I Am African by Verastic
36 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago -Welcome to the I Am African podcast by Verastic! On this podcast, we will authentically share our stories, and we will celebrate, inspire, and demand excellence. We will ask the difficult questions, start the uncomfortable conversations, and propose the outside-the-box solutions. Why? Because it's like our parents used to tell us when we were kids: those that are doing it don't have two heads. Get comfortable.Let's connect:Instagram: @iamafricanpodcast | Twitter: @iamafricanpod | Facebook: I Am African Podcast | E-mail: [email protected]
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Episodes
How One Mom Is Raising Two Children On The Autism Spectrum ft. Lola Dada-Olley
May 24, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBThe world is still learning about autism. And I, Vera Ezimora, know even less about autism. My first "real" experience with autism was when I got my first professional job after I graduated college. It was as a Service Coordinator, and I walked with individuals with intellectual disabilities. It seems like such a lifetime ago now. I learned so much from that job. When I came across today's guest, Lola Dada-Olley on Facebook (through her husband), I just knew I had to bring her on because sh...
EP 28: How To Save Money Even When You Think You Don't Have It ft. Ronke Odewumi
May 10, 2021 04:00 - 59 minutes - 40.6 MBThis pandemic needs to just go away. Am I right? Or am I right? A lot of things have changed permanently, thanks to the pandemic. For example, remote work, when possible, will probably always be the norm. Another thing is money: how much of it we wake, how much of it we have saved for a rainy day, etc. In today's episode, we have Ronke Adewumi, a finance expert, teaching us creative ways to save money and stop wasting it. Yes, even when you think you don't even have money or don't have enou...
EP 27: IVF and Male Factor Infertility ft. Nonsi Martins
May 03, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 52.1 MBInfertility is one of the many taboo conversations in the African community. In the Christian African community, it's even worse. For starters, the bible says that there will be barrenness in the land, so both preachers and the congregation they're preaching to are quick to remind women who are trying to conceive of this verse. It's almost as if the infertility is thereby invalidated and denied. The problem is that it's usually still there. And what about the fact that altar calls in church ...
EP 26: Why I Had A Divorce Party ft Dr. Ikea Bello
April 26, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBRecently, a Nigerian woman, Dr Ikea Bello, went viral for doing what we (Nigerians/Africans) would consider the unimaginable. Not only did she file for divorce, but she also dared to celebrate it --- and she did it publicly. On social media. With pictures. And videos. So, naturally, the African internet streets are offended. And also naturally, I was there to remind everyone that the divorce and the party are both hers. Read my post here. A lot of brands and publications have been reaching ...
EP 25: Dating As A Divorced Dad
November 30, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 49.2 MBMy people! I am here to prove to you that divorced dads who are dating do exist! It took me so long to find a divorced dad willing to speak to me about his dating life. But then Goziem happened. He was introduced to me by a mutual friend, Eloka, and the rest is history. As a divorced mom, I know what dating is like. But I did not know and what I wanted to know was how it was for a divorced dad. While I know that Goziem does not speak for every divorced dad who is dating, I know that there a...
EP 25: Dating As A Divorced Dad ft. Goziem
November 30, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 49.2 MBMy people! I am here to prove to you that divorced dads who are dating do exist! It took me so long to find a divorced dad willing to speak to me about his dating life. But then Goziem happened. He was introduced to me by a mutual friend, Eloka, and the rest is history. As a divorced mom, I know what dating is like. But I did not know and what I wanted to know was how it was for a divorced dad. While I know that Goziem does not speak for every divorced dad who is dating, I know that there a...
EP 24: On Being An African Atheist ft. Ruth Marimo
November 23, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 79.7 MBConversations are important, especially with people who are different from you. As a Christian girl, it was important for me to have this conversation with Ruth Marimo, an African Atheist - because at the end of the day, no matter who we serve (or don't serve), we are still humans with blood running through our veins. Today's guest, Ruth Marimo, isn't new to the podcast. She first came on the podcast in episode 18 where she talked about emotional resilience. It. Was. So. Powerful! Check tha...
EP 23: I'm Divorced. Now What? ft. Sade Curry
November 02, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBDivorce is like an onion; it has so many layers that need to be peeled, one after another. First, there's the layer where you realize you need to get divorced, and there are all the emotions that come with it. Then there's the layer where you go through the actual divorce. Then, finally, the layer after the divorce. Now what? What happens after the divorce? How do you heal? How do you move on? How do you meet good men? How do you remarry - if you so desire? These are the questions that Sade...
I'm Divorced. Now What? ft. Sade Curry
November 02, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBDivorce is like an onion; it has so many layers that need to be peeled, one after another. First, there's the layer where you realize you need to get divorced, and there are all the emotions that come with it. Then there's the layer where you go through the actual divorce. Then, finally, the layer after the divorce. Now what? What happens after the divorce? How do you heal? How do you move on? How do you meet good men? How do you remarry - if you so desire? These are the questions that Sade...
EP 22: How To Be Confident AF ft. Msendoo
October 19, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 48.2 MBI used to not wear shorts. Wait, let's rewind. When I was younger, maybe between 12 and 17 or something like that, I loved my legs, and I remember how it started. I had heard my mom in a conversation with her friend who kept complimenting my legs, saying how nice they were. And that was how I started suddenly thinking my legs were the best. But at some point, I started thinking that my legs were not so great anymore, specifically, my thighs. I thought they were too big and did not deserve ...
EP 21: Why Africans Don't Have The Black Perspective ft. Dr. Uju Anya
October 12, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 78.2 MBThis is one of the first topics I wrote down when I was dreaming about starting my podcast: why Africans don't have the African American perspective. From the moment I finally began to understand my African privilege and the struggles of my African-American brothers and sisters that I previously did not know of, I have tried to use my platform to tell all my fellow Africans. African privilege is a thing that a lot of us, Africans, don't even know that we have. For us, we think that coming f...
EP 20: What About Sex During Divorce? FT. Berry Dakara
October 05, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 75.2 MBBefore I filed for divorce - in fact, before I even walked away from my marriage - I had never given a moment's thought to sex (or lack of it) during a divorce. I also did not know that the legal laws for sexing while divorcing varied from State to State. In my State, Maryland, for example, it is illegal to have sex with someone who is not your spouse, until your divorce is final. It does not matter if you are legally separated. It was only when I separated from The Boy that I started recei...
Season 2 Is Coming!
October 02, 2020 03:00 - 6 minutes - 4.22 MBMy Sweet Potatoes! Season two is upon us! Need I say more? The real question is are you ready? Or ARE YOU READY? BEFORE YOU GO, PLEASE RATE AND LEAVE A WRITTEN REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS. THANK YOU! Let's connect: I Am African on Instagram I Am African on Twitter I Am African on Facebook Vera Ezimora on Instagram Vera Ezimora on Twitter Vera Ezimora on Facebook Subscribe to my monthly emails Web: www.verastic.com Email: [email protected]
EP 19: Can Women Be Divorced And Happy?
July 27, 2020 04:00 - 55 minutes - 38 MBCan women actually be divorced and happy? For some reason, being divorced and happy, especially for a woman, seems like it's mutually exclusive. I will not make the claim that all women are divorced and happy, but I can confidently say that any woman who gets divorced for the right reasons can be - and most likely is - divorced and happy. Our culture abhors divorce. Our culture also abhors a free-thinking, independent woman because she is seen as rebellious and unsubmissive. You already kno...
EP 18: Emotional Resilience: How To Deal With Not Being Included FT. Ruth Marimo
July 13, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 70.9 MB"Vera, you're so strong!" I've practically heard this for as long as I can remember. I heard it most when I left my marriage. People congratulated me for being so strong, for having the audacity to walk out of a marriage that was trampling me and robbing me of my peace. I did not understand why I was being congratulated. Should one not always leave a situation that is bad for them? But that's by the way. To be strong, one has to be emotionally resilient. Some people are strong because the...
EP 17: A Conversation With An Openly-Gay Nigerian Man FT. Edafe Okporo
July 06, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 53.7 MB"I believe in asking the difficult questions, starting the uncomfortable conversations, proposing outside-the-box solutions, and of course, shaking tables. No, breaking tables." Verbatim, these words are in the intro of the I Am African Podcast because they are exactly why I started this podcast. And today, I had the pleasure of speaking with Edafe Okporo about his life as an openly-gay Nigerian man. Make no mistake, Edafe is not a gay rights activist, although he is understandably outspoke...
16: How Not To Say Yes When You Really Mean No
June 29, 2020 05:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBEven now, I'm wondering if How Not To Say Yes When You Really Mean No is the appropriate title for this. But it's too late to change it. The podcast has been recorded, edited, and published. Perhaps, what I really should have named it is How Not To Spend Your Energy On Things You Really Don't Want. Either way, I suppose there's still an element of saying yes or no to something. Listen and tell me your thoughts! BEFORE YOU GO, PLEASE RATE AND LEAVE A WRITTEN REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS. THANK...
EP 16: How Not To Say Yes When You Really Mean No
June 29, 2020 05:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBEven now, I'm wondering if How Not To Say Yes When You Really Mean No is the appropriate title for this. But it's too late to change it. The podcast has been recorded, edited, and published. Perhaps, what I really should have named it is How Not To Spend Your Energy On Things You Really Don't Want. Either way, I suppose there's still an element of saying yes or no to something. Listen and tell me your thoughts! BEFORE YOU GO, PLEASE RATE AND LEAVE A WRITTEN REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS. THANK...
EP 15: Never Have I Ever [A Life Not Lived - Yet]
June 15, 2020 04:00 - 30 minutes - 20.7 MBI played a game of Never Have I Ever on Zoom for Uju's birthday in April, and it got me thinking about a whole lot. Although I knew it before, this game became living proof that indeed I need to stop being so safe and live already. There is so much I still have not experienced. Half the year is already gone, but it does not mean I can't start where I am right now, right? The past three weeks have been very dark - and that's putting it mildly - so I deliberately chose this topic for this week...
EP 14: On The Rape Culture In Nigeria ft. Omolara Oriye
June 09, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 67.7 MBSweet Potatoes, So much is going on in the world right now. And I'm tired of starting sentences like this, but how can I be tired when some people have a worse fate? My fellow Nigerian women have been raped and killed with no repercussions to the rapist because of the rape culture in Nigeria. In today's episode, I have the very smart and outspoken table-shaker, Omolara Oriya, an activist, human rights lawyer. We had a raw and authentic conversation about the rape culture in Nigeria, about ...
Dear Africans, You're Black Too!
June 01, 2020 04:00 - 23 minutes - 16.2 MBToday's episode is not a regular episode, and I am not a regular Vera today either. I was so angry recording this episode. When I was listening back to it, I felt bad for the Vera who recorded it. I was angry that some Africans still don't know that they're Black in America, but I was angrier at the situation that calls for Africans to be reminded that they're Black too. Some days ago, I did not go to bed till about 4AM because I was watching the news, watching buildings burn, and watching ...
EP 13: Dear Africans, You're Black Too!
June 01, 2020 04:00 - 23 minutes - 16.2 MBToday's episode is not a regular episode, and I am not a regular Vera today either. I was so angry recording this episode. When I was listening back to it, I felt bad for the Vera who recorded it. I was angry that some Africans still don't know that they're Black in America, but I was angrier at the situation that calls for Africans to be reminded that they're Black too. Some days ago, I did not go to bed till about 4AM because I was watching the news, watching buildings burn, and watching ...
EP 12: On Patriarchal Cultural Norms That Don't Serve Women ft. Ola Bisi (Jopa's Daughter)
May 25, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBThe longer I live, the more I learn. When I was a child, there were so many things that were normal to me. Now that I'm older and wiser, I know myself a lot better, and I realize that some of the things I thought were normal were actually patriarchal cultural norms that don't serve women. I'd admit that I fell for some of them, and as I live and learn, I will continue to unlearn every norm that inhibits me. For this episode, my guest is Olabisi Ajai Layode. Do you know her? Let me tell you ...
EP 11: On Remarrying After Divorce And Lessons Learned ft Mercedes Okwukogu
May 18, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBMercedes Okwukogu is a woman to be admired. In the past three weeks, Nigerian Facebook has been greatly shaken. On Ola Bisi's Facebook wall, she started sharing stories of women who are divorced. She used the hashtag, #DivorceNotStigma, and I was one of the women whose stories got shared. She reached out to me to share my story, and even before she reached out, I was planning on doing so anyway. Of course, my own story was already very public, so sharing a summary of it on Facebook was no p...
EP 10: Why Women Endure Bad Marriages
May 11, 2020 07:00 - 26 minutes - 18.3 MBLast week, I shared my marriage and divorce story again on Facebook, on Ola Bisi's Facebook profile page, as part of her #DivorceNotStigna series. It's a series of stories by women who walked out of their marriage and got divorced after enduring too much. But reading some of the comments, raised another question about why women endure bad marriages. So, of course, I am here to answer. Let's connect: I Am African on Instagram I Am African on Twitter I Am African on Facebook Vera Ezimora ...
EP 9: But Our African Men Know Better
May 04, 2020 07:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBBefore we go any further, let's just agree that our African men know better. That being said, last month, I wrote a post on this blog, titled, "20 Things Women Are Not Doing in 2020," and while it was so much fun to write, I was once again surprised by how many women related to it. A woman sent me an email to say how she related to so many of these points, but the one that pained her most was number 7, quoted below: Accepting less because our African men don’t know better: We now know that ...
EP 8: The Mountain Is Smaller Than It Looks
April 27, 2020 05:00 - 35 minutes - 24.1 MBHave you ever faced a mountain in your life that you thought was just going to take you out? Yeah, me, too. Sometimes, I sit back and remember when life was much simpler. Like when my biggest problem in life was that I did not own a cell phone. I wished for one so badly. Funny enough, at some point, I owned not just one, but two cell phones. Then I got tired of having two cell phones, and I switched back to one. Recently, my mountain was the end of my marriage and consequently, the divorce ...
EP 7: How To Discover (And Harness) Your Feminine Energy ft. Ekene Onu
April 20, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 70 MBIt's not every day that one gets to have a conversation about how to discover your feminine energy with the dynamic feminine success coach, Ekene Onu. She's a whole lot of woman. She is as wise as she is graceful, and she seems to do it all so effortlessly. I don't know how she does it, but I do know that she is one of us, and I have met her in person, so I know for sure that she does not have two heads. Today's episode is about how to discover your feminine energy. But it isn't just about ...
EP 6: How I Adopted My Daughters ft. Nkem Akinsoto
April 13, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 74.8 MBIn today’s episode, Nkem Akinsoto – AKA Myne Whitman – has graced us with her virtual presence and her wealth of knowledge on the subject of adoption, especially when it comes to adopting in Nigeria. I had heard before that adoption was expensive, but I assumed that adopting in Nigeria (or at least outside America) would be cheaper because you’d convert the dollars to the local currency. Nkem’s story, however, has opened my eyes up to a new reality. You have to listen to find out more. Let ...
EP 5: On Being The Youngest Black Man To Own A Cannabis Dispensary ft. Seun Adedeji
April 06, 2020 04:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBSeun Adedeji, youngest Black man to own a cannabis dispensary. And he's African, too? And he's Nigerian? Hot damn. So, I sought him out, and I reached out to him, and I begged him to be a guest on the I Am African podcast, and he obliged me generously. I was so impressed with Seun Adedeji. He's 26 years old, and he's wise, and he has foresight, and I am proud that he's one of my own. You don't have to be interested in cannabis to appreciate this episode. If you're driven, and you want to s...
EP 4: On Women Owning Their Sexual Desires ft. Duchess Iphie
March 30, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBAs an African woman who was raised by African parents, I was never taught to be comfortable with sex, and I was definitely not told about women owning their sexual desires. What sexual desires??? Sex was always this taboo thing that you were only allowed to think of after marriage. And even then, it was a man's thing, a thing that a wife gave her husband whenever he asked for it. I was never taught that women could want it, or could enjoy it, or could even ask for it. Well, I know that now!...
EP 3: How My Intuition Saved Me From My Marriage
March 23, 2020 04:00 - 42 minutes - 29 MBWhat does your intuition sound like to you? It sounds like the voice of God to me. It sounds to me like God nudging me, telling me where to go and how to get there. And that's why my intuition saved my life. This episode shares in great detail the many times my intuition saved my life. This episode mentions the story about how my marriage ended, and you can read that story in full here. Let's connect: I Am African on Instagram I Am African on Twitter I Am African on Facebook Vera Ezimo...
EP 2: Side Chics' Lives Matter
March 16, 2020 04:00 - 34 minutes - 23.5 MBIt's okay to laugh at the title. I laughed at it too when I conceived of the idea. Did you watch that video that was circulating around last week and the week before of a woman physically attacking her husband's alleged side chic and asking her who she thought she was to be having anal sex with her husband? Yeah, that video inspired this episode. And then, there was the thing about Bill Clinton saying that his illicit affair with Monica Lewinsky was a way for him to relieve his anxiety. I ...
EP1: For This Divorce, I Prayed
March 09, 2020 04:00 - 26 minutes - 18.3 MBDo people pray for divorce? I don't know if they do. I know people pray for love, and for health, and for life, and for marriage, and for children, and for money. I don't know if people pray for divorce, but I know I did. I prayed for divorce fervently. And I prayed for my peace to return to me. I did not know the value of my peace until I did not have it anymore. As promised, here's the link to How My Marriage Ended: The Full Story. Let's connect: I Am African on Instagram I Am African...
EP 0: Introduction
February 27, 2020 06:00 - 9 minutes - 6.79 MBThis is the introduction to the I Am African podcast by Verastic. The answers to your initial questions are in this episode. Like what is this podcast about? Who is the host? And why did she name it I Am African? Just click play. Thank you for listening. Please review, share, and subscribe to this podcast! Let's connect: I Am African on Instagram I Am African on Twitter I Am African on Facebook Vera Ezimora on Instagram Vera Ezimora on Twitter Vera Ezimora on Facebook Web: www.veras...
EP 0: Introduction
February 27, 2020 06:00 - 9 minutes - 6.79 MBThis is the introduction to the I Am African podcast by Verastic. The answers to your initial questions are in this episode. Like what is this podcast about? Who is the host? And why did she name it I Am African? Just click play. Thank you for listening. Please review, share, and subscribe to this podcast! Let's connect: I Am African on Instagram I Am African on Twitter I Am African on Facebook Vera Ezimora on Instagram Vera Ezimora on Twitter Vera Ezimora on Facebook Web: www.veras...