Awele Ideal is the Principal in Chambers of Ideal Chambers, a thriving legal practice in Asaba, She is a graduate of both Delta State University and University of Benin where she obtained her LLB and LLM respectively. A brilliant and reputable legal practitioner, Awele’s journey to success is that of pain, resilience, determination and grace.
Awele decided to share her story in response to the justification of the unruly attitude of one of the disqualified participants in the ongoing Big Brother Nigeria reality show. Awele in the story captioned “YOUR LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT….” said nothing, not even the absence of a mother can justify an unruly and mannerless behavior.
Read her story:
Anytime I hear them say Tacha has no mother. I ask myself if that’s enough excuse to become unruly and mannerless?. Don’t get it twisted I’m not being judgmental. I just want to share a bit of my childhood story with you.
My Childhood…
I was abandoned by my mother at the age of seven months (7 months) with my father and stepmother. My stepmother was mean and not so nice to me, but I still called her “Mother” till tomorrow, cos she’s the only mother I knew, although she’s late (may God rest her soul). I endured all manner of maltreatment she meted at me. Sometimes I went hungry for days. She would so starve me that I would be seeing death.
On one occasion, I was very hungry that I had to eat our dog’s leftover food. Our neighbor’s son caught me eating the dog’s leftover food (eba and egusi) and he told his mother who later that evening invited me to her house and asked me if what her son said was true. I was so terrified that I begged her not to tell my step mother, because she will kill me if she knew that I ate the dog’s leftover instead of throwing it away. The woman wept and promised to give me food everyday without my stepmother’s knowledge, a promise she kept till we left the compound.
As if starving me was not enough punishment, my Stepmother flogged me mercilessly until I would faint at times. She would also apply pepper in my vagina, eyes, armpit and neck, tie me up and abandon me in one of the toilets for days without food. In fact, no week passed without pepper being applied on me for minor offenses a child could commit like failure not to wash clothes or dishes well, It wasn’t as if I stole or told a lie or fornicated.
During these dark days of my life, I often prayed for death, but it never came. Despite all these experiences, I was very bright academically and was loved and favored by God and people. I knew that the only way to escape was to achieve educational success, so I never joked with schooling.
So you see, I have every right to be hateful, bitter, jealous, arrogant, sad, negative and toxic but I chose not to. Rather I embraced positivity, kindness, peace and love. My life is beautiful. I am a happy person. I’m at peace with God. I am hardworking, beautiful and smart despite all I’ve been through and I have only Almighty God to thank for it. If I was able to subdue my demons then I believe everyone has the power to conquer his/her demons also.
MY LIFE IS WHAT I MAKE OF IT
#AweleChukwukaumemma