A couple of days ago,I read in the news with absolute horror the story of the father who lived with his daughter and slept with her often. He was not just having sex with her but was also giving her contraceptives to ensure she didn’t get pregnant! What depravity!

Then yesterday ,a popular TV personality is also said to have opined on a live show that although she trusts her husband but she would not trust him to or would not let him bathe their daughter. On this,I can’t say much,for one,I didn’t watch the program,two,people have been known to deliberately misconstrue or misunderstand what a ‘celebrity’ said and give it their own meaning while pinning it on the person.

However,the world as we knew it has changed so drastically. I am shocked at the recent stories that have come up about fathers sleeping with their daughters,I don’t understand any of it😕😠.
For some reason,three days ago,when I woke up,I was nostalgic. I missed my dad so much. He is well and alive and just a phone call away but…At a time ,I lived alone with my dad,I am the last child in my family and my parents both worked,my mum was working then in a different location and we had just moved from Kwara State to our ‘new ‘ state,Kogi State. My dad was to be stationed at Lokoja,the state capital. I was about 8 at this time. I was the only one still in primary school so my parents decided I was better off with my dad. I lived alone with my dad for about 3 years. In those three years,I came to know and demystify my dad😊.
In hindsight,I guess I am lucky to have my dad as a father not all these depraved and sick men that seem to be on the loose😑😒. My father taught me a lot of things,he would bathe me if the need arose,he would cook for me,and he also taught me how to cook some of the things I know how to cook today. My father’s love was quiet but sure. I have a special relationship with my dad which I believe was built over those 3 years I lived with him. My dad was and is still very meticulous. I am a lot like him but I believe I am a calmer version of him
😝😂of course he won’t agree with this but it is what it is.
My father is more of an introvert,he is the only child his mother had so I guess being on your own sort of grows on you.
I remember a certain day I was preparing for school and my dad was in the kitchen making my breakfast of fried plantain with vegetable and egg sauce,somehow,the pot overturned and the stove caught fire,my father tried to quietly take the burning stove in his bare hands and get it out of the house,however ,he dropped the stove as his palm was burning along, then the fridge also caught fire,all I heard at this point was my father screaming my name to get out of the house while he tried to put out the now raging fire.
I also remember another time while we lived at Ilorin,I must have been about 6 years old or thereabouts. I used to convulse whenever I had a fever as a child,so whenever I had a high temperature,my parents(my mum was a nurse/midwife) would do everything possible to get my temperature down.
On this fateful day,I remember it was a Saturday, my mum had left very early with my sisters and our maid to go to the market,I woke up feeling out of sorts but didn’t say anything to anyone,I just laid on the couch in the sitting room after breakfast and I must have drifted off to sleep. I had a slight fever before I slept off.

The next thing I heard from very far away was my father screaming my name “Yetunde Yetundeeee, emama,Yetundeee…I could hear him but could not respond,I was really cold,I heard someone crying and I heard my dad shouting where is the spoon? I didn’t know what was happening,I felt my teeth crushing down on something,I felt my limbs stretching and my dad’s screams ,I felt cold and hot at the same time. My body felt like it was not mine,I heard some loud screams and then absolute quiet…
Turns out I had another episode of convulsion,while I was sleeping on that couch,my temperature must have risen and it must have triggered convulsion,my father rushed to try to wake me up but he saw that my teeth was closing down,he had asked for a spoon but my brother Biodun (of blessed memory) was probably too confused to put himself together to get the spoon,so my dad did the next best thing,he stuck his fingers in my mouth and I clamped down on them,I almost bit off his fingers.😕😕
Now,this and many more are examples of how I remember my father,my father loved us,he loves us;he went out of his way to show us a good example,he demonstrated over and over again his love for his kids,he went over and above duty to ensure we were okay. My father is a good man,I am his daughter,I am proud to be his daughter.
That said,I have an 8 year old daughter,She bathes herself,her father supervises her sometimes,he bathes her if he needs to,I trust that he loves his daughter as much as I love her. We have a son who is 4+,Mike bathes him every morning,I bath him most evenings,I believe Mike trusts me with our son as I trust him with our daughter.
If you you are a father out there,and you cannot bathe your child,girl or boy,there is a serious problem,please get help!I know the world is different,yes,still! A father is supposed to be a girl’s first example of a man and  what he should be like. Please be a father to your daughter;fathers protect their children,fathers love their children, fathers provide for their children,fathers should make their kids secure,not abuse or molest them.

This is me saying to you,be happy!😊😊

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