Adaobi Nwaubani reacts to The Sun interview on Feminism

I got this email from one of the editors of NEXT234, and I thought I should share it in the spirit of fairness.

Here we go:
"Our attention has been drawn to an interview published in The Sun newspaper of Saturday, January 22, 2011, which quotes our client, Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, as saying, "...feminism is when a woman wants to be a man." Whilst Ms. Nwaubani declines from public engagement even when errors of facts are made regarding her person or her work, we find it necessary to clarify this particular statement.
Following a review of the transcribed recordings of the interview, we would like to confirm that Ms. Nwaubani was grossly misquoted.
In response to the reporter's query on why she wrote a book about 419 instead of dealing with feminist issues, Ms. Nwaubani explained that she did not feel constrained by her being a woman to write only about women issues. She then went on to comment on the various expectations some people in Nigeria tend to have about women: "...the impression I get from people when they talk about feminism is that they expect you to be a woman who is angry or who wants to be like a man or who wants to grow a beard."
Ms. Nwaubani's debut novel, I Do Not Come to You by Chance in fact had a male character who expressed this ignorant view point. This is not her view point.
In an interview for www.books.co.za, Liesl Jobson stated: "In an interview with a Soweto radio station that morning, (Nwaubani) had been asked whether she wrote romance or chick-lit. She found the limitations frustrating. She's also experienced the other extreme, specifically in Nigeria, where if you call yourself a feminist, the expectation is that you are a 'very angry woman; a man-hater'." That was the same sentiment Ms. Nwaubani was communicating to The Sun’s reporter. Unfortunately, it got presented way out of context.

The Sun has informed us that they will delete the misquote from their online version. We appreciate their cooperation with this. This embarrassing situation was apparently not a result of mischief on the reporter's part. It was simply a case of editing gone very bad – however, we believe it is necessary that Ms. Nwaubani’s correct sentiments are shared with the public."
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COMMENT: It is a sign of greatness to acknowledge flaws. My respect. African political leaders should take a cue from their young, talented intellectuals. I think our better days are ahead of us.

My Suffering Is Worse Than Yours By Okey Ndibe

Chinua Achebe wrote a seminal essay called "The Trouble With Nigeria." In it he blamed the dysfunction in the country on the political leaders. I am not sure whether he also blamed intellectual leaders.
Okay Ndibe's piece "My Suffering Is Worse Than Yours" to me, approaches something like the first step towards seriously diagnosing the seeming defeatist mentality of most Nigerians. It has to do with a low, or nonexistent self-esteem, the understanding that you really worth nothing, and therefore it made no difference if you are oppressed. This is cultural; it is also the first place for any African intellectual worth the name to begin. A people that never heard they had dignity will not suddenly begin to think that they deserve to be respected.
Thanks, Okey.
ENJOY

The Three Rs: Reading, Reading and Reading

I don't like to talk about myself, but it seems I have to do it this time around if only to help make my point. I was born in 1962. I was five years when the Nigerian civil war began. Being Igbo I had to be on the run. Three most important years of my life lost to mindlessness, on the one hand and inhumanity on the other. It takes two mad people to fight, doesn't it? I began to learn ABCD at the ripe age of 9. It could have been 10 given that I had to recover from the unmentionable hangover from that war. Ever since then I've been playing catch up. Anyway, I somehow discovered the mystery of written words. I began to read and to read and to read. I know what Ikhide means when he declares that it is child abuse not to have children read. I'll steal this idea. It's better than what I told my students sometime last week: If you want to write what is to be read you have to read what has been written. Nuff said.
Anyway, here's Ikhide's warning against child abuse.
An excerpt:
"Today, there are homes that house no books. Unfortunately, there are children in those homes. That is child abuse. A child should be immersed in all sorts of books. I know, I know, I have said that the book is dying a long slow death. A house should be slaphappy with books and ideas. Look at it another way: This is a great time to buy books because no one wants them anyway. Buy them and leave them lying around the house. A child may just read them."
ENJOY