THE QUEEN'S CORNER with Debbie.

    MY PACKAGE.

Ever since I was a child, this so-called brother has always been there. Should I say he was acting as my guardian angel? I doubt.

Every move I make, he knows. When I want to drift from the right path, he would always run to dad and mum to tell. Hmmm, sermons upon sermon will be held. Trust the kind of family I was born into. Dad is a pastor while mum is a Shepherdess. Though, I took brother's behaviour as nothing. Maybe, he was just my spiritual papa then in the children ministry.

I graduated into the youth ministry to meet brother as my youth leader. Was life taking chances? This added to my confusion. Little by little, brother started becoming a thorn to my flesh. At this point in my teenage age, he was too strict to me. He complains about my dress, my looks, my friends bla bla bla. on one occasion, he called me, "Annie, do you know you're meant for someone? Please, dress to please him." I thought he was referring to God.

Another part of brother is that he can kabash eeh. Whenever I fall sick, he would always be the first to visit. He would kabash as if heaven will come down. I started growing into a slim pretty girl. Maturity was taking over me uncontrollably.

Brother was already in his late thirties, yet he wasn't married. Mum would ask him when he would get married, he would answer jokingly, " sooner"

Now I'm already in the university, brother is my lecturer. Everything about me interest him. He'll always smile whenever I'm leading the solos from the pulpit. He would be the first to commend me for my good grades. Uuugh, truly, I never liked brother not even his looks. He insisted paying my school fees which I objected, but dad said it's a blessing in disguise.

He never allows any brother to come close to me. He embarrassed bro Josh and almost slapped him in front of all the choirs when he pinched my ears playfully. In prayer meetings, as our prayo naah, he would insist holding my hands even when I object. "Annie. It's for your own good, lest ye fall", he would say.

I began to sense that brother has a package for me. Never did he know God had an unopened package for me. During my induction, spirit koko brother called me and broke the hard nut. In his words, " Annie you're the one. You are my package. All this while, I've been preserving you to myself. I wanted you to fit in to my will. Please, marry me". 

I sensed great desperation in brother's voice, but I wanted to surprise him. I know I am someone's queen. Due to his greed and selfishness, I kept my secret package unopened. I opened my handbag, handed him a wedding invitation of mine. He held the card in surprised. Without saying a word, I left brother to wallow in his regrets as I walked away.

Note: Not everyone who proclaims to you that, "your spiritual welfare is my concern" is truly concerned. God has a different package for us far different from what man can offer.

#Fiction.

#My_Package.

#Christian_gist.

©Oloche Deborah Onyebe.

Beyond the sharp elegant looks and no business as usual composure. It’s easy to tell Salamatu Baiwa’s heart beat for the less privileged in the society, those she calls the Talakawas. She believe that there are three grand essentials to happiness in life and destiny and these are; something to do, something to love and something to hope for…  Her ever smiling eyes light up each time you mention the plight of the less privileged and this epitomizes her passion which she has translated in establishing the Hajia Salamatu Baiwa Umar – Eluma Foundation.(HSBF)

Born in Anyigba in Egume district of Dekina LGA kogi state Nigeria, to parents of Igala descent, she lives in Abuja but keeps a busy schedule and straddles many states of Nigeria and countries abroad, sometimes travelling several flights a week and holding meetings till 1 am in the mornings.

 Salamatu holds dearly the canon that an equal world is an enabled world and strictly adheres to the law of nature that says “when you wish good for others, good things come back to you”!

These principles and maxims, she seeks to explore and interpret things using her HSB foundation in making life better for the less privileged, which is her nexus to a better life in the future.

Besides her love for the less privileged, she is also a social crusader and a campaigner for gender equality, women inclusiveness in political leadership. This campaign catapulted her to the exalted position of the national woman leader of the Nigeria ruling party, the all progressive congress (APC). A position she held until recently when the National Executive was dissolved.

Being a woman of quiet disposition that she is, she has once again retired back to her quiet life, pursuing her passion with mental acuity and stoic disposition.

” Some people give up after they fall, just because you have fallen doesn’t mean that you have to stay down, find a way to get back up……. Keep going” Salamatu is a stickler for gender equality which is the crux of her campaign for women inclusiveness’ in governance. She celebrates “the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of her fellow women and is always provoking a call to action for accelerating gender equality.

In her message to women in Nigeria on the occasion of the celebration of the international women’s day 2020, she referenced the world economic forum’s global Gender gap report 2020 which indicates that it will “take about 99.5 years to make gender equality a reality” she captured this sad and depressing reality and lamented that a lot of women of this age and disposition “may not be alive to witness women in more favorable conditions “.

According to her, “the report ranked 153 countries in regard to women welfare in four dimensions, Economic participation, Educational attainment, Health and survival and political empowerment.  Nigeria sadly was ranked 128 over all in the four dimensions. However compared to previous years, Nigeria has slightly improved in the dimension of economic participation and opportunities for women where we now rank 38.

This dismal report, for Salamatu was a call to work more in this regard as if tomorrow does not exist.

She advocates that women should be seen as “capable of playing significant role in our homes workplaces and even in politics”. Only then will our country be better.                       

SEWING BETTER IN 2020 AND BEYOND.......

Good evening sewmates...

Are you struggling to sew neat garments???

Does your garment look tacky after putting in so much efforts???

Read this.....

As one who is still struggling to have perfectly sewn garments.......

💚  Your First Priority is ACCURACY. Stop rushing to make clothes  that will end up in a mess❌❌.

🔹️Take your time to cut out your patterns and cross check several before transferring to your fabric.

🔹️Mark all allowances and notches.

🔹️Sew SLOWLY and be intentional about it.

💚OFFICE PINS should be your best friend. It saves you alot of errors. 

💚Tell me you hate SEAM RIPPER and trust me you wont go far. You must be ready to make amends each time you make a mistake.

💚Avoid trying to learn too many things at the same time. Some people will save like 5 illustrations and try to sew all 5 new styles in one week🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️.

It doesnt work like that.❌❌❌❌

You need ample time to practice a new style and if possible give it like 2 attempts before you can beat your chest that you know it very well.

💚Do not combine too many methods ,  🤔🤔You end up confusing yourself . (Some people have more than 20 videos of different methods of cutting princess darts on their phone, Kilode???) 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Stick to the one that works best for you.❤

Always take one step at a time. 

Alot of us wish to make top notch garments like the Top brands/designers and we forget that they didnt start the journey yesterday. 

Lastly.......

SPEED COMES WITH COSNTANT PRACTICE....

Did I offend you??