I played a game of Never Have I Ever on Zoom for Uju's birthday in April, and it got me thinking about a whole lot. Although I knew it before, this game became living proof that indeed I need to stop being so safe and live already. There is so much I still have not experienced. Half the year is already gone, but it does not mean I can't start where I am right now, right? The past three weeks have been very dark - and that's putting it mildly - so I deliberately chose this topic for this week's Read More
On The Rape Culture In Nigeria ft. Omolara Oriye (I Am African Podcast #14)
Sweet Potatoes, So much is going on in the world right now. And I'm tired of starting sentences like this, but how can I be tired when some people have a worse fate? My fellow Nigerian women have been raped and killed with no repercussions to the rapist because of the rape culture in Nigeria. In today's episode, I have the very smart and outspoken table-shaker, Omolara Oriya, an activist, human rights lawyer. We had a raw and authentic conversation about the rape culture in Nigeria, about the Read More
Dear Africans, You’re Black Too (I Am African Podcast #13)
Today's episode is not a regular episode, and I am not a regular Vera today either. I was so angry recording this episode. When I was listening back to it, I felt bad for the Vera who recorded it. I was angry that some Africans still don't know that they're Black in America, but I was angrier at the situation that calls for Africans to be reminded that they're Black too. Some days ago, I did not go to bed till about 4AM because I was watching the news, watching buildings burn, and watching my Read More
Why I Have Not Started Online Dating
Why have I not started online dating? First, let me tell you about this friend of mine. Let's call her Tiffany. I have known Tiffany for a couple of years, but I have never known her to be in a committed relationship. That has never stopped Tiffany from having fun and living her best life - as it should be. Every time Tiffany and I get together, she tells me stories of all the men who are just dying for her love. I used to live my dating life vicariously through Tiffany --- until I realized that Read More
On Patriarchal Cultural Norms That Don’t Serve Women ft. Ola Bisi [Jopa’s Daughter] (I Am African Podcast #12)
The longer I live, the more I learn. When I was a child, there were so many things that were normal to me. Now that I'm older and wiser, I know myself a lot better, and I realize that some of the things I thought were normal were actually patriarchal cultural norms that don't serve women. I'd admit that I fell for some of them, and as I live and learn, I will continue to unlearn every norm that inhibits me. For this episode, my guest is Olabisi Ajai Layode. Do you know her? Let me tell you a Read More
Top 10 Things I Want To Do After Social Distancing
Last week, our Governor, Larry Hogan announced that Maryland can ease up a little bit on the social-distancing, which is nice, but I'm still only leaving the house on a need-to basis. According to the announcement, Maryland has seen a small decline in the number of hospitalizations in the past two weeks. But what I'm reading in between the lines is, we have more hospital beds, so go ahead and fall sick. Nope. I'm staying my cute butt at home, and I'm keeping Ada Verastic's cuter butt at home Read More
On Remarrying After Divorce And Lessons Learned ft. Mercedes Okwukogu (I Am African Podcast #11)
Mercedes Okwukogu is a woman to be admired. In the past three weeks, Nigerian Facebook has been greatly shaken. On Ola Bisi's Facebook wall, she started sharing stories of women who are divorced. She used the hashtag, #DivorceNotStigma, and I was one of the women whose stories got shared. She reached out to me to share my story, and even before she reached out, I was planning on doing so anyway. Of course, my own story was already very public, so sharing a summary of it on Facebook was no Read More