Day Yenagoa celebrated
Bayelsa’s queen of letters
By HENRY AKUBUIRO (akuhen@sunnewsonline.com)
Sunday,
March 2, 2008
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Sylva
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Bayelsans know how to celebrate their writers: this is the
impression you get after attending any book launch by any
celebrated Bayelsan writer. As it was when the veteran writer,
Gabriel Okara, and Nengi Ilagha, a former special assistant
to the former Bayelsa State governor, Goodluck Jonathan, launched
their books in 2006 and 2007 respectively, the crème
de crème of the state turned out for the dual launch
of Carol Azams’ books, Journey of the Irish Child and
Teen Mum & Us, at the Women Affairs office in the state
capital, Yenagoa, on Monday 25 February.
The former Secretary to the State Government, Professor Steve
Azaiki, chaired the occasion in the absence of Senator Emmanuel
Paulker, one of the senators representing the state in the
Senate. He wasn’t bereft of notable dignitaries on the
table. Mrs. Iyorleti Seibaurugu, wife of the Speaker, Bayelsa
State House of Assembly, was there (she stood in for Mrs.
Sylvia Alayingi Sylva, wife of the Bayelsa State Governor).
She came with some wives of Bayelsa State House of Assembly
men.
Other women of substance on the occasion were Mrs. Martha
Jenakumo, Commissioner for Gender and Social Development;
and Dr. Liz Bens, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor
on Culture. Mr. Noble Akenga, a special assistant to the Minister
of Transport, Deziani Allison-Madueke, an indigene of Bayelsa
State, came from Abuja to support one of their own. Mr. Victor
Akinga, former Commissioner for Environment, was there. Mrs.
Obafunmi Ilupeju, CEO Raponi Group, came from Lagos to be
the chief launcher. King of Attissa Kingdom, HRM. King G.
Igodo, was the Royal Father of the Day.
Carol is used to big names gracing her events. Her first book,
Journey of the Irish Child, published in 2005, was launched
by Irish senator David Norris in Dublin, and her second, Teen
Mums ‘R’ Us, published last year, was launched
by Brian Lenihan, the then Minister of Children, now the new
Minister of Justice in the Republic of Ireland.
Carol Azams, a Bayelsan married to Frank Azams from Delta
State, is making her mark in juvenilia publications in Ireland,
where she lives with her family.
Journey of the Irish Child addresses issues such as child
labour, which is normally caused by poverty in our society,
female genital mutilation, otherwise known as female circumcision,
and early marriage; while Teen Mums ... deals with the issues
of teenage pregnancy, bullying and abortion.
Before the launch Carol had said, “I am very happy to
introduce my books in Nigeria and I hope that my novels will
be an inspiration to Nigerian youths and teenagers. ”
At the book launch itself, students from four different schools
in the state trooped to the venue and each went home with
a copy of each of her two published works.
in Nigeria, Bayelsa State has acquired notoriety for hostage
taking and violence, but with the impressive effort of people
like Carol in literature, Professor Azaiki, in his statement,
applauded her creative endeavour. “She has done so well
to put Bayelsa and Nigeria on the map of good while others
are putting us on the map of bad,” he noted. He called
on the people to encourage her to continue her literary exploits.
Mrs. Iyorleti Seibaurugu was so good in her presentation
of Mrs. Alanyingi Sylva’s paper entitled “Teen
Pregnancy and Child Wellbeign” that her extemporal additions
to the paper drew commendations from the audience.
Her lecture touched on the aforesaid subject because the author’s
book, Teen Mum & Us, dwells on that issue. Teenage pregnancy,
according to her, is a phenomenon that brings about a forced
initiation of children into motherhood, and it involves young
girls under twenty years of age.
The first lady’s speech highlighted some of the factors
responsible for the rise in teenage pregnancies, including
broken homes, early marriage, absence of sex education at
home and in school, general laxity in the country and poverty.
She pointed out that these factors are usually not mutually
exclusive, as a combination of them can also cause a teenager
to go astray. The most important causes, she remarked, are
poverty and homes where children are unattended to by their
parents and guardians and not just broken homes.
Besides, she drew our attention to other causative factors
of teenage pregnancy, “The children start getting acquainted
with immoral vices that could turn them not only sex tools
for their mates, male teachers and neighbours but even family
members, and could make them find themselves in places where
they could even be bullied and raped, while on the other hand,
poverty could invariably expose some young girls to men constantly,
when forced at such early age to fend for themselves and their
families.
“Young girls are turned into maids or house girls as
they are popularly called, or go into street hawking of which
they are both forced by either the husbands, sons or family
members in homes where they serve or motor part touts and
even supposed working class responsible men who pose as customers
and lure them into bed or even rape them.
“Most of the young girls who get carried away are those
from broken homes, living with one of their parents, grand
parents or uncles and aunties, they are always depressed by
outpourings of bitterness against either of their parents.
In some cases, where the fathers insist on custody of the
children, they are often exposed to the viles of some uncaring
stepmothers, sometimes to the knowledge of their fathers and
sometimes not.”
She advised the teenagers to avoid watching pornographic materials,
for “it sows evil desires and makes them want to be
sexually active,” which leads to promiscuity. She lamented
that many young girls don’t now what love is, mistaking
it for infatuation. Therefore, she cautioned against promiscuity,
which could expose them to sexually transmitted diseases and
abortion.
Reviewing the two books by carol, Mrs. Liz Bens said the rich
contents of the book make them must-read for everybody, because
they border on issues that impact on the family.
Impressed by the thematic preoccupations of Carol’s
offerings, the Commissioner for Gender and Social Development,
Mrs. Martha Jenakumo, said the author has done more than half
of the work for her ministry. “Her book, Ten Mums &
Us, is not only for the girl-child but for the boy-child,
the mamas and papas.”
As a result of that, she pledged to work in partnership with
Carol to “take her to a greater height”. Another
heartwarming news for the author is that the Ministry of Gender
and Social Development will ensure that the two books are
distributed in all schools in Bayelsa State. She urged parents
and guardians to do more to save their children and wards
from teenage pregnancy and related vices.
The highpoint of the day was the launching of the two books.
Before then, the chief launcher and the wife of the Speaker
of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly has unveiled the books
to the public. To support Carol for her effort, the chief
launcher donated the sum of five hundred thousand naira. Over
two million naira was realized from the launch.
The chair of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Bayelsa
State, Chief Lambert Ototo, praised the huge attendance and
the successful outcome of the book launch, “I am impressed
with the crowd, including schoolchildren. I am happy that
we are inculcating in them the culture of reading. Anybody
who doesn’t read is dead”.
The author was excited at the end of the event, “I am
very proud of the support from my people”. She then
read briefly from her books and explained why she wrote them.
Speaking with Sunday Sun after the event, she said the book
launch was just one of the many things she intends to do in
the country. “This is just the beginning. Nigerians
should expect more from me. I am about to carry out a wonderful
programe for Nigerian schoolchildren,” she said. |
