By Anote Ajeluorou
Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam,
Bilqisu Abubakar and Iquo Diana-Abasi Eke are the three female trios currently
at residence at Nigeria’s fast growing resort for writers, with its idyllic
ambience sandwiched in the hilly plains of Iseyin, Oyo State. They are three
women, all married, who have taken their writing craft seriously and are being
listened to by those who should know.
Iwunze-Ibiam is from Enugu and her writing has gone places
with the awards she has won. Abubakar is from Kaduna and her stories and her
personal life is causing a transformation amongst female folks in her Islamic,
conservative society, as they speak to the core of the challenges women face in
such setting. Eke, a largely performance poet and folklorist, has her first
collection of poems, Symphony of Becoming, among the 11 works in
the running for the biggest literary prize in Africa, The Nigeria Prize for
Literature worth US$100,000.
In spite of these individual achievements, these female
writers are not resting on their oars; they keep pushing the boundaries of
literary creativity knowing that there is more in them yet to be brought out.
For these three writers, just like others who had enjoyed
the quiet ambience of Ebedi International Writers Residency to complete ongoing
works, the Dr. Wale Okediran-led initiative is a perfect platform that should
be supported for further cultural expression in the country.
For Iwunze-Ibiam, Ebedi is ideal place for any writer
constrained by his or her environment to write. According to her, “It’s been
really nice considering the space and time I have to concentrate on what I’m
working on. I actually don’t think I would have had this opportunity if I were
in my normal environment. So, it’s been easier for me to focus and concentrate
here at Ebedi. Again, I’ve really learnt a lot from my fellow residents. We
critique our writings, and this is really important in literature.
“At the moment, Ebedi is one person’s dream, and I feel
corporate organisations, and even government can actually come in to support
this dream, and it will take the dream to a bigger level and add more value to
the writers. The whole idea is really beautiful and I want to commend Okediran
for this.”
Eke also “thinks Ebedi Writers Residency is a laudable idea.
It is beautiful. The ambience of Iseyin itself is lovely. For someone like me
who lives in Lagos, the idea is just so great because I have the luxury of time
here. I don’t have to think about anything. I really want to commend the
founder, Dr. Wale Okediran for the good work he is doing. However, I feel if
there is more funding, then more things can be added to what is already on
ground”.
Bilqisu also agrees that “It’s a great idea, but it will be
beautiful if a literary professional can come in at intervals to look at what
writers are doing and discuss the areas residents can focus their works. This
will really be great and it will help the writers a lot. At the moment, the
writers do this themselves”.
INDEED, they are female
writers who are conscious of their environment and the challenges women face in
today’s Nigeria and actually writing about them. For Abubakar, who comes from a
culturally conservative background, women issues form the core of her writing,
as she noted, “I must say that is the angle I really concentrate on in my
writings. I talk about women who are from the Islamic background. The religion
kind of constrains us from doing certain things, which I have been able to
expose in my novels. I focus on issues like polygamy, divorce, marriage, early
marriage and many others”.
But like many emerging women in the North’s socially
constraining landscape, Abubakar has been able to break free, as she is
currently pursuing her Ph.D programme, saying, “It’s because of the education I
acquired. I’m actually working towards my Ph.D now. However, it has not been
easy. It really took a lot of hard work, and along the way some people accused
me of deviating from the normal path a woman should thread. But because of the
education I acquired, I have been able to see so many things, and that is why
I’m exposing some of these things in my works.
“So, yes! Women are now becoming more enlightened and
education is playing a significant role in this. We are becoming aware of
certain things, and school has played a greater role in this. I was 21 years
when I got married, and to some, I got married too late. I think I was fairly
old to have got married at 21. Ideally, getting married at 16 would have been fair
enough”.
On the raging issue of child marriage, Abubakar’s background
reared up to colour her thinking. According to her, “It depends on what you
call child marriage. If a child is matured at the age of nine and can handle
the responsibilities in the home, then nothing stops her from getting
married”.
But
her two colleagues strongly disagreed, with Eke saying emphatically, “Marriage
entails a lot of responsibilities and it necessitates different levels of
maturity like physical, emotional, psychological. For a fact that a female is
physically ready to get married does not mean she is ready psychologically or
emotionally to handle the decisions that come in a marriage. Unfortunately,
girls in Northern Nigeria don’t really have a choice when their families say it
is time for them to be married. Once a woman is married off at nine or ten,
when she has her daughters, she will also not see anything wrong in them
marrying at such an early age”.
Iwunze-Ibiam noted, “This is really complicated, but I think
women should be given a chance to grow and develop emotionally and physically
before being given out in marriage. When a girl is married off at an early age,
they are simply going into a commitment they don’t understand. However, for me,
I won’t give my child out at nine. She is even still a baby to me”.
And, going away from child marriage, Iwunze-Ibiam
summed up the writing styles of her two colleagues at Ebedi, when she said, “Their
styles are unique and interesting, especially in the angles and themes they
tackle. Iquo (Eke) focuses more on urban literature (issues), while Bilqisu
(Abubakar) focus on African communal literature (issues)”.
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