Dr. Ifeanyi OnyikeChimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an illustrious daughter of Igboland, was recently conferred with the chieftaincy title of ODELUWA (Writer for the global community or world acclaimed writer) by her community, Abba in Anambra State.
ODELUWA is the highest title for writers. It’s Igbos‘ version of the NOBEL Prize, reserved only for those who have successfully fought oppression, social injustice and inequities and contributed to the overall development of the society through their writings. Chimamanda is one of such persons.
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She is deserving of this award and others gotten over the years. She bestrides the writing platform like a colossus.
She is a feminist. If there is any title she clinches so dearly to, it’s that of being a woman who understands that she is first human and possesses the same human attributes as every man in the entire universe.
She asks questions about laws, cultures, practices and policies that do not seem to make sense and or, that do not align with her ideas of modern civilization. Armed with a degree in African history from Yale University, she can’t understand the stories of the domination of women in Igbo culture and that of African society by the rest of the world.
The information and materials she works with are common and available to all, but, she thinks of them differently, writes differently and talks differently. Perhaps, it may be her nature, but it’s also a weapon. Her calm demeanour even under ruffling circumstances may be the reason she accomplishes so much with so little.
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She knows that she has enemies among the religious, alpha males and the colonial supremacists, so she does not seek for anything else, except a platform to tell her stories – a story of Nsukka, where life began for her, a story of ndi-Igbo and a story of Africa. She does not waste her time on politics, technology, finance, the economy and other areas that men are particular about. But, she is very much interested in cultural role-play. So, she doesn’t mind accepting roles culturally reserved for the male, not that she needs them, mbanu! It’s to prove a point, that, those roles were designed by man and can be changed or at least slightly adjusted. Her point is clear and is gradually gaining recognition.
Be that as it may, she is yet to realize that in Igbo cosmology, an old woman or nwanyi chizuru echizu (a woman that has grown in might and authority) participates in the making of a masquerade or at least, she is led into the secrets of the masquerade cult.
Chimamanda is not just qualified as an initiate, she is already a giant masquerade and therefore, cannot stay outside the habitation of the spirits. So, being initiated into the things men hold sacred like Iwa oji (breaking of the Colanut), aka ito (handshake like a titled person) dancing to the sound of the Ikoro, etc., may no longer be a problem.
Unfortunately, she may consider this a significant win for the women, but, it’s not. As proof, even the wife of the King that gave her the chieftaincy title cannot exchange handshakes with title men. This explanation is necessary so that our youths who are already going hysterical about Adichie’s exchange of handshake with Peter Obi, should bend backwards and ask questions.
The removal of history in Nigerian school curricula meant that the youths and even some elders grope in the dark on matters of culture and history. To make matters worse, the drive in search of white-collar jobs and to make ends meet implied that many Igbos left home and never looked back, their offspring sometimes receive adulterated versions of their own history from non-Igbos.
It’s even part of why a Nigerian of Igbo extraction would leave the country to far away Harvard to study Igbo History. If that isn’t a protest against the bastardization of Nigeria’s educational system, then, what is it?
In her fight for the liberation of women, she ensures that those perpetrators of social injustice against women are forced to hide in shame. Nobody may be arrested but someone has received justice –maybe not yet in a law court.
She pricks our conscience and shows us why you must think of your crime differently – as the victim this time. The story of how a publisher her family so trusted slides his hands into her dress to squeeze her breast is one of such dizzying stories. For a minor, a girl in her puberty that was a lot. The shock on her, her non-disclosure of it and the fact that the perpetrator could have repeated that with many other young girls after her, plus, she dashed the hope of publishing with him goes to show the extent of the decadence in the society. It wouldn’t be an issue for me if that was an adult who could handle it.
The conspiracy of silence on crimes against women and children is mind-burgling. Do you now know why some societies criminalize child abuse? Permitted, child abuse is subjective and culturally determined.
For instance, in my country, it’s not permissible for a child of 10 or 12 years to be taken as a maid (domestic servant), nor, is corporal punishment allowed in schools. But, it’s culturally permissible in some quarters for a man to marry a minor, cane her with his hard rod and put her in the family way. Even where the culture does not permit it, the family is usually intimidated into it silence or settling out of court.
Even the law enforcement agents, contribute to telling the victim, ihe mere emego (it has already happened), so how do we settle it? I mean, in a society where millions of women are hoping and praying for ‘hardworking’ men, why little children? As I write this, I have the mental picture of a minor begging one big oga in a fenced apartment, – Stop! uncle abeg na, uncle don’t do this to me, abeg naa. The more the pleading goes, the more the culprit gets emboldened. And…nothing happens!
Lest I forget, Chimamanda was the topic. She is a movement for girl child education in Eastern Nigeria, a region where girl child education was hitherto an afterthought. Today, reference is made to her in homes and schools when discussing the importance of girl child education. A fiery writer that speaks truth to power in a most comforting yet devastating manner.
Her gentle, calm and careful choice of diction and endearing tone makes her a choice speaker at special events. Each time I read her or listen to her presentation, I acknowledge the reason Igbos believe that ile oma ka eju ji aga na ogwu (the snail navigates a thorny path with a smooth tongue). I guess the only time I ever sensed anger in her tone was when discussing her encounter with a priest at her mum’s burial.
Though an ada Igbo, Chimamanda, is a global player. Like the proverbial crow which belongs to one household, while the voice is the property of the entire neighbourhood, she is recognized in Nigeria and all over the world. She speaks passionately about the colonial experiences of Africa, especially her Igbo Society and when she does, the entire globe catches a cold.
One of her famous speeches is “the danger of a single story”, which according to her, isn’t that the story may be false, but that, it’s usually incomplete. The discovery of Africa and how Africa did not have a history before colonialism and many more, were according to her, incomplete. One such embarrassing story about Nigeria, for instance, is that Mungo Park, a Portuguese explorer, discovered River Niger.
This story has been accepted globally as the story of the discovery of the second largest river in Africa, without giving a thought to the fact that our ancestors farmed by the banks of the river. Ogbaru, Onitsha, Asaba, Anam and many other communities fished in that river more than 500 years before Mungo Park and colonialism. It’s even taught that way in Nigerian schools to date.
One good thing about writing is that it can cause a revolution or the end of it without firing a single shot. I guess Chimamanda was armed with the knowledge of the formidable weapon she wielded when she went to Germany for a presentation on stolen artefacts from Africa. She raises rhetorical questions and allows the rest to be conjectured.
In her characteristic manner, she asked to know if it was right for Europe to discuss the capacity of Africa to keep the stolen items from the region. She couldn’t imagine a thief refusing to return a stolen item because he had better use for it than the owner. Enough said! Recently, two weeks ago and about a few months after her presentation, Germany returned some stolen artefacts to Nigeria, including an ancient stool used for the coronation of the Oba of Benin.
Indeed, Africa was pillaged to the bones, but, we are discussing it today, because, we have something as proof. If those artefacts were stolen by a Nigerian, by now he must have turned them into firewood.
By refusing to acquire an English name or as my Catholic brethren would call it, a name from the Bible, Chimamanda shines as a cultural ambassador at a time every Igbo person is either Godwin, Ebenezer, Kingsley, Judith, Esther, Benita, Naomi etc. Ngozi could have genuinely been transformed into Blessing or Blessed. But, she understood that Blessing is not superior to Ngozi.
Ngozi is Ngozi even in London. I am Ebenezer, a name I could have gladly jettisoned if not that it had already travelled too far with me. My native name remains my preferred name, it is your duty to learn its pronunciation of it. Koreans, Chinese and Indians would retain their local identities, but, the educated African would quickly append an English name to his name, because, he thinks his native name sounds funny to foreigners. The Church is also complicit. A priest refused to baptize my godson at Onitsha recently unless his name was changed to that of a saint. How many Catholic saints are from Nigeria and Africa anyway?
My name is the only identity I have, and it should be able to say a thing about my background and culture. I sympathize with anyone that disagrees with me, the long years of colonialism weren’t for nothing – our identity and self-confidence were not spared. In some places, a man would prefer to answer BARROW than Uzondu. That’s Nigeria. That’s our history. It will take time, but, I believe that, since half of the yellow sun is out, the entire body of the sun shall be out someday.
Good writers are rare. Chimamanda is one. I knew she had a child, but, never knew she got married. To be honest, at some point I had wondered if the child came by immaculate conception. I know better now. She married a handsome man too.
Who knows if the characters in her novel shaped her choice of man or vice versa? One thing is sure, he receives enough dose of love notes. Writers will always write, especially early in the morning when the whole world is still in bed, meaning that female writers don’t serve early morning tea. Writing is their own romantic way of serving tea in bed.
Sometimes, it might just be a scribble – can you see the yellow sun through the window? In case, this my brother is not a writer, I suggest that any time he sees such notes, no need to look for the sun, not even the figurative half will be visible to him. The best response should be to tiptoe into her study, and drag her back to the room, she can help your view there. One secret I share with those that ask, ‘what do women want’ is this: A good husband must know how to make a hard-working wife relax, otherwise, your good is not enough.
The only danger if you are involved with female writers, is that; despite all the romantic imageries they create, a personal study I conducted in my head already proves that fiction writers among them can be unromantic. All your romantic moves may be turned into a book.
Odeluwa has written a number of fiction. I don’t know if she wrote them before or after her marriage, however, I’m already looking forward to any romantic story from her. After all, we now know the inspiration
In conclusion, Chimamanda’s brand of feminism is obviously not the kind that’s tearing homes apart in Nigeria. I saw love in her eyes and there was nothing to prove that she considered herself superior to her man. The Nigerian feminist lords it over her man if she earns a little higher than him. That’s why the spate of divorce is higher in Nigeria today. Some women even leave their spouses on the allegations of abuse or domestic violence, only for them to go ahead, to love a divorcee notorious for abusing women. You begin to wonder again, what do women really want?
One thing is sure, the African man wants to be respected by his wife and children. The aura of disrespect is the reason many Nigerian men may disapprove of feminism. Let Chimamanda be a good role model for marriage in Nigeria, and… we will keep loving her.
Dr Onyike is a Senior Lecturer at Dominican University, Ibadan.
Dr. Onyike, Ifeanyi is one of the most prolific writer I know in the academic field of journalism.
This is a great piece on Chimamanda on her Odeluwa title