 Did you know Friday was the International Day of Friendship, a day to recognize the importance of friends as a significant aspect of our shared humanity. It is also a day to recognize friendship as a force that can contribute to global cooperation, solidarity and peace. Our correspondent, Ungo Zika, went to find out about friendship in Lagos. Today, I am visiting Chinasa Anacanimo, two good friends of eight years. Their friendship is the kind admired by people who know them. These two ladies share their friendship journey. They're wearing so clothes even though they work together. First of all, friendship is a blessing. Especially if you're living in today's world, you can't just peddle everything that is happening in this world. You need someone else that probably sees the same, through the same lens, have the same values, I'm not just in front of people or in front of the cameras we are today, but behind closed doors. Someone that would not really push, but is patient enough to wait till you come around. Funny thing is that someone has asked me, especially concerning our friendship, I said, what if tomorrow, you know, NASA turns like a sire grip? And my answer had been that I would forever be grateful for the times that we're friends because we're excellent moments. So friendship for me, to your question, is trust, respect, the ability to be yourself. And I like what Ike said, you know, when I knew that we're doing this interview, I was thinking about it like, you know what, in truth, like nothing in life last forever, we do hope that this friendship continues for as long as God tarries, as they say, but I think that what I have also been able to categorically tell myself is that should this friendship go the other way for some whatever reason, I can't imagine what that reason is. We're no longer friends, I will be grateful for the opportunity of this kind of friendship. And I say this because in a world where people can't even trust, you know, the people around a lot of family members to find this kind of relationships, you, I'm just thankful to God that you can be honest and truth, you know, you can get the truth from them. You can feel safe, like a safe space, you know, that's what friendship is to me. There are a lot of things that we don't agree on. There are a lot of things we have different tastes and different things, but at the end of the day, the core remains the same. So knowing, just as she said, the core, everything else we can take. We haven't actually had the time where we've not been talking. And if it has happened, maybe it was just me thinking, I'm not talking to Eke and she's not aware. Like, it's totally oblivious. I mean, sometimes I've blocked her on WhatsApp, like, I'm not talking to Eke and people like, I don't worry, these are both of you. But even that was as a joke because, again, it's the genuineness of the relationship. Like, I can be a total, for lack of a better word, I can be a jerk sometimes, but I also know that she gets it. Like, she's not going to label me and say, well, Nasa is just this annoying person. Like, Nasa is one of her moons. And so I think with that appreciation, you're like, okay, yeah, I can always talk to this person and it doesn't matter. I don't feel a type of way. It's a good thing that Nasa is annoying because sometimes she is annoying. Oh, but she is too. We did not like ourselves at first. It's not that you're not precise. Now, if there's anything that our friendship has to, you know, demonstrate that it's growth, gradual growth, when you say something is organic, this friendship is really organic, in the sense that it just grew from seeing that this person, I like, you know, and we kind of have the same principles. And the journey has been slow and steady. There's no forceful attempts to make, you know, either of us friends. So it's not like sit down and tell me everything about your life, if not this friend. So that we can become friends. Yeah, so we can become friends. So we catch up on it. And as we go, we take it every day. And till today I'm still learning some things about Nasa. She has friends from different circles that probably know more stories than I do. You get. And the same thing, right, Nasa? But, you know, the sad steady growth, when it comes to personal development, we've been on journeys together. Absolutely. Well, always sticking it, okay? Satting from, I don't know, just wanting to be better as public speaking. So we've gone on Toastmasters' journey together. We've done our MBA together. We're going to start friends sometime together. We're going to do our project management together. And these plants are, I don't know, so it's not like we speak that and think about it, right? But we just know that we want to be better women. The foundation of this friendship is being our shared development goals. Personal, you know, we're talking, and like, you know, I want to do this, like, yeah. I mean, public speaking started with, you know, what even, how did that start? So I think we started where we're going to be, you know, preparing to next level. Yeah, where we're going in life. Where we're going to be like, and we need to be prepared to that. It doesn't take about the price. Moving from, you know, moving to mid-management and the senior management and, you know, being career women. We're like, we need to be prepared for this. No, we can't start preparing in the battle. So it's like when I started Toastmasters and we started that journey together and then there was MBA and then she had a mentor that she was gracious enough to share with me. And we have this one mentor that probably just thinks that these girls are crazy. But, yeah, so I'd say it's the shared goals that's also one of the glues of this friendship. Like, we know that we're going in similar directions. So it's easier to sort of cultivate. So the people that are struggling with friendship, like I said, understand first of all. So first of all, one thing AK said, you know, first of all, understand who are you yourself, right? And do that self-assessment. Be true to yourself. That's the only place that you can, that's the first place to begin. And then with that, you can attract the kind of people that you want to attract based on your own true self. I think that's the reason why the Bible says you love your neighbor as yourself. And she just buttressed that point. You have to understand who you are. Accept yourself. Then know that friendship is not about modification. Friendship is different from followership. If you want to be a leader or a boss of people, then go and gather people and pay. You know, maybe you have a company of followership. But once you come to real friendship, you must learn to coexist. Human beings are not perfect. You must give an allowance for that. And you must take time to build that bank of trust. You keep depositing into it. And you must build that. It takes time. Don't rush it. Don't force it. Don't force it. More importantly, be a happy person. Be what? By yourself. Be what you can attract. Be sincere. Be true. And it will come. Dami Lola O'Wollabee is a life coach who believes that friendship can be great. But explains that humans need to be intentional about being the right kind of friend before seeking real friends. Most of the people that I deal with have challenged with friends understanding them in their critical time and states. So when they come to me, we deal with the issue from the angle of, OK, before we start bringing your friend, your friend, your friend in, your family, can we deal with you first? What have you done to merit that friend? In our own or in each or our whole time or down time, what have you done to help him or her? Now, the painful part is if they have been loyal, if they have been good, if they have been supportive, and when they now get to their time, they got stabbed at the back, you know, got condemned and all of that. It can be more painful. And it adds more to the trauma they are going through as of that time. And it helps them, it costs their healing to elongate. Good friendship and body's empathy, compassion and concern for other people, it requires time and work. And could transcend race, culture and national boundaries. By valuing and celebrating friendship, we foster selflessness and gratitude. And these individuals share what friendship means to them. It's a form of companionship, a union between two or more people. Like, do things together, play together, eat together. Friendship is about sacrifice, it's about tolerance. It's an affliction. You have for one another. Someone you can rely on, call upon, be dependable to, like, someone that can be there for you. Happy International Day of Friendship. Be kind to everyone you meet. Happy International Day of Friendship. Happy International Day of Friendship. Happy International Friendship Day. Happy International Day of Friendship. Be kind, be true and be you. Hello, hope you enjoyed the news. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.