At Eugenia Abu’s one-in-a-million book presentation
She does things in style, and so much was expected of her. The poster for the event gave a foretaste of what to come. It was unique in design. The invitation card as well as the programme booklet was no less so – both were fit for the hands of a queen. And there was […]
She does things in style, and so much was expected of her. The poster for the event gave a foretaste of what to come. It was unique in design. The invitation card as well as the programme booklet was no less so – both were fit for the hands of a queen. And there was the venue – it makes the event, they say – and so it did Eugenia Abu’s.
You know her, Eugenia. Everyone does. Lady of the tube, veteran broadcaster, and the quintessential face of NTA news. Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja, was the venue of her book presentation on December 17, 2009, a date that incidentally marked her wedding anniversary and birthday of her twin-kids. The Centre’s lobby was not the first to announce that something was in the offing, but it did the most telling. Exotic fruits were spread on tables – expensive berries, apples and the rest. And there was the author herself, right there in the lobby, welcoming her guests. “Good to have you here. Help yourself to some fruits,” she said to one of her guests – this writer, after the initial pleasantries.
Guests’ presence was considerable in the Centre’s Atiku Abubakar hall by 7 pm, the starting time. Something could not be missed as soon as a guest stepped into the hall and it was one reason this book presentation was different. The chairs were filled but the stage was empty. There was no high table and no members of the high table. There was neither a Chief Launcher nor Launchers. The host explained much later. The programme kicked off under the able hands of two masters of ceremonies: alKasim Abdulkadir and Elnathan John who made the first set of introduction of invitees. The next set of activities after the national anthem and the opening prayers could qualify the book presentation as a festival as diverse genres of the art were brought together for the guests’ enjoyment.
Poetry was performed in different forms: From the performance by Lady I, story rendition by the artist known as Storyteller, Bose Tsevende who read: ‘Help me tell Tony say I don dey ride jeep’, poetry performed to music by Emmanuel Akut and the Bazobe Cultural Troup from Kaduna, Bem Sar’s musical performance, Ayo who beat the Yoruba ‘Gangan’ drum, to Jane Powers who supplied background music for the entire event, the hall was not short of entertainment. Jane Powers’s vocal prowesss particularly points to her as a singer to look out for.
“This is not the usual kind of book presentation. As you can see, we do not indicate Chief Launcher and so on in this programme. We do not want people to have the feeling that, as usual, it is all about coming to drop money. This is because we don’t expect you to break the bank, but if you do break the bank, we will be happy,” Mr Abu, the author’s husband announced shortly before the book was formally unveiled. Then he added: “Our expectation is that you come to this event because you either love the work of art that is being presented today or the person behind the work.” Yet the organisers had not spared anything in order to make their guests comfortable.
The formal unveiling of the book was done collectively by Alhaji Abubakar Gimba, the Special Adviser to the Senate president on Economic and Budget Matters; Dr Jerry Agada, a former Minister of State for Education and now President of the Association of Nigerian Authors; Mallam Bello Sule, the representative of NTA Director-General; and Mrs Ajoke Mohammed, wife of Nigeria’s former military Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed.
The book, titled Don’t Look at Me Like That, justified the events that heralded its arrival. The cover of both the hard and paperback copies is predominantly white with a touch of bold blue and smaller red letterings. Both the finishing and the inside layout of this book published by Kraftgroits, Ibadan, are reader-friendly. With several dozens of poems that the book contains, it is not only more voluminous but, with an audio CD that comes with each copy, stands far apart from the usual ultra-slim volumes of the same genres that are so common on bookshelves.
The author later took to the podium and read from her book. Regarded as one writer that has done more reading tours than any other in the country, Abu’s reading prowess has always elicited positive comments. It had been pointed out in several reading sessions, that she performed what she read even though reading was all she did. Her hold on the attention of her listeners is ever that strong. She didn’t achieve less on this occasion as she read a couple of poems, the first being Rock Solid. Abu’s audience wouldn’t have known she read this poem for a certain man in the hall until she said so. It was a salute to the man in her life just as it will be for any reader who wants to talk love to a partner from the pages of a book.
The author might have had the tears of love under her eyes by the time she finished reading Rock Solid. This was not impossible as she stood still for several minutes, a hand over her face, suffused with an emotion that was understandable only by the onlooker who had ever experienced true love. Abu’s Rock Solid was the man she simply referred to as Mr Abu. One person in the hall audience read the moment perfectly. It was Dr Jerry Agada who stood up, grabbed Mr Abu by the hand, took him to the podium and made him stand beside his wife. The scene – picture of evergreen love even after 26 years of marriage – was not lost as the hall erupted in clapping. The audience celebrated a couple that had stood by each other through life’s journey – the day of the book presentation being the Abus’ 26th wedding anniversary.
Comments were made by guests including one by Mallam Bello Sule. He described Abu’s previous book In the Blink of An Eye which was prose as insightful while he expressed his pleasure at the rare ability of the author to do a poetry collection. He congratulated her as well as members of the NTA family for this feat. The evening ended on a high note, nothing short of the wonderful outing it promised to be from the onset.
Eugenia Abu’s Don’t Look at Me Like That is her first poetry collection and her second book. A graduate of English and Communication Policy Studies, she is also a Chevening scholar. Her first book, In the Blink of an Eye won the 2008 ANA/NDDC Flora Nwapa Prize for Best Female Writing.
Ajibade, a freelance writer, lives in Abuja . [email protected]