Afi series debuts in Abuja

The first edition of ‘Afi: the spills session’ debuted in Abuja last Saturday. The event, which held at the residence of the German Embassy, Abuja was in celebration ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, which held yesterday. It was an evening tagged ‘Where art meets society.’ It examined how literature can drive conversations in […]

The first edition of ‘Afi: the spills session’ debuted in Abuja last Saturday. The event, which held at the residence of the German Embassy, Abuja was in celebration ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, which held yesterday.

It was an evening tagged ‘Where art meets society.’ It examined how literature can drive conversations in society and was in three parts – Adapted play of [of the book] ‘Lakiriboto Chronicles; Conversation on gender, sexuality and mental health; and Meet Ayodele Olofintuade author of the book.

The conversation, anchored by former We FM reporter, Patricia Mong, raised queries on preferences of the male child over the female and gender stereotypes fuelled by society, cultural norms, men and women themselves, among other issues.

Praising the rise of African literary stars and works in recent times, the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Bernhard Stephan Schlagheck, interpreted the lines from Post-Colonial Cameroon era where a writer said, ‘Africa does not simply exist. Africa must be imagined.’

Schlagheck said, “He is right. What he is saying is that, imagining is equivalent to experimenting. Let things take their course in an unforeseen, undirected form. Africa is at the heart of us in Europe. Africans excel, shine, radiate and excel in imagining. I say so because, who would have expected this absolute fascinating outburst of women writers over the last 20 years.”

The envoy added that female writers on the continent are not only a contribution to art and literature, but also to a modern African Literature.

Expressing delight that the evening was centred around, the piece by Olofintuade, whom he described as one of the waves of this creativity outburst, he added that, “Nothing encapsulates the freshness and ingenuity of as this new rave of female literature.”

Initiator of the sessions, Buchi Onyegbule, explained that the book was chosen for its focus on gender economics and its freshness.

Olofintuade, who clarified that the story was not about women, but about vulnerable women, added that the word, ‘Lakiriboto,’ refers to someone who cannot be mounted and that.

The drama piece mirrored issues which ordinarily should be frowned upon in society but have now become seemingly acceptable and the norm, as in the case of the character, Moremi. She had lost her childhood and voice, to being a domestic help following the death of her grandmother, her protector.

Also, the character Oloriebi, Moremi’s new guardian, showed male chauvinism at its best, when her aunt Morieba tried to persuade him to let Moremi go. His words, ‘If you want Moremi, go and born your own,’ are typical of the Nigerian narrative towards childless women.

Oloriebi’s life and adult choices were also reflective of his own childhood, escaping the maltreatment of his stepmother after losing his mother who was married off to pay a debt if she bore a male son. While she did, she however did not live to raise the son – Oloriebi. The events surrounding him are easily relatable to those of happenings in the country today.

While there was a general call to change the narratives where the gender disparities existed, there was a strong call for more women support from both male and female folk.