It does really matter

Last Saturday, I stood on the road, rubbing my slippers on the sand trying to get off the banana I had stepped on earlier.
She stood right in my front, fliers in hand and said, “Good morning, madam”
"Good morning", I replied without raising my head up.
"I would like to invite you to our church service tomorrow", she said
"I am a Muslim", I  replied and continued with my action, irritated that the mess had still not come off my slippers.
"It doesn’t really matter", I heard her say.

I stopped rubbing my slippers on the sand and looked up right into her eyes and said, “it actually does matter” and went right back to getting the dirt off my slippers.

She hesitated for a while, not sure what else to say. After a few minutes, I hear her said, “God bless you”
"God bless you too", I echoed, not looking up from my slippers.

It actually does matter.
My religious belief does matter.
It actually does matter to me that you are inviting me to a religious gathering which is contrary to my religious belief.
It does matter to me that she dismissed my response of belonging to another religion
It does matter to me that when I tell you I do not belong to the same religious belief as you, you  still go ahead to discuss things contrary to my belief
It does matter to me that you see my religion as no reason at all not to attend your church service
It does matter to me that my religious belief does not matter to you.
It does matter to me that the only reason you walked up to me is because you believe without knowing me that I am not on the right path to heaven.

I bet it would matter to you, If I said it doesn’t matter that you are a Christian and I invite you to an ‘Asalatu’ one Sunday morning instead of attending your church service.
I am not one who goes into religious arguement or make uninformed remarks about other people's religion.

To be honest, I believe a lot of so called evangelists over step their boundaries.
Once someone tell you they are not interested in your church or religion, please leave them alone.
Don’t force your religious beliefs on them. Don’t tell them they will be inmates of hell for not believing in your God or attend your church.
And most importantly do not tell them that their religion does not matter.
Those words are the reason why wars are started in some places.

N.B.:Forgive any typos, no time to edit my thoughts right now

♥Lara
From Ilorin, the city I call home for now

A Recruiter' plea to applicants

Dear Applicant,

I know you are desperate to start earning your own money and live the life you have always dreamt of since childhood. I know what it is like to see that look of disappointment on your parents face wondering if all the money spent on your education has not gone down the drain.

But do you know you would save yourself a lot of stress and probably get a job faster when you stop applying randomly to jobs you are not qualified for or jobs in cities you know you would not move to.

You would make the life of recruiters like myself easier when we do not have to waste our time throwing your resume to trash or finding out when we call you that you do not have any intention to move out of your current cities.

I and every other recruiters around the world need you to start reading the job descriptions properly, be sure you are qualified especially when it is not an entry level position and that you are ready to move to that city which was clearly stated  in the job advert.

I hate when I finally get a profile which I believe is a good fit and I give the person a call and I get the 'Oh I did not realize the opening is in Ilorin or I can't move to Ilorin' answer. Evil me wish I could just send a slap to the person for wasting my time and my credit.

Those of you who manufacture experiences and skills or should I say 'spice up' your resume, God is watching you with 3D oh. Imagine been so excited about a profile and you call the person for interview and he or she does not even know nada about the skill on the perfectly written CV.

You need to be in our shoes to understand our plight, we are not mean people who do not want to give you jobs but then we need to give our employers the best which they require.

I would love it if you make my job easier, biko I am begging you ni o, mi o shako.

And I wish you all the best in your job search.

♥Lara

From Ilorin, the city I call home for now

7th Month in Ilorin

Its been 7 months since I moved Ilorin.

Everyday the city keeps revealing its many sides

My life has been a rollercoater…I have learnt so much about this being called me.

I have been in and out of a relationship I should never have gotten into.

I no longer miss Lagos but this town does not feel like home, a friend says my legs are itching again.

Life here is really cheap and every time I visit Lagos I am always angry at the way my finances just go down. My co-workers tell me I am used to an expensive life that is why I am always going to eat one thousand naira sharwama or spending Eight hundred naira on Amala at Iya yusuf's place.

I gained back in 2 weeks all the weight I lost in 10 months during the Christmas break visit to Lagos

I live in a private hostel owned by one of my mum’s neighborhood friends back in Lagos whom my sisters and I called Americanah. I cant wait to move out of this place. I am people wondering if I am some undergrad or some small small children making noise every night disturbing my sleep.House hunting is not fun in this town. The slightly good places are built for the student population and the really good ones are just too expensive.

I cherish the love-hate relationship with my co-workers. It is not easy been HR oh, not easy managing grown assed men and women who refuse to grow up. My oga is using style to turn me to script writer, I am actually supposed to be writing a documentary script right now but I just don't know where to turn the end of the whole write-up.

I need a social life, I need friends I can visit and places to go...for now my life revolves around work.

How long will I be in this town, I don't know.

Was actually looking forward to starting my masters in Unilag later this year but nowadays I don't know if I want to uproot my life and be finance dependent on anyone one again. Nothing beats earning your own money.

I cherish the last night and weekend discussions with my next door neighbor and the hostel manager. Nowadays I am talking politics and actually know what is happening in country.

♥Lara
From Ilorin, the city I call home for now

Entrepreneurship Don’ts: Weave the soul of the company around you alone

I was in one of Ilorin’s most popular cyber café once to browse and I told the receptionist that I needed the 2-hours ticket. She replied apologetically that it was not available.

Why not print another set?, I asked

I can’t, she replied. The M. D. is the only one who has the access to print tickets. The M. D was out of the office and no one knew when he would return.

I get and understand the actions of the owner of this business.  In this era of unreliable and undependable staffs he needs to protect his business but I must say this is a foolish decision.

His business will fall apart if for example he falls ill and is unable to come to work to print the said tickets and customers find another alternative.

This entrepreneur is not the only one who does this; countless small and medium scale entrepreneurs in Nigeria are guilty of this. If the customer does not see you, they do not even talk to those who you have employed to move the company forward and I ask why exactly they waste their money to employ a staff since they can do it all.

I kind of get it, the business is your baby, nobody knows your dream as much as you.
But then, that is why there is need to employ great talents who would move the dream forward.

Dear Entrepreneur, trust your employees and you would be amaze at how beautifully well, they would build your dream even beyond your imagination.

♥Lara

Travelogue: Kwara State through my lens

These pictures  except  those from Kwara State University and the Minarets of the Central Mosque of Ilorin were taken during the field trip I went on from the office in August 2013...I tried my best to capture some of those scenes which I loved. This is not the entirety of Kwara, there is so much to see. I got to travel to and through over 22 villages across the 3 senatorial districts of Kwara state...sadly it's been so long I can't remember where exactly some pictures were taken. 

Kwara State University

A view of the Minarets of the Ilorin Central Mosque from Oja-Oba

Minarets of the University of Ilorin Mosque

A lecture hall at the Kwara State University

On the Road to Patigi-The Road looks dirty right, this is egusi spread on miles of the road

Aerial viel of Share, Town

It was the beginning of the new yam season, we got free yam to taste from a seller

The Etsu of Patigi's men blowing the trumpet after the Jumat Service

A view of the river Niger from Patigi

Central Mosque of Patigi

The Palace of the Etsu of Patigi

The Fura nunu lady and her calabash

♥Lara
From Ilorin, the city I call home for now