Let us spend some time reminiscing since I don’t have the task of planning a 40th birthday this year. Let me take you down memory lane to exactly 20yrs back. Wow! How time flies. I will implore anyone reading this to try and view this as my own ‘Missionary trip to Rwanda”and for those that follow a couple of my random social media posts, they will probably understand my Jacob vs Israel tussle a lot more. For me, Birthdays are big deals. Maybe not Naming Ceremonies, maybe not Burials and maybe not anniversaries, but obviously Birthdays.

At 19yrs old, I was invited to a friend’s birthday party in Lekki. Despite it was not the type of party I would have wanted as much as it was cool, I enjoyed that she had all of us (her friends) around. At this time, I was relatively new to Christianity in the sense of having a personal relationship with God whereby I could discuss anything with Him but thanks to CLF. That “crazy’ fellowship I joined in OAU despite my initial motivation was to go look for what we call tapping girls but ended up developing a personal relationship with God that still serves me today. Back to the gist, so I went for my friend’s birthday party and I had fun but not just fun, I had exposure too (Story for another day). I enjoyed all of the settings at that party. I remember getting back home in Ipaja and started praying about my 21st birthday. I knew what I wanted in terms of my birthday party. It wasn’t going to be anything like Tola’s birthday but I wanted to have a party. However, how can it ever be as saintly as Tola’s birthday when I have friends like DASH, Jydo, Kuramo, Chiefo, Rivaldo, Shina, Dipo, Seyi, Xtol Martini and co. Tola is my buddy I met in OAU and we both attended the same fellowship. But these my other friends were my “street guys”. By street, I don’t mean crude. They were refined as possible as we could be then but we weren’t just your Lekki Phase 1 folks neither were we absolutely fellowship folks. I had spent some time praying for my 21st birthday for about two days and let it go but those two days were intensive. The Goal was “I must have my 21st birthday party in a certain way.

Fastforward to 2yrs later, the Great ASUU had struck for several months. A few of us were bored and we were just always hanging out playing Playstation1, going swimming in that famous Abidap Hotels, sneaking our parent’ cars out, sometimes looking for girls to date. The life of a 20yr old turning 21! We had a lot of energy but we really couldn’t come up with anything better to do with it. For me, I was caught in several mix. Coming from a very religious background and being a very socialable person with all sorts of friends that cut across different social and religious background as well as my innate conscientious disposition, many times I was swinging like a pendulum.

It was a week to my birthday and broke as ever. After all it was ASUU strike and my parents are not of the opinion that I should be given any pocket money since I was home. My Dad had sent me to Uncle Dele to drop a few things for him. I remember I was walking down that famous dusty street when I stopped by at Shina’s house in my usual manner. I had N5 in my hand and I told him, “mehn Shina, it is my 21st birthday in a week but ain’t doing nothing”. Shina looked at me and said “Cherokee, there is no way you won’t do something. Even if it is small”. I said “really” he said “of course! This is Cherokee’s 21st birthday. Something must happen”. (my Nickname was Cherokee back then). I trust Shina to advise me correctly and I responded telling him, “okay I have to look for the money”. So the hustle began. I set a budget of about 20k or thereabout (memory fails me). How I was going to get that done, I didn’t know but I know I have always been graced to make money (but I know making money is hard) even if I have to pick holiday jobs to teach, sell Valentine Cards & gifts or anything legitimate. Somehow, I grew up believing money answers to legitimate needs and on this case, Shina has given my birthday party a sense of legitimacy.

I got home and discussed with my immediate older sister. Growing up, she was my social buddy. I give her the vision and she would run with it. Little wonder I kept telling Kemi Boboye she gave me my older sister’s vibes as we planned for my 40th last year. I began to hustle out the cash. When I said my going to Austin for Busayo’s wedding (Shina’s younger sister) was to pay back some of the goodwill I enjoyed from their family, I wasn’t being arbitrary. Now this is where it gets interesting and this is the crux of the this write-up. I had raised some money and was ready to have a 21st birthday party. In my typical fashion, I won’t request anything that is not exactly a need from my parents until I have been able to get a bit or sometimes a chunk of what I want myself. So on this occasion of my 21st birthday party, after raising some cash on my own, I walked up to my dad saying I want to do my 21st birthday. If you know my dad, you will know he is one of the most conservative folks I know. He was shocked that out of the whole issue in the country, it is a birthday party I am considering. I went further to tell him, I have cleaned up the duplex in front which was still undergoing construction at that time, I have raised some amount and I need some cash but also, I will be having my friends in the house on my birthday. I still don’t know how I did that but after a couple of grumbling, my dad handed me N2000 a day or two later. Now two things, Mr Olatunji is giving you money to throw a party when ASUU is on strike and you are indirectly telling him to leave his edifice because you want to have a party? You must be high on something. But somehow, he obliged me.

As I continue to plan for this party, it dawned on me that some of my friends were coming from Lekki and Omole but my street looked more like a road horses should ply as compared to a road where sedan cars should drive on. Bare in my mind these are friends that would have probably sneaked out their parent cars or borrowed their parent cars and to drive those cars on these terrible roads was a risk. In my simplistic act, without considering the magnitude of what I was asking, I had a conversation with God asking if it is possible to have someone grade this street of mine so that it can be a bit smooth for cars to drive easily on. This was on the Wednesday before my birthday which was on the following Monday. Miracoulsly, I saw a Dozer on Friday afternoon grading that street. I was ecstatic! However, everywhere became very dusty. These were the days we dressed like everything we saw on MTV Base so I knew a lot of my friends would be wearing white sneakers as that was the fashion thing then. So I wanted to push my luck a bit harder and so I got on another conversation with God on Saturday, “God, it is my birthday on Monday and this whole street is very dusty. I know it rarely rains in February in Nigeria. How about just a little bit of rain to wet the street so the dust isn’t so much”. Come Sunday Feb 23rd evening, it rained just at the level I wanted it.

It was Monday Feb 24th and my both parents had left the house. My friend’s flooded the house and we partied like every 21yrs old would. At 6pm, my parents retuned and so that I don’t push my luck too far with all of the crazy dancing steps we were displaying (DASH & one chic like this **hidden name**), I felt it made sense to end the party but my friends refused to leave and thankfully PHCN was gracious to us. I had to turn off the electricity and myself and few friends continued the party at the poolside in Abidap Hotels. The birthday party went by and I continued my conversations with God. I was like this a very secular party. Nothing gospel about this. Why did you answer all of my prayers to the letter? No response. But one thing I heard clearly: “you had about 40-50 people or thereabout at your party, don’t ever mistake that when the chips are down, you can call on all those folks at the party. In other words, don’t get fooled! It took several years for me to understand the only reason (and maybe there is more) God obliged everything I wanted was because He was trying to get my attention to make me see that He is interested in the minute details of my life. Did He approve of such a party, I don’t know but that experience opened up a different channel of communication between this sometimes Jacob and sometimes Isreal Boy. By the way, a lot of those folks, I am still in close contact with and these folks are my buddies for life!

Hard to believe 20yrs went by pretty fast! It is 4.1 baby!