Of all the things I looked forward to in Jos, finding a husband was certainly not one of them. Hi, my name is Ima and this is my story.
NYSC is an experience almost every graduate in Nigeria looks forward to and I was no exception. I guess mine was heightened cos it was the North: new culture, new language, new sites and sounds, and especially new food!!! Everything that thrills my young heart! It didn’t deter me that Jos was supposedly notorious for its crisis. People did live and thrive there afterall. I wasn’t disappointed for a moment. Jos was what I imagined it would be and more. I remember trekking past a lake surrounded by trees and shrubs and thinking to myself, “This is my new home”. Loll.. I never knew how true that thought was.
I met the guy (who is now my hubby) a couple of weeks later and a ‘comfortable‘ friendship developed. Comfortable because I wasn’t in the wee bit attracted to him. So, imagine my surprise when he asked me to marry him.. (Like, really?!). But Kola is persistent and a charmer and eventually got a ‘yes‘ out of me (okay, he got a ‘yes’ mostly because God gave me peace about the matter when I talked with Him about it, but hey, being a charmer got me to my knees sha.. Hehehe). I remember the first time Kola told me he loved me. I replied by saying thank you. Weird. But I wasn’t gonna lie to the fella, was I? All this happened in 2010/2011.
Like every relationship, we had our ups and downs especially when I left for the UK for my MSc. But, in hindsight, that was God’s way of teaching us how to love each other through time and space. Ofcourse we used good ol’ Skype very often, phone calls, back and forth emails. Now, we’re better off for it cos even if one of us has to travel for weeks on end, we already have a system that works. When Kola and I finally said ‘I do’ in May (2014), it was with an “at last” feeling. Like, finally, we made it! He is still a charmer, maybe moreso now and still a persistent fella (rolling my eyes). 🙂
God has had the upper hand in our story because we are a culturally diverse couple, he being a Yoruba guy and me being an Akwaibom/Igbo lady. I know He has only just begun. Earnestly looking forward to all that He has planned for us. And our kids? Well, they’re gonna be bad ass jor. I forsee a fulani and maybe an ‘oyibo’ somewhere in the genealogy (can i get an Amen?) Lollll.
Editor’s note: due to the reception I’m thinking of letting this series run for a little while longer, if you are interested in sharing your story drop me a line here.
Tope Owolabi 
Tnx, luv! You honour us!!