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Adimora-Ezeigbo’s
revival gong
By Onukwube Ofoelue
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Penultimate week, Professor of English and Literature, Akachi
Adimora-Ezeigbo, took a significant step in the bid by concerned
writers to address the steady decline and lack of interest
in literary works. She launched four books at a well-attended
ceremony in Lagos.
Unlike her other works, she took children into consideration,
writing two narratives for them. But importantly, her effort
has rekindled hope, particularly among writers and concerned
stakeholders, of a rejuvenation of children’s literature
in Nigeria, which has over the years suffered neglect. A large
number of writers seem not to know what the exact content
of an ideal children’s book should be.
The wonders of Alice in Wonderland, the pranks of Peter Pan,
the dilemma of Chike and the River; these Adimora-Ezeigbo
addresses in the two story books as she invokes the spirit
of the child’s creative and fertile imagination. In
Fire from the Holy Mountain, she rebuilds a popular moonlight
story of the Igbo in a modern light with the story of Nwakannaya
in this age when superstition is militating against folklore
and tradition. The book rings with fantastic achievements
as is found only in foreign children’s movies like Superman,
Batman and Captain Britain.
It is a fairy tale about a king whose three wives could not
give birth to an heir. When the hated wife gives birth to
one, the king is in doubt of the boy’s paternity and
challenges him to do a superhuman feat - bring fire from the
holy mountain. The boy, helped by a kind spirit, accomplishes
this and is accepted as a hero and, of course, heir to the
kingdom.
Although from an ancient Igbo folklore, the story combines
modern scenery like nursery schools while retaining its originality.
My Cousin Sammy tells the story of the teenager, Sammy, who
comes from a rural community to live with his cousins. He
is hated and discriminated against by his city-dwelling relatives.
It is an eye-opener to the hurdles people from rural communities
have to contend with when they come to the city.
In the other two books, the professor delves deep into the
world of inspiration to give back to the society what she
has learnt from it.
In the anthology of poems Heart Songs, she uses Nigeria’s
unofficial lingua franca, Pidgin English, and street humour
to deliver the messages contained.
Trafficked is the story of some young women who got involved
in human trafficking and were forced into prostitution abroad.
After several trials, they were rescued by anti-human trafficking
agents. They later learnt some skills as well as went to school.
The novel attacks the evils of prostitution and human trafficking,
and educates the public on these moral and social ills.
In a remark at the event, Prof Adimora-Ezeigbo urged Nigerians
to rekindle the spirit of reading, which she referred to as
an art on its knees.
She also sounded an alarm, particularly to the federal government
through the ministers of education and information, who were
represented at the occasion, on its lack-lustre attitude towards
creativity in the country. She strongly urged the government,
educational institutes and corporate bodies to establish and
sponsor fellowships for writers as, according to her, poverty
has forced many talented individuals to abandon the art.
“In Nigeria, art is an endangered species. We need creative
writers to transmute reality and history into art for the
benefit of posterity. History is not enough. We need to give
flesh and blood to history. Only creative writers can do this,”
she said.
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