Why I wrote book on tragedies, triumphs of Africa’s girl-child – Ochogwu

Social media is abuzz with the impending release of a book called ‘Omo’, which tells the story of a young Nigerian girl on a journey of self-determination. It’s also billed as an expose on the harsh realities confronting the girl-child in contemporary Africa. The author, Alexander Emmanuel Ochogwu, is an Air Force Flight Lieutenant, and […]

Social media is abuzz with the impending release of a book called ‘Omo’, which tells the story of a young Nigerian girl on a journey of self-determination. It’s also billed as an expose on the harsh realities confronting the girl-child in contemporary Africa. The author, Alexander Emmanuel Ochogwu, is an Air Force Flight Lieutenant, and he also wrote ‘The Diary of a Boy Soldier’.

Of the theme ‘Omo’ is premised upon, Ochogwu told Daily Trust: “As a strategist, and expert in Peace and Conflict Studies, I have a wholistic appreciation of the national security architecture, and the place of gender and human capacity in national development and security. This background spurred me to identify some of the ills affecting the most vulnerable in the Nigerian socioeconomic and political space, which statistics have shown to be mostly women, and most strikingly, young girls.”

In 2017 alone, Ochogwu said, NAPTIP and other reputable international media recorded about 17,000 young girls between the ages of 12 and 19 who were trafficked for international prostitution and other dehumanizing trade. “And the list goes on,” the author said.

While he was writing ‘Omo’, the author says he was intrigued by what he found out about what young girls in Nigeria go through as a result of negligence, lack of information or misinformation in most cases. “So it’s more than a book, and even though it is a work of fiction, the truth in it mirrors reality,” Ochogwu said.

Omo will be released on 22 June 2018, and was listed in Daily Trust on Saturday’s list of the Most-Anticipated Books of 2018.