Letter to my mother: Nafisa Haliru

By Nafisa Haliru

Dear Mum,

When I think about ‘love’ and its meaning, I get confused mainly because love seems to have lost its authenticity in our world today. Even at that, anytime I think of love, I can’t help but envisage a beautiful lady of grace, passion, value, priceless beauty, strong character (the total package). This lady appears to be wearing a veil that conceals her identity and I can’t help but wonder who stands behind that veil as her surreal aura qualified by waves of love grips my mind.

The veil represents the late nights she keeps at work trying to make a living, the time she spends on tour and overseas struggling to be successful enough to cater for my needs, the beautiful wrath she unleashes anytime I do something wrong and deserve to be scolded. I have been blinded by this veil of flaws for a long time because I failed to look beyond. This time, I let a wind of forgiveness and understanding blow it away and behold underneath that veil I stand face to face with, this lady in-between shock, tears and joy now knowing her true identity. I have come to realize that this beautiful lady of grace who defines and symbolises love, passion and devotion is you mum. Yes you, my beautiful mother, my rock, my true love.

‘I love you’ has become too random for me to use to describe vividly my level of devotion to you; it’s inexplicable and drives me nuts. The feelings I have towards you are too powerful to be expressed in the form of words.

I remember myself as a youngster, lost in the shadows of her peers. I had no name, voice or relevance at that time but the soft embrace of your heart-warming smiles and sweet words of encouragement led me to set long term goals for myself to be the best and nothing else just to show how grateful I am and keep that smile on your face till your last days. Now, as a growing lady, I can only thank God for making me your child because he has given me the great privilege to be raised by love. I was raised by a woman that has a first class in Care, Masters in Encouragement, and a PHD in developing and training children to be innovative, unique, confident, humble, disciplined, God-fearing and hardworking.

Four cesarean sections!!!!  Really? You had gone through this surgical process and humiliation that had brought you pain and scars four times just so that all your babies would come out to be healthy and normal. Even with the murmurs of the society saying that you couldn’t bear a male child, you shunned them all and loved your children unconditionally. You have successfully proven the world wrong about female children being useless and you have raised four devoted and strong young women who are undoubtedly going to seize this world with their amazing ideas and values. Four women of virtue.  The four Haliru sisters. Your daughters. We Love you and can’t thank you enough.

Every person you’ve come in contact with can attest to the fact that you’re more precious than any rare gem this world has ever seen. You have the ability to light up a room and make family dinners very funny and enjoyable.

It’s almost impossible for me to erase the lingering image of you as ‘love’ that has been imprinted on my mind like a beautiful tattoo or an organ that I can’t live without. This well-illustrated image of you as love is my compass to success, joy and a life of fulfillment. I can’t think of betraying or hurting love, I can’t think of disappointing you, because you are love.

‘You are beautiful, powerful and amazing’, you  would say to me any time I would mourn over a lost debate or competition. You would mop away my tears ever so gently and give me a reassuring smile explaining to me that failure was only a stepping stone to success. Every memory we have together is beautiful and I just pray that I’d be as great a mum as you someday.

Remember the time when you taught me how to play volleyball? Ah, good times! I just always believed that it was you and me against the world. I guess I’m right because we are the perfect duo, couple, milk and Oreos, plantain and Jollof rice. Hahahaa, I LOVE YOU mum. To me, every day is mother’s day because I try to honour and appreciate you every single day because you deserve it, but today the rest of the world has to see just how special you are.

I will never stop making you proud and I know my sisters will not stop as well. Just watching your dimples appear when you smile as you hear of our achievements and awards makes me want to do more and keep that glow and radiance on you for as long as I can. I just pray to God each day that he keeps you long enough to enjoy my success and be showered with more love than you showed to me and eventually, you’ll peacefully join him in heaven after fulfilling your destiny here on earth.

So mum, Nne m, THANK YOU for being my role model, photographer, chef, disciplinarian, prayer partner, fashion adviser, financial boyfriend , rock, fan, well-wisher and most of all my friend in every situation. You’re all that matters to me. Happy Mother’s Day!

By your baby,

Nafisa Haliru.