I was walking out from my estate to board a bus to work at 7:30 a.m. My ears were blocked with Oraimo free pods 4 while jamming Nathaniel Bassey's See What the lord has done at the highest volume. I've abused this song so much that my family members are tired of hearing it. It's a love-and-hate relationship at this point. They sing along for the first and second repeat before yelling at me to turn it off if I have nothing else to play.

But they don't understand that I'm getting my vocals ready for the day God will remember me. I'm now standing at my estate gate waiting for the bus to arrive. Meanwhile, the noise cancelation function in my pod made sure I was excluded from the Lagos morning madness. 

I was lost in my world when someone tapped my shoulder. I don't have any money to give you I blurted out with anger as I turned around. But my eyes met an angel. I didn't know when the Onitsha Agbero in me jumped out with "Asa Wassopu? She is so beautiful that my Igbo boy alter ego jumped out. I'm not even a lesbian to be exhibiting such a range. It came out of nowhere.

Her bewildered face gave away how she felt. I'm so sorry for that little exhibition, I said. Your beauty was just too captivating for me to keep calm.

Oh, thank you. She replied with the best smile I've ever seen. I'm a girl and I have fine friends but this her fine is Mamiwater fine. One person shouldn't be allowed to have all that fine.

Hold on, I think I have seen you somewhere. Your face looks familiar. Yes, that's why I approached you. We met at my office last week. Why does she look so familiar but still unrecognizable? There's no way I wouldn't be able to recognize such beauty if I had seen her before. Not Even in 10 years.

You are having difficulties remembering me I see. Well, I won't blame you. We met under a very embarrassing circumstance. I was the lady you helped at the bank. You overheard my conversation with my manager. It was more of an embarrassing warning.

Now I remember! Your eyes were so swollen and your face filled with tears that smeared your makeup. That's why I did not recognize you. I was surprised to see we stayed in the same estate. What a small world, she responded.

I just wanted to say thank you for all you did for me. You are a job and a lifesaver.  Would have been jobless by now if you didn't step in. Thank you so so much. You didn't know what you did for me.

As a matter of fact, I know exactly what I did. I was inside the bank's restroom when I heard two people come in. The man whom I now know to be her manager was shouting at her. I told you to do something about this body odor of yours. How can a beautiful girl like you have the stench of a one-week-old soaked iru? I have been very understanding and kind but now a senior manager has detected it too. Do you know how embarrassing it was for me to sit and listen to an old man question me about my secretary's hygiene? I can't keep making excuses for you anymore, Celine. It was okay when it was an open secret in our department but now it has gotten out. And I'm being asked to let you go if you can't keep it in check. So I'm giving you one week to get rid of it or lose your job. Then he stormed out. 

I cracked open the restroom door a bit to see if they were gone but I saw a lady on the floor bawling her eyes out uncontrollably. I rolled out a few plies of tissue and handed it over to her to clean her face. There was no hiding anything from me as she was sure I heard everything.

What soap do you use? I asked. She mentioned the name of a popular beauty soap. It was then I clocked why she hadn't been able to get rid of the body odour or keep it undetected.

What causes body odour?

Body odour is caused by bacteria that live on the skin. It's not about how much you sweat because sweat does not have anything to do with how your body smells. The bacteria on your skin is the major culprit of this crime.

When you sweat, the bacteria present on the skin break down the protein in the sweat which then results in body odour. That is why deodorants and antiperspirants would not be very effective if the bacteria on your skin were still chilling.

How do you get rid of body odour?

The first rule to getting rid of the foul smell is to ditch the beauty soaps.The papaya, the goat milk, the 7-day skin whitening soaps. Get rid of all of them. What you need is an antibacterial soap. Just walk into any drugstore or supermarket and grab any antibacterial soap. Soaps like Dettol, Irish Spring, Dial, or Safeguard will do. Then you can go ahead and buy your deodorants and antiperspirants like Nivea.

Deodorants vs. Antiperspirants: Which is better for getting rid of body odour?

If you have a strong body odor, I will recommend you go for antiperspirants as they work by blocking the pores on your skin surface thereby reducing the amount of sweat you produce.

Whereas deodorant aims to mask the odour. Use them both to be on the safe side. Deodorant first, then antiperspirant. Don't forget to spray a nice perfume.

I guess she followed my extensive lecture/advice.