Segun Ozique

SCENE: The Bar. The music is low. Everyone looks a bit tired as the year 2025 comes to an end. ​NNE (Slumped in her chair): ​Honestly, 2025 "showed me shege." I feel like I’ve been running a race for 12 months and I’m still at the starting line. I’m tired, I’m broke, and I feel like a failure. ​OLA (Sighing): ​You’re not the only one, Nne. This year stretched everyone until we almost snapped. The economy, the stress, the disappointment... it was a lot. Most of us are entering the new year feeling "broken." ​JENNIFER: ​It’s a collective trauma. When you work hard and see no results, your mind starts to tell you that you are the problem. But we must remember that a bad year is a situation, not an identity. ​EOO (Takes a clean 1,000 Naira note, crushes it into a ball in his fist, then drops it on the table): ​Look at this note. I have squeezed it. I have stepped on it in my mind. It is "cracked" and "broken." ​JIDE (Picking it up and smoothing it ou...

SCENE:  A Bar in Ikeja. Nne is holding her phone out for everyone to see. On the screen, a girl is crying and kneeling, begging her fiancé. ​ NNE (Disgusted): ​You guys, come and look at this. This girl is begging her fiancé to take her back. He cancelled their wedding because he caught her cheating. She’s crying like her life is over. ​ OLA (Sipping his drink, nodding): ​As he should! A woman who is about to marry should be pure and focused. If she can cheat now, she will cheat forever. He did the right thing to walk away. No man wants a "used" or disloyal wife. ​ JIDE (Laughing dryly): ​It’s funny, Ola. Last month, when your cousin had his "Bachelor’s Eve" and stayed out all night with two girls, you and the other guys were hailing him. You called it his "last run" before the ring. Why was he a "king" for doing it, but this girl is a "demon" for the same thing? ​ NNE : ​Exactly, Jide! That’s the point. When a guy sleeps w...

SCENE: Evking's  Bar. Nne is watching a video, of a young girl dancing to music coming from her earpiece and showing her breast and underwear just to get "likes" from her followers. ​ NNE (Looking at her phone): ​See this girl. Almost naked on Live video just for people to follow her and perhaps, invite her for date." She maybe making money, from hookup, etc but omo, this is embarrassing. Where is her pride? ​ [02] OLA (Drinking his beer): ​Pride doesn't buy rice, Nne. In this country, you do what you have to do to eat. If hookup and going naked pays the bills, then she is in business. Dignity is for people with full bellies. ​ JENNIFER (Shaking her head): ​I disagree, Ola. Immanuel Kant, a famous thinker, said that humans have an "intrinsic worth" - that means a value that money cannot buy. If you treat yourself like dirt, the world will treat you like trash. You don't need to be rich to have dignity. ​ EOO (He has been watching, he ...

SCENE:  A Bar at Ikeja. The sun is setting. Jide looks disturbed as he holds his glass. ​ JIDE (Voice low, looking at the others): ​Something happened last night that made me cold. I was at a bar in Ikeja around 8:30 PM. Two young girls—they couldn’t be more than 15 years old - walked up to me. They were selling health supplements for a company. ​ NNE (Eyes wide): ​At 8:30 PM? In a bar full of drinking men? That is wild. That’s not even a "side hustle" anymore. That’s straight-up danger. ​ OLA:  ​Where are their parents?! That is the first question. How can you let your female child wander into bars at night to sell things to strangers? Some parents are just wicked, using their kids like ATM machines because they are lazy. ​ AMARA (Angry): ​It’s not just the parents, Ola. Where is the Lagos State Government? Where is the Employment Regulatory Agency ? It is illegal for a company to hire children, especially for night work in bars! These companies are using these ...

SCENE: A Friday afternoon. Ada is showing the group a viral "What I Eat in a Day" video of a very thin influencer. ​ ADA (Looking at her phone, then at her own waist): ​Omo, see this girl’s stomach. It’s flat like a board! She says she only drinks green juice and water for breakfast. I feel like a bag of rice just sitting here. Should I start this "cleanse" too? ​ NNE (Snatches the phone): ​Ada, stop it. That’s not a "cleanse," that’s starvation . This "thinspiration" content is toxic. They use filters to make their waists look tiny, then sell you tea that just makes you run to the toilet. It’s a scam, and it’s making girls hate their real bodies. ​ JENNIFER (Nods, adjusted her glasses): ​There is a term for this in psychology. It’s called Social Comparison Theory . Studies show that when women are constantly exposed to these unrealistic images, their self-esteem drops significantly. Many influencers promote diet culture and "w...

SCENE: The outer seating area of the "Work n Play Bar." A man (in his sixties) just left with a girl who looks very young (maybe 19-20). ​ OLA (Watching them go, shaking his head): ​Na waa o. See that? A grandpa with his grandchild maybe leaving here to go straight to hotel room for sex. That is the end result of what's happening online. The internet, TikTok, Face Book, Badoo, etc all these apps - they have made it normal for people to look for kids. They sexualize young girls before they even finish secondary school. ​ NNE (Sighs, looks annoyed): ​Ola, stop blaming social media for old men being predators. That man would have found a young girl in the village market twenty ir fifty years ago. But I agree, the apps make it faster . True. We see the videos. The AI-generated stuff of young girls? It’s dark. It teaches men and boys that minors are just objects for for use. This is a massive safety fail by the big tech companies. ​ JENNIFER (Holds up her phone, poi...

SCENE: A busy WnP Bar, everyone waiting for for a football match. ​ OLA (Looking at one of the bar service boy buying multiple lottery tickets): ​It's an indictment on our society. People who can barely afford their next meal are queuing to buy pure-water sachets, betting on sports, or paying for worthless 'miracles' instead of saving. They complain about poverty, then actively drain their meager resources on needless items . I find it less about a lack of money and more a lack of financial discipline. ​ JIDE (Shaking his head gently): ​Ola, you're treating the symptom, not the sickness. When a life is defined by constant scarcity -  the lack of food, light, security - the brain works differently. Psychologists at Princeton found that poverty impedes cognitive function . The mental load of daily survival leaves little 'brain power' for long-term planning. Those lottery tickets aren't financial waste; they're a tiny, desperate, and sadly predicta...

SCENE: A corner table at the lively WorknPlay, bar, Ikeja on a Friday evening. ​ JIDE (Scrolling through a friend’s dating profile): ​Look at this profile. It’s a curated museum of a life he doesn't actually live. The hiking photo, the dog photo he borrowed, the one photo where he's vaguely leaning near a yacht. This isn't relationship seeking; it’s an application for social approval , filtered and optimized. We’re all just looking for digital dopamine hits. ​ OLA (Not looking up from his drink): ​Why separate them? Approval is the relationship currency these days. You meet someone, you immediately assess their social capital - follower count, aesthetic quality of their feed, and who follows them. It's just market efficiency . If your profile is garbage, you signal low value, regardless of your actual personality. The motivation is success, and success is defined by approval. ​ JENNIFER (Reading a post on her phone, stopped): ​I disagree that. Profile are not...

SCENE: A casual makeshift meeting discussing regional insecurity. ​ OLA (Pacing, visibly frustrated): ​The government says it will 'investigate abuses' and 'protect people.' They've been saying that for years. That's not a plan; that's a press release. Protection is what happens before the bodies pile up, not an empty promise after. ​ JIDE (Sighing): ​True, Ola. The promise to investigate in Nigeria is like a magician's act: the government waves a big, flowery statement, and accountability vanishes . The security forces that are supposed to protect are often, simultaneously, the ones being investigated. It's a closed-loop system of perpetual injustice. ​ AMARA (Checking her phone for supportive documents): ​Jide is satirizing, but he hits the point. The lack of accountability is systematic. For instance, Amnesty International and other credible bodies have documented over 1,844 deaths in the South-East between January 2021 and June 2023, a...

SCENE: A casual gathering at Work n Play restaurant. Late Evening. ​OLA (Sipping his beer, eyes fixed on his laptop): ​I saw the price of a small basket of tomatoes this morning. It's truly mind-boggling. We're effectively in an era where basic sustenance is a luxury. But the worst part is the acceptance. ​JENNIFER (Looking unimpressed): ​Acceptance is perhaps an inaccurate term, Ola. People are not accepting; they are coping with a state of hyper-inflation. As the economist John Maynard Keynes noted, "The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent." The masses are simply enduring the irrationality of the cost of living. ​NNE (Typing rapidly on her phone, not looking up): ​Naah. It’s definitely acceptance. We complain on Twitter, yet, still buy the overpriced stuff, and then make a TikTok content about our struggle meal. The practical action is to either revolt or switch our diets to something cheaper, but we do neither. We just rebrand suffering....

She was thirteen... But her story AGED a nation. Her laughter, snatched. Her innocence blongioned She bled into tradition where truth Was cross-examined and silenced. The parents named her Ochanya Elizabeth Ogbanje - In the court world, she was just anither case file. An evidence. Mere exhibit. Story of another girl-child turned a whispers. She was only eight… When monsters wore the mask of family. A home meant as learning safe haven Became a laboratory of distraught Each night, another lesson in assault. Each dawn, a new chapter of shame. As a cousin turned sexual predator. His father sooner joined as accomplice. While his mother, her aunt, looked away. Warned to maintain silence like everyone A noisy silence, more hurtful than the rape. And the system? Ah—Nigeria’s justice system— They dressed in wigs white as innocence, but their hands dripped red with neglect. Gavel pounding on her grave instead of her rapists. Law turned to lullaby— singing the monsters to sleep. They said, “No pr...

The world of physiotherapy is evolving fast. In Nigeria, modern clinics are embracing telehealth, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI) to make care more effective, accessible, and engaging for every patient. These innovations are transforming rehabilitation - helping patients recover faster, stay motivated, and enjoy a better quality of life. 1. Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) in Physiotherapy: VR and AR are redefining recovery. By creating immersive, game-like experiences, patients can practice real-life movements in a safe, controlled environment. Motivation through gamification: Therapy becomes fun and engaging, increasing consistency. Personalised tracking: Data from each session helps therapists tailor programs in real time. Pain management: Immersive environments distract from pain, making exercise more tolerable. VR and AR are especially effective for stroke rehabilitation, spinal injuries, and neurological recovery. 2. Artificial ...

You are a rarity with a heart of  light With soul soft as dawn, pure as dew,   Untouched by evil shadows,   Unshaken despite the world’s weight.   How could anyone *not* love you?   Even your mischief is spun from kindness,   Your laughter a melody that disarms,   Your spirit too bright for bitterness to touch.   With your gentle defiance of cynicism,   Displaying goodness, like a child’s wonder,   With laughter that never dims but glows brighter,   Even when life tries to teach it caution.   So keep your shenanigans, and playful storms,   For they too are part of your magic:   You are an unguarded joy of a soul   That needs no armour to be brave.