Tony Ubani’s flicks
My Mozambique friend, Thelma, is stunning in all standards. With attractive eyes that twinkle like stars, an immaculate dentition that sparkles like diamond, and a laughter that melts souls, Thelma makes people’s pressures to rise.

There are equally other beautiful girls like her in this impoverished nation. The problem with the other girls is in communication. They rap their Portuguese like Shabba Ranks singing. But Thelma speaks English as if the language is her mother tongue. And that is when and where men begin to fall for her.

She makes things to happen. She brings relief. She makes you to be at home. At least, your problem of using sign-language is solved by having her around. The only official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, with roughly half of the population speaking it as a second language and few as a first language. Local languages widely spoken include Swahili, Makhuwa, and Sena.

To see a girl who is beautiful and eloquent in English Language is like manna. Thelma took to me like magnet and iron. And that’s where my first shock came.

|”Tonero”, she blurted  in her heavy Portuguese accent giggling like one ready to fall into your arms. “I am a lesbian”, she paused to see my reaction. Naturally, I was petrified. “Abomination!. Lesbian? Why would such a beautiful girl be a lesbian? Does it mean  there are not enough men in Maputo or the men are not as passionate, loving and caring like Nigerians?”.

Her nudge on my shoulder brought me back from my astral travel. “Don’t you like lesbians? Are there no lesbians in Nigeria?”, she asked reading how disappointed I was from my face. |”Em, eh, no…..”, I stammered. “I took to lesbianism because of many heartbreaks.

My life has been ruined by men who are not to be trusted, men who do not know or keep their pledge of love. I considered suicide when my best friend, my lover ditched me and went out with my girlfriend. It was so bad that I wanted to kill myself. I thought the world has come to an end. I dropped in size and in everything.

But when I recovered, a friend talked me into finding love with my fellow women. And its been fun. I have discovered true love. I am living again. Men are falling at my feet but my boyfriend(meaning her fellow woman) is jealous. I will never have anything to do with a man again”, she vowed. Don’t ask me what led to this discussion.

How do you have children when you marry your fellow woman?”, I asked, yet to come to terms that indeed that I was face to face with a true lesbian. She laughed, “Adoption”, she replied. Why adopt a child since you feel that lesbianism is the best thing? Do you realize that you are challenging God who made man and woman and told them to go and multiply?”, I asked sounding like a Pastor.

“I have chosen the better part and it is my life. Everybody must not marry a man. If you find joy in living with another woman, there is nothing wrong with it”, she said without any remorse and walked away with her long face, turning and twisting her waist to the rhythm of their Portuguese music. I sat in shock and suddenly remembered legendary Bob Marley’s music which says; “man to man is so unjust……and woman to woman is …..