Resilience, survival in Ukamaka Olisakwe’s Ogadinma

Ukamaka Olisakwe’s book, Ogadinma, tells the story of a young girl, Ogadinma, who desires to go to school and make something out of her life. As the only child, she has a close relationship with her father, who also supports her dream of going to the university. However, in search for the help she needs to get her into the university, she is sexually molested. Her life takes another turn afterwards.

As a 17-year-old, she goes through an ordeal that any young girl should not experience. The emotional and physical trauma that she endures after being sexually molested leads her to Lagos where she is deceived into marrying Tobe, a 35-year-old man.

Her marriage to Tobe seems easy at first but as time goes on, he begins to unveil his true self especially as the political climate of the 80’s moves from one military regime to another.

Ogadinma endures physical and emotional abuse under her husband and runs to her father, who urged her to return to her husband’s house and not repeat the mistakes of her mother who abandoned her as a baby.

One very sad aspect of this book is that Ogadinma, a young girl with literally no experience, is forced, coerced, deceived into marriage and her naivety is exploited throughout the novel until she says ‘enough is enough.’

When her husband experiences setbacks in business, she is accused by a ‘pastor’ of being the cause of her husband’s predicament. She feels so lonely in all this that as a reader, one will feel sorry for her with the way young girls and women are treated in marriages and the society at large.

Ogadinma’s story mirrors the ordeals of many young girls in Nigeria, especially during the 70s and 80s.

Ogadinma becomes wise and stands her ground after she soon realises that she can be the master of her own fate which perhaps, is the lesson that the author wants to point out to readers. In spite of trials and troubles, it is up to you to decide to move on with a resolution to take control of the situation.

The African society still has a lot to learn in its treatment of women and girls. Though, education is doing what it can to fix very dehumanising cultures such as child marriages, there is still a long way to go and women have to be treated better. They are not properties to be tossed here and there. The tale of Ogadinma is beautifully told and well written.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Fake Website Asking N-Power Candidates To Verify If They Have Been Shortlisted For N30,700 Grant

CLAIM: A viral post on WhatsApp is asking N-Power candidates to verify if they have been shortlisted to receive ₦30,700 Batch C grant

VERDICT: FALSE. Registration can make you lose your WhatsApp account to scammers.

FULL TEXT: A viral post on WhatsApp is asking N-Power candidates to verify the status of their application and see if they have been shortlisted for the batch C cash grant…

Inside Ibadan Bound Train From Lagos

The train started the 156.65 kilometres journey to Lagos at exactly 08:00hrs. The pace of its acceleration was minimal.

At about 25 minutes, the train slowed down at the uncompleted Omi-Adio terminal, a village on the Abeokuta/Ibadan expressway; it’s a stone throw from Apata in Ibadan. Conveyance of passengers from there and other terminals has not kickstarted as the terminals are still under construction and workers were found there…

Killer Herdsmen: Untold Story Of Ibarapa’s Worst Nightmare + VIDEOS

“Please do not talk to my father. He is yet to come to terms with the death of his son. It is a most tragic experience. How does one quantify the loss of a dear brother? My brother was killed like an animal by two herdsmen. His offence was that he asked them to drive their cows off his already cultivated farmland,” Bisi Olaosepin, whose brother was hacked to death, struggled to hold back his tears as he relayed to Sunday Tribune the horrible experience that culminated in the passage of his brother…