Chika Jonah Writes

Author: Chika Jonah

  • A call to pray – The warfare behind the truth in my past

    A month ago i shared the loss my dad and how we dealt with everything that came after wards. There was something else i didn’t share, another part of that story i didn’t pen down, another memory i didn’t want to remember. The memory of loss, of loosing every shred of hope and joy. The reason why the grief was so massive that i lost my faith, my confidence and almost loosing my mind.

    The hard truth is that it was because i not only lost my dad but lost three other member of my family within that year. Four deaths including my dad.

    Grandpa(mummy’s dad) died five months before Dad’s illness and i guess old age even though he wasn’t that old. Then Dad left us which was so painful, as if that was not enough Dad’s best friend and brother died too, four months after dad’s passing. He was the only person who was always like a dad to us, who we knew would always be there for us even though dad was no more. But he was gone too. We were still wrapping our head around that when grandma (mummy’s mom) left us to a severe heart condition that had undergone several treatment all to no avail. That was the last straw. We were all in a daze, walking like zombies without any destination and feeling nothing. It hit me so hard when i realized that my mom was not just a widow but an orphan and i and my brother had no one we could call our parent except mom.

    It was like every time we woke up there was a sad news waiting to be shared or anytime we pick up the phone there was someone at the other end waiting to give us some terrible news or there was a bomb waiting to explode or a picture waiting to fall flat on the ground.
    It was horrible. We went from crying to weeping to mourning, from one burial arrangement to another, from one funeral to another funeral. It was a roller coaster of grief.
    After the third loss every call i received i would silently ask in my mind “Who died again?” Expecting to hear that someone had died because that was what life presented to me and the only news i was accustomed to hearing. I had no tears to cry and no hope for the future because the hard truth was that “Death had come into my house and had refused leaving”
    That unwanted guest became comfortable in my family and felt like a special guest.

    Did we pray? Yes
    Did we fast? Yes
    Did we sing hymn? Yes
    Did we sing praises? Yes
    What sin did my family ever commit to get such a great punishment?
    What mistake did i ever do to deserve a worst treatment like that?
    There was no answer to all my questions. No hope. No light. No remedy for my pain and no comfort for my restlessness.

    I got angry. I became so angry. Who is that piece of sh*t that, that unwanted bastard, that fool that can come into my family and take the lives of the ones who he never even created? He was nobody so how dare he…
    My anger grew like fire and hot tears began to roll down my eyes. Tears of hidden pain, tears of pent up frustration, tears of anger towards my situation, tears of all our grief and suffering. Who is he to take away my joy and peace?

    Then i rose up to my feet, with the anger in my mind, the emotions in my heart, the tears in my heart , my new found strength of God in me and the realization and Satan is nothing and God is everything since God is all powerful and I’ve got that authority in me to command what i want I screamed loudly with my eyes shut and my hands in fist. Then i screamed the words that came out of my mouth

    ” The earth is the lords and the fullness thereof. The world and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the lord and who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor swore deceitfully, he shall receive a blessing from the lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of the earth, they seek him, they seek thy face, o Jacob. Lift up your heads oh ye gates and be ye lifted up her everlasting doors that the king of glory shall come in. Who is this king of glory? The lord strong and mighty. The lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads oh ye gates and be ye lifted up her everlasting doors that the king of glory shall come in” .

    Exactly psalm 24.

    Then i rushed to the door opened it screaming

    “Satan you have no place in my house…Get out!! Death you have no place in my family…Get out!! Enough is Enough! You are only a powerless bastard so get out. God dwells in this house. The king of glory is in this place so in the name of Jesus; out!” I banged the door closed.

    I stood there trying to catch my breath, then suddenly i started laughing, laughing so hard that i couldn’t stop my self. It was ridiculous given the seriousness of everything but that laughter was an indication that subconsciously i knew the battle had been won. My restoration was near.

    Walking last evening, i looked up to the sky a lone tear fell from my face. I was grateful to God for everything i had faced and everything he had restored back into my life since the passing of almost all my family members. But i was also crying because, for the past few days I’ve been burdened by a particular situation. The loss and the punishment a young man and a young lady’s family are presently facing in the estate i reside in.

    This young lady lived in her hometown with her family and she was in a serious relationship with a guy who wanted to marry her. They held their introduction successfully and both families finalized and fixed a date in September for the traditional/cultural wedding according to their customs. Since it was a little far she decided to come to the city and work with her aunty to help support her family for the wedding plans. Back to the city she joined her aunty at her fast food and started working.
    One night before closing hours she was sent to buy a new pack of saviete to prepare them for the next morning meal. She walked to the super store right behind the fast food, so with the saviete in her hand afterwards she was walking right back to the fast food to drop it and grab her things to go back home when the minute she stepped out of the gate and walked by the corner of the gate it…

    He was a relentless hardworking guy. I saw him grow from a simple guy to a successful young man. He took up little jobs at first to put food on the table, years later he decided to learn a skill. Hair dressing. He trained at a saloon for years until he finally mastered the art of hair making, hair stylist and skin beauty.
    After years of sweat, hardwork and determination he finally opened his own beauty saloon. There he showed the world his flexible hands and skill through the transformation he made in ladies hair and facial make up. It was extraordinary. And now he’s the best beauty stylist in our area. Over the years he’s trained dozens of young boys and girls and empowering them that they too can be the Boss they want to be.

    That faithful day he noticed his car had a little problem so he made a mental note to drive it back home and call the mechanic to fix it since his saloon was directly opposite the estate where he lives. It wouldn’t be no problem at all. After he closed he drove slowly , turned at the junction and headed towards the estate gate. He stopped and waited for the coming cars to pass before going in, and when it was clear for him to go in, he released the gear and instead of the car going slowly it accerelated into a full blown speed, he was frantic and tried everything he could but nothing was working, suddenly the car moved with such uncontrollable speed and “Boooom”, it hit the corner of the gate together with the bright innocent girl just returning from buying a pack of saviete. Immediately an earth breaking scream was released. The scene was total mayhem; the gushing of the blood of the girl on the ground, the bricks falling from the wall, the tears in everyone’s eyes and the shock on his face. It was a terrible accident.
    She died on transit to the federal hospital and he was arrested, presently in police custody.
    A girl died and he was the reason or if i may say; the devil was the reason.

    Death stood in the way

    Who would have thought that her life would be snatched away from her family and who would have thought that his freedom and zeal to live would be snatched away from him.
    The parents of this girl are in constant mourning with no hope, no joy, only grief.

    This guy is in major shock and stricken with guilt. All he does in jail is stare at space and keep mumbling “I killed someone, i killed someone” repeatedly. He’s become a living corpse neither eating nor drinking. And by law who knows what his fate may be? Even though it was an accident. It was evident that he was loosing his mental sanity.

    Everyday i weep. I weep for the family who lost their daughter, for the man who lost his fiancee and for the man who lost his freedom and maybe his sanity to an accident he had no control of. Its painful and its heartbreaking and I’m burdened with this because i knew how great they both were and i know that they didn’t deserve this.

    Has the devil not stolen enough? Hasn’t he killed enough? Hasn’t he destroyed enough already? He has and i refuse to sit back and watch him do the same over and over again. I became angry just like i was when the enemy took almost every family member i had. I became angry and that was when i wedged war against the darkness, against the devil. Its warfare and in my personal warfare God gave me victory and this time I’m sure he’ll do the same.

    Its easter Friday and its the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His word said in John 10:10

    “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; i have come that they may have life and have it in abundance”

    So no more loss or death for his children. The grave could not hold him so nothing can hold this family’s joy. Nothing can hold this guy’s freedom and peace. Nothing!
    I pray that his mercy envelopes this man, that God’s mercy will speak for him even when the law will speak against him.

    Join me and earnestly pray for the Restoration of everything they’ve lost. All their hope, faith, freedom and joy and everything the enemy has taken from them. I believe that the joining of our hands, voices and prayers in agreement is what would give us a resounding victory and that victory would manifest in our individual life and situations as well.
    Jeremiah 32:27 says
    “Behold i am the lord your God. Is there anything too hard for me to do…?”
    Let God answer his question in this situation and every situation surrounding us and let the testimony be ours to proclaim.

    What are your thoughts on this and would you join me and pray in this two days of warfare?
    Drop your response in the comment section. Happy easter family. I love you but God loves you more.

  • The street drama that unfolds – the people who watch

    “Please…” She begged as she ran, but he was way faster than her. The pursuit went on and on till her legs failed her and she fell. He grabbed her and held her tightly with both legs and snatched what she was holding, pushed her away and started walking back. She stood up from the ground and stopped on his track
    “Please…please…its not mine” she said breathing heavily.
    “I don’t care” he said as he kept walking
    “Please it doesn’t belong to me. Its not my phone”
    “Its non of my business if its not yours”.
    “Its my sisters phone and she’ll kill me if i don’t return home with it” She kept pleading.
    “That’s your cup of yea, you caused this”, he said finally, turning to the guy on the motorbike “guy lets go”…he nodded and climbed on top of the bike.
    “I’m begging you please…please…” She kept begging in folded hands till they drove past her. She just stood there looking frustrated.

    I finally walked past them relieved. At first i thought the guy wanted to hurt her and that was when i stood still, ready to come to her aid. And when he only grabbed the phone from her hand and left her i thought his intention was to steal from her, but when she kept apologizing to him i knew maybe she was probably at fault and that something else was going on there unbeknownst to me and others who saw the drama.
    In this recession anything is possible, maybe she owed him a great sum of money and took her phone as leverage, to force her to pay up.
    I looked up and saw a group of girls watching the drama unfold and laughing at the girl. Their job is to just stand there and laugh it off, comment on whatever is worth commenting on, try to pick out who’s at fault and who’s not, judge them, and when the drama is over they dust their foot and leave.

    I smiled slowly and shook my head. My simple quiet evening stroll had turned into a drama short film. It made me remember something that happened opposite my work place few months ago (gosh, i cant stop laughing. *winks*).

    I was at my desk when i heard voices shouting at each other
    “Give me my money. Oh…you’re trying to run away right? But i won’t let you…”
    “You’re mad, you’re crazy”
    “Oh you think I’m mad…you’ll see madness when you don’t complete my money. You think I’m one of those girls you can F*CK for free…you better pay me the money we agreed”
    _ _ _ _ _ _

    “Jeez!! Really? Did i just hear correctly? Oh my God! I quickly ran downstairs laughing hoping my ears weren’t deceiving me. This was going to be the most hilarious , awkward drama i would ever experience i thought to myself.

    The scene had obviously attracted a huge crowd and i couldn’t stop laughing “are these people crazy? Couldn’t they have kept this inside their room”. I crossed the road and moved closer , in fact i was facing the two people. The girl was holding his shorts tightly with her left hand, while stretching the other hand to receive the money and shit…she was hot. I mean dark skinned, five feet tall, sexy looking in a black off shoulder jumpsuit that was pressed to her obviously shaped body. She had no make up on but had a pretty-not-so-beautiful face. And hell, she was big. Big with muscles that could grab whatever she wants and a body that could make a man fall flat and lick her feet. The guy was a dark guy, dressed in a short sleeve shirt and a check combat short. He seemed like a cool simple guy who is single, comfortable and works hard too.

    “If you don’t pay me my money you’ll see the worst of me”. She continued still grabbing him by the short.
    “What Money? Did i ever agree on a particular amount or even agree to give you any money? I had nothing to do with you so why will i give you anything”. He said harshly.
    “We agreed that you’ll pay me fifteen thousand naira for a night and you only gave me five thousand. I need my balance because you can’t escape…do you think i came to this city to play. No. This is business so you must pay up” she glared at him.

    Jesus!! I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cringe my teeth. Are the both of them really keen on doing this outside. Aren’t they embarrassed by the commotion they are causing in public. I was completely shocked by the absurdity of everything happening. It was crazy.
    Older men and women tried to stop the quarrel, all to no avail. People pleaded with them to take it somewhere closed and sort it out but they still continued the drama. It was obvious they had no shame. It seemed normal to the girl since like she claims, sex is her business, while the guy seemed irritated, he simply wanted to get rid of her.

    I stood there watching while the drama continued; the screaming and shouting at each other, the pointing of fingers, the accusations been thrown at each other, the sweat rolling from each others face. It went on and on till i couldn’t take it any longer.

    “Stop it both of you”. I screamed. It was like i came back from a trance.
    “Enough, now you”, pointing at the guy “tell me exactly what happened”.

    Guys story – He went out with some friends and hung out at the bar, and between drinks and Merry and music they found her sitting behind their table so naturally they all engaged in a discussion, talked, laughed and took a few drinks together. When they asked about her she said, she has a daughter back home and she just came into town to stay with a friend but her friend is not picking up her call so she found this bar, and sat down to relax a bit. He also told her he him to chill out here and that he has a girlfriend he loves and respects. The conversation went on till they became cool friends. He offered to let her sleep in his house after they left the bar and she agreed. When they reached home, she slept in the guest room while he slept in his.
    In the morning he prepared noodles for her to eat. He had pity on her which made him give her the sum of five thousand naira for her transport back home. He wanted to go to the mechanic and pick up his car because its been there for repairs. They left the house, he bid her farewell and left. On his way to the mechanic he stopped briefly at the superstore to purchase something when she suddenly blocked him. He realized then that all this while she hadn’t gone, instead she was following him. That was when she started holding him and requesting for some money he couldn’t understand.

    “Hmmmm…okay” You, whats your story?” I asked her.

    Girls story – After the drinks and partying he took her to his house and they both agreed that he’d pay her fifteen thousand for the night. They spent the night together and in the money he gave her the money. She counted it and it was five thousand, she asked him to complete it but he refused saying that was all he had. And when they left, instead of going home, she followed him to publicly force him to provide the remaining money.

    “Eh…so now you don’t have a child…and when did me and you ever talk about fifteen thousand naira? You are a liar” the guy shouted in shock.
    “No. You’re the one that is a liar, you think you can sleep with me and come here and give a different story. God punish you” she blurted out angrily.

    “Okay” i finally said “so bros you’re telling me you took this babe to your house and nothing happened between you too” i asked.
    “Yes. Absolutely nothing” he replied.
    “And you babe. when did the price of one night increase to fifteen thousand and are you sure he agreed to pay you such an amount?”
    “Yes. That was what we agreed and that is what will happen”
    “Look that would never happen. How can i just give you then thousand naira like that, not to mention the five thousand i gave you earlier out of my good heart. You’re joking.” He said.

    The next thing i knew she grabbed him by the collar and i for one feared his life because this girl was not joking. She was big and strong and I’m sure she can beat the guy to a pulp. I chucked, as much as i hated this it was so funny that i couldn’t hold my laughter.
    In my opinion the only truth on that guys mouth is the fact they didn’t discuss the money. If he knew the amount was going to be ridiculous he would have probably not picked her up at all. And the only truth in that girls mouth is the fact that they both had sex that night. I mean no guy would pick up a sexy girl by that hour to your house and not sleep with her especially after partying with her all night (my personal thought though).

    I knew that as long as their story wasn’t straight they would probably not leave there so i called the guy aside and asked him
    “How much do you have now with you?”
    “Five thousand for my mechanic and one thousand for my transport”. He answered.
    “Good. please give her the five thousand and let all this end. The truth is she wont leave here unless you give her something extra. The mistake you made was not finalizing the price first. So now you’ll have to fix this mess. Please just hand it over to her” i pleaded with him.
    He nodded, silently dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out the money, counted five notes and stretched it towards her.
    “Its five thousand naira and that’s all he has so please take it” i said to her.
    “I’m not taking it. You must complete my money” she said bluntly with those huge eyes shocking everyone (did i just here correctly).
    “You’re wicked. Your generation is cursed. In fact don’t take it I’m calling the police, we’ll finish it there”. He shouted in disgust.
    “Call. You think I’m scared”. She replied.
    They kept cursing at each other till i tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her back and faced me “See babe, there’s no need throwing words at him, whoever is wrong God would judge but just take the money, that man just gave you every cash he has on him” i said sternly.
    “And you bros”, i faced the guy “give her everything including the one thousand for your transport, just give her every damn cash on you. You can take a drop back home and pay the driver from there” i spoke calmly.

    Someone else in the middle of all the chaos collected the money from him, counted it making sure it was six thousand and tossed it into the girls hand. She collected the money stared hardly at the guy, turned around shaking her bad ass and left. I guess business was done for her as usual. The deal was sealed with her leaving with eleven thousand naira cash. Wow!
    The guy just found a chair and sat down in exasperation.

    Just as she left the crowd disappeared as well. The fun was over. I just stood there replaying it over my head. I silently prayers for the lady that something might just redirect her to the right path and wishing she had made a different choice at the kind of life she wanted to live.

    I was about to leave when i glanced at the man still sitting there quietly. I walked up to him and said what i shouldn’t stop my self from saying. I looked right into his eyes
    “Oga next time you want to sleep with a stranger or a hooker and cheat on that girlfriend of yours you claim to love and respect, remember today. Let what happened today stick to your brain or else you’ll find your self in a more dangerous situation in the future”. I walked past him and left him there gawking at me.

    With my hands in my short pocket, still strolling, i couldn’t help but laugh at that past experience. That experience with the one i just had now is what makes the streets full of drama. There’s no community without streets filled with the rich, poor, strong, weak, kind, evil, pastors, hookers, drug addicts, gossips, weirdos, troublemakers, drama king and queens and so on. And the drama this people create is on another level. Sometimes those drama brings joy and fun but sometimes it brings chaos and fights. When that happens what do you do. Do you sit down and watch the drama unfold? Do you pass by and pretend its non of your business? Or do you step in and find a way to end the chaos and quarrels?

    I for one never run from anything that’s a threat to my peace and the tranquility surrounding me.

    So what do you do when the drama unfold? And did you enjoy this post? Leave your thoughts with me by dropping a comment. Happy reading

  • Last Night’s mini reunion party

    I really want to say a big thank you to all my readers and followers. I hope i continue to make your time and read worthwhile. I love you all.

    Okay. So we’ve been planning for our class of 2010 major reunion for what seems like ages and we’ve not been able to achieve that. I mean its not easy to plan an event with people that are across the state, country and continent if i may add. Its definitely a big deal and I’m sure we’ll achieve that in due time.

    Then we thought why not organize one for those in a particular city. That thought became a plan and turned into reality. We fixed a date, communicated with the people we could reach and made a commitment to be there. And viola! We did it.

    Party time

    Sometimes i wonder why i always have a serious face when I’m walking; i guess it comes with the seriousness of wanting to reach any destination I’ve set before me. It was that same serious face i walked into the bar with last night. I called one of the ladies on my phone and asked what table they were in particular and before i ended the call i saw her hand up waving at me to come over and i simply nodded. As i walked she made a smiley face at me but i didn’t understand, then she put her hand on her lip and stretched it a little and smiled. That was when understood; she wanted me to stop with the serious face and smile. But instead of smiling i laughed so hard and when i joined them at the table i hugged all of them, with shouting and screaming and talking and giggling all at once. It was heartwarming. In fact it was so emotional. Although some of them have been my close friends through the years but seeing some of those other faces again after eight and the half years made it so special.

    I guess that’s why its called a reunion.

    I sat down and that was when it really sank in. I looked at each person and saw the changes and differences. We the ladies were looking so beautiful and cute (yeah! We always look pretty). Then the guys were a full package of handsomeness and cool. It was like they were from another planet. One couldn’t see a more handsome bunch.
    Then when i heard the giggles and laughter of the little cute daughter of one of the ladies, you realize that wow, its been almost a decade and now some have children to show for it.

    Physically we all changed, some changed towards beauty while others changed towards normalcy…sorry to say. Some grew muscles, others had non to show. Some grew taller, others remained short (like me *winks*), some added weight, others lost a great deal. The differences were enormous but it was those differences that made it beautiful. Those differences made a unique perfection of our togetherness.

    With time came changes, opportunities, growth and maturity. We were no longer children. We were neither the kids who played pranks, nor cracked silly jokes, nor played with toys, nor write love letters, nor have a crush on silly things, nor sneak out to visit friends, nor beg to have a piece of cake, nor wake up in the morning and look forward to playing all day. We were nothing of that sort. We grew up and we became adults.

    Adults who wake up each morning with a purpose. Adults who are driven by their dreams and passion. Adults who work hard everyday to bring food to the table. Adults who take risks and make hard and tough decisions everyday. Adults who faced death, loss, pain and challenges and yet still survive it all. Adults who have sacrificed their sleep and play just the make the world worth living. Adults who built love and friendship amidst our differences. Adults who fight everyday to be the best version of who they want to be. Adults who hustle hard for their families. Adults who live everyday in gratitude to God for the gift of life.

    Yes! The growth is massive. Sometimes it seems unrealistic because you feel you grew less or wasted time growing. You feel others grew more because they’ve built an empire in a short period of time. They have all the fortune and money. Some have the best jobs they could ever think of Some have businesses that are yielding millions and thousands of profit. Some are happily married with children and living well. Some ride the best cars, visit the best clubs, associate with politicians, socialites, entertainers and everyone and anyone who’s important in the country. And because of that you feel you wasted all those years and you hide in the corner.

    The truth is you didn’t waste those years. You grew up passionately and mentally. That your account balance didn’t grow to a million doesn’t mean that you didn’t grow well. So don’t fuss! Keep doing that which you love doing and is passionate about and put your heart and soul in it and the progress would come. If you’re unemployed keep searching for a job and don’t give up till you find one. If you’re working already keep looking for a bigger and better job. If you’re in business, do it well with your brains and wit. The fact is your time will come. Just like it came for them, it will come for you too. It didn’t happen in one day for them so it won’t for you too. Yours may be longer and that’s because your time is different.

    This growth was very visible at this reunion party but it didn’t matter to any of us. It was our growth and differences that made us who we were. So we appreciated each other. We talked about everything; men, women, relationships, money, business, connect and other class mates we could think of. It was perfect. And the life band made it all so interesting and full of noise and merry. (The MC was annoying, sorry to say) In all, we laughed hard, played hard, screamed on top of our voices and danced.

    And when it was time to go, we left. Even though we didn’t want to. We knew that this time it may have just been a reunion but from that night forward it would be our tight knot friendship. A Friendship tied with a scarlet thread that would always be there even when its not seen.

    I went home feeling full and dreamt all night of the party and when i woke up this morning i kept thinking about it and a wide smile appeared on my face.

    I wait for the grand reunion party.

    Have you had your secondary / high school reunion party? If yes tell me about it and if not do you wish to have yours. Share your thoughts and answers in the comment below. I love you. Happy reading.