At first, one could pass the gathering at the Shehu Musa Yar ‘Adua Centre, Abuja for a birthday bash. But, it was not. It was the launch of Mrs Hadiza Isma El-Rufai’s first book: An Abundance of Scorpions, which celebrates the Nigerian Muslim woman’s strength and perseverance. She spoke on how her family’s travails and political upheavals of 2008 reawakened her interest in writing, why she wrote the book on Nigerian Muslim family, and her dream of being a published writer, among other issues. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.
Until 2008, Mrs Hadiza El-Rufai was not known to the literary world. Though a housewife and an architect with a Master’s degree in Architecture, the wife of Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has always dreamt of being a published writer. Her family’s travails and political upheavals ignited her love for writing – a passion she had always nurtured. Last Thursday, she did not only join Nigeria’s literati but also presented her debut book, An Abundance of Scorpions, to the literary world at Abuja.
At an interaction with Dr. Olaokun Soyinka during the launch, Mrs El-Rufai said she had always dreamt of being a published writer despite being an Architecture major. She said to hone her skill, she enrolled for a Master’s degree programme in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom. That decision, she said, was informed by her belief that she needed to know the craft in spite of the desire and passion in her to do well in writing.
“In 2008, my family had lots of travails and political upheavals. It was a turbulent and confusing period for us. It was at that period I remembered that I used to love reading books. So I started reading, and I attempted to write. But I realised I needed to learn the craft of writing. So I decided to do a Master of Art Degree in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, UK. There was no regret for me. I learnt a lot of things there, and that was the beginning. I was lucky because my husband was busy and that gave me the opportunity to write,” she said.
Mrs El-Rufai, who is also the founder of Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation aimed at awakening and nurturing creativity in children and improving the literacy skills of disadvantaged young women in Northern Nigeria, recalled her anxiety while waiting for the birth of the first book.
“Since I decided to write and of course I had the dream of being a published write. And when a writer is published it makes some kind of validation. Even writers that are not published it is not to say they are not good writers. But publishing make you feel some kind of validation. Of course, I had wanted to be published and I feel excited. The first time I saw my book in published form, I was very excited,” she added.
When asked if the use of suspense in her book was deliberate, she replied:”I don’t know and I won’t say it is deliberate. You know how these things happen. Sometimes, the book suddenly rewrites itself. Of course, not many of you have read the book. On page 4, I wrote about sex there. I got questions about that too. I did not deliberately put that there. I thought it was important to add that. I wanted to show the intimacy between a wife and her husband, after all, it is part of life. Also, I wanted to show the life of Muslims and Northerners that is different from the stereotype that lots of people have. I want people to read the book and see our family life and know that we are not so different.”
On the thrust of the book and how it mirrors her person, Mrs El-Rufai described the question as a frequently asked question, but said the “book is on a Northern Nigerian Musilm woman, Tambaya, from the same culture. She is a woman that suffers a lot. Apart from that, the whole story is pure fiction. I made it up. I am working on the second book. I plan to write for the rest of my life.”
Publisher and CEO, Ouida Books, Lola Shoneyin, who is also the initiator of Ake Arts and Book Festival, said she was very proud of Hadiza Isma El-Rufaia, adding that she enjoyed every moment and felt greatly privileged to have been involved in guiding the delivery of the book.
“But what was the mother like while in the throes of labour? Well, like it is with every text that is cooked to term, we had to do a little snipping here and there. We did our breathing exercises and had long debates about punctuation, language, pace and even the title. But through it all, this mother was cooperative, painstaking and diligent,” she said of the processes that led to the birth of the new book.
She recalled when she was introducing her at Ake Festival: “I whispered to her that this was the end of all that Your Excellency. I explained that you haven’t really “arrived” as an author until people refer to you by your first and last name. She looked at me with a wry smile and said: ‘I am very happy with people calling me by my given name.”’ she said.
Continuing, she added: “You’ll hear that name quite a lot today. It won’t just be because Hadiza Isma El-Rufai has become a member of what is still an elite group of published Nigerians, it won’t just be because she has earned our respect; it will be because her baby, her book, An Abundance of Scorpions, is beautiful and worth celebrating.”
Shoneyin, who noted that writers often describe the act of seeing the first bound copy of their books as akin to childbirth, said running a publishing house is one of the most fulfilling things she had embarked on though it is tough and frustrating when things don’t go the way you want. But, added that nothing compares to the sheer joy that that one experiences when a book is born.
In his keynote address, Dr. Anwalu Anwar said between 1980 and 1990, the northern region experienced an explosion of women creative writers with the emergence of Yaya Hassana (NuniCikinNishadi, 1984), Talatu Wada Ahmad (Rabin Raina, 1987), Balaraba Ramat Yakubu (BudurwarZuciya), Zuwaira Isa, Bilkisu Ahmad Funtuwa, Sa’adatu Baba Ahmad, and Lubabatu Shehu, among others. The trend, he said continues till now.
According to him, in 2014, Mace Mutum Writers Association in Kano produced a 266-page book, Hannu Da Yawa, on the themes of Talla (hawking), Fyade (rape), Aikatau (menial job), Rikice-rikice (trouble making), Almundahana (fraud), Yaki da Jahilci (adult education), Daba (hooliganism), Barace-barace (begging) and YanarGizo (internet). Anwar, who spoke on The Significance of Northern Women’s Voices to the Nigerian Literary Canon, said the significance of Northern women’s voices to the Nigerian literary canon is embedded in the nature of issues the authors discuss in their books. These, she said, include issues such as girl child, girl education, early marriage, polygamy, domestic violence, unpredictable and often sour relationship with in-laws, gender issues, gainful employment, entrepreneurship, economic independence, workplace politics, ethno-religious tolerance, peaceful coexistence, social responsibility and political awareness.
He said that the emergence of women literary voices in English was recorded in 1984 when Zaynab Alkali was discovered through The Stillborn and The Virtuous Woman (1986), Cobwebs and Other Stories (1997). Other authors in the category included AsabeKabirUsman, Fatima Alkali, BilkisuAbubakar, Bilkisu Ahmad Funtuwa, Razinat Muhammad, HalimatSekula, Cecilia Kato, The Kabafest Celebrities and HadizaIsma El-Rufai. He identified the objectives of the writers to include identifying the position of northern woman, to express her yearnings and aspirations, to tell her own story without distortions as effort to dismantle all barriers against her true identity and development.
He therefore urged Northern leaders at all levels to sponsor the translation of women literary works from local to international languages, while governors should embark on genuine education reforms and development, especially at the primary and secondary levels. “Government at all levels should pay more attention to vocational and technical education. There is need for mentoring to encourage up-coming writers. Both the Old brigade and the New-breed writers need societal goodwill and support in order to sustain their literary activities for transformational purposes and development,” he added.
The evening was not all about talks and speeches, as there were drama sketches Deihlar Musa, musical performances by Jeremiah Gyang and Uche Onah, screening of short film on the book by Lilian Byoma. Book presentation was done by the duo of Tony Elumelu and Hakeem Bello-Osagie, while goodwill messages were sent by well-wishers such as Deputy Secretary General, UN, Amina Mohammed, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, Maryam Uwais, Zainab Alkali and Association of Nigerian Authors, President Denja Abdullahi. Present at the launch were Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai, Alhaja Zainab representing President Muhammadu Buhari, APC Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Managing Director Nigerian Port Authority Hadiza BalaUsman, Director General National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe, former Corps Marshal, FRSC Osita Chijoka, wives of state governors from Kwara, Imo, Zamfara, Gombe and Sokoto.
