I was advised to try something to make my hair grow. Something was rubbed on my head and the sharp end of crayfish was used to puncture holes in my scalp. Despite the fact that my scalp was numb, I could still feel the pain. Little strands of hair began to grow. I now looked weird and still had no friends. I eventually made one - Tunde Amure. He’s still my friend today.

In secondary school, I joined the fellowship choir and one day, I sang during rehearsals. Everyone wondered who was singing. I started becoming a bit popular. Singing boosted my confidence and that's how my music started.

I went to Olabisi Onabanjo University (OSU) and studied Mass Communication. My inferiority complex that started from childhood also affected me in Uni. I was bullied. At the time, I had hair on my head but not as much as it is now.

I joined the school fellowship and started learning to play the keyboard. My circle of influence began to grow from OSU. I started meeting people who became influential in my life. My current pastor and David Nkennor believed so much in me and they’ve played a huge role in my life.

Prophecies are good. They change the atmosphere and events of your life to favour you. I can boldly say I'm a child of prophecy by my mentors. Today, I’m married with 2 kids and I’m also a music minister.

I studied Law and in year 3, I knew Law was not for me. I had to graduate so I endured.

I graduated with a 3rd class and didn’t even graduate with my set. I didn’t pass despite reading hard. Mehn, Law was tough, from citing cases and sections, to applying principles and rules to questions, and so much more. Yes, I felt bad at some point, especially when my mates graduated and I was still in school. I was a leader in a campus fellowship and people said all sorts of things about me. I felt like a disappointment to my family because all my siblings had provided good examples.

On the day I found out I would not be graduating with my set, coincidentally, it was fellowship time, so after I got the news I went straight for fellowship. The promise I picked from the Bible was Micah 7:8 - "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me." I held on to that verse and declared it over my life for a long time, I pushed myself towards massive exposure with the support of my brother.

Honestly, God has been with me and grace has stood me out. I am not trying to be humble or spiritual, but I am a God made man. I have not done anything beyond the ordinary in my own eyes but grace always transformed my ordinary to outstanding milestones. I am a voice in brand management and marketing communications and I still do not know how. I have had fun working on some brands that became leaders in their category, winning awards and making more returns.

I have invites to teach and speak about brand development and management for personal and corporate brands. I have also received calls to advise new and dying brands. Some years ago, I got an invite to speak at Social Media Week and I honestly do not know how. Last year, I was awarded young brand manager of the year by Marketing Edge.

My success is a result of God’s grace.

I was very different from my siblings because of my skin colour. Being fair skinned was very attractive and I was the “lighten up the room kinda girl”. I got picked on a lot because of this and I was considered different. I grew up with strangers asking my mum if I was her niece, because in their minds, I didn’t look like the other children. (Nigerians and their ways. Lol.)

I would get the ‘short end of the stick’ and take the fall for my siblings' wrongdoing, as I was easily noticeable. Oh! how I hated my skin colour. I blamed my skin tone and wanted to look like my sisters; to be a bit darker. Even when people gave positive comments about how good my skin tone looked, it made me hate it even more; as I felt I was attracting undue attention. I just wanted to be normal like every other child around me. I got called names like Yellow Pawpaw, Mulatto, Mama Pupa, etc. My friends still call me some of these names and we laugh it off now. Back in the day, I would cry myself to sleep after being addressed that way.

As a teenager; people were quick to judge me based on my skin colour. Everyone assumed I was promiscuous; just because fair skinned girls have a certain reputation. (How people came about that judgement, I have no idea.) I hated being the fair skinned yellow pawpaw girl and it affected some of the decisions I made about value and esteem.

Today, I see myself differently. I look at myself and see a beautiful woman; a go getter and a trendsetter. God hasn’t created me to be limited based on the colour of my skin. I am created to make a difference to my world; to put smiles on people’s faces and to be a source of joy to my parents. I enjoy being different now.

I have embraced my skin and I take very good care of it. I want my skin to glow for the Master’s use.

Raised in a Christian home, I gave my life to Christ before the age of 10. But, I found myself struggling with existential questions by my teenage years. Were faith and the spiritual world real? How do I reconcile faith with my growing knowledge of science?

Halfway through secondary school, I drifted from faith. Not deliberately. I just started becoming interested in other things, like having fun. I still struggled with questions, but knew no one who was interested in processing my doubts with me.

At one point, I read a massive book by Robert Ingersoll: over 1000 pages (and double columns!) of him disparaging the Bible. When I was done, I tore it up and threw it away. It shook what faith I had left to its core, and I was uncomfortable exposing anyone else to that.

In university, I decided to formally drop Christianity instead of still pretending to believe in something I no longer cared about. I quit church, stopped praying and started joking that if I died, I knew I was headed for hell. I still believed Christianity contained truth; I just wasn't interested in trying to live it out.

In my year two, which was my first year of medical school, I started to feel a deep emptiness and a meaninglessness to my life. I started becoming interested in darker music and literature that captured my disillusionment. I slowly started thinking about God and faith again and going to church & reading my Bible. Ecclesiastes really spoke to me. But I wasn't committing yet.

Finally, the day (or rather, night) came. I was alone on a corridor, and for the first time, realised God was speaking to me. Nothing really supernatural; it just felt like I was having a conversation with myself in my own head, except I somehow knew it was God on the other end. Afterwards I said, “Okay, okay, fine! You want me to commit? You want my life? Fine, you can have it!” and I went to sleep, exhausted.

I woke up the next morning with the thought, "What have I gotten myself into?" But I felt sure I'd done the right thing. Years later, I can say giving in to God was the best decision I ever took.

Growing up, my dad and mum were not on good terms. They later separated. This had a deep impact on me.

When I finished secondary school, I was yearning for love. There was so much emptiness inside me. I had an inferiority complex and other personal challenges I couldn't talk to anyone about. So, I began to search for love outside. I began to look up to guys to affirm & love me and I found myself in the wrong relationships. I experienced several attempted rape cases that didn't go through, thanks to God. 

When I got to Covenant University, I began to hear a lot about God’s word and that began to transform my mind. I went for National Youth Service and everything took a new turn. I met a guy. Here I was, coming from a place where I was really looking for love. I didn’t have many guys walking up to me. I felt ugly and believed there was nothing good about me. I was a mess and an emotional wreck, so the attention from the guy was wow! We got intimately involved but he later changed and became violent. He would talk to me anyhow and insult me. The relationship became abusive.

I had to summon up the courage to leave the relationship, but when I left, it had messed me up so much that I became a freelancer. I found myself moving from one undefined relationship to another. One day I prayed, “God send me someone. I'm lost.”

I became stable in church and shared my story with the pastor. He began to help me. 

One particular day in church, I was in tears. Nothing was moving forward and Satan kept haunting my mind. I told God I wanted a ministry to come out of my experiences as I didn't want to waste them. I wanted to help other people. From that moment, my change began!

Today, I have a ministry called The Unveiled Woman Network. We help ladies who have gone through shame, rejection and reproach. We help women from broken and dysfunctional homes that have left them traumatized and pushed them into things they shouldn’t do.

We have reached over a thousand ladies. God turned my mess into a message!

1/2 From the moment I had my baby, I knew there was a problem.

My new born baby had a deformity of her leg, but I felt it was something that could be handled medically. When she was six days old, my husband and I were told we needed to amputate her leg. It was so devastating. We didn’t agree to do so. As she grew older, we saw that the leg got shorter. We eventually travelled to the United States, after we had done a lot of research and my daughter’s leg was amputated.

I never thought I would start a foundation. I just wanted to make sure that my daughter had the best. Before her amputation, we carried her everywhere.

One day, I was home and a woman came in. She said she was looking for Beulah's mum. (Beulah is my daughter.) I told her I was the one and she collapsed. People came and rushed her into my house. When she came to, I asked her what the issue was and she said her son had a congenital deformity of the upper arm. The arm was not there at birth. She'd kept the child at home for 2 years, so he was not interacting with anybody. He couldn't even talk. She was shocked to see a small woman like me with so much strength. She thought Beulah’s mum was big and hefty.

She later asked if her son could come over to play with my daughter and I agreed. They went to church with us and then I stayed outside with her son so she could attend service. I guess that broke it for her because she said in 2 years, she hadn't experienced any form of love or care. My husband and I were able to work with them to get their son into school. The boy was 2 and at the time, my daughter was just 3. I was ecstatic. I was excited that the boy was in school. I told everybody that cared to listen to it.

One day, I told my husband I wanted to start a non-profit organisation to be able to address people with these kinds of issues. We would provide support for caregivers and kids, provide prosthetic limbs and educate people on disability.

2/2 I got a call from a hospital saying there was a bilateral amputee that needed prosthetic limbs. I raised some money with the help of friends and my husband. At the time, one prosthetic limb was 500k. We got the girl the limb. I travelled to Enugu to see her and spoke to the family.

What God told me was, “Comfort people with the comfort with which you have been comforted. Encourage someone else.” I said okay. I asked him what name I should use for my foundation and he said Irede, which is my daughter’s name too. And that's how “Irede Foundation” started. So it was the story of a boy that I didn't know, to a bilateral amputee, to me just wanting to ensure that my daughter lives life to the fullest. Not just her, but every other person around her.

The Foundation will be 5 this year. At the end of 2016, we had given out 48 prosthetic limbs to amputees.

Once we take on a child, we provide them with prosthetic limbs and are responsible for the changes until the child is 18. We call it, “Adopt a Child.” Even though we're not housing the kids; we are a part of their lives during those years. 

I'd always been a person who lived in the background. One of the ways I could fully express myself was through writing. I would pen up to 5 posts per day on my social media platforms. I would write the most ridiculous things in my diary, and I mean as ridiculous as, "Dear diary, I wrote an exam today and I feel I didn't write my best but I trust God for success". Little did I know that it was all part of the preparation for something greater. 

On the 14th of June 2013, on my way to work one morning, I got a nudge to start a group for ladies. I wanted something different as I was tired of seeing so many female groups on social media, where all that's talked about is issues. So I spoke with a few friends about it and the Pearls Group was formed on Blackberry Messenger (BBM). We eventually moved to Facebook and then I began a blog.  

I was nervous at the beginning because I thought to myself, "What would I be writing for years that would still be relevant?” I started all the same. One day I realised I could put my sea of thoughts and write ups into a document and reach more people.

The Priceless Magazine was birthed in 2016. I got a few like-minded people to join the team. We registered under the name Vertopia Publize Publications. Vertopia was coined from 2 words (virtue + perfection). The word virtue describes the qualities of a godly woman as expressed in Proverbs 31, while perfection explains the fact that we are perfect in Christ, not because of our works or good deeds. The magazine is primarily a female magazine, covering areas such as health, business, fashion, marriage, child raising and so on.

Have there been challenges? Yes. Countless. But I'm always rest assured that I'll come out victorious because I know that God is for me, therefore all things will work together for my good. 

Growing up as the last of 7 kids was comforting. I always felt my siblings and parents would do anything for me. 

My dad insisted that we relocate from Jos to Lokoja, our state capital after he retired. A few months passed and he fell ill. Dad had cancer! What? At 80 years, how did this happen? We prayed and fasted. At least dad’s a pastor and mum a deaconess, so we knew the drill.

My Dad was admitted to the hospital. My siblings visited frequently and we all sent money every now and then. I had to travel home to see him when he was discharged. I held his hand and told him to be strong, for me and for my unborn kids. Tears dropped from his face and I went inside the room to cry loudly. If I had money, I would have taken him to India myself just to quickly save him.

His health got worse and we were back at the hospital. He was in pain and was losing blood. My mum was broken. I became bitter. Why would God let this happen to us? Bills were piling up. I started calling friends but I was disappointed by some. I knew we were losing him, but we had faith in everyone’s prayers.

I had to return to work in Kaduna. After some days, I got a call that things were serious and I should return. That was the last time I spoke to him. My dad was in a coma. I sat beside his bed looking at him and remembering all the sacrifices he paid for us all. I cried. We bought oxygen 12 times and blood almost every day. My dad died eventually.

I opened the cloth used to cover him and I cried & promised myself that no matter what life brings my way, I won't give up. My mother is all I have left and I would do anything to give her the best. It’s been six months now without him. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would visit home every week just to kiss him and thank God for another chance to love and love and love. Nothing matters more than being there for the people you care about.

I’m still healing.