By Abasifreke Effiong
Is the girl child the future of the Nigeria’s literary society?
Young Nigerian girls are making tremendous contributions to scholarship and are rapidly tearing down prejudices and simplifying myths about literature.
Literature or Literature-in-English was a male-Professors’ dominated subject. Authorship in the field was domineered by men with post-graduate qualifications; oft, men with gray hairs and beards – the likes of the revered Prof. Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, John Clark.
Lately, young Nigerian girls who have dared to share a piece of themselves through writing are making all the genres of literature including poetry – which was a hard-to-read and understand – more friendly, interesting, ‘dope’ and an easy-read.
It is exciting and indeed a record to keep that three books written by a-24 year old Nigerian girl were recently approved as books of reading for junior secondary schools in Delta and Edo States.
The Delta State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education approved three books, Through The Eyes of An Insider, Letters From Home, Ori: The Journey, as the main literature text for students in junior secondary schools in the State.
Cover of Rukky’s book, Through the Eyes of an Insider.
These books are written by Miss Rukky Iniovosa, a 24 years old alumnae of Benson Idahosa University.
The Edo State government has also approved, procured and distributed Ms. Rukky’s books for all junior secondary school students in Edo State.
Ms. Rukky would be read by more than 100,000 junior secondary school students in the Delta and Edo States from this year, 2021 to 2023 as approved by the two States government.
Born in Delta State’s popular town, Warri, Rukky Iniovosa, holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature from Benson Idahosa University, BIU, Benin city, Edo State. She is a fantastic public speaker and poet; her poems have been published in online journals, blogs and have enjoyed lavished acclaims and positive reviews.
Cover of the book, Letters from Home, by Rukky Iniovosa.
Ms. Rukky is currently the youngest female writer to have all three books selected by the Ministry of Education in her state, at the same time. She is a true lover of education who is leading a change as an advocate of girl child education. Every year, she donates thousands of writings materials to schools in her city, Warri. She told The Dune newspaper that her goal is to inspire young girls to dream big and believe in the power of their abilities.
Ms. Rukky Iniovosa, the literary Amazon from Niger Delta.
Ms. Rukky is sensitive to the unwavering determination of young Nigerian boys who work hard daily bearing starvation. She is also sensitive to the plights of young girls who struggle relentlessly to overcome abuses in the pursuits of their dreams, and the culture as well as beliefs of her people in the Niger Delta.
In her book, Through the Eyes of an Insider, Ms. Rukky captures with some sense of humour the strength of the Nigerian boy who is determined in his struggles through pains, squalor, and failures, to meet an expected glorious end. The book is a tale of the life of a young boy called Odemili, battling against life’s challenges in a typical Nigerian setting.
Her other book, Ori: The Journey, tells the story of the plights of a young African girl struggling to overcome culture -instigated physical abuses, in the quest to achieve her dreams. Set in an indigenous African society, the story foregrounds the contrast between African traditional beliefs and Christianity.
Letters From Home, is an anthology. It is Ms. Rukky’s best poetic collections inspired by the culture and beliefs of her kith and kin in the Niger Delta. The content of the poems reflects the nature and attitude of Africans, celebrates the beauty of her culture, and highlights the issues affecting the African society.
Cover page of the book, Ori : The Journey.
Ms. Rukky Iniovosa like Ms. Ndueso Young – a young international author from Akwa Ibom state who is doing a fantastic job to push the frontiers of literature and advocacies on chastity – is the future of Nigeria’s literary society.
With Ms. Rukky, a literary Amazon from Niger Delta and many other Misses who have shared a piece of themselves through writing, there is hope for Nigeria’s literary society despite the sore worries about the future of the girl child and poor literary culture in the country. This hope can flourish if we support the aspirations of young female talents like Ms. Rukky Iniovosa, who has dared to be different by pushing herself up as a model of pride to the young Nigerian girl whose world’s view has been skewed badly by sexuality.
