So there's this popular gossip blogger in Nigeria, Linda Ikeji who just recently got under the microscope of every member of the Nigerian public for the 'mistake' she made. Because of this 'mistake' she made, she was taken apart bit by bit by her critics and it was funny at all. What was her crime? What was the the 'mistake' she made that she couldn't be forgiven?
She had a child out of wedlock. Yes, you read that right. A child out of wedlock.
So what's the big deal? Before we go further, let's do a little background check.
A short background study of Linda Ikeji's Blog(LIB)
LIB was started in 2006 by Linda Ikeji two years after she graduated from the University of Lagos. When she started, the internet wasn't very prominent in Nigeria then as it is now. She was blogging from cybercafes. She obviously has put a lot of work into it to become what it is today. From this blogging, she branched out into several other business which are not the focus for today. As we all know, entertainment blogging is the very best of jobs most times because it usually involves controversy. Most of the time, toes are stepped upon badly. So badly that it hurts pretty good and it has not been different with dear Linda and her blog. It is safe to say that she has successfully built herself an empire by stepping on toes of different sorts. LIB gained grounds in the Nigerian soil by being the first to publish controversial stories of celebrities from all sectors in Nigeria. At certain points, most of these stories have dealt a great blow on the people involved. Celebrities that have felt that blow are Wizkid, Funke Akindele, Femi Kuti, Tonto Dike to mention but a few. People also claimed that she has bashed single mothers and babymamas too saying that she can never be one. Now that's where the bone of contention is.
Since her success, Linda has gained a lot of lovers and haters alike which is very normal if you ask me. Not only does she stir up controversy with her blog, she also mentors young girls to work hard towards being self-made like she is. She says through her blog that young girls to can become billionaires if they set their mind to it and not necessarily rely on men to become something. She also preaches against premarital sex and advices young girls to keep a low body count. And that was how she roped herself in.
Now that a foundation has been laid, we can now go ahead. We can do so because those of us who weren't familiar with the story now know why all hell let loose when she had a baby without getting married. She didn't practice what she preached so they came for her. Another reason why they came for her real hard is because she later became what she shamed other women for: singlemotherhood and babymama-ism(used for lack of a better word). She became a baby mama too...
After all were said and done, she released a rather long speech explaining to public the circumstances leading to her falling pregnant and having a baby. Yeah she said she 'fell pregnant'. Lol. She said the baby daddy promised to marry her and then changed his mind and one major reason why she chose to have the baby was her age. She is 38yrs old. She is almost 40 and wants to have her child/children before 40.
Nice...
In my opinion...
- I think she didn't get pregnant by mistake. The baby was/is not a mistake. A baby is never a mistake. Children are blessings from God. What should be labelled as a mistake is the circumstance under which she got pregnant.
- I think she really wanted to get pregnant. She sited her age in her speech as a major factor to her keeping the child and she would have protected herself if she didn't want such to happen.
- Life happens to different people in different ways and forms. Because it's going good for you today doesn't mean it can't go bad for you someday. What goes around comes around.
Lessons I've learnt
- Do not be too quick to judge others.
- Live and let live.
- Nobody is perfect and without sin.