I used to itch till I bled.

In junior secondary school, I noticed a tiny rash on my finger which expanded every time I itched. The rash gradually spread to my elbows, my face and then my entire body (even my scalp). I used different steroid creams but every new one I tried out soon became ineffective against the rash.

In 2014, I had another attack and sought the attention of a doctor. I was diagnosed with psoriasis (an autoimmune disease that causes over production of skin) and as a result I was placed on oral steroids.

This time, the rash became worse and I couldn't go out. I could barely even feel my face or talk properly. I wondered what God thought about this, having a pending issue already and adding a greater one. One very clear message I got was "careless trust". I struggled for a while but gave in. I ignored the rash and continued with my regular activities.

A few months ago, I was discussing with a friend and an issue on "the rash" came up. I wanted to show her the dark scaly scar on my fingers. I looked for it but didn't see it. The rash had cleared up!

No matter what is wrong in your life, no matter how bad you think it is, God can never give you more than you can handle because he is definitely with you. You might see the issue as a "problem" but the truth is, God might need you to learn something. I learnt trust. Never focus on "worry". Has it ever added a strand of hair to your head? Instead it makes it grey.

(Part 1/2) I wrote JAMB 6 times. My results were withheld the first 4 times and I felt there was no way I was writing JAMB again. I had just started discovering my love for music. My mum was in tears as she wanted me to go back to try JAMB again. So, she bought the JAMB form herself because I wasn't interested. I’d made up my mind that I was done with school and would just make money from music. I eventually wrote the exam for the 5th time and had a good score. I also had a good score (90 over 100) in Post UME but I still didn't get admission. It was really weird and at that point I gave up.

A friend of mine who believed so much in me got me the JAMB form again, and because this was the 6th time, I wasn't bothered. In fact, I went to sing somewhere in Oyo Town and it was a vigil. My exam was the next morning. I got to the exam hall late in Ibadan. I was 30 minutes late so they punished me by keeping me outside for an extra 15minutes. So far I had missed 45 minutes of the exam. I honestly wasn't bothered.

I walked in majestically afterwards and didn't apologise to anyone because I felt they were still going to withhold the result again. I wrote the exam and walked out. (At this time, I knew the syllabus like the palm of my hand.) I scored 257. I wrote Post UME and I got my admission into the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

I had a good time in UNILAG. I ended up studying Philosophy and in my final year, right before my convocation I had an accident. But before my accident, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a big boy. I wanted to have so much money like my brother and just be one of those young men controlling things before age 30. It looked like things were actually going well. There were a lot of ups and downs but things were looking good. I got a good job in my final year and my salary was great, so I felt life was good.

I had stopped singing. I'd seen money, and my dreams had started coming to life. People kept on asking me why I wasn't singing anymore. But I liked where I was, the money was good and church wasn't going to give me that kind of money.

(Part 2/2) So, on this particular day I was going to minister at my Pastor’s birthday. Prior to that time, my Pastors had been telling me, "The life you're living is not you. You're supposed to be doing ministry." but I wasn’t having it. To be honest, I wasn't living a great life. I wasn't going to church anymore.

In retrospect, I feel God wanted to get my attention. So, while I was driving, this man just drove into me and destroyed my car. I was in the hospital, my right arm got broken and I couldn't use it for over 2 years. I then made a promise to God that I was going to go back to him. I quit my job. The album, ‘As I Am, The Journey So Far’ was birthed after my accident.

The ‘As I Am’ brand comes from a place of me saying this is me, coming to God as I am, with no pretence. The album came with a lot of awards and recognition from that boy who was fighting to be relevant in the social system with money and all. Truth is, success is not financial. Success is living in the purpose and will of God for your life. The will of God for your life can make you prosperous. That's the part Christians don't understand. God can bless you so much with no sorrow added to it.

Everything I was chasing and I felt I couldn't get, I have them and the best part about it is that it never stops. I might not be there yet, but the path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter till the perfect day.

My story continues and this will encourage someone to realise that when God wants your attention, he will get it. Sometimes he might get it in a way that hurts, or a way that would shock everyone or shock you, or you'll just learn and listen to him. If I had listened to God all this while, I probably wouldn't have gone through all this pain, but today I understand that my scars are a sign of the victory in Christ and it's a reminder of how not to misbehave. I'm totally grateful for every pain, every minute of confusion and I hope that I can inspire young people and make them realise that in God, we are complete.

I always thought that being a Christian was about going to church and serving in church. Basically living for Sundays.

I was always told things like, “Make sure you pay your tithes and give your offering.” “Be a good girl.” “Make sure you are doing good and even when you're doing bad, the people that know you won't catch you doing bad”. So basically, I was living to serve a particular set of people, not realising it was all about God. It was okay to go to the clubs and do anything, as long as the people that were not supposed to see you didn’t see you. I’d then go back to church on Sunday to serve and act perfect, just like everyone else.

The truth was something that I found out about a year ago and it's so far off from religion. It's now a way of life; not trying to please anyone but making sure my life aligns with what God wants me to be. I never knew it was possible to talk to God or to hear from him. I knew it was real but I just thought whatever the pastor said on Sunday was it and it would end there. For me, it was normal to go to school, graduate & get a job, hustle, make money, get married, have kids, grow old, and then die. That was basically what life meant to me. So I felt, "Why not just have fun while you can." I didn't realise there was much more to life than that. Of course, I knew I had certain things inside of me but I didn't understand where my place in God was at the time.

It was an eye opener for me when I finally realised that there was more to God and God was bigger than what I ever imagined him to be. 

(Part 1/4) Service year was rounding to a close and I did not have any lady to call a future wife. I remember God telling me that I would meet my future wife during my National Youth Service (NYSC) and that she would be a south-western lady. I constantly looked at my journal where I had written that prophecy God had given me personally.

I had just ended a relationship of 3 years because I saw that it would take a lot of work for both of us to get along. Added to that was that we both lacked self-control and almost had sex on several occasions. I knew we had to end it if we didn't want to both suffer the consequences.

Now here I was, serving in Jos on the Plateau, with ladies I could choose from. I definitely needed a divine hand to be able to choose appropriately. I made one cardinal rule to guide me in future relationships. Whatever feelings I had for any lady, I would consult my Father and friend before making any move. Alongside this guideline were also four things I considered were very crucial to my marital success.

First and foremost, she had to be born-again and an ardent pursuer of God. Secondly, she had to be my friend. We should be able to talk about anything and everything. She should be able to tell me things as they are & be confident and free to express her feelings about everything. Thirdly, she had to have a great sense of humour. I couldn't marry someone who wouldn't get a joke I shared on Monday morning until Tuesday evening *laughs*. And lastly, she must be resourceful; able to make the best of whatever she had, whether plenty or little.

As I related with many of the ladies who lived in the Christian Fellowship family house during NYSC, those were the things that guided my interactions.

(Part 2/4) Whenever I discovered I developed an interest in a lady, I would immediately talk to God about it. The conversation usually went something like this - "Father God I've discovered that I really like (I'd mention the lady's name). The way she smiles just melts my heart and I think I really like her. But then I'd like you to tell me what you think. Is she the one I should marry?" On some occasions, immediately after the prayers, he would nudge my heart and I would know she wasn't the one. On other occasions, I would know she wasn't the one after a few days of interactions. She would suddenly "disqualify" herself.

However, there was one particular lady that I couldn't get a specific answer from the Lord about. We had developed a great friendship. Mind you, I had become friends with other ladies as a result of my role as the Publicity Secretary of the NCCF.

One day, I came back from my place of primary assignment upset about how my day went and this sister offered to listen to my frustration. She asked me if I wanted to take a walk with her and since we had become good friends, I felt I needed the company. For the next 20 minutes or so, we were walking and talking. She listened intently to every word I said. We soon approached a suya stand and she asked me if I wanted some. I quickly told her I didn't bring my wallet along and she promptly asked me if she was telling me to pay. I was taken aback.

Up until this moment, I had never had a lady buy me anything without me already having paid my dues before that time. She bought the suya for myself and her and paid. For the remaining 100 metres it took us to get back to the NCCF family house, I couldn't get over what had happened. When I told a roommate, he just told me that she must really like me.

Service year soon wound to a close and still, there was no lady to call my own.

(Part 3/4) One day I was prayerfully considering my options. I thought of ladies within my circle that I could ask to marry me when I returned to Ibadan and I couldn't think of any.

At that point, a thought crossed my mind, "What about Moji?" I told myself that she was a no-go area. We had both decided we would just be friends and wouldn't allow the insinuations of people to push us into a love relationship.

However, the more I thought about those qualities that were important to me and asked God, the fonder I became of her. Then I knew I had fallen in love with her without knowing. The problem was how to tell her I loved and wanted to marry her without it appearing as if I was leading her on in our friendship? Wouldn’t that be a betrayal of trust? Besides, she was a University graduate and I was an HND holder.

I knew of her dreams to pursue a career in academics while I didn't want to pursue any more academic degrees in Estate Management. So, I knew I had to be guided when I related with her. The more we talked, the more I was convinced about her but I just couldn't get myself to talk to her about love. It seemed it was only NYSC that brought us into the same class. I toyed with the idea in my mind and I knew I had to develop courage to get the girl or else I would regret it all my life. So, I prayed to God for help.

(Part 4/4) On a Sunday, while in church, God sent me help. The pastor preached a message about being bold and courageous and he used the story of Jonathan and his armour bearer in 1 Samuel 14. When the pastor read the second part of verse 6, I knew God was talking to me. Convinced that the Lord had spoken to me to allay all my fears, I made up my mind to ask my friend to marry me. The worst that could happen was that she would say no.

I told her what was on my mind but instead of her giving a response, she just uttered a hasty goodnight and ran into the family house, shocked. At that point, I knew she never expected it! I felt I was in trouble.

She never gave me any answer the other morning and it took a lot for me to greet her. She didn't give me any response still. It was as if I never said anything to her. I began writing love notes to her but after two weeks, I got tired and stopped altogether. 

Then she called me one day, just before the evening devotion and I got one of the worst "talking-tos" of my life. One thing she said stuck, even till today. "You don't raise a woman's hopes for love and suddenly dash them", she said. Apparently, all my love notes were etching a place in her heart and I thought I was just pouring water into a basket. I guess she was waiting for the right time to say yes.

That was 2003, some thirteen years ago. Today, we are still friends and lovers, with a beautiful family. Every time I think about us, I'm so glad God guided me. I've never regretted making that move to tell her I was in love with her. In fact, I still am. 

CHRISTMAS IN A BOX

Christmas in a Box (a project of Slum2School Africa) began in 2013. Since then, it has impacted children in various slum communities around Lagos State - Bariga, Ajegunle, Emina and Saga Island and our host community Makoko, Lagos. Over the years, we have reached out to over 15,000 kids, showing and making them feel the essence of Christmas.

2015 was a major year for us as we reached out to internally displaced children in Borno, Kaduna and Abuja.

At Slum2School, Christmas is not only about sharing gifts with those who are unable to celebrate, but also making them feel what Christmas is about - love. Our Christmas in a Box grand finale this year was on the 17th of December at Adekunle Primary School, Makoko Road, Yaba. This year’s event was different because for the first time, we had a female celebrity Santa!Christmas in a Box (a project of Slum2School Africa) began in 2013. Since then, it has impacted children in various slum communities around Lagos State - Bariga, Ajegunle, Emina and Saga Island and our host community Makoko, Lagos. Over the years, we have reached out to over 15,000 kids, showing and making them feel the essence of Christmas.

2015 was a major year for us as we reached out to internally displaced children in Borno, Kaduna and Abuja.

At Slum2School, Christmas is not only about sharing gifts with those who are unable to celebrate, but also making them feel what Christmas is about - love. Our Christmas in a Box grand finale this year was on the 17th 

I’ve always been told I look exactly like my Mum. She was the first child of her parents and was so independent. She left home at age 14 years to her uncle’s place at Ibadan to learn what she loved to do most; hair making. She met my dad when she was 19 and then I came into the picture.

I am the 4th child in a family of 5 children. I thought my mum didn’t like me because I was the only child she made sure understood her business. Little did I know she was preparing me for the future.

It all started when I was 14. My mum would send me down to Togo to get her goods. When I was 15, I was already good at bringing in different items besides my mum’s goods like cars, frozen turkey and fairly used clothes. At age 16, my mum was diagnosed with cancer of the breast. At 18 years, after staying back 2 years to take care of her, she died.

I gained admission into a private university. When my mum died, I thought it was the end for me. I thought I was going to suffer and nobody could ever understand me like she did. To my surprise, my father turned out to be my best friend in disguise. He didn’t support my business but he watched me closely and sang my praises to his friends at church. He was always proud of me but he usually would not tell me to my face.

I didn’t think I could still cope with school. All I thought about in life was making money and my family. I started experiencing peer-pressure at the university. It was hard to blend with other girls of my age. My course mates called me godmother. Some school mates called me a bully, while my friends called me No-Nonsense. I never tolerated cheating from anyone and this made me gain self-esteem.

I was in need of extra cash apart from my monthly allowance from my dad, so I started what I know how to do best; business. I started the business of selling fairly used clothes from Togo with N5000 and when I was in my final year, my account balance was 300k. I was so proud of myself and thankful to God.

(Part 1/2) I used to be addicted to cannabis sativa (weed). It became a lot worse when I got into university. It was so bad, that at some point I started to hallucinate. I remember the first time I had weed; I was laughing like a crazy person. Unfortunately for me, people started to bring it to my room, so I didn’t need to go out of my way to look for it. I became so hooked on it that I couldn't go a day without it. Weed became a catalyst for every other thing. There would be crazy sexual activities after smoking.

It was really bad. I thought I'd never be able to get past smoking weed even when I started getting close to God. It was a struggle. I had stopped attending church for a while because the weed consumed me. As I got even more personal with God, it became something that I knew I had to let go of. How that was going to happen, I had no idea.

Somehow I just kept praying, not even about the weed addiction because it was so strong that I felt it was probably something that I'd have to live with for the rest of my life. I would pray about every other thing. I didn't think it was a problem. I always made up excuses on how great weed was. I was a good advocate for it with great arguments and lines which usually made a lot of sense, at least to me.
I can't remember what exactly happened but I stopped smoking cigarettes first.

Getting closer to God really helped me even though I wasn't the best of his children at the time. I stopped buying cigarettes with my money and eventually found out I wasn't smoking cigarettes anymore. But I was still dealing with weed big time. I stopped smoking weed but then started chewing it. (When you smoke it, the effects last for just a few hours but when you chew it, it goes to your blood stream, and so it could last up to 4 hours.)

Eventually God did it. I don't know how, but He made a way. I just found out that I wasn't having cravings anymore. God worked in me and I was able to quit weed. I realised I could live my life without enhancements from anything or dependence on any material.

(Part 2/2) Though I'd stopped smoking weed, I was still dealing with sexual lusts and desires. Now, I prayed about this a lot, because for me I think I had something that was deep and it was more spiritual than physical.

Ladies were always coming on to me; even married women too. It was crazy, I was a sex maniac and a beast. I would pray, go to vigils, then the next thing I knew, I would be back at it. It was a physical struggle. I've even had girls literally rape me, struggle to have sex with me, begging me not to push them away.

I realised I was trying to stop by myself because every time I made the decision to, I wouldn't last for a week. I would see certain things in my dreams and once I see them, I knew the next day or even that day I was going to have sex. It was a fight. I needed the Holy Spirit to help me so I prayed. I said, “You know what Lord, I'm not going to struggle about this anymore. I'm not going to fight it. Let your Holy Spirit help me. I yield myself to your Spirit because I know I need help."

I celebrated 1 year of celibacy in October, 2016. It hasn’t been a walk in the park and there’s temptation everywhere, especially with the kind of work I do. For me it's still very unbelievable, because I didn't think I could go past a week. I remember in my 3rd month of being celibate, I got close to losing it. There was this one time I was about to have sex and then something held me back. The Holy Spirit took over. I can't do anything with my might, so I've learnt to let the Holy Spirit do His work. Because all the time I tried to do it myself I failed.

Temptations will come, but it's how one tackles them that matters. A part in the Bible says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Another part says flee every appearance of evil. So, at every point of temptation you need to know which one to apply. There are some cases where you can't flee, but you can confront and resist the devil and he will flee. That's where wisdom comes in. The good thing is that God has given us the capacity to deal with it and it's always very wise not to go it alone but with the Holy Spirit.