This is not the story of the war between Russia and Ukraine. But it is a story of war. It is the story of three women, bonded by family ties, in a world of war as crafted by Bina Idonije. The lawyer-turned author is resolute in #BreakingTheBias. Her weapon is her pen. With her romance novel as armament, she calls for a bias and stereotype-free environment as she unveiled her debut novel at a star-spangled event in Lagos. EVELYN OSAGIE reports.
Bridging gap unity
Name the first African novel that introduced you to the world of books,” began Judith Atibi (broadcaster/producer) asked the audience.
She was the compere at an event, which saw guests in an interesting game of naming the first African novel they read.
It was fascinating to note that, despite the differences in age, they listed similar titles. From Things Fall Apart, to One Week One Trouble, Ralia The Sugar Girl, Bottled Leopard, Burning Grass and African Child the list was endless.
The event, which brought together heads of industries from diverse fields, was the launch of Bridges are for Burning, a book by a lawyer-turned author, Bina Idonije, a women’s rights advocate.
It was held at Four Points Sheraton, Victoria Island
For the Chairman, Century Group, Mr. Ken Etete, who chaired the event, it was Eze Goes to School and Things Fall Apart. He said emphatically that literary works were one of our strongest armaments at bridging societal inequalities.
”You can’t have enough literature, writing and reading in my days. If you are familiar with some books while in school, you would know about our diverse cultures. Being an Ijaw man from the Delta, I didn’t realise “Okafor” wasn’t an Ijaw name because growing up we had readers, books that were written by authors from Igbo cultures. We had Chinua Achebe, Eddie Iroh, Ngozi Okafor who gave us classic descriptions of what a typical Igbo society was like.
“I believe literary works are one of the strongest weapons through which we can bridge our gaps, unite our societies, learn and grow our economy and expand our understanding. Some may argue that people no longer read, but we also know that Nigeria has produced great writers in the continent and in the world. In this era of social media, I find it offensive where people are getting lazy to write. To see Bina, despite her busy schedule, write this exciting book is indeed praiseworthy. It is a big inspiration that should be emulated.”
For former Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Temisan Raymond Omatseye, whose first African novel was African Child: “Literature and writers have the power to start revolution, make and end a government. It is a powerful tool that should be used to bridge the gaps in society and for peace.”
#BreakingTheBias
Judith’s game and Etete’s words set the ball rolling for the evening of reminiscences, music, poetry, and, of course, romance.
The event featured talks on the importance of literature, friendship, women’s power and #BreakingTheBias, toxic masculinity and more.
Guests were welcomed into the author’s world of three women, bonded by family ties and life-long friendship. They had a feel of how romance and war could co-exist as the author fielded questions at an interview session hosted by the compere. This was followed by reading of some pages, identified with different characters in the book.
As more women are determined and are #BreakingTheBias, Idonije is out to burn the bridges of bias. Her weapon is her pen. The author sees her pen as the greatest armament at advocating for a bias and stereotype-free environment and is using her romance novel. She called for an all-inclusive society rich in diversity and gender-equity.
At the event, the author launched a book campaign that would see her donating 2,000 books to libraries of four higher institutions in Lagos.
Idonije said: “Certain bridges should be burnt — anything that would not move society forward, domestic violence, toxic masculinity, other harmful trends and depravities, especially those targeted at women. I am adding a different voice to the discourse around African literature and women rights. This time I have chosen to write about the stories of middle-to-upper class Lagos that deserve to be told.”
Going down memory lane
Bina’s earliest memory of writing dates back to the eighties, when she was about six or seven and she wrote a book she titled “Johnny the scalawag” which was written and illustrated by her with pencil, and she stuck its seven or eight pages together with water gum to create a bounded prose work.
Taking guests down memory lane of literary voyage, the mother of three and wife of Aaron, the executive director, ASG Solutions Insurance Brokers, stated: “As a young girl I presumed I would have my writing published by the time I turned 20, it has taken another 20 years. And so for every time you hold this book in your hands, you are reminded that whatever time of the day you wake up is your morning. So get up now and follow your dream. It’s never too late to start.
“Writing is a passion for me and even though I had not been published all along, I kept writing stories. I kept the dream alive. Every time I thought of it, I felt sad but it was a reminder for me that it was more than something I just liked to do – it was what I needed to do. And I read widely. I remember reading the Sugar Girl, Eze Goes to School, and grew to read widely. But it was Mills and Boons series that introduced romance into my palate,” she recalled.
In her review, podcaster and Roving Bookworm Publisher, Biyai Garricks, reiterated the chairman’s words, noting that the book shows the complexities and layers of the human mind in ways that will shock us.
“When I first saw this book, I thought bridges can’t definitely be for burning. They are connections, they get people to places, they make us interact and bring cultures together, but when I read the book I discovered that bridges can be for burning. My biggest take is that it inspires me to write a poem
“For a debut, this book is so well-written, witty and believable. It truly portrays a modern-day Lagos with colourful characters. It is full of drama – suspense and a brilliant twist at the end. It explores different relationships between friends, lovers and spouses.
“You have to be 18 to read the book because there are lots of steamy scenes in the book,’’ she said.
2,000 books for tertiary libraries in Lagos
The event ended with the launch of a book campaign in which the author is set to donate 2000 books to UNILAG, LASU, LASPOTECH, YABATECH libraries.
The campaign is sponsored by Mr. Etete; Mr. Omatseye; Managing Director, Emval Nig Ltd, Mr. Valentine Obidi; MD, Browngate Nig Ltd, Mr. Edward Edgal; and MD, Smile360 Dental, Dr. Amy Troare, among others.
Also at the event were Executive Director and General Counsel, Mobil Producing Nigeria, Adesua Dozie; MD, Procter & Gamble Nigeria, Mokutima Ajileye; Head, CSR and Sustainability, Airtel Nigeria, Chioma Okolie; Director of Career Innovation, Nexford University, Jennifer Bangoura; MD, Lite Radio 95.5 FM, IK Osakioduwa; Managing Partner, Manifield Solicitors, Mani Ojeah; and author of A Broken People’s Playlist, Chimeka Garricks.
“As a publisher, what we are looking for is the best of African literature. It is an interesting story and we do not have a story like this in our catalogue. So, we decided to go for this. And if you read the book, you’d see why,” Idonije’s publisher, Mrs. Theresa Ominiabohs (the COO of Masobe Books) said.
