NAME: MATRIC NO: COURSE TITLE: COURSE CODE: ASSIGNMENT

OLAKITAN ADEOLA ADEDOYIN 110902109 FEATURE WRITING MAS 232

Write a feature article on any type of feature story First Person Story.

AGONY OF A MOTHER Buchi Emechata once wrote The joy of motherhood but my experience with mothers was the agony of motherhood. It was during the festive period in Lagos, infact, a day before the Eldir Kabir, popularly called Ileya festival. I boarded a bus from Oshodi a popular area in Lagos west Nigeria to Agbado another suburb in Lagos. For the fact that it was a day before the festival, everywhere was clustered: people young and old, baggage etc, and to top it all, there was heavy traffic, a popular phenomenon in Lagos during festive period. I was in the bus thinking of when I will eventually get home in that heavy traffic when I heard the cry of a baby. Looking back, I noticed a lady with two babies on each hand. At first, I thought the lady sitting beside her was a relative so they

should be able to manage the situation because the twins were barely two months old and were sweating profusely. When the cry did not cease, I looked closer, then I realized that the women with the twins was actually alone with a boy of about three years old all sitting on one passenger seat. At first, the woman thought she could actually manage the situation by stucking each of her breasts in their mouth. But when the cry intensified after much cajoling and not knowing what next to do, she burst into tears. At this point, passengers in the bus were force to make comments. Why did you take these innocent babies that are not even old enough to go out on this kind of journey? this was the question on peoples lips. She couldnt say anything and still in tears, she was still beholding the sight of the little kids as they refuse to stop crying after much effort to give them comfort while at the same time attending the young boy sitting beside her. When the passengers beside her couldnt bear the sight of the crying twi ns, they were forced to take one of the twins so that she could give full attention to the other. With this act, the cry subdue and I was able to ask her how did you manage to leave home with your twins, a young boy and your baggage all alone on feet?

She then answered in tears and said in her local dialect Yoruba I manage to convince my husband that we couldnt go all by ourselves to his family house but he was reluctant and said I should manage. What a father! You will say. But my question is, why bring these innocent souls to this world without making adequate provisions for their wellbeing? In another development, just right beside me in the same bus, I noticed a woman with two young girls. Obviously, they were also travelling for the Ileya f estival. She was carrying one girl on her hand while she enlists the help of a young man sitting beside her to help carry the other because the children were sleeping. At the same time, she was blowing air on the kids because the heat was unbearable in the heavy traffic. At a point, the child with the young man became uncomfortable and was sweating seriously. Before the mother could reach to the child to know whats wrong, the girl started vomiting right inside the bus all over the young man carrying her. At this moment, passengers in the bus beckoned on the driver to stop the bus so as to give adequate attention and ventilation to the troubled child. While this was going on, the mother of the child explained that they do not usually go on a trip with public buses and that the driver that was supposed to take them wasnt available. The girl was properly attended to and we continue our journey.

At last, I alighted at my destination and I looked back into the bus and said to myself. Motherhood is an untold agony that every mother cannot escape from. One way or the other, you will experience it. Either through your sincere concern for your sick child, your outcry for a wayward child in the path of destruction, your working endlessly and tirelessly to see to your child welfare or the experience I just shared, you cannot escape from it. Mothers can only take solace with the thought that the child will grow up to be somebody and will not forget the agony they went through to bring them up. Just as Abraham Lincoln former president of United States of America once said all that I am or ever hope to be I owe to any mother.

NAME: MATRIC NO:

OLAKITAN ADEOLA ADEDOYIN 110902109

COURSE TITLE: FEATURE WRITING COURSE CODE: MAS 232 ASSIGNMENT: WRITE A PROFILE ARTICLE ON DR ADEPOJU TEJUMAIYE

A MAN OF DETERMINATION For Dr Adepoju Tejumaiye, it was determination and hard work that kept him going. After primary education in his home town, he proceeded to Igbobi College, Yaba where he completed his secondary education. As a young and promising boy, he had passion for newspaper and read it everyday, this and also his brothers friend who studied Mass Communication made him develop interest in your journalism. I was at home for five years, not because I did not get admission into other schools but just because I wanted so much to study journalism at the University of Lagos. He was admitted to study Economics at the then Ondo State University during his five years at home and after spending one semester, he withdrew because he wasnt getting fulfillment in the course. With determination and hard work, he finally secured admission to study his dream course in 1989 at the University of Lagos. A father of four and a husband to Mrs. Mary Oluwatoyin Tejumaiye, Dr. Tejumaiye is a full alumnus of University of Lagos and the department of Mass Communication as he had his Masters and PHD education in the same institution.

His interest in lecturing started when he lectured at the then Ogun State University Satellite campus in Lagos. He later proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) Ogba to broaden his interest in lecturing. A native of Ogun State and in his mid-forties, Dr Tejumaiye was initially employed in 1997 after his PHD to lecture at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, but he later resigned for personal reasons. Dr Tejumaiye had lectured at different universities like Babcock University, Ogun State, Redeemers University and Caleb University. A major in public relations and

advertising, he describe lecturing as having fulfillment. He returned to lecture at the University of Lagos in August 2011 I saw coming back to this department as a return home. Dr Tejumaiye is a dedicated lecturer who has the fear of God in him and his advice to the students is to be determined, hardworking and prayerful with this three features, students will definitely reach their goals.