October to remember?
Nigeria wahala.
What’s up guyyy?
A lot has happened in the past month so I can only wish you a Happy November, there were funny moments anddd very serious ones, but here we are! I hope November is good to you 🤍
Did you read “Let me tell you something?”
Whether you did or not, let me tell you another thing:
#JusticeforOchanya; We can’t put this one aside to laugh.
This one is heavy. 7 years after 13 year old Ochanya died because the people meant to protect her didn’t, the hashtag is back.
Unless you live under a rock or you’re taking a break from social media(like my many failed attempts💀), you’d have seen this story somewhere. If you haven’t,
Ochanya was sent to live with her uncle and aunt so she could attend school as the one in her village was closed down. Is good education too much to ask?
Ochanya reportedly suffered years of sexual abuse by her Uncle, Andrew and his son, Victor. Allegedly, Victor’s sister, Winnifred reported to her mother the first time she caught her brother. But we see the same Winnifred tweeting things like:
‘minor’ and ‘revealing’ in the same sentence?? 
For context, Ochanya was 8 when the abuse started and i don’t even think iPhone 8’s have two sim slots. The mother she reported to did not do anything about it. Why? To protect her husband and son??
The abuse caused severe harm and medical complications including VVF (a medical condition where there’s an abnormal hole(fistula) beyween a woman’s bladder and vagina, causing urine to leak uncontrollably). This is usually caused by prolonged labour, or like in Ochanya’s case, severe sexual abuse or trauma. VVF isn’t just a medical issue, but a human rights issue.
See, her story trended then and like so many things in Nigeria, got quiet. Apparently, her aunty was sentenced to 5 months imprisonment. Her uncle and cousin are still roaming freely. Winnifred’s X account is now private.
This case still trends because it exposes how badly Nigeria’s systems, family, legal and social, fail girls like her. There have been renewed calls for accountability, more stories of survivors, a change.org petition, support and fundings and guess what? THE CASE HAS BEEN REOPENED!
We hope there’s finally a chance at justice. So while we scroll, gist and laugh, let’s remember Ochanya and every child who’s still scared to speak.
ARCHITORTURE; Trauma, talent, and tiredness all at once.
If you’re an architecture student like me, you already know the many horrors that come with the title.
Sleepless nights. Printers that act possessed. And then the real horror, lecturers who don’t believe you did your own work.
Two case scenerios:
One time my lecturer looked at my work and asked “are you sure you’re ready for this architecture thing?” I went back to my hostel and cried ehn, after many sleepless nights? so much for constructive criticism!
Another time, another lecturer said i’d have to re-do all my sheets. Why? Because he believed my work was contracted and i did not do it myself🙄
This week, a clip from FUTO (Federal University of Technology, Owerri) hit the internet: a lecturer destroying a student’s project because, apparently, the work looked “too good” to be theirs. 😐
You spend nights sketching, crying into AutoCAD, Revit or whatever software you use, surviving on energy drinks and God-knows-what and then someone says “Impossible, you can’t draw like this.” Sir, please, stop trauma dumping and allow creativity to prosper.
It’s wild how Architecture school can turn “nice design” into a crime scene. They will trash your papers and models that you’ve obviously spent time, moneyyy and effort on.
But here’s the thing, that FUTO student? Their story is me, and 9 in 10 architecture students you’d meet. See ehn, if you know an architecture student, just go and hug them(send them money too😞) because this is only proof that brilliance sometimes looks suspicious in a system that expects struggle before success.
Are you an architecture student? or you have horror stories to tell about the course you’re studying? Let me knowwww, i want to hear from you. You can reply to this email or
Anyway, happy new month sha.
Let’s pretend we have it all together.
May your alerts be loud, your data be stable, and your mental health not be depending on breaking news.
And if this month decides to act mad? We’d collect content from it at least. 😭
Cheers to surviving Nigeria, again.🥂
Till next gist,
Gbemi from 10.8.8 Africa
This case broke me in and out. I hope and pray that this time, those monsters are punished
I've been living under a rock. 😭
But the fact that someone took the time out to label a minor as the cause of a sexual provocation, no matter what, is downright pedophilic and should most definitely be arrested.