We are losing young people.  I logged into Facebook and it felt like a funeral...obituaries of young people gone too soon. This can't be because its "God's time" and its definitely not as a result of war or famine. Sadly, this is the predictable outcome of leadership that does not prioritize healthcare. 

  Tayo drifted through the pulsing streets like a shadow, the noise and streaks of light blurred around him. His legs moved on instinct, but his mind was exhausted with disillusionment, and the heavy weight of choices that had led him to this moment. He thought of the dreams he had once held with fierce conviction. The dream of becoming a top IT consultant, delving into AI, building something real and lasting. He recalled the pre-graduation nights spent hunched over blueprints and code, mapping out a future built on substance. But somewhere along the line, he had traded that vision for a life of glitter. For the Brand . For the illusion of perfection and success.

  Nadia folded a blouse carefully, smoothing the fabric with practiced precision before placing it into a bag. Just then, the quiet atmosphere of her apartment was broken by a sudden burst of laughter from Abby, her friend and newest neighbor, who had her eyes glued to her phone while sprawled across the couch in the living room area.  It was a Saturday and their usual hangout day but Nadia's earlier encounter with Tayo had thrown her off schedule leaving her buried under a mountain of order deliveries. Abby had decided to stay and entertain herself by scrolling through her social media while Nadia did her thing.

Tayo ended the call unceremoniously, his chest tight as if a knot had been tied around his ribs. He moved with frantic efiiciency, pulling on a simple t-shirt and jeans, the plainness of the clothes a stark contrast to the polished image he had once worn like armor when the Brand still meant something. He crossed to the bed and with a grunt, he heaved up the old mattress. The springs groaned as if in protest. His fingers slid into the familiar slit in the fabric, searching until they brushed against a small pouch tucked deep inside. He pulled it out and let the mattress drop with a dull thud. 

  As they ate in silence, the air grew thicker, not with the pull of desire, not with the tension of intimacy but with stifling emotions. The room felt so still, as if a storm was brewing.  Nadia, frowned as unwanted memories flickered.  It should have been like those evenings when she cooked with him hovering around her, leaning in to steal kisses, to sneak a taste of the meat while she swatted his hand away and laughed freely. Instead the warmth was gone, suppressed by unspoken words and a loud silence stretched thin by regrets. Sighing inwardly, she opened her mind to Lagos drifting in through the windows—the sound of vendors calling out to customers, buses honking and the distant rumble of generators. The noise drowned her restless thoughts, strengthening her resolve not to lose focus.  After a brief moment, she placed her plate on the table and rose from the couch. Reaching into the basket she pulled out a flask. Setting it on the table with ...

  Nadia took a step back and smiled openly, the kind of smile that carried warmth but said,  I care but don’t try me. “That’s fine by me,” she said, her tone steady, “Actually, I totally agree—you truly have a lot to figure out. But I’ll leave when you’ve showered and eaten.” Her eyes held his, unwavering. “And Tayo," she continued, "don’t start imagining nonsense. I’m not here to cuddle you or rub your head. You know me. So, go and shower—because you stink—then come out and eat. Oya hurry. I’m waiting.” Her words landed with a bluntness that shut down all the intense thoughts running through Tayo's head. They weren’t cruel, just the truth delivered without decorations and they cut through the fog of shame and self-pity that had wrapped around him since they got back that morning.  Did she actually say he stank?  He thought as he dragged a hand through his already messy hair, restless and fighting the urge to argue with her, to insist that he needed space and...

Nadia stepped past him without a word. The moment her foot crossed the threshold, she froze. It was as if she had stepped into another world—bare walls, two tired chairs with sagging cushions, and a bed pushed against the corner. No art, no warmth, no softness. No trace of the vibrant man she thought she knew. The silence of the space pressed against her, heavy and unyielding. She stood rooted to the spot, basket in hand, absorbing the stark loneliness that clung to the room like dust. This is where he lives?  She thought, stunned as her eyes swept through the room. 

Tayo jerked awake, his singlet soaked through with sweat that smelled of salt and the lingering scent of the police cell—he had fallen asleep on the bed without a shower. Chest heaving, he scrambled to sit up, eyes wide with terror until they landed on the two sagging wooden chairs in the corner. They were relics of a better time, but today Tayo stared at them with relief as they pulled him back from the nightmare of that cold dark cell.  Shielding his eyes from the harsh and unapologetic morning light filtering through the dusty louvers of his Lagos apartment, Tayo took deep steadying breaths to calm his racing pulse before falling back onto the mattress.  Wondering what time it was, he turned to his side and frowned as the hollow stillness of the apartment suddenly felt suffocating. It was the kind of silence that only existed when you had no family, no friends, no phone, no data, no credit, and no way of connecting with the world. It gnawed at him and worsened his mounting ...

The street lights formed streaks of color across the car window as they sped towards home, away from the nightmare of the police station. U nlike normal Lagos taxis, the car smelled of new leather while the mild fragrance of an air freshener  clung to the air the way fear still clung to Tayo’s skin. Tayo sat rigid, his shoulders pressed back against the seat  like someone had poured cement down his spine .  His hands were clenched in his lap, fingers locked so tightly he could feel his pulse.  He didn’t trust his hands. They were still shaking after the shock of the arrest, and the horror of being locked up in the dark cell with the area boys. His mind drifted to his call earlier that night —the one he never thought he’d make.  In that desperate moment,  pride had been forgotten as he reached out like a drowning man  to the one person he had disappointed, ignored and even walked away from — Nadia. 

Tayo pressed the phone to his ear, breath held as his heart thudded against his chest like a fist hammering on a locked door. One ring.   Two.   Three. Four. Then the line clicked into a dead empty silence that felt more violent than a hang-up. Tayo pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the bright screen as if it had betrayed him. Then he frantically dialed again. And again. Each ring stretched longer than the last, a rhythmic taunt, dragging his hope to the limit.  "Deji, pick your call…  abeg ," he whispered, his voice quivering with desperation. 

  “Guy, na you,” the man insisted, stepping closer, his breath smelling of bitter herbs and hunger. “Fine suit. Big boy life. You dey ride that black jeep like say na your papa own this Lagos. You don pay your tax?”  Tayo backed into the cold iron, his breath coming in shallow gasps. The walls of the cell seemed to shrink further, the heat of their bodies pressing in on him. He could feel the violence brewing, gathering strength, the beating waiting to be born. His ribs still ached from the rough-handling of the arrest and the earlier fall, so Tayo knew he wouldn’t survive a beating from men who had nothing left to lose.  The clang of metal against metal startled the men and their eyes darted toward the cell door which instantly flew open. The harsh, yellow glare of the lone bulb on the corridor flooded the darkness as a young officer stepped inside, his shadow cutting through the tension. His voice cracked the air. “Wetin dey happen here?” The men straightened, h...

Deji shed the silk robe, letting it pool at his feet like a discarded skin. He hastily pulled on a sleek black designer tracksuit — the quiet armor of a man who handled dirt without ever staining his hands. He was a practitioner of violence by proxy, a man who slept soundly while others bled on his behalf. He didn't bother with the mirror this time. He didn’t need to see his reflection to know the expression he wore: the look of a man who could smell a trap before it snapped, who anticipated the noose before it even tightened. "You don't just vanish, Tayo,"  he hissed, his voice low and vibrating with barely restrained fury.  "Not when I’ve already spent the commission in my head and certainly not when the payment was about to hit." He strode to a hidden mini-safe tucked into the corner of the walk-in closet. After keying in a quick sequence of codes, the door clicked open. Reaching past stacks of bundled cash, he retrieved the "burner"— a phon...