My Grandma

The only thing she remember about her birth-date was the event that occurred at the time she was born. The event took place between 1925-1937, but no one can specifically tell which year it was. She was the only surviving child of her parents. All her siblings died while growing up. Her victory started from childhood.

One thing she desired from childhood was to go to school, but then, most African families believed it was a waste of money to enroll a girl child in school. A few times she sneaked to schools and those few times only landed her in big troubles and eventually led to her being giving into marriage early. To her parents, they succeeded in cubbing her and her desire to study the white man's language(as they called it then) but she had other plans, a promise she made to herself to ensure that barrier placed on a girl child from going to school end with her. While she told us this story, she brought out a few old notes she bought with the money she realized from fetching firewoods, but written on them wasn't English, but Hausa language. A secret class she held with a pastor with the desire to learn how to read.

Picture is mine

Her dream felt like an impossible task when she remained barren for 8 years after her marriage until finally God gave her her first child, and then second, down to the 4th one. She worked tiredlessly to see they all become graduates. Her first three children went to higher institutions and the last stopped at college, known as secondary school. Two male and two females, all enrolled into school. She sacrificed all she worked for to see that dream achieved. Today she has graduates, born from her desire to ensure the female child is giving relevance. She wasn't sure what the future holds, but she gave herself not minding the outcome. It wasn't an easy task when she stood her ground to see even her female children gain the same benefit of an education as the male child.