‘I would prefer to live elsewhere’

A writer and journalist, and a lover of all things beautiful,… was born and bred in Jos, but now lives in Abuja with his wife and son.

Would you like to be born to the same parents, have the same siblings and other relations?

When I think of all we have been through, my siblings and I, how our parents have made sacrifices for us to get to where we are today, it would be most unfair not to want to have them as our parents. Yes, by all means; maybe just a few adjustments in some of their characters and qualities.

Would you like to grow up in the same environment or be born as a Nigerian?

Well, maybe not in the same environment, maybe not in this really confounding country where it seems most people are more interested in not having things work than vice versa. So I would want another life elsewhere.

Would you like to have the same childhood experience and attend the same schools?

I had a memorable childhood, by Nigerian standards. I had fun growing up and there were challenges to overcome. I think all these combined to shape the kind of person I have become today. So perhaps yes, with a little modification here and there.

Would you like to work in the same place or practice the same profession?

I would definitely want to be a writer all over again.

What decision have you taken in life that you have regretted?
None. I do not have the luxury of regrets.

Would you like to marry the same person, have the same children?

Most definitely yes. I love my wife and kid.

Would you like to be born of the same sex and why?
By all means yes. It’s too complicated being anything other than a man. I can’t imagine how I would fit into humanity as a woman.

What have been the good sides and bad sides of your life?

The good sides? Many. But I think finding my calling and living my dream has been upside. I don’t know if there is a bad side, because I have a positive outlook. But there was this incident in my childhood, a domestic cataclysm, if you like, that I still have not found the courage to talk about.

What would you like to change and what would you not change?

I would want to change that thing I just mentioned which happened long ago. I wish I could rewrite that part of my life as a family. It has had a profound effect in my life and still does. Otherwise, I think I will like to be the same person I am, only better.

 Would you belong to the same religion?

Absolutely. I have found spiritual satisfaction in my faith as a Muslim and have no reason to wish otherwise.

 Do you believe in re-incarnation?

No, I don’t. Apart from the spiritual bases for my belief – there is no reincarnation in Islam, unlike Buddhism and Hinduism and the likes. I think the human soul is too intangible to be shipped from one body to another through several lifetimes.

Would you want to experience this world again?

Despite the regrets of the dying, which I hope I don’t experience, I don’t think I would like to experience this life again. Better to move on, I hope, to grander realms.

Filed Under: If I Could live My Life Again