After a baby, my live-in lover’s zeal wanes…

With Auntie Agatha, gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com, Tel: 08054500626


Dear Agatha,
I suspect my boyfriend is in another relationship. We have been dating for five years and planning to get married next year.
We are live-in lovers and have a child already. What we are waiting for is just the formal ceremony. I have always wanted a big wedding while he says he cannot afford it. He said he would prefer to pay the bride price first before saving for the big wedding. I refused then because I wanted it all. But the arrival of my baby last year, I have been pressuring him to go and pay my bride price, but he seems not to be in a hurry anymore.
Severally, I have questioned the changes in him, asked why he is no longer engrossed in our relationship, although he keeps assuring me otherwise, but I am sure I know what all the signs I am seeing mean.
I noticed certain things about the way he relates with me have changed. For instance, he forgot my birthday for the first time in five years and when I reminded him, he simply said he was too busy. And took him another two days to even get me a gift.
I also noticed that these days, he appears to be more interested in the baby, his appearance and the state of the house than my feelings. He is always on the phone and when I succeed to distract him, he practically rushes through the conversation.
To make matter worse, he has taken this new attitude to the bedroom. He rushes the process of initmacy to the extent the magic of the moment is lost. He began by telling me he wanted me to recover from the stress of childbirth.
It has been six months since the birth of the baby, but things have continued to depreciate in our relationship.
His mother keeps assuring me that nobody can take my place in her son’s life, but deep inside me I am scared that there is another woman somewhere.
I confirmed as much from the way he hoards phone these days. He doesn’t allow me come near his phone; he even takes it to the toilet with him.
My friends are urging me to trail him to the unknown woman’s place to warn her to stay away from my man. I really don’t know what to make of this.
Agatha, what can I do to make him come back to me? I know I can be stubborn at times, always wanting things done my way but we have been through a lot together.
Besides, I love him very much and ready to forgive him anything as long as he is by my side.
Please help me. My son and I miss him very much.
I don’t want to fight anyone. I just want him back.
Docas.


Dear Docas,
Thank God for your wisdom. I am glad that you know nothing positive would be achieved by you fighting him over mere suspicions.
Even if your suspicions eventually turn out to be right, still refuse to bow to the counsel of your friends. You really don’t have any business with the other woman if the truth must be told. Your business is with your man. Iron out whatever the issues are with him instead of fighting a fight you may never win especially if the issues that drove him into this woman’s arms persist in your home.
Although not every man needs an excuse to go into another relationship, but in most cases, the problems can be traced to the main woman. In your case, stubborness as well as lack of understanding of the nature of your man.
Only very few relationships can survive this imbalanace. Most men aren’t equipped to deal or put up with very stubborn women. In their opinion such women are great turn offs because they are difficult to manage.
Insisting you wanted a big wedding when he told you he didn’t have the money to finance it was wrong. Another woman would have asked him how much he had and agreed to manage it as long as it meant being with her man. Men are not so emotional about marriage as women do. Therefore when a man makes a demand for marriage, insists on it but not getting the kind of support from the woman, his interest soon begins to fade.
Your man may have gotten fed up waiting for you to accept him the way he is. And now that you appear to want it as desperately as he once wanted it and on the terms he gave you then, he appears to have moved on.
There is no challenge love and determination cannot overcome in a relationship. The firs thing is for you to retrace your steps. Be truthful enough to admit your mistakes. Once you do this, it simplifies the entire process of reconciliation with your man. One thing is for sure, if he has really made up his mind about you, he would have done one or two things: pack out of the house or ask you to leave. Beyond the child between the two of you, he has nothing else to consider because you are mere live-in lovers. There is no document or action under any law protecting your stay with him. Therefore, if he actually wanted you out of his life, it would have been very easy for him to show you the way out.
For this reason, be careful you don’t set off a chain of reactions in your relationship that you will later regret. And for all you know, he may just be acting this to break you down, make you accept your place in the relationship as well as jealous enough to make you think of the damage you are doing to the relationship.
There is no relationship that can survive with two masters. You must learn from this early stage how to befriend your man, make him do things for you without you makng a fool of him or obvious to him.
Humility is still one of the tools a wise woman uses in managing her relationship. Even if you wanted an elaborate wedding, you still have listened, considered his options and made allowances for his reasons. If you are so obstinate on the kind of wedding you want, what assurances you will listen to him in other matters?
This is one angle you should work on in your attitude. No man wants to end up with a woman he would argue with for the rest of his life. The fact that you made a dramatic you turn from what your position was without any reason is enough signal that you are only bothered about what makes you happy.
At the time he wanted you at all cost, you didn’t want him enough to give up your dream of a big wedding. Now that you have a child, afraid that you would lose everything if he fails to marry you now that you are a mother, you are willing to do things his way. Life doesn’t work like that.
If actually he is in a relationship and has found the woman who is selfless, willing to make him her man, invest in his happiness without weighing things in her favour first, it might be a little difficult for you to re-interest him in you without first making dramatic changes in your person.
Five years must have given you some vital knowledge of him. You should know by now how to get him to listen, know the things he likes best as well as what he expects of you. One thing my experiences in life has taught me, is absolute patience. Patience and selflessness go hand in hand. You now have to ‘stoop to conquer’ what you unwittingly gave up.
No matter how forbidden his looks are, beg him. Tell him you are sorry for being such a selfish person. Tell him about your resolve; this will tell him the thoughts and time you have put into making him happy again.
It is also important he knows that you are really sorry because you love him and not that you want to marry him at all cost. It is essential that your change of mind is from a heart of love, and not one of desperation.
There is something you are doing right that has kept you in his life for five years. Go back to the drawing board, find it and amplify it. Once you get it right with him and your relationship, the other woman would become a thing of the past.
In addition, learn to pray.
Good luck.

How do I meet Mr. Right?

With Agatha Edo Email:,womaneditor@independentngonline.com,gataedo@yahoo.com or agatha.edo@gmail.com,08054500626

Dear Agatha,
Please help me because I am very confused. I would be 25 years of age next year.
Why are men initially blind and very cruel to very good women only for them to come back to beg these women after they have hurt them beyond measure? And how come the very bad girls seem to have all the luck from beginning to the end?
I ask because much as I try to be good, being faithful, respectful and responsible, I still get hurt by men. Even though they come back to beg after, it still doesn’t stop the pains.
Agatha, are there still good men; ones that can be trusted? How do I get to meet one of them?
How do I know a man is going to be good to me? That he desires me for the purpose of sleeping with me or having something serious with me? Please educate me because I don’t want to be hurt again.
Blessing.

Dear Blessing,
Love is a very complex thing. It has no crystal answers. Only God can tell why we fall in love with a particular person and end up being friends with another kind of person.
The problem and confusion enveloping relationships today come from massive misconception of what we feel or what love means.
Often than not a lot of us mistake the wrong kind of feelings for the real thing.
Women are most prone to making this mistake. When a man does as much as smile or shows the slightest interest, the tendency is for a woman to begin to dream of wedding bells and gowns. This is the point where many women derail, and begin to mistake fake for the real things.
Because the man from the beginning never set out to have a serious relationship with her, not to talk of marrying her, he capitalises on her desires to take what she has to offer before moving on to the woman he has desires for.
To have a meaningful relationship, a man must first have the desire to have the woman in his life. If a man doesn’t first make up his mind to have a woman in his, no matter how good the woman is, beautiful or responsible; she would eventually be dumped for another by the man because he lacks the desire to have her in his life.
So the first thing is for the man to love a woman for herself. When a man is truly in love with a woman, he would accommodate anything from her. The first sign of a man’s seriousness is his attitude to the woman. This attitude ignores all the big minuses in her and goes ahead to defend her.
You would know a man who loves you if he doesn’t ask you for sex, wants to be your friend, gives his unconditional attention as well as being constantly on the lookout for your interest. This man is careful not to hurt you, allows you to air your opinion on an issue, tells you everything about him, shows you respect, gives you a chance to explain even when all evidences point to the contrary, is supportive, tolerant, loyal to you.
All these you won’t discover in a day but would as time unfolds.
The first thing is to observe is his willingness from the onset to treat you with respect. If the first thing a man wants from you is sex, then be warned that he is not interested in having you for keeps. Also be wary of any man who from the early days of your meeting begins to talk about marriage. Most men are wise on the knowledge that most women go potty and give off themselves unconditionally when a man promises marriage.
Men employ this trick on women they suspect are desperate to tie the knot.
To ensure you don’t fall victim of this smart move by some men to get a woman on her back, don’t be won over by such promises. Any man who is serious about marrying you would wait for the right time before attempting anything.
When it comes to the issue of marriage, men are usually more thorough and reserved because they know the implication of the wrong woman sharing their homes and lives. Whereas women get carried away by materialism and idealism, men pause to take a detailed look at other factors, so won’t hurry into marriage.
Again, given the fact that a lot of women are impatient to marry, they mistake this caution for unwillingness and reluctance on the part of the man to marry her.
Where there is true love, no matter what happens, the man and the woman must be able to express their feelings and take a beneficial decision.
Love isn’t a feeling of excitement but that of learning to accommodate the deficiencies of the person one is in love with. There is no way a man who loves you would refuse to help you become a better person.
You can only learn to find true love if you recognise that love is a thorough process of loving yourself in another person. You recognise true love when you know that the other person in addition to the good sides has part of your mistakes, bad sides, deficiencies.
As for good girls falling into the wrong hands, it is the way of life. On the surface it appears as if the bad ones seem to be having all the luck while the good ones seem to be suffering all the bad luck.
But, in the end, God always compensate those who learn to trust in Him without conditions.
Most times those who think they are good, sit in judgment over the affairs of others, using their purported goodness as benchmark. What you think are your virtues may really be your doom. That person you think you are better than may inwardly have better qualities than you. If we all learn to respect our limits in life as well as open ourselves up for knowledge, things would work better for us.
Condemnation and labelling won’t help you improve on your person. Get close to those people you think are bad. What are they doing differently from you? How come things work better for them when despite your righteousness you are not able to achieve?
The secret is to be fair minded because no man is an island of knowledge or repository of the right values. We must learn to give to get.
Love would come to you at the right time but you have to prepare to recognise it when it comes. This you must do by first appreciating that you are imperfect as well as develop a dream of your own.
Also learn to tap into God’s plans for you through prayers by refusing to act desperately and allowing God chart your path in life.
Good luck.

My mother-in-law is crude

With Agatha Edo,Email:,womaneditor@independentngonline.com,gataedo@yahoo.com or agatha.edo@gmail.com,08054500626


Dear Agatha,
My mother-in-law is rude, unpolished and unbearable. I got married in June last year and had my baby in October.
Even though my mother came to help me with the baby, my husband insisted he wanted his mother to come over too since my baby happens to be her first grandchild.
Nothing my mother did was good enough for her. She wanted things done only her way. It got to a point, my mother had to leave because she couldn’t endure the situation anymore.
What really angered my mother was the reaction of my husband to his mother’s attitude. Being my mother, she understood my needs better and I preferred her cooking to my mother in-law’s. Unfortunately, my husband appeared not to like my mother’s cooking. Whenever my mother prepares a meal, he either doesn’t eat it or finds an excuse to abandon the food after one or two spoons even when he claims to be hungry.
The fact that I insisted my mother does the cooking got my husband upset. Until my mother was forced to leave as a result of his attitude, he simply stopped eating at home. He only ate when his mother does the cooking and on those days, I too won’t be able to eat because I prefer my mother’s cooking.
Since my mother left, it has been tough for me. I noticed that his mother doesn’t wash our clothes (me and my baby’s) properly. I suspected she was doing it deliberately and I started washing my clothes myself. But before then, I told my husband about the clothes; rather than confront his mother, he took it as a personal insult on his mother. I am not sure whether he told her but I noticed she wasn’t too keen anymore washing my clothes or that of the baby hence my decision to do the washing myself.
I also took over my kitchen. Last week, without any warning, she announced her intentions to go back to her husband’s house. I was happy because it meant my mother would be able to come back to look after me but the issues are, my husband doesn’t want my mother back and my mother is insisting my husband as well as his mother owe her an apology for the way she was treated when she was in my house.
I feel the same way. But, how do I tell my husband my mother’s demand because he is short-fused these days. He is becoming cranky and I no longer enjoy being in the same place with him as a result of his attitude.
How do I get him to see my mother and beg her to come back to help me?
Olufemi.

Dear Olufemi,
Judging from your mail, I am not sure, you are fully prepared for the journey of matrimony. There is no woman who describes her mother-in-law with the kinds of expressions you used, may not last or stay long in her husband’s house.
Besides, it showcases you as one who lacks appreciation. For her to leave whatever she was doing to come to your house to wash, cook and care for you, is enough for you to forgive whatever mistake she makes in the cause of her stay in your house. She didn’t have to wash your clothes but she did out of love for her son and grandchild. Implying she didn’t wash them well was totally beyond you.
In calling your husband’s mother such names, you forget that a time would come in your life when another woman, married to your son will also describe you in such terms.
No matter the offence of this woman, you lack the right to use such harsh words on her. It underscores your own attitude and contempt for everything she represents. Unfortunately, her son, your husband and father to your child are products of her person. To hate her, is to hate everything that has a relationship with her.
Since you cannot hate your husband and child, you must find ways of ensuring you reconcile with her. Painfully, your mother who has the experience as well as the knowledge of the diplomacy every woman needs to navigate her matrimonial home should have warned you to be cautious.
If you want the truth, your mother has not helped you a bit in the management of your home. She should not have attempted to cook your meals in the presence of your mother-in-law. What she should have done is to insist you adapted to meals prepared by your mother-in-law. Joining your mother-in-law to drag the kitchen, was very wrong of your mother. Whether you like it or not, you are the one who has to adjust to eating what your husband and his mother like because the onus is on you to protect your home.
While your husband can refuse not to eat the food you cook on account of it not tasting like his mother’s, you as the woman cannot afford that luxury. Therefore, you are the one who has to learn how to cook like his mother. And what better opportunity than now that she is with you to learn how to cook the special meals your husband grew up with? This is what a wise woman would do. Don’t forget that nobody knows your husband the way she does or can cook the meals he likes the way his mother does.
Marriage goes beyond making babies. That you have a child for him isn’t all you have to do to make your marriage succeed as a woman. There are many angles to a good marriage. And for a man, to cook his food is a must; it is what makes the difference between being a bachelor and a married man.
What would be his testimony as a married man, if he cannot get good food in his house? No matter how bad you consider his mother’s cooking to be, it is still the best in his opinion hence would resist any attempt by you or anybody to rubbish the toils of his mother over him.
Just as you want him to accord your mother her due respect, you must also learn to give his mother her respect. Without that woman, who you used such colourful language to describe, there won’t be him and your baby. If she is unpolished, rude and uncultured, then your husband is all these attributes put together. Deep down, do you see all these attributes you have painted of his mother in your man? If you have, then these are the qualities you unknowingly fell in love with. This is because she can only give what she has to her son. We are products of our parents. Just as you are your mother’s daughter, he is his mother’s son.
To be very honest with you, there is no having this man without his mother. You must learn from this early; how to manage and harmonise his good and bad sides.
Don’t also forget you are also a mother and would one day find yourself in her position.
For this reason, be careful you don’t create a problem you cannot manage in your marriage, one that would take forever to resolve. This isn’t a boyfriend and girlfriend relationship; marriage is a permanent thing hence the need for you to apply wisdom at all times.
If you listen too much to your mother, you may not have a marriage at the end of the day because you are a woman. She doesn’t own your home or has the rights your mother-in-law has in her son’s house. You know your mother, ask yourself if she would tolerate or endure the kinds of things your mother-in-law put up with in your brother’s house?
Tell your mother that while she is within her rights to ask your husband to apologise to her for whatever wrong he may have done her, she should leave your mother-in-law out of it.
At this juncture, I think, it may be wise for both mothers to be left out of your home, at least for now because they appear to be causing problems in your young marriage. This would enable you and your husband nurture your marriage while you also pray for a lot of tolerance, wisdom and maturity to make your marriage work.
Good luck.

I want my crippled boyfriend back…

With Auntie Agatha,gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com,Tel: 08054500626

Dear Agatha,
Three years ago, the man I truly loved and who was committed to my happiness and well-being was involved in a motor accident that led to a deformity in one of his legs. I couldn’t withstand the sight of him limping. Then it was very conspicuous, I felt embarrassed by his presence. My friends and mother all urged me to leave him for another guy that was also very interested in me.
As a matter of fact, my mother actually drove him away from our house. She told him, she wouldn’t be alive to see her only daughter marry a physically challenged man.
My father was very angry with my mother but there was little he could do because my mother was the head of the home. She made all the rules without seeking the inputs of my father.
We grew up to meet them that way. From an early age, we all knew who is the power base in our home.
My mother also had this set of friends who were always in competition with each other. They were always striving to outdo the other and were constantly putting the other down. I am sure it was one of the reasons my mother supported me to leave him. She didn’t want her friends mocking her when they had at one time or the other openly expressed envy at his good looks as well as generous support of my family.
My father tried to talk me out of ending the relationship. He not only said it was unfair but that posterity will never forgive me for abandoning him when he needed me the most. He was also of the view that his limps would improve with time and that if I truly love him, I should be proud to be by his side.
It was like putting water on the back of a duck because my mother had already concluded everything. She had already gone to his house to warn him off me.
I was too timid to fight my mother who idea of life then beclouded mine.
Four months after, I was married to the other guy in an elaborate wedding ceremony that was the talk of down and the delight of my mother.
But that was as far happiness went in my marriage. The man wasn’t only a brute, but wicked. He concealed his true character from everyone.
Severally, I have slept on the balcony because he won’t allow me into the house. Because of the money and big house involved, my mother refused to accept that I wasn’t happy and that I need to leave before someone got killed.
His attempt one night to suffocate me led to my fighting back. I broke his head with a side stool. It was very tough that night as we both ended in the Police Station. Fortunately, the District Police Officer (DPO) was very understanding and did his best to calm fray nerves.
At the end of the day, he called me privately to leave the house if I wanted to live. He said, from what he observed of my husband, he was beyond reason.
He even asked to speak with my parents.
The issue now is that my first boyfriend is still unmarried and I really want him back. I have tried twice to make him talk to me, but he refused to answer my calls let alone see me.
Please help me. I have discovered my mistake that I shouldn’t have left him. His friends and family have made it clear they don’t want me near him. I have come to realise how much he means to me.
Agatha, help me.
Selina.



Dear Selina,
Would you have considered going back to your ex if your marriage had worked? In his shoes, would you take a man who walked out on you at your most helpless state? Can you imagine the pains, disappointments as well as horror he suffered when you ended the relationship on account of the accident? If you were his sister or mother, would you allow your son to marry your kind of woman?
What has changed between then and now to make you want to go back to him? Has he stopped limping? Would you no longer be embarrassed by his limp when you both go on outing? Do you now have the confidence and love to be by his side at all times?
For how long do you intend to stay before your mother pressures you into another relationship? And have you developed the stamina to withstand your mother’s disregard for your person and feelings?
I don’t think going to your ex should be the first thing to do. There are still several steps for you to take before you can think of going back to him or having another man in your life for that matter.
Your major problem is your mother. Without you addressing the issue of your mother and her attitude, you will never be happy in the choices you end up with in life. She will never tire of meddling in your affairs and will continue to insist things are done her way until you stop her.
One of the ways to get control of your life is to move away from where your mother is. Having been married once, you can stay on your own. If you can relocate to where it won’t be easy for her to come and go when she likes, away from where your progress and choices can be monitored by her friends.
You need the space to discover who you really are; access your ability as a woman and think of what you really want from life. It is also important you review your parents’ marriage as well as your own contribution to your failed marriage.
The fact that your husband was beating you doesn’t make him the sole culprit of your problem filled marriage. He might have his faults as a man and person, but if you are truthful, his temper cannot come without some help from you.
There is no way you would live and grow with your kind of mother without you imbibing one or two things from her. Chances are that you may also have grown to be domineering and disrespectful of the position of your husband. Not every man would be like your father who can endure your kind of mother without reacting violently. A lot of men in your father’s position will fight back to be recognised as the ultimate head of the house.
You may not know it, but you might have exhibited the same attitude of your mother in your home.
The fact that you agreed not to marry your former boyfriend on account of his slight physical challenge underscores your tilt towards your mother’s way of life. If you weren’t so inclined towards the attitude of your mother, you would have resisted her attempts to play games with your life.
This is the time for you to take stock of your person. Make contact with the real you, the person your mother has trained you to be first. This is imperative because even if this other man takes you back, chances are you may still walk away from it all the moment your mother shows up with one reason to leave him.
As you are now, you can never make any man happy until you wrestle yourself from the claws of your mother. Although you didn’t give your age, the fact that you are old enough to marry shows you are a young adult. Therefore take complete charge of your life if you want to be happy with any man.
That you are refusing to tow your mother’s line doesn’t make you a disrespectful child. At a point in life, we become responsible for our actions. Nobody is going to blame your mother anymore for your mistakes; you get blamed for whatever is happening to you.
It is still early days for you to positively chart the pattern of your life.
As for the question of how to help you get your former boyfriend back, it is beyond me because a lot of things are tied to it. The first is the issue of trust. Do you think he can ever trust you again? On the tail of this, is getting married less than four months after you ended the relationship with him. How can you convince him that your husband hasn’t always been on the scene?
Besides, you are still legally married to your husband. The law says you cannot get a divorce until two years after breakdown of a marriage. Do you expect this man, assuming he is willing to take you back, to wait for two years?
There are too many complications already in your life. You will end up hurting any man who comes close to you as you are now.
Trust your life and plans to God. Settle the issue of your current marriage first. You may just discover that once certain things change the man too would change. Remember, you are in this mess because you didn’t think out your plans properly the first time. Don’t make the same mistake twice. Patience is a virtue in life.
Good luck.

Despite his aloofness, his mother urges patience

With Auntie Agatha,gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com,Tel: 08054500626


Dear Agatha,
This is the detail to the publication on Thursday, January 19, titled, “I’m not ready, can she go for another man.” I know like I tried to explain to you on phone, that my boyfriend sent you that mail.
 We were friends for more than one year before we started dating. We dated for four years and were never intimate because I told him from the beginning I was not interested in that aspect of our relationship.
I am part of his education; I paid his school fees and many other things. I did this because I have no intentions of marrying an uneducated man.
You can therefore imagine my pains when he told me he couldn’t marry me, because I lack a good character as well as not being compatible as a couple. I really love him because he has a good character and comes from a good family. I certainly hoped to have my children in that kind of home and live the rest of my life there because it was what I have always wanted.
Although we do quarrel, but he always come back to beg me to stay, but the real problem started recently when I asked him to take me to his parents. He refused on the grounds that it wasn’t the right time. I don’t know any of his friends or family members, but because of the love I have for him, I didn’t mind. I patiently waited for him to graduate.
After pleading with him on many occasions for me to meet with his parents, I finally managed to get his mother’s number on his phone and later called her to explained everything. His mother assured me of settling the matter between two of us when he comes back from the village and pleaded with me not to leave her son. His mother has been begging him on phone to reconcile with me.
I am in my final year in school, but it doesn’t matter, I can wait for him as long as it is what I want. I want a home where I will be able to achieve my aim in life not just getting married for marrying sake. I don’t want to have problems with my marriage in future such that I will not consider getting a divorce. And later I will be thinking of divorcing, this is why despite the many suitors coming my way, I prefer him. He is the kind of man I want in my life and no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in future, I love him enough to weather the storm with him.
Now the issue is, aside his mother telling me to exercise patient, I don’t know what to do. I want him in my life and my mother is aware of him and our challenges. She advised me to patiently wait for him. I have been praying for God to touch his heart and I’m also begging him. Please I need your advice because I don’t want to make a mistake in life.
Worried Girl.


Dear Worried Girl,
There is no challenge or issue patience cannot subdue. Endurance is priceless and a strong tool in avoiding regrets in relationships. Besides, there is no relationship without certain amounts of sacrifices.
The higher the sacrifice the better the end results would be. If his mother is pleading with you to be patient, listen to her because she knows her son more than anyone else. She has said she doesn’t want either of you to regret any decision made in haste. This flows from what she knows that you don’t know.
Most men are not equipped with this attribute. Any woman who wants to enjoy her marriage must be able, through patience, to manage her man well. And one of the tools a wise woman uses is respect. Good enough, your man in his letter said you have everything he wants in a woman, which means it is not your person that is the problem in this relationship. This is why his mother says you should not be in a hurry to quit for whatever reason.
There are four categories of men out there. Those that want a woman and go for her, those that avoid the woman they don’t want, and those that say one thing but are in fact thinking of the very opposite of what they are saying as well as those that simply don’t know what they want.
In your boyfriend’s case, he appears, for now, not to know what he wants. Like most men his age, he wants the freedom to play in the field a little bit, wants to enjoy the full benefit of his age before he settles. This is why he keeps urging you to settle for one of the many suitors coming your way.
He isn’t thinking too much of a tomorrow, because he is scared of contemplating the challenges that go with getting serious with a woman. He isn’t the first man to develop cold feet at the prospect of getting serious with a woman neither would he be the last. He needs assurances from you that he isn’t about to make a costly mistake.
Another thing that could be responsible for his attitude may not be unconnected with the role you played in his education. The fact that you paid his fees as well as provided for his needs is more than enough to get him petrified or any man for that matter. The clear message of our action is that you are capable of taking care of your needs, hence may not need a man.
I know that isn’t your intentions, but a lot of men can be intimidated by such a woman.
This is why you have to be careful it doesn’t appear to him that you are demanding marriage as a form of pay back for the help you rendered him. Allowing him to make up his mind would help both of you in future to be truly happy. You have to give him the space to see you as his woman, desire you sufficiently to want to spend the rest of his life with you without doubts. The moment the doubts linger, he would always wonder if he got married to you as a form of gratitude or from a desire to do so.
The danger of him getting married to you with this kind of nagging feelings on his mind is the lack of respect and devotion you deserve from him.
The other angle is fear. How is he going to control and perhaps exercise authority over the woman who trained him? Here the onus is on you to assure him that you will never take advantage of the help you freely offered him; that you will not make reference to it when you have disagreement or act it when you are angry with him. Some women just don’t know when to apply the brakes on their temper when angry. They are always quick to remind not just the man of their contribution to his life, but also to anybody who cares to listen. While he may not out rightly tell you all these as his real reasons, you must, if you are serious about being with him forever, initiate dialogue along that line. It is also important you dispel any misgiving that you may be desperate to marry him at all cost. Don’t make you conversation sound like blame trading; rather let him understand that it comes from a deep desire to source for long lasting solutions to the challenge both of you are making. To achieve positive results, listen more to him and be prepared to make more sacrifices if the need arises for the sake of keeping your relationship on track. While assuring him of your love, make it clear you are ready, even if you will be hurt of your willingness to respect whatever decision he comes up with at the end of the day.
This is to communicate your desire for him to be happy to him. As a woman, your first duty is to ensure the man in your life is happy and comfortable with you as a woman. It makes other difficult aspects of two strangers coming together to make a life easier to fashion out. He must know that you have the ability as well as stamina irrespective of human failures, to help him confront his worst nightmares in life especially as it affects the uncertainty of tomorrow.
Therefore, don’t for whatever reason refuse to talk to him. There is always huge benefit in keeping the line of communication opened between two friends. Once both of you get into the habit of communicating as friends, a lot of these issues plaguing your relationship would become things of the past.
It would make it easier for both of you to focus your strength on the right areas while letting go of those aspects that are not important.
Good luck.

Getting married in March but still in love with my ex

With Auntie Agatha,gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com,Tel: 08054500626


Dear Agatha,
My wedding is slated for the first Saturday in March. The invitations are already out and everything has been ordered for. We have even paid for the venue.
Until last month, everything was going well for me. I honestly thought I loved my husband to be with all my heart and that no man could ever come between us. But how wrong my projection of my life is turning out to be.
A chance meeting with my first love after about 16 years is what is threatening my well-planned life.
I honestly didn’t plan for this to happen but every woman who has been in love before knows what it feels like to meet the first man in her life, after a long time of separation.
Though he left me for my best friend, at the time we met, all those details didn’t matter. One thing led to another and we ended up in bed. It brought back all the wonderful memories of all those wonderful time we had before my friend came between us.
I discovered that he is divorced after two children from my friend who, according to him, now lives in England.
He decided to come home after being away for such a long time to attend to his father’s business.
He wants us to begin again. He has apologised to me and I am tempted to take him back because I feel good being with him.
I haven’t told anyone about him because I know nobody will ever support me. I am 38, have been so lucky to find my current boyfriend who is 45 and widowed. He has been my pillar of support and truly shows an extraordinary love and kindness towards my family and me.
But this is about my love life, about my happiness. I am so confused about what is happening to me. My current relationship is three years old while my first love and I go back a long way.
Please help me because I don’t know how to tackle what I feel for my first love.
Iyabo.

Dear Iyabo,
Being human and a woman, I understand the power of first love. But, I also understand the many sentiments we women sometimes put into play when serious matters come up.
However, more than you, I recognise the danger such unreasonable and not well thought out emotions can cause in the life of a person.
No doubt, you have the right to your life, spend it with whosoever you want to, but you are not an Island, which means, your decisions would also affect others close to you.
It is therefore important you put into consideration the feelings of these other people who would be affected by your decision, suffer your shame and pains, if you decide to go ahead with your plans. It is called respect for the feelings of others since this matter has gone beyond ‘what you want’ to ‘what others also want’.
Sixteen years ago, when he walked out on you to marry your best friend with whom he has two kids, whatever you both felt for each other then was limited to you two. Then, it wasn’t the business or pains of the collective. Those who knew then didn’t think of anything before given you their support and understanding to get back on your feet.
Now the dice is different. A lot of people, factors and feelings of other people are involved.
If you think deeply, you wouldn’t have been able to cope without all those people who held your hands, wept with and thought for you during those emotionally painful days.
For being there all those years supporting you, praying that you also find happiness, makes you accountable to them.
This is aside many other issues you are refusing to take into considerations. Beyond the good sex you claim to be having with him as well as the sentiments of being your first love, there is nothing to suggest that this man cares for you at all. Your meeting was not inspired by a need to see you or even apologise for running away with your best friend and marrying her.
It was one of those accidental meetings that didn’t include you or any plans to get serious with you. You are making things too easy for him and in the process messing up your own life.
Deep down, do you think he will marry you if your husband-to-be finds out you have been cheating on him?
What if he is still married to your friend and lying about being separated from her?
Any man who could run off with your best friend cannot be trusted. If your motive is to hurt your friend as much as she once did to you, you are making a very big mistake of your life.
If this man walks away from you now, how much time do you have as a woman to meet another man, get married and have children?
And how would you feel if this man were the one cheating on you and thinking of walking away from your wedding plans?
This is a temptation you must resist. From the tone of your letter, you are the one pursuing an agenda, not this man. If you hadn’t thrown yourself at him, he wouldn’t have insisted on anything. But being a man, he is definitely taking advantage of everything you are offering. And typically, he has to come up with stories you want to hear to make it easy on his and your conscience.
If you care to probe deeper, you will find out that the flame is only on your side, not from his side at all.
Besides, he has tried to be truthful to you. He came back because of his father’s business, not for you. He didn’t expect to run into you for that matter. You are just a chance meeting for him.
If he didn’t want you when you were younger, fresh for him, what makes you think he wants you now? The fact that he never cared about your person beyond your body is the reason he isn’t protesting the amount of time you are spending with him instead of the man you are getting married to in March.
Deep down, he would be thanking his stars he didn’t end up with you because once you can be unfaithful with him; you can do it with another man. If he cared just a little bit about you, he would be discouraging you from what you are doing.
Besides, if you must know, what you feel isn’t peculiar to you. Most women go through premarital blues. It is expected because one is leaving familiar terrain for uncertainty. No reasonable person goes for a journey without projection.
And if you really care for your husband to be, stop what you are doing with your ex. Don’t forget his first wife died. You will be killing him completely if he finds out about your behaviour.
He may not survive it, because it would be just like losing another woman in his life.
It is time to end this party before it is too late. This man may represent fun, but you can teach your husband-to-be how to make you happy. There is no relationship without sacrifices. If you like making love in a particular way, direct him appropriately. It is what marriage is all about.
You are not a butterfly anymore. There is a limit to the risks and foolishness of the heart at your age.
Rest your first love finally. His time is past. You are now a real woman who should be able to think with her head and not her heart.
Good luck.

How do I make my brown teeth white?

With Auntie Agatha,gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com,Tel: 08054500626


Dear Agatha,           
May God bless you for what you are doing. I have a problem, which I believe you can help me find a solution to.
I have brown teeth, which have been causing me major embarrassment. I grew up in the village where I was not taught how to brush.
A friend I confided in told me to go to a dental clinic and do polishing and whitening but I don’t know if it will work.
I want you to advise me on how to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible.
Peace.

Dear Peace,
According to a dentist, it is possible for your teeth to white again. She said it is possible through the help of some friendly chemicals that can be used to clean your teeth.
But a lot, she stated, would depend on how deep the stains are. Therefore, it is advisable you consult a dentist whose responsibility it is to conduct tests on your teeth to determine the extent of harm to your teeth.
However, make sure you go to a qualified dentist and not a quack to avoid complications.
Good luck.

My wife reveals ugly past, 19 years after

With Agatha Edo Email: womaneditor@independentngonline.com,gataedo@yahoo.com or agatha.edo@gmail.com,08054500626

 Dear Agatha,
 I do appreciate your approach to counseling on issues concerning relationships, which is why it fascinates me when I read your column.
I have been married for over 19 years and blessed with two children who are 18 and 17 years of age, respectively.
Prior to my marriage, my wife told me of a failed relationship she had. That relationship produced a child, who unfortunately died after both had parted ways. I accepted her and assured her of my commitment to our relationship. We were married according to their traditional norms and later in the church. Like every other couple, we have our fair share of ups and downs, which in most cases, we resolve amicably.
However, I am shocked by her recent revelation shortly before the New Year. She drew my attention to an issue, which according to her, has been a burden and serious concern to her all these years. Before she told me what the issue was, she expressed her regrets at not telling me since getting married to me.
She explained how she was impregnated by a man at the age of 15, which led to her father sending her out his house.
According to her, she stayed with a relation until she had the baby.
After the birth of the baby, the mother of the man she had the baby for, came from Ibadan and took her and the child there. It was there she completed her secondary education. She further disclosed that she had two more children for the man. Throughout that period, she narrated, the man never knew or met any of her relations, and she was not in contact with her people too.
However, the man was transferred from Port-Harcourt to Lagos and had planned to settle down there.  She explained that an arrangement was made by the man with his friend to convey them to Lagos from Ibadan. It was while they were travelling down to Lagos in a van that they had a fatal accident, resulting in the death of her man and his friend. According to her, she was unconscious and was rushed to a hospital. The whereabouts of her three children remained unknown.
She further explained that after she regained consciousness, further tests were conducted on her by a psychiatrist to ascertain her mental fitness. She, according to her narration, went back to Ibadan and met the man’s mother who showed her where the man was buried.
When they both realised that neither of them was with the children, they searched all the motherless babies’ homes and hospitals within the area of the accident without any trace of the children.
Having concluded this tale, she sought for my forgiveness and asked if I would send her away from the house.
There are some questions I have asked her that she hasn’t given me satisfactory answers to. Since telling me this story, I have been emotionally and physically depressed. I have not responded to her question on whether I would send her away or not, because I am still consulting more people especially as she said her mother is aware of everything that happened to her.
 I need your advice.
 
 Betrayed Husband.


Dear Betrayed Husband,
Asking you not to be angry is like telling a hungry baby not to cry. You have every reason to be angry, disappointed and even pack up the marriage. Sincerely, if you ask her to go, nobody would blame you because she not only betrayed your trust in her person but has also, in more ways than one, disappointed you.
If you insist you never want to see her again, nobody would blame you against the backdrop of the gravity of what she has done.
But we know that none of these is a solution to the issue at hand now. Asking her to go won’t erase from the fact that she has been your wife for 19 years and that you both have two children between.
It won’t also remove the fact that you are both legally married and have shared some very wonderful moments together as man and woman. She has made you into who you are just as you have done same for her.
Your strength and joy go beyond the two of you; your children are part of that wonderful heritage you have both built in your 19 years as a couple.
There are also those minute details which on the surface appear not to be significant but in the long run add up to have made your marriage survive all these years.
Honestly, when complex issues like this come up in a marriage, all these factors are what must be added up before a decision is taken. All those people you are consulting, including me are not involved in your history or know what the strength of your marriage really is.
Your marriage couldn’t have lasted this long without sacrifices from both of you. Indisputably, she has done the unthinkable in the minds of everybody; betrayed the trust you have for her, rubbished the essence of marriage but what about the other side of her? That side of her that has given the kind of joy and fulfillment these 19 years?
If the consensus is for you to leave her, are these people going to share in your loneliness, fill the void she would be leaving in your life or give you a woman who is without blemish? Even if she comes into your home a virgin, what about her temperament, attitude and response to things concerning you?
I would be the first person to agree with you that there are missing gaps in her story. For instance, it is curious that no member of the man’s family came to see her in the hospital to ask for her and the children. If they came for the corpse of their son, how come they didn’t ask for her or the children at all, knowing they were the only family she had then? And why didn’t the woman make efforts to go with her to plead with the father or other members of the family?
So many questions are really begging for answers but so also are many puzzles especially concerning the children, are begging to be solved.
To lose three children or not know their whereabouts cannot be a tea party for her. As a mother, she will never stop wondering what happened to those children.
Her mistake was not to have shared this dark side of her past. No matter how unpleasant, she should have told you. But, I think it has to do with fear of losing you as well as lack of enough trust in the power of your love for her at that time. Face it, would you have married her if you knew she has had not just one but four children?
Now you maybe able to handle such a situation but then, I am sure you wouldn’t have. Althoughthis is not an excuse at all, this perhaps informed her reason for keeping it from you all these years.
She decided to open up when she could not deal with all the worries anymore. Some women would still have kept quiet and decide to take the story of their lives to the grave with them.
This is the moment you look at her value to you and the importance of your marriage. If you focus only on this issue, you will end up making a mistake you will forever regret. This is because 19 years of marriage has given you the opportunity of knowing the nature of the woman you married; answered the question of credibility you would have been worried about 19 years earlier.
Youryears together have also afforded you the opportunity of knowing how much progress she has made from getting pregnant at 15 to now. A lot of us have done one or two things in our youths we are not proud of. What makes the difference is the efforts we put into correcting those mistakes.
Since marrying her, have you had any reason until now to regret marrying her? The answer to this question will point you to the right direction.
Go to God in prayers because He is the only one that can help you get over your pains as well as give you the wisdom to view the matter wholly.
Good luck.

Only spiritualists can fuck me…

With Auntie Agatha, gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com, Tel: 08054500626


Dear Agatha,
There is this huge problem facing me. Five years ago, I left my former boyfriend because I caught him in bed with another woman. He actually tried everything to make me come back, but I refused.
A year later he got married to the same woman I caught him cheating on me with. I was very hurt by it all, I vowed to get even with him.
A friend of mine took me to a spiritualist who promised to help me deal with him. Thereafter, I met and married my current husband.
Before we got married, my husband and I had a good sex life, but the moment we got married, I noticed he couldn’t perform as a man.
Before we begin, he would be okay as a man, but the moment he attempts to get into me, he goes limp. We didn’t understand what was happening. At first, he thought it was just the stress in the office getting to him. I did all the tricks I know as a woman, but none worked when it mattered the most.
While I was still trying to solve the problem, I learnt he has put another woman in the family way. His excuse was since he wasn’t able to perform as a man with me; he did it with another woman just to make sure he wasn’t the problem.
It isn’t just that he got her pregnant but his people are also making plans to bring the woman to the house.
Hurt, I went out to do the same thing he did, but I discovered that none of the men I tried to sleep with could get it up.
It was then I knew I was the target of whatever is wrong with my marriage.
I tried going back to the spiritualist my friend took me to, only to discover he no longer stayed there. I was told by his neighbours that he had moved.
Desperate, I confided in a friend who took me somewhere else. It was there I was told that the cause of my problem had to do with what I did to my former boyfriend. I had forgotten all about that. In my problems it skipped my mind that I had, out of anger, told the spiritualist I went to see that he should punish him by making it impossible for him and the woman he married to function as a couple.
According to this spiritualist, the only thing that would break the curse on me is to sleep with him (the spiritualist). Surprisingly, he could sleep with me as a man, but once I go back to another man, the problem came back. I am so fed up because it looks like I will never get out of it. The more places I go, the more complicated my problems become.
The latest is that my husband has driven me out of the house. I am writing because I don’t know what else to do. I have gone everywhere but the issue remains. Please help me.
I don’t know what to do or who to turn to? Can you help me, Agatha? Can you find a solution to my problem? Will I ever be able to have a baby? I know it isn’t the usual thing you do.
Martha.

Dear Martha,
The only help I know is the house of God. There is no running away from the fact that you have gotten yourself involved in a very terrible thing.
He remains the only one who can help you as long as you know how to find him and the way to His house.
Whosoever told you that solutions come from going through the homes of different spiritualists told you lies. Instead of solutions you will experience more difficulties like you are currently going through.
How does sleeping with a spiritualist translate to your finding solution to a problem you created in the first place? Did you ever pause to think how having a sexual encounter with a complete stranger, someone you don’t know, cancel a problem you are having with other men? Do you realise the power of sex, the covenant it invokes into one’s life? Even if it were true these spiritualists have the answers to your problem, didn’t you think it strange that they should demand sex as solution?
Granted, they could go all the way with you, but that is as far as your solution goes. The truth you had become a sort of toy thing to them all, a tool they can manipulate to their pleasure.
Don’t forget that you got the problem from them in the first place. Even if in your hurt and pains you were seeking ways to get back at your former boyfriend for what he did to you, they should have told you to leave everything to God.
Frankly, unless you want to end up frustrated throughout your life, go to God in prayers. He listens and cares so much about us all.
He doesn’t demand for anything to make right our wrong. What you are suffering from is nemesis. You went to them to make your former boyfriend and his woman unhappy; ensure they don’t enjoy their union. And when the time for you to be happy too in your marriage came, you too were denied the kind of peace and joy you denied them: your ex and his wife.
You, more than anyone else, know the things that transpired between you and the spiritualist you went to for help to deal with your former lover. Even though you didn’t meet him in his last address, you should have gone back to your ex to apologise and plead for forgiveness.
Honestly, it is not too late to do it. Having indiscriminate sex with the so-called spiritual helpers you have taken to consulting for solutions will never give you the kind of release from the consequences of your action.
Already you have lost your home to another woman despite the various spiritual homes you patronise as well as the kind of payments they demand of you. First it was your husband not being able to be intimate with you, and now it is you not having a husband at all. The drift in your life underscores the extent of hurt you inflicted on your former boyfriend and his wife. Even if he treated you unfairly, it was wrong for you to take laws into your hand. The extent you went in seeking revenge cancelled whatever sympathy you had. Your actions effectively stopped God from coming to your rescue, hence the many problems you now have.
Whatever it would cost you in pride, go to this couple and confess what you did. It is the only way to find freedom from the prison you have put yourself into. Your must stop patronising the homes of these spiritualists because not only would they continue to defraud you spiritually, financially, but also emotionally. If you don’t take the step to end it now by making your peace with this couple, you will never be free to live your own life, and anywhere you go you will continue to meet with disappointment.
The forgiveness of this couple will make it easier for you to find God and help from Him. The law of God is simple; we all reap what we sow in other people’s lives. It is obvious you planned for this couple not to have more children in addition to wanting to deny them the joy that comes from being married.
Out of hurt, jealousy, pains and frustration you sowed pains into the lives of this couple forgetting that you are not God. The fact that you met and married another man a year after he left you for this other lady meant you both were never to last forever.
Even if God had planned it that way, leaving Him to fight for you would have given you a happier and trustworthy results.
To help yourself grow in faith, stop telling friends about your problem. Rather, tell God through prayers how to help you find a solution.
The moment you tell them what you have done, chances are whatever spell you are suffering from would not go away.
Whatever happens, hold on to God. Don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking you can find a quick solution outside Him. You must also act fast because time isn’t your friend as a woman. Everyday, you delay going to this couple to beg for forgiveness and reconciling yourself with God, you eat further into your time of productivity as a woman. This is very important if you hope to have children and enjoy matrimony again.
Good luck.

His zeal for me wanes daily

With Auntie Agatha, gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com, Tel: 08054500626


Dear Agatha,
Thank you for being there for us. May the Lord continue to be your strength and give you more wisdom in Jesus name.
I have been dating my current boyfriend for six years. He happens to be the one sponsoring my education.
Recently, he travelled out of the country and has returned.
But since his coming back from his trip, a lot of things have changed concerning his attitude towards our relationship and me. He doesn’t seem to have the time for me anymore. These days, he limits his relationship with me to sex and money.
He doesn’t care if I am happy or not. When he came back, most of his friends and mine told me to get pregnant for him before he travels again. In their opinion, this would make him change his mind about travelling out again.
Can you imagine that he left me at home and went out with his friends? I was so annoyed with him. In fairness, he apologised and promised to take me out during the New Year.
Contrary to what he promised me, he also went out with his friends and when I reminded him of our arrangement to be together on the day, he said he had to keep his promise to his friends to spend the day together. He however promised to be back early. Based on this, I waited for him at home; to my pains he didn’t come, not even to wish me happy New Year on that day.
I am really tired of everything as well as reporting him to his parents. They are always begging me to forgive him, but I noticed that they are incapable of cautioning him on the way he treats me. I have been telling them I cannot cope with his kind of person.
As it is, I am afraid of getting pregnant because of all that I have observed about him.
I have tried unsuccessfully to talk to him, but he simply has refused to change. The situation remains the same.
Please what do I do? I don’t want to offend him because of what we have both been through. When I met him, there was nobody to help me. I am who I am because of his efforts in my life. Despite his attitude towards me, he still cares for me but I am becoming increasingly unhappy because of this attitude of his. Although he trusts me but I want to be happy and don’t deserve what he is doing to me at all.
Betty.

Dear Betty,
You need a lot of patience, attitude of tolerance and understanding to overcome this challenge.
Doubtless, the picture you painted on the surface appears hopeless, but there is always a lesson in every experience we go through in life. The lesson is to help us go into the next stage or class in the school called life.
There is no way you can go into the next stage if you don’t pass the stage you are in now.
Your solution lies in your ability to focus and harmonise every issue involved in your relationship. To get it right, you need to go back to the very beginning for possible clues as to why he is behaving this way. You need to do this urgently to avoid masking the real issues with the wrong colours.
You also have to ask yourself what your real motives are. People don’t change dramatically from who they are overnight. The thing that changes is how people around them feel about them.
To get a clear picture of what is really happening between the two of you begin the perspective from yourself. I must warn of the need for you to be absolutely honest with yourself. The truth you tell or fail to holds the key to your future happiness.
Has he always been like this? If yes, how have you coped with him, and if no, at what point did he change? When did you begin to realise you cannot cope with his behaviour anymore? Importantly, do you really love him for who he is or what you are getting from him? As a matter of fact, have you ever loved him?
Honest answers would help clear a lot of the confusion currently enveloping your relationship. For instance, if he has always been like that, what has changed to make you feel suddenly tired of him and his lifestyle? Is it that you have suddenly realised that after being with him for six years that he has become too complicated a man for you or that you can no longer tolerate his presence in your life?
I am not saying you don’t have the right to terminate the relationship or to complain about his behaviour, far from it, but it is in your interest to be properly focused on your reasons.
If he has changed, don’t just blame him for everything. Ask yourself how you contributed to it. Look at all the things he has complained about your person. If he likes parties, do you? How often has he tried to get you involved in his kind of lifestyle, get you interested in going to the places he likes? How many times have you resisted his gesture to make you comfortable with his friends?
Often we make the mistake of condemning people even before we get to meet them. What efforts have you made to bridge the gap of differences between your persons? A relationship can become so boring if a couple cannot find a point of equilibrium. The fact that he left you at home to enjoy the New Year in the company of his friends tell two stories; either that he finds your company boring or that you have refused to flow with the company of his friends.
No matter how intolerable, you find the behaviour of his friends, the fact that your man seems to like them, means you should try to accommodate them. Making it appear he has to make a choice between you and his friends only complicates things. Even if you think his friends are not good for him, there are ways of putting a distance between them without making it obvious to him.
For all you know, these friends you don’t want him to associate with, may be the ones instigating his new behaviour against you. These friends can deliberately set out to make things difficult between the two of you if they perceive you to be hostile to them. This is why wisdom is required in dealing with issues in every relationship.
Try to make a positive change in the areas you know you are weak. It would go a long way in doing what words, nagging, cannot do.
If he has always been like this, how did you put up with him all these years? Why are you suddenly realising he is a very difficult man? There is no arguing the fact that sometimes, one get fed up of putting up with a situation but don’t you think, your motive would be suspected now if you leave him after he has taken the task of paying your way through school?
And would you have considered ending the marriage if you two had been married?
This is the juncture you really ask yourself the question you may never have bothered to ask yourself all the years you dated him: what do you really feel for him? There is nothing true love cannot make right. It is what makes sacrifices easy to make in every relationship. He has made and is still making the sacrifice of paying for your empowerment and comfort. What sacrifice are you willing to make for him? Honestly, you can get a lot of your fun back if you really love him. It is a simple matter of looking back to that thing you really like about him. More often than not, we forget to remember those special qualities in our loved ones over the years. This is because we are in the habits of taking our partners, especially, for granted.
He may not be listening to you if you are doing it the wrong way. Sometimes it isn’t what we say that is the issue, but how we say it. You could say what you have been saying for years in a different way and get instant result.
If you have sat him down to discuss what you feel is wrong with your relationship without him changing, why not sit him down to ask what you are doing wrong? Don’t assume or make him feel he is the problem in the relationship. What this does is to immmediately put him on the defensive and very unreceptive to whatever you have to say whereas, if you allow him run away with the impression that you are more to blame, he would not only listen but also admit to his own challenges.
You must learn from this early to build confidence, trust, sacrifices, selflessness and tolerance into your relationship. Between two people, a lot of things can go wrong just as the same things can be put right with the right attitude.
Whatever is the problem, go to your man with a clear mind and focus on taking the relationship beyond this point.
The idea of leaving should come only after you have done everything humanly possible and praying about it.
Good luck.

My husband runs to his parents whenever we have problems

With Agatha Edo,Email:,womaneditor@independentngonline.com,gataedo@yahoo.com or agatha.edo@gmail.com,08054500626


Dear Agatha,
Thanks for all your efforts at helping people solve their problems. I have one that I want to share with you. I really don’t know what to do. I got married to an old friend I picked from the streets in June last year. We dated for close to three years before we got married.
Because I was pregnant, my parents did everything possible to make us happy irrespective of the fact that his mother didn’t contribute anything to the wedding.
Unfortunately, I lost the baby after the wedding and ever since that day, he and his mother have been misbehaving to the extent he has asked me to go. According to him, the baby that brought us together is gone. I tried but eventually I left, but after a month he called me back; three months on, it has been one problem or the other. If he isn’t accusing my mother of causing the death of my unborn child since she took me to the hospital when he or his mother weren’t ready because according to him, he doesn’t have a job. Whenever we fight, he picks his things and goes over to his mother to stay.
Recently, he accused me of answering calls in the night. He not only beat me as a result of it but picked his things and left for his parents’. When my father called his mother, she lied that she wasn’t in town so I went to his office to ask for the money he owes me since he asked me to leave the house.
He called his mother who in turn called my father, telling him she doesn’t even know if her son and I are really married hence, the need for us to go our separate ways. I have left his house for my parents.
Can I start another relationship because I am bored being alone?
Worried Rose.  

Dear Worried Rose,
No matter the challenges your marriage is going through, wisdom demands you apply caution. No marriage is without challenges, sacrifices and sometimes regrets.
You are going through these challenges because you didn’t put things right from inception. People don’t get married because they have to but because they want to. You got married because you got pregnant; not for the reason that you both desired it at that moment. But having done it, you must put in everything to make it work.
A lot of us go through life with so many burdens we can do without. This is often because a lot of us refuse to outgrow our childhood days. We bring so many unnecessary garbage from our youths into our adult lives. Some of the mistakes we make in our adult lives are actually those things we ignorantly thought were right for us, the mistakes of our parents and all the adults that had one thing or the other to do in our lives.
The burden of your marriage began the moment you and your husband accepted to take on the burdens of your sets of parents marriages. None of you bothered to investigate the failures of your own parents’ marriages, instead you allowed them infect your lives with what issues they have been battling with in their own marriages which you and your husband know but were too blind by affections to see.
Honestly, there is no way you can both move beyond this point in your marriage if you and your husband don’t move out of the control of your set of parents.
In addition, you need wisdom to overcome the overbearing influence of a mother-in-law.
You have made the first major mistake of not knowing the nature of your husband before getting married to him; don’t make another costly mistake of ending this marriage without x-raying precisely what you feel for him. Granted things are not too good between both of you now but, if left on your own to follow your own way by your parents, things will turn out differently.
This is why you need to exercise some patience for now at least until you are sure of what you really feel for your man and marriage.
This is the point you ask yourself some important questions; did you ever love him that much to marry him in the first place? Would you have married him if it hadn’t been for the pregnancy in the first place?
If the baby was the reason for the marriage; what do you feel now for him? Do you think you have the emotional stamina to make things work between the two of you if given the chance? As a matter of fact, how deep is your love for this man?
There is also the matter of your perception of him. In your mail, you said you picked him from the streets. This kind of attitude gets one into trouble because once you think it, you unknowingly begin to act in such a way that the other person is made to feel inferior. If this is the case, there is no way your husband or his family can be comfortable with that kind of attitude from you or your family.
In the first place, it was wrong of your parents to completely take on the wedding expenses. No matter how much money they have, they should have allowed him contribute something to the wedding after all, it was also his wedding. Doubtless, your parents meant well, and thought they were doing you and your man a favour but experience should have taught them that in matters concerning marriages and in-laws, caution should be applied to avoid wrong interpretation of one’s motives.
As the case is now, your in-laws are misrepresenting the offer of your parents to sponsor the wedding to mean you would dominate their son. Perhaps the opposition to your marriage wouldn’t have been this stiff if your parents had left the two of you to manage your problem, when you got pregnant.
Sponsoring the wedding looked to your in-laws as an act of desperation; one done to make them appear inadequate as well as inferior. There was no way they wouldn’t have sourced money from friends or relations if they had approved of you in the first place. Telling you and your family they don’t have money was to show their lack of support for your relationship with their son. This is the issue your parents should have tackled instantly instead of paying for the wedding expenses.
The fact that they failed to act where and when they should, contributed to the problem you are having with your husband. As it is, if you want to have peace in your marriage, it is high time you took responsibility for your actions. There is no marriage in life that is free of problems. The difference between successful and failed marriages is the extra efforts we put into it.
If you end this marriage on account of the issues you are having with your husband, would you also run away when problems come in your new relationship?
Problems are meant to be solved, so learn to tackle the one you have in your marriage now to avoid greater problems in future. Begin by praying for your husband; he needs your support now more than ever before.
It isn’t normal for a man to pack from his home to his parents’ whenever there is a disagreement between him and his wife. This is the point you begin your prayers from. It is important you stand in the gap for him.
This is in addition to changing your attitude because there are things that need practical solutions which prayers cannot change. Do a check of all the things and ways you are a problem in your marriage. Granted, your husband may have his own problems but only a wise woman knows how to bend her home to success.
Overtime, with the right attitude, your in-laws would come to see the goodness in you and accept you for who you are.
It takes patience and wisdom to win the toughest of marital problems.
Good luck.

Lonely Heart

With Auntie Agatha, gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com, Tel: 08054500626

Dear Agatha,
Many thanks for your free public service; for the help to many in affliction. May Allah continue to guide you aright through Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.
Please, I would like to marry any widow between below 38 years who is really a servant of God from any faith; Christian, Islam or any other religion.
Such woman must be educated and hardworking. I don’t mind if she has children previously or not. Her tribe or nationality is not a problem, but let any woman who will reply first seek the face of God.
I am happily married with children but needs this widow as a wife so that her children could be raised to God’s glory. Let such woman write me. capitalgen@yahooo.com.
Israel Umar.

Dear Israel Umar,
Ordinarily, I should ignore this mail but I decided to publish it to enable me respond to the content of your letter as well as correct whatever wrong impression you have of our work here.
First and foremost, it is important you know that we take our work here very seriously and that any problem brought before us is considered serious to be entrusted to God solutions which makes the content of your letter rather confusing. In the first place, marriage is a lot more serious than you think. Being married you should know this fact that marriage isn’t just about what a man or woman feels, but about its workability as well as the feelings of the other person.
What do you hope to achieve by advertising for another wife when you have an existing marriage? Importantly how do you view marriage? Do you consider it as just one of those things adults do without planning for it and knowing the implications of an action?
You ask for a woman from any kind of religion. Meaning you aren’t bothered about the kind of woman you bring into your home or her mission in your life. While we are not in a position to determine the kind of life you want, it is important however since you have involved us in your desire to point out to you that certain challenges in life are best avoided.
No matter what you think of your current marriage, it is a choice you made hence must have the necessary patience, tolerance and right attitude to pilot it well.
Marriage is a journey of thorns and sweetness. These two go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other hence a man bringing a woman into his life must have considered so many things before embarking on the journey.
Marriage is also about contentment as well as honesty. The same reasons you are asking for another woman to come to your life will always present itself from time to time. Would you on account of that decide to marry another woman?
And, aren’t forgetting your responsibility to your children? Do you have enough to care for your children before considering taking on another man’s burden? What are the kinds of investments you have to care for another man’s child or children? What if the woman you are planning to add to your life has more than the number of your children, how do you plan to cope?
Besides, if you are a Christian like your name, Israel, suggests, you should know that the Bible frowns at polygamy. Even in religions that favour polygamy, the women really don’t cherish the idea of sharing their husbands with another woman.
And if a man must bring in another wife, the consent and approval of the woman at home must be gotten.
Whatever religion you are, it behooves you to put the fear of God before any other consideration.
Good luck.

I’m not ready; can she go for another man?

With Auntie Agatha, gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com, Tel: 08054500626

Dear Agatha,
Thanks for your immeasurable advice and solutions to people with relationship problems, I pray God will also help you in solving your own problems.
 I have a problem that needs your attention. I have a girlfriend; we have been together for four years now and thanks to God, have been able to abstain from sex all these years.
I just graduated while she is in her final year, even though she is a year older than I’m 23 years of age. We love each other very much that people around us think I am very much older than she is because she accords me my due respect as a man. But the problem now is, she does not want to accept the many suitors coming her way, because of me. I love her and would want to marry her but the reality on ground may not favour this. What if after national service I am unable to procure a job to provide the right financial platform for me to execute my plans to marry her? Would she be able to wait for me to be ready?
The issue is, do I advise her to marry one of her suitors? I will appreciate your advice. Thanks and wishing you compliment of the season.  
Worried Lover.

Dear Worried Lover, 
If you both have been together for four years, this is an issue you can both discuss as frankly as possible.
You have to make her understand your fears for her future, putting special emphasis on her age and the biological lifespan of a woman’s life. While at it, be honest enough to also tell her what your own fears are as well as the details of what your real plans for the future is. For instance, let her have the idea of when you really desire to marry as a man. This is because as a man you have things you must put in place before thinking of settling down. And unless you come from a very rich family and pressure is on you to marry urgently, at 23, you are still very far from being ready to marry as a man. Whereas, at 24, she is almost ready for marriage. One thing is to be in love another thing is to be realistic about certain things in life. Once she graduates and serves, pressure would be on her to marry.
It is when she gets to that junction, that she or you would know if she has what it takes to wait for you or go with another man who is ready.
This is because, the journey of marriage goes beyond what both of you perceive it to be. It is a long journey of ups and downs, of choices, sometimes very critical and tough ones; it is also about doing the right thing at the right time.
Even though marriage begins with the seed of sentiments, it becomes a journey of reality as the days go by.
At 24, how long can she afford to wait for you? What kind of sacrifice is she ready to make for the relationship? This is one choice she has to make on her own without any help from you because it is more about her happiness than yours.
By laying the cards face-up before her, you give her the rare chance of choosing the path she is most comfortable with.
Beyond this, you must also ask yourself this question; how do you really feel about the age difference between the two of you? It may never have bothered you as boyfriend but now that you are at the juncture of making the relationship permanent, how do you really feel about marrying a woman older than you? You may not have on the surface considered it important, but deep in your heart, it may be.
This is because no man, no matter how bleak the future appears to be would willingly encourage the woman he claims to be in love with to consider the proposal of another man.
In all these, both of you have to be truthful about your desires as well as your plans for the future.
If at the end of the day, she feels she cannot wait for your plans to mature, lacks the necessary patience to appreciate the situation you both found yourselves in, let her go. But if after having this talk with her, she agrees to wait for you to be ready, allow her be.
Once she makes up her mind to wait for you, don’t try to persuade her against it in order not to hurt her and insult the love she has for you.
There is no risk a woman in love cannot take, as long as the man in her life is very honest with her. Discussing it is to ensure both of you don’t feel the pains of regrets later in life.
Good luck.

Dad divorced mum, even all her children…

With Auntie Agatha,gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com, Tel: 08054500626

Dear Agatha,
I’m an ardent reader of your column and have garnered so much wisdom from it.
 My parents have been separated for quite a long time, as a matter of fact, over a decade ago. I’m the eldest of my siblings and over 40 years of age. I concluded my degree in History and International Studies; made a second class lower, contrary to my expectation. I had expected a first class because I have always shone it to the envy of fellow students.
My daddy has gone away with another woman, though they are also separated now. But before this woman came into the scene, my father has had several women in his life while married to my mother.
You see my father happens to be the domineering type. Because I am very quiet, my father considers me as upright. My siblings are bursting with envy. On the contrary, my mother and siblings are at a loggerhead with my father. Most often, the source of their squabbles comes from my immediate younger brother’s obduracy as well as his refusal to go to school. While staying with our eldest sibling, not only became unmanagable but also started selling off some of their belongings. He also refused to be educated even though my eldest sister was willing to send him to school. At the end of the day, she put him into Police custody. He has also gotten many women pregnant.
He isn’t the only one giving the family problems. While another brother of mine is as reckless as he is, one of my sisters married herself, without the consent or knowledge of my father, to a pastor who is separated from his wife.
 All efforts by me to reconcile all parties have proved abortive. For reasons best known to my siblings, they don’t like me; they make cutting remarks about me that really hurt. Sincerely, I would have preferred to stay with my father but it is no longer feasible.
I tried to make peace with my father but ended up in him inviting the Police and warnings that I should stay away from him. I tried to get his elder brother involved, but that too didn’t go well as he too warned me to stay away from his brother and the family.
 Recently, I went with some non-relatives; a family friend and pastor, but it also didn’t work. Despite my father’s age, he is still very strong. He kept shouting that I am a thief who has come to rob him of his property.
He subsequently packed out of the house when my younger brother sold off his bus, motorcycle and other things. I am worried because most of my siblings are really behaving badly.   
I’m keen on making peace with him before he dies. I used to be nearest to his heart. I don’t know what manner of reconciliation to appropriate. He has an unforgiving spirit; my mother has developed hypertension.
Bernete.

Dear Bernete,
We get hurt more by those we consider closest to us. Your father is deeply hurt because he invested so much faith in you more than the others. His disappointment comes from the attitude of your siblings; their attitude as well as resolve to be reckless. The fact that you appear to be in their support left him on his own, underscores his pains and rejection of you.
Try putting yourself in his position, how would you feel if after working so hard in your life to acquire certain level of comfort, your children waste them through careless and criminal living?
No matter what your father has done, it is wrong for your brothers to sell of his belongings.
The fact that all your mother’s children are following a certain way of behaviour underscores the kind of training your mother gave you all. It is one thing for a father to be bad but another thing completely for a mother not to know her onion at all.
A wise woman doesn’t allow the inability or defect of her husband stop her from moulding her children right. Her inability to perform her role effectively is the reason you are all suffering.
That your father left her to marry another woman isn’t enough excuse for her not to give you all the right bearing in life. At least from your explanations, your father didn’t stop caring for you all. His interest in your education paints him as a father on the look out for the future of his children.
If it were only one of your siblings that were misbehaving, your mother would have been excused but almost all of them? It can only mean one thing, that your mother through her behaviour drove your father into the arms of other women.
The pains of your father comes from the thought that at least one of you, especially you, should have seen the contributions of your mother to the breakdown of the marriage; called your mother to order and insist on her doing the right things. The fact that you all appear to be on the side of your mother actually went with her and making him appear as the problem in the marriage hurt him more than you all realised.
It couldn’t have been easy for him at all. His attitude towards you could also come from the things you said or didn’t say. For his brother too to be hostile towards you underscores something terrible you may have also done. It couldn’t have been easy for him to bear the guilt and blame of the two of them.
Honestly, there is no one that can settle this but you. Being close to him, you must find a way of getting him to listen to you, of making him open up his heart to you all over again. If it means staying at his doorsteps everyday, do it. Let him understand that whatever mistakes he thinks you made was done with a child’s mind. That at the time he left your mother, you too were hurt at the lack of his presence in your daily life.
No matter how hard hearted he is, there must be one person somewhere in his life who can talk to him. Get that person to talk to him or his brother who he seems close to. Explain the urgency you feel in making peace with him. Tell them that while you are not wishing him to die so soon, your desire however is to ensure that you make peace with him before he answers the final call. This explanation is important for them to understand why you are suddenly interested in making peace. Your father must know that your interest is not in his property but in his well being and relationship with you. because of his experiences with your siblings, he may be naturally suspicious of your motive in wanting to get back into his life. a man that has been disappointed severally will find it difficult to recognise a good gesture when he finds it. the thing is for you to go all the extra miles to make him see how you really feel.
There must be a reason for the decision you took to follow your mother. Let them know why you didn’t immediately go with him as well as your own pains too as a child.
For a man like your father, you must also learn to pray. When a heart is as hard and pained like his, only God has what it takes to bend him. by praying for him, you are helping him make amends too. Just like you need his forgiveness, he also has to make peace with is God and every other person.
It is also necessary for you to get your mother involved in all these. Don’t forget she laid the foundation for all these mess. She has to be involved in its cleaning. Both of them go a long way back and know what it takes to get the other to listen.
When some men hate a woman, they automatically hate her children too. She has to make that essential sacrifice to ensure that your father doesn’t take his hatred of you all to his grave. This is very important because other interests are also involved in his life.
It is the only way to ensure whatever bad seed she has planted now doesn’t go into the next generation. She must be ready to make that important sacrifice that would insure the rest of your lives.
Going to her husband and in-laws to plead would make it easier for you to have access into your father’s life.
Good luck.

Must we tag sex heresy for discourse?

With Auntie Agatha,gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com,Tel: 08054500626


Dear Agatha,

I pray you are able to handle my problem like you did to others. I have the challenge of inability to open up to people easily. I discovered this in adolescent years.

I noticed that people react by branding me a moral misfit anytime I voice my opinion on any issue.

This attitude of my friends who were as a matter of fact my Christian brothers forced me to enter into a deeper relationship with God. At a point, I felt like the only one needing repentance among so many people who were born-again.

Having made up my mind to remain with God, I felt no need to have anything to do with those brethren or anyone else.

Unfortunately, another problem has emerged from this. It has to do with my sexuality. I am so nervous in front of girls. I don’t even know how to relate with them. I am easily emotional with each one that comes.

This is made complex by my habit of impulsive reaching out to anyone I am having a conversation with. This is irrespective of the gender of the person I am having the conversation with. I have been so affected by this condition to the point I find it difficult being myself when conversing with another person for fear of condemnation.

Agatha, I am a free minded person not afraid to embrace any subject including sex for discussion. But this is the very essence of me that gets condemned by others.

I have met girls who are bold to discuss the sensitive matter of sex, which I cannot discuss so openly. They do it without guilt.

The subject of my sexuality and sex generally intrigues me. I thirst for information about it as well as passing the information through discussion to other.

My motives are clean without guilt, but people make me feel guilty for something I don’t want to feel guilty about.

How can I handle this knotty, but important discourse, which unfortunately the church itself is shy to handle?

Why are parents uncomfortable talking about it with their children? Agatha, why are my fellowship brethren condemning me? Why did God create it if it is so abominable?

Please, don’t get me wrong. I don’t encourage fornication and adultery, but I think this silence is the greatest threat to sexual sanity. Children can’t even talk about it with their parents. All we have are ill experienced friends to discuss the subject with.

Now to my question, is there anything shameful about sex as a subject of discussion? When I ventured to talk to my mother about my feelings for my best friend who is a girl, she was outraged. She told me the girl must have bewitched me and that she is also trying to deceive me.

Agatha, my mother talked as if she never experienced adolescence. Many of our parents forget that they were once like us and went through the challenge of all the confusing sexual experiences we are going through now.

They forget they also had pressures that can destroy if not properly handled .Our sexuality is destroying us today and your advice would not help only me but many other youths as well.

Jacob.





Dear Jacob,

I understand and feel your sentiments more than you can imagine. Growing up with parents, especially a mother who though educated, a teacher; forbade us from broaching the subject of sex, kept us in the dark about something as basic as menstrual flow. I know where you are coming from.

Then I didn’t understand all the fuss about it or why someone that educated refused to be drawn into discussing the changes going on in her children’s bodies particularly the girls.

Like you, I also couldn’t comprehend the attitude of the church or all the holiness going on around me, but one incident happened that helped me to focus my life properly. It helped realised that irrespective of what people were saying about themselves or values, what remains most important is what you thought of yourself.

This happened when one of the tormentors of our liberal attitudes got pregnant. She was the leader of the Scripture Union (SU) then. She made the rest of us felt like devils incarnate. I, being one of the most mischievous, was always getting into her wrong side and being two years my senior, was in the position to deal with me but for my privileged position as one of the most loved and brilliant students of the school.

She got pregnant in her final year and had to sit for her school certificate examination as an external student.

From that point, I refused to abide with the opinions others have of me preferring to listen to my own conscience in everything I did.

It was a freedom so sweet because it enabled me to grow up with the knowledge that nobody but me can gate-keep my morals.

With this came the confidence to speak out on my sexuality. I didn’t care what name people called me, but I made sure I got my mother as well as all the adults to listen to me. My father remains the most liberal, because when I became a thorn on his flesh, he would order my mother to play her role.

Over the years, I have come to understand the unease adults feel about sex. The delicate nature of sex makes it so. Because children have different attitudes and perspective to issues, adopting a broad based approach may not be a very wise thing for children who are only looking for a reason to do what they had always wanted to do.

But this is not to say that basic information should not be given to each child. It is part of the rights of a child to be told early in life about sex, its reason and attendant pains when done out of time. The facts should be made bare to a child to enable him or her appreciate the enormous responsibility attached to the act of sex.

If information were given from the right source a lot of mistakes would be avoided, because every child comes with a dream of being great and of taking charge of things around. Irrespective of whether the dream has a universal or local flavour or not, one thing is paramount to the nascent mind of a child, that of being able to succeed in life.

And if at that early age, parents, schools as well as the churches form alliance to help the child stay focused by pointing out the dangers of premarital sex, not the ‘don’t do’ syllabus, but through discussions with the aid of real life stories of dreams that died prematurely due to early sex, girls especially would learn to gate-keep properly.

That a child is curious about sex doesn’t make the child morally bankrupt; rather it shows a deep understanding of changes going on inside the body as well as an awareness of something very fundamental in the society all around.

Sex is the biggest and fastest selling brands in the world. So trying to shield the child from it is a vast waste of time hence the need for both churches and parents to adopt new strategies towards it.

The refusal of parents or spiritual leaders to talk about it won’t make the longing and desire to have sex among youths go away. Rather, this conspiracy of silence only makes children more determined to damn the consequences. For this reason, parents especially in Africa must begin to rethink their attitude and allow their children the privilege of knowing what life has in store for them because whether they like it or not, the child would someday know about it.

The thinking that discussing sex enhances promiscuity is neither here nor there. A child that would be promiscuous doesn’t need information from the parents to do it. Sex is a very cheap commodity and information concerning it commonplace. The only worry is the quality of the market place information the child gets. Besides, who is the one giving the child the information? What experience has such a person to earn the exalted position of a teacher or counsellor?

I agree that keeping quiet is dangerous and exposes the child to more harm than good. If you are not getting the required help from your parents, force them by pointing the obvious to them, getting the information from the streets.

Now matter how difficult a parent is, the idea of his or her child getting information on sexuality from the streets frightens enough to make the parent have a change of mind.

Parents get away with it because youths refuse to exercise their rights as well as bow to emotional blackmails of parents who in their bid to hide their discomfort about sex, hide behind the façade of morality not to talk.

However manner of approach is important. From my own experiences as a child and mother, youths would gain more by beginning the discourse with a gentle approach. Arrest your parents’ concern by telling them of the changes you are feeling.

Youths should adopt the approach of perplexity when broaching the topic with their parents. They should appeal for understanding of the things they notice in their bodies, but which they don’t understand its essence.

Help to make sense of why their bodies are beginning to react in a particular way to one person, why their voices are changing, why they are experiencing mood swings, why the girls are bleeding from their private parts, filling out in their breasts and hips areas.

When it comes to information, youths should not stereotype.

If mothers are not willing to talk, approach the fathers. There is nothing about each other’s body dad or mum doesn’t know.

In worship places, they should ask probing questions that signify their desperation for information. Anytime adults read out the dos and don’ts of the adult world, youths should be bold enough to ask why these rules must be obeyed. It is the only way they can get everybody to pay attention to them.

They should make adults around them realise asking questions about their sexuality doesn’t translate to a desire to do it, but a right to be informed which comes with awareness of habits and things to avoid.

Above all, youths should begin early to trust God by learning all about His ways. It is the only way they can earn the respect of all adults.

Good luck.