They called her Lahadi (La-ha-dee), which means "Sunday" in Hausa, because she was born on a Sunday. Her mother's labor on the day of her birth was quick, and was accomplished in between the sale of some fried bean cakes. When her labor pains began, she left her work briefly and gave birth to a daughter! Because of this, Lahadi was fondly called "a business lady" or "daughter of the market".
When Lahadi was 7, her mother and father separated. She never knew why. Her mother left, taking Lahadi and her younger sister with her. Her older siblings remained with their father. Lahadi's mother moved in with Lahadi's grandfather's family, and made a living cooking and selling her fried food.
One day, when she was 13 years old, Lahadi arrived home from school to hear that a life-changing decision had been made on her behalf. She was to be married. A Muslim man, an acquaintance of her mother's, had asked for Lahadi's hand in marriage. Lahadi became this man's wife within three months.
During the first 5 years of marriage, Lahadi remembers watching "The Donut Man," a Christian children's program, on television. She remembers crying whenever she watched the show, and not knowing why. There was a hunger for something more within her spirit, a hunger that was crying out to be satisfied. One day, Lahadi had a vision. In the vision, a huge black figure approached her. She was terrified, and cried out for help, "Mohammad! Mohammad!" . Help did not come, and she remained terrified. Then, a figure in white appeared by her side, reached down, and took her hand. She then awoke from the vision.
Lahadi's spirit was troubled. What did this mean? She asked a Malam (an Islamic spiritual leader) what it could mean. He told her she must be doing something wrong, and that she needed to search her heart and find out what it was. She tried to search her heart for whatever it was that needed to change. She didn't know what to do!
One of Lahadi's older sisters was a Christian. Lahadi told her sister about the dream and asked what it could possibly mean. Her sister said, "It means that even though you are sitting in darkness, God is coming to your side to aide you. Remember that Christ loves you!"
After 5 years of marriage, and several miscarriages, Lahadi was finally able to carry a baby to full-term. She was 18 years old when she gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Fati, after her mother. Out of respect for her mother, she called the baby, Umie, which means "Mommy" in Hausa.
Lahadi's marriage ended unexpectedly when her husband decided to marry another young woman. Because of the circumstances surrounding the marriage, he gave Lahadi a choice - he would allow her to leave their marraiage with his blessing. Lahadi chose to leave, but these days were discouraging and difficult for her.
Lahadi's older sister, the one who had encouraged her, "Remember that Christ loves you," invited her to church, and she began to attend secretly. She would veil herself as a means of disguise as she traveled to church, then remove the veil when she arrived. After going for some time, she made the decision to give her life to Jesus Christ.
Lahadi's mother was angry about her decision to follow Jesus and rejected her completely. She sent for someone to steal Umie away and give her to her father, Lahadi's former-husband. She hoped this would force Lahadi to return to Islam and reject her Christian faith. Umie was about 18 months old at the time. She was playing outside while Lahadi worked in the house. The man came and took Umie without warning. Lahadi begged and pleaded to have the child back, but her former-husband would not hear of it. In this culture, the children belong to the father, not to the mother. The mother has no rights.
To add to her sorrow, Lahadi's mother continued to persecute her relentlessly for her faith in Jesus. She hired men to beat her, trying to force her to renounce the name of Jesus. Lahadi refused. She continued to grow in the conviction of her faith. Eventually, Lahadi fled the country of her birth, Nigeria. She took shelter in neighboring Niger, where she enrolled in Bible School.
It was there that she met a Christian man, Musa, whom she married on October 27, 2000. Joyfully, they welcomed two beautiful children into their lives. The firstborn was a boy - handsome, sweet, and thoughtful. Their second-born was a beautiful, vivacious daughter. After 7 years of marriage, Lahadi was left a widow when her husband, Musa, was suddenly killed in a motorcycle accident.
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