LOUD WHISPERS: The Online In-Laws
I don’t know if you read it I did The story about how a woman could not get pregnant She sought out her Pastor for counselling He dropped his trousers for divine anointing of her womb He instructed her to go straight home to her husband and get him to do the needful God would […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Sixty Random Thoughts
When I turned 60 recently, I figured that attaining this age needed to come with some perks. I thought about all the things I would normally not want to talk about, have the courage to say out loud, or admit to, things about myself that people might not know, or questions that I have been […]
LOUD WHISPERS: A Voice For Many Generations Ama Ata Aidoo (1942-2023)
One Saturday morning in the early 1990s in London, my husband was reading West Africa magazine and he called out to me, ‘Come and see this, you are being quoted here’. West Africa magazine was a weekly publication produced in London, which was taken seriously by its target audience of African scholars, activists, students, politicians and thought […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Blooming Into A New Season
I was asked to get to the studio at 10am. I was there at 9.50am. The plan was to do hair and make-up, then selection of outfits and accessories. This was my third photo shoot with the extraordinarily talented TY Bello – celebrity photographer, singer, producer, proud mother of twins. I did my first shoot […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Simply the Best
Tina Turner (1939-2023) The scene happened half-way through the film. The female protagonist decided to fight back. Her face was bruised and bloodied and her eyes were barely open, but she got up after she was kicked to the other side of the limousine and jumped on her attacker. There was a deafening cheer […]
LOUD WHISPERS: The Spirit of Hilda
In the early 1990s, my younger brother Tunde asked me for a favour. We were still living in London then. He wanted to host a birthday party at our place, my husband and I agreed. I asked him about his catering arrangements and he said he hoped I could provide the food. I told hm […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Please Help Me Understand
Perhaps there is just too much nonsense going on Perhaps folks young and old are simply behaving badly There are many things that do not add up They might not all seem connected Trust me, they are Please help me understand How an entire country was rendered ‘cashless’ because of new notes How all old […]
LOUD WHISPERS: A Woman In Harmony With Her Spirit
Professor Abena Busia@70 ‘A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination to be herself and only herself’ Maya Angelou She strode towards me with the regal twists and turns of her body I have always known her for, […]
Lessons from Hannah
The 2023 Gubernatorial, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections have been woefully unsatisfactory when it comes to the inclusion of women. No female Governor emerged (Senator Aisha Benani’s attempt is still ‘inconclusive’ in Adamawa State) and we now have less than 4% of women in the National Assembly, even less than the class […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Be Better. Do Better
Compliments of the season. In spite of the many hassles of putting the ‘logistics’ (money, food, gifts and so on) in place for Christmas in the community, I like being at home in Isan-Ekiti during the festive season. Amongst other things, it gives me an opportunity to eat pounded yam at last twice in one […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Let Us Pay Attention
A beautiful young woman with a lot of promise went over the bridge into the lagoon. Just like that. She had to have been in a terribly dark place to have ended her own life. The number of people ending their lives because they feel alone, helpless and worthless is on the rise. As Africans, […]
LOUD WHISPERS: If I Had My Way
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi How many times have you heard people say, If I had my way……………. Then they would go ahead to list all those things they would do if they had the final say on the matter. Every one of us has such a list. This is mine. If I had my way, there would […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Saratu’s Wish
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi Saratu could not stop staring at the woman who was speaking. She was not sure what her name was because people kept calling her different things. Some called her “Her Excellency”, some addressed her as “Madam” and others called her “Doctor” or “Hajia”. She thought she heard the name “Amina”, but she […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Psalm 91
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the almighty I will say to the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in him will I trust Surely, he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the […]
LOUD WHISPERS: Their Children. Our Children
‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children’- Nelson Mandela. I was going through my Facebook page last week, and I came across the story of a woman in Ado-Ekiti who was living in dire circumstances. Shortly after, one of my staff members sent […]