Jane Chima

  “Your mummy is very concerned about you”. “Why?” I asked. “She wan make you marry” “Who told her that I do not want to marry?” “You no dey act like someone wey wan marry” “How them dey act?” I rolled my eyes. “Okay. Na who you get for your life now?” Seriously? I kept quiet. I was trying to reach a client before this call. I don’t need this. “See, see wetin I dey talk? You no get anyone na him make you quiet” His “I have somebody I wan introduce to you”, got my attention. “Somebody you know?” “Yes. My spiritual son” Hmmm. Everybody has something like that these days. “You say?” oh! Didn’t know I said that out loud. “I am sorry sir; I was not talking to you”. “As I was saying, I want to introduce my son to you” “What does he do?” very important. “Well, he is into buying and selling” “What exactly?” “Make I give am your number? I know you, make you no go blow him head na him make I tell you first” You did good. I grinned. People have been b...

Dear Reader, Before you read the Excerpts from #MarryMe Part 3, please see the following announcement.   Good news! There’s more @marrymeseries so I’m gonna pack them and make them into 1 book. Yes. A book. Side note: there are also people I don’t want to read them so it’ll be(I’ll be) safer hiding them in this book I’ll post the next Excerpt on this new page created for it Marry Me Book Series so follow the account and it’s page on @facebook B L E S S I N G S ! ! #marryme #series #Author   I hope you enjoy reading the series as I enjoyed writing them. Jane Had an illness that left me bedridden I didn’t know my parents wanted me married. I was barely 25 and shy of attaining any life goal and they thought marriage was IT for me. “No”, I didn’t say. I let them assume. A couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t trek from Agege to Ikeja to work as I usually do. I’d noticed a weakness in me I didn’t like. I was limping. The limp grew to something worse. Pains in my j...

  I saw them When they came to look for children They’d turn to a man who lives next door for solutions to childbearing. My teenage eyes peeped at them killing the fowl which I later confirmed was sacrifice for children. I saw him I saw him blow white substance in the air They had a masquerade party and the clouds were forming. The clouds looked really angry So angry they didn’t seem to smell the powder one time and rain scattered the party. I saw them I saw them come collect rings and concoctions to make them rich. None of them asked why he lived in a one room Face-Me-I-Face-You, I’m sure. I saw them After church service, we’d rush home to eat and excuse them so they’d change and perform for the masquerade party. I saw them flog “reluctant givers” I saw them return to our compound and transform to humans who wear human clothing. I saw her Every morning She’d kneel at the grave by our window, speaking softly to the bones buried beneath. Sometimes he’d join her Together, they ...

  I shook my head and crossed his name off my “frequent guests” list.  I wavered between sitting on my chair and the bed; where he sat. I opted for the chair and waited for what he had to say. “I am sorry I have nothing in my kitchen to offer you”. It had been an awesome week. “No need sef” He replied. “What we need to discuss is more important.” “Okay”. He jumped off and pulled off his coat, came around me and hung the jacket on the back of my chair then sat back on the bed. I thought the most energetic person in Lagos, Nigeria was me? “I wanted to buy you plenty of sausages before leaving church” He began. “Really?” I didn’t know where the conversation was going but I had to respond. “Yes, really”.  “Have you forgotten during Shiloh? You sent someone to buy one thousand naira worth of sausages to eat” He asked. I got flashbacks. I remember he asked me to send him airtime. We had talked and he had a lady hung on his arm who followed him around like ...

  One glorious Sunday afternoon, I was      reading a book by Derek Prince; God is a Matchmaker, when I got a call that Joshua wanted to see me in my house to discuss business with me. I warred with my spirit about giving a man my address. Then I remembered and as reminded by Derek Prince through the book I was reading, that Abraham entertained angels and is now called Father Abraham. I imagined that Joshua may be one of those “helpers” God will send. It took an hour before I sent my address. I sent it and waited. A couple of hours later, I stood at the junction of my street to welcome, albeit reluctantly, my visitor. I saw him in his “regular coat”, a jacket that may have become a second skin to him like Joseph; one of the fathers of our Faith was known for his “coat of many colours”. We walked a few houses to my house and I asked him how his journey was. “I was in Lekki already. I was waiting for our Pastor’s daughter to give me permission.” “I see”; I added. I did...

  Yes, you need to promote your business. I learned big words from Kdrama this week;  a more important thing than philosophy in business is effectiveness.  The primary purpose of being in Business is to make money. In this age, you do not need a shop to make money. Don't wait for money to get a shop/stall or business place. Start building your clientele. If your business is on social media , all you need to increase visibility, sales and therefore revenue are; Take advantage of Instagram And Facebook Business ads.   They’ve proven effective for small businesses I know. So go big on Mark Zuckerberg’s marketplace. The platforms have features that give the option of posting your adverts on both platforms and Whatsapp Business. Picture from Getresponse Keep being active on all platforms. Post and post new, existing and old stuff at least three times a day.  Some vendors go as far as posting random or old funny clips, thereby keeping their followers and potential cli...

Feedbacks like the above aren't good for business growth as they discourage other "intending" Customers. You should not keep Customers waiting whether you own a kiosk or a conglomerate.  We have terrible and incompetent policymakers in Nigeria whose policies crumble businesses, but business owners should play their part and ensure they keep their businesses afloat by keeping loyal Customers satisfied.  When you satisfy your clients, they would not leave. They will bring more clients to you saving you the cost budgeted for Advertisement and Promotion. One of the parts you need to play well is to hire willing and loyal staff. I didn't believe tales of few good or employable people until I started helping employers to hire people. The labour market is not encouraging, yes, but you should keep searching. You can use job sites well, give them your requirements and pay the applicable fee needed to get what you want. You can also headhunt after proper due diligence. If you d...

I will be writing and blogging some tips about Business from my few years experience of working in the Real Estate, Fashion, Media, Security and Oil & Gas sectors of Nigeria. These blogs will cover a lot on Business Ideas, Starting a business, Building your Customer Base, maintaining your clients, and the best way to get new clients(referrals) This blog is about putting your business Social Media. I’m not talking about your personal life or issues you should keep private. I’m talking about your business; where you get your daily bread. That passion you have and have converted to ideas that make you money should be shared with the world. People should consume your business the way they consume instablog and theshaderoom gossips. Who knows, your business might end up being the next Taeillo (a furniture shop in Nigeria) or  Why do I need to share my business with the world? Why should the world know about my business?  I’ll clarify my own reasons with bullet points below; ...

 I cut myself with a knife today My kitchen knife Same knife we used to open that bottle of red wine. When you came over last Wednesday Remember? When we fed the dog, the dog that became mine after feeding it Suya thrice at our favourite spot But, back to why I cut myself today. I was celebrating. I didn't reach out to you again today Tough nail that I am They didn't get me but the "you miss me, right?" stuck Why did I cut myself with the knife today? It's day two but I can only remember your plate number And how considerate you were by making sure the guards and my neighbours don't have a wrong impression of me. As I cut myself with that knife today, I was reminded of that night I told you i love coconuts and how I often cut myself while getting to the goodies in them. Ah! I remember your smile but I'm a big girl, I'll forget that too I fall too easily for flowery words A terrible discovery Been broken too many times by that fl...