I almost japa'd for Canada, but my sister's admission changed everything

Two years ago, I was one signature away from accepting a job in Canada. The offer was good, the salary was in dollars, and Abuja was squeezing me dry. I had even started telling my colleagues I was leaving. Then my younger sister got her university admission letter, and my mother's health started failing. Same week.

My mother didn't beg me to stay. She just said, "If you go, who will help your sister with her fees? Who will take me to the hospital?" That question sat on my chest like a bag of cement. I called the Canadian company and turned them down. My colleagues thought I was mad. My friends in Toronto kept sending me photos of their snow.

Now I watch my sister graduate next year, and my mother is still here to see it. Some days I wonder what my life would have been like in Canada. But then I remember that I get to watch my daughter grow up around her grandmother, and I know I made the right choice. The system here is slow, but it moves eventually. Who else has had to choose between their dreams and their family?