Gender expert, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, and Executive Director of the Women Empowerment and Reproductive Health Centre (WERHC), Dr (Mrs) Ejiro Otive-Igbuzor, is set to present two books and she is inviting lovers of creative writing to grace the occasion in person or online. The event, tagged ‘Unveiling My Novelist Side’, is part of Dr (Mrs) Otive-Igbuzor’s birthday celebrations and is scheduled for Saturday, 24 June 2023 at Ibeto Hotels, Abuja.
Titled Trophy Husband and The Travails of Omotejomo, in these books, the seasoned writer Ejiro shows that she is not all about academic publications. Previously, she had published Monitoring and Evaluation Demystified, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights and Women in Nigeria, Deadly Paradise, and Analysis of the Systemic Causes of Gender Inequality in Nigeria, and Gender and HIV/AIDS: Rethinking Women’s Vulnerability Beyond the Biological Paradigm. In these new books, Ejiro shows that every girl born into an African family has a story to tell, mostly stories of their unequal status resulting in discrimination, marginalisation or exclusion.
Does the combination of her dogged determination, destiny helpers and the God factor make any difference in a girl’s life?
Written in 42 days, Trophy Husband is about the excruciating pain of heartbreak and betrayal, coupled with the shame of being mocked and scorned by society leading a girl to make an irrational marriage decision. The girl seeks revenge against her cheating fiancé, Dafe, and her backstabbing friend. She seeks ‘escape’ from the mocking eyes of a society that shames and stigmatises the victim while silently hailing the perpetrator. It turns out to be a war against self. Isio, the protagonist accepts an arranged marriage to Okẹmẹ, the charming and purportedly wealthy heir apparent to the Irikefe ‘dynasty’. He lives in London. Marrying him should hurt Dafe, and shield her from the humiliation of jesters. And the icing on the cake, she will join the league of revered ladies who have ‘been to the abroad’, inọko, in local parlance. Living in inọko is a huge part of many girls’ dream fulfilment…but whatever awaits her in London? Isio’s story as told in Trophy Husband, spotlights the intricacies of the dating game and marriage with unshakeable faith in God.
The Travails of Omotejomo presents the harrowing experiences of a Nigerian girl born into a family that would have preferred a boy, having previously had three girls in a row. Her life is inundated with all manners of demotivation, deprivation and gender-based violence, all traceable to the invisible power of discriminatory social norms in Africa’s patriarchal society. Will she survive the consequences of mistakes attributable to youthful exuberance? Does the combination of her dogged determination, destiny helpers and the God factor make any difference in her life? The story evokes all kinds of emotions, sorrows, pain, laughter, and joy with salient life hacks for the young and old, whether they are female or male.
The invitation to the event says: “Time: 02:00 PM West Central Africa. If you are outside Abuja or unable to attend in person, kindly register on this link for easy Zoom access: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83497975931?pwd=Rk9tRzdKVHh0VkQ1amc0ZXgzMThvQT09 Meeting ID: 834 9797 5931 Passcode: Ejiro2023.”
