THE JOURNEY OF A GIRL CHILD

Having a dream is not a worthless venture despite how unrealistic it may be at the moment. My dreams was to have a perfect future but life had other plans for me. Despite the falls along the way, I have emerged triumphant. My name is Nike and this is my story.

I am the 13th child of a polygamous family of 14 children. Being the last child of the family, I was dotted on by my parents and extremely close to my aged father. Looking back, my father was my best friend. However, our friendship was cut short when I was 9.

At the age of 20, I had a relationship with Ayo(not real name)and got pregnant for him.Upon my realization of being pregnant, I informed Ayo like every  lover would, but  because i was naive about it all,Ayo denied being responsible for my unborn child. Ayo’s denial and my mother’s heartbreak upon hearing I was pregnant,led me to attempt aborting my pregnancy.

My pregnancy coincided with an offer to study Mass Communication at a Nigerian Polytechnic. I consider myself blessed during this period as the school’s Director of Part-Time Studies paid for my tuition and registered me for antenatal classes at a General Hospital.
Few months later, i delivered a beautiful baby girl who was kept with the School’s Clinic Nanny whenever I attended classes.

I graduated from the Polytechnic with a Pass and decided to further my education. I therefore, enrolled for the Higher National Diploma program and completed my studies a with 3.99GPA. Upon my graduation, I got a job with a Media Firm.

While working, I found myself volunteering to counsel young people in my community based on my experience as a young single mother. This passion for educating young people led to my selection as the Coordinator of the West Region for an NGO named Whole Women Network and I also became a  Fellow of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) early this year.

Today, I am happily married, blessed with  twins and doing well in my chosen career. I now run the Future for Future Initiative (FFI) – an NGO located in Kwara state,  directed towards positively  impacting on  the girl child through education, and  empowerment of women in the rural areas.

Ope, my first child whom I gave  birth to while in my early twenties, is now in Secondary School. She has a good relationship with her father who has since taken responsibility for her.

My journey has taught me that if one truly believes in his or her dreams, it will come true.

I, therefore plead with young girls and women contemplating aborting their babies up not to do so.  Your baby has the right to life and will not mar your dreams.
Better still abstain from the act or take preventive measures to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Harriet Tubman said:
‘Every great dream begins with a dreamer, always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars in order to change the world’.

I did not give up,  and today I am a happy and fulfilled woman.