I remember when Raphael died. I think a month later, I attended Bayo Adelabu’s 50th birthday party (mind you, I don’t even know the man, I followed someone there 😭😭)
People were saying it was good to see me outside and having fun.
I still cried that midnight when I got home and the day after and the day after and weeks after and months after.
I’d wear rubbish to go out because I was always so absent minded from grief. I was going to church, going for classes looking a hot mess.
But if you saw me that night, you’d think I was having a great time, you’d think I was happy.
It took me two years to actually properly deal with his demise. Those years were a blur but I was participating in social gatherings. It took me 4 years to accept that I should get into a relationship and move on.
This wasn’t my husband and I felt grief eating me from the inside . So I can only imagine what this woman has been through.
If you think she has moved on or is having a great time just because she showed up for her sister, then you know nothing about loss and grief. Just leave her alone.
All I’ll say is - Dangote is a known quantity. There is a more than 20yr track record in which time he has amassed the greatest wealth by any Nigerian living or dead in documented Nigerian history. In that time he has not innovated or invented anything. He has been selling cement in bags as he was doing on the first day.
Since all the businesses he has built are owned almost entirely by him, it is fair to properly scrutinise his record and ask what the country that has given him all this fortune has gotten in return. As I say all the time, there are no cement billionaires in China where they have produced the greatest amount of cement in human history. His cement fortune is a Nigerian phenomenon made possible by the Nigerian govt taking his side against Nigerians. It cannot be repeated anywhere else.
So simply calling him a builder and trying to use that to shut down any criticism of him is for yesterday. We are more than 2 decades into this story.
Professor Dr. Christopher Balogun-Lynch (1947–2026)
Pioneer of the B-Lynch Suture and One of Sierra Leone’s Most Distinguished Medical Sons
Sierra Leone has lost one of its most brilliant and globally celebrated medical minds. Professor Dr. Christopher Balogun-Lynch, the Sierra Leone-born obstetrician and gynaecological surgeon who invented the life-saving B-Lynch suture, passed away today at the age of 79.
Born in #SierraLeone in 1947, Professor Balogun-Lynch left his homeland at the age of 17 with little more than determination and a few pounds in his pocket. He went on to become one of the most respected figures in #obstetrics and #gynaecology in the #UnitedKingdom and a source of immense national pride for Sierra Leoneans worldwide.
He received his medical education at the University of Oxford and St Bartholomew’s Medical College, London, graduating with his MBBS in 1973. After several years of training, including serving as Chief Assistant to the Queen’s Gynaecologist, he was appointed Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecological Surgeon at Milton Keynes General Hospital in 1984, where he established the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology department.
In 1997, Professor Balogun-Lynch revolutionised the management of postpartum haemorrhage when he developed and published the B-Lynch Brace Suture. This innovative surgical technique, which mechanically compresses the uterus to control life-threatening bleeding, has since been adopted in hospitals across the globe. It is credited with saving the lives of millions of women and has become a standard procedure taught in medical schools and practised in operating theatres worldwide, often preventing the need for hysterectomy and preserving fertility.
His groundbreaking work earned him international recognition. He was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Officer of the Republic of Sierra Leone (GORSL) by President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in recognition of his outstanding contributions to medicine and medical research. He also received an honorary doctorate from the Open University and served as a Commissioner for the World Health Organization @WHOAFRO on women’s health in Africa.
After retiring from the National Health Service in 2010, Professor Balogun-Lynch remained deeply committed to his roots. He returned to Sierra Leone on several occasions to teach and mentor medical students and doctors, contributing to the strengthening of maternal healthcare in his homeland.
Professor Balogun-Lynch was not only a brilliant surgeon and innovator but also a humble and dedicated humanitarian whose life’s work has had a profound and lasting impact on maternal health across continents. His invention continues to save lives every single day, long after his retirement.
He is survived by his family, colleagues, students, and countless women and families whose lives were touched and often saved by his skill, compassion, and ingenuity.
Sierra Leone has lost a true son of the soil whose brilliance shone brightly on the global stage. His legacy will endure through the B-Lynch suture and through the generations of medical professionals he inspired.
Rest in Peace, Professor Dr. Christopher Balogun-Lynch.
A FIFA World Cup host country must guarantee two fundamental principles: the safety of the country — and the unrestricted entry of all qualified teams, officials and referees. The case of referee Omar Artan from Somalia is against one of these obligations. FIFA must never compromise the universality of football. #Fifa #Somalia #GianniInfantino #CAF #OmarAtan #DonaldTrump
Eid Mubarak!
Today as we honor Prophet Ibrahim, Eid al-Adha reminds us that sacrifice is not a burden. It is an opportunity to see ourselves as part of something larger. To extend a hand to those who need it most.
I am honored to be New York City's first Muslim Mayor and I am determined to lead through solidarity. Together, we are working to ensure every New Yorker can afford the groceries, housing, and child care they need.
Our solidarity is our strength. Eid Saeed, New York.
I worked as a Vet Doctor from 1992 to 2000 before becoming a full-time artist. If there's anything else I'd have loved to be, it'd be a footballer or journalist. I think I'd have done well there too. Pic 1 - Writer, 2026
Pic 2 - Football, 2013
Pic 3 - the Vet, 1992
Pic 4 - What??
Invited as an outsider by the party's leadership to oversee the appeals process transparently and fairly! I hope my presence made all parties appear today