My Essay tries to expose the evil perpetrated against the girl child in a typical African society - Charles Iornumbe

 

MY ESSAY TRIES TO EXPOSE THE EVIL PERPETRATED AGAINST THE GIRL CHILD IN A TYPICAL AFRICAN SOCIETY - CHARLES IORNUMBE

 

Charles Iornumbe is a broadcast journalist, researcher, creative writer, cultural enthusiast and academic. He has worked with Radio Benue Corporation, Makurdi for over a decade and risen through the ranks. He also had a stint with Radio Nigeria, Globe FM, Bauchi, Bauchi state. His essay “Teenage Sexual Molestation: Rethinking the Havoc on Girl Child” came second in the just concluded African Human Rights Essay Competition. African Human Rights Essay Competition is an initiative of the International Human Rights Art Festival (IHRAF), USA aimed at promoting human rights values in Africa and to positively influence the betterment of the human rights situation in the continent. In this interview with Wole Adedoyin, he shares with him some facts surrounding his winning entry and writing career.

 

 

WA: WHAT HAS YOUR EARLY WRITING CAREER JOURNEY BEEN LIKE? 

 

CI: I had, right from my secondary school days, been a consistent reader of Literature books. The more I read, the more the desire in me to be a writer grew stronger. From reading, I began to develop vocabulary which I had compiled in a jotter. It’ll interest you to know that even at this stage; I still go through the jotter to peruse what I did at an elementary stage. I also developed skill for writing articles, short stories and poems most of which had been published in anthologies, journals and local tabloids.

I use this opportunity to give credit to some of my Literature Teachers: Madagu LC, Dennis Ernyi and Augustine Isho who at different times ignited the writing spirit in me.

 

WA: HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS ESSAY COMPETITION?

 

CI: As a current National Ex-Officio executive of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), and immediate past Chairman of the Association in Benue State, I am privileged to belong to some of the Literary body's main social media platforms eg, WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram where most of IHRAF's activities are publicised. So, to answer your question directly, I saw a publication about three months ago calling for entries which I entered and by God's grace, today, I've been adjudged to be one of the winners of the International Human Rights Essay Competition for which, I remain eternally grateful.

 

WA: WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO TAKE PART IN THE CONTEST?

 

CI: The coinage of the topic and my personal interest in issues of human rights especially as they relate to Girl Child molestation and abuse motivated me to take part in the competition. Ultimately, I had a ready script which I wrote to commemorate the 2019 International Day For The Girl Child entitled: Teenage Sexual Molestation: Rethinking the Havoc on The Girl Child.

There is also a short story crafted with scenes, characters and roles assigned to them.

 

WA: CAN YOU PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR WINNING ESSAY?

 

CI: The essay 'Teenage Sexual Molestation: Rethinking the Havoc on the Girl Child' tries to expose the evil perpetrated against the girl child in a typical African Society. In this clime, teenage rape and molestation are on the high scale because, they’re a daily occurrence. The people who rape teenage girls live in our midst; some are our friends, colleagues and acquaintances who, for various reasons, commit the crime with impunity.

It's sad because they commit these atrocities without them being arrested. It's funny but painful in the sense that, that little girl who is raped and deflowered carries a social stigma on her name and reputation so long as she lives. The family of the rape survivor is first and foremost not ready to make a case with the rapist for fear of the unknown. The police man would like you who had rushed to their station to report a rape case to prove whether or not, the family of the rape survivor is willing to go to court. The NAPTI official would knock you out for bringing the rape survivor late to their office for examination. The journalists are helpless to conclude their investigations on a rape case because all the aforementioned parties have made the situation cumbersome. In the end, the matter lies low and dies a natural death.

So, my essay ex-rays this scenario and plays up the challenge one encounters in trying to expose the criminality.

 

WA: WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE SUBMISSION PROCESS FOR THE COMPETITION THAT MIGHT HELP OTHERS TO SUBMIT?

 

CI: The process was smooth. It took time to mature. I believe it was also transparent. I first received a mail acknowledging receipt of my entry and that was followed shortly by a certificate of participation. Few weeks after, twenty names were shortlisted followed by thirteen names and eventual release of winners of the competition. Initially, I was wondering how and why I didn't emerge overall winner but got convinced after viewing the profile of Master Anadi who came first. Master Anadi had sent me a friend request on Facebook. I viewed his profile to be sure before confirming. I noticed he is an extremely good writer who has a long way to go if he keeps writing. Honestly, I was impressed after reading him. I would like to meet him some day. I wish to submit that one's age and status do not have a special place in writing. Though, Anadi a younger person than me floored me in the Essay competition, I am still proud to hold onto my position as second winner. After all, this is my first attempt at literary competition in my life.

 

WA: HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE THE SECOND-PRIZE WINNER?

 

CI: I feel extremely happy about the outcome of the competition.

 

WA: HOW DID WRITING THE WINNING PIECE GO?

 

CI: I wrote the essay two years before the competition. It's a coincidence that the topic became relevant in an International competition of this magnitude. While writing, I established myself in the situation; that as a father of two daughters, God forbid though, how would it feel to hear that someone rapes either of them? The essay tells my personal experience as a Journalist who got entangled carrying out an investigation of an alleged rape case in my community. I felt passionate about the ugly trend believing that someday, Africa would overcome it.

 

WA: TO WIN AN ESSAY CONTEST, WHAT DO YOU THINK WRITERS SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO?

 

CI: One should pay attention to developing one's subject matter in the manner it's understood by the reader. There should be unity of thought, clarity and coherence of ideas. The script should demonstrate mastery of the issue/issues being projected by the writer.

 

WA: APART FROM ESSAY WRITING, WHAT OTHER THINGS DO YOU WRITE? 

 

CI: I write poetry, radio commentaries, short stories, reviews and biographies.

 

WA: WHAT, FOR YOU, MAKES AN ESSAY CONTEST ENTRY OR SUBMISSION STAND OUT?

 

CI: Honestly, this is my first time of participating in a literary competition so I might not give you exactly what you’re asking of me. I can only deduce that what is looked out for, in an essay competition, might not be far from the opinion expressed in your question 8 above. 

 

WA: HOW MANY UNPUBLISHED AND HALF-FINISHED BOOKS DO YOU HAVE?

 

CI: I have about 8 unpublished works which I usually don't like disclosing because they are in the hands of the Editors undergoing editorial work. But to satisfy your curiosity, I’ll mention just three: 'The Power of Reporting and Disaster Management', 'Of Grace and Fortune' and a poetry collection ' Grim Reaper and Other Poems'.

 

WA: WHAT DOES LITERARY SUCCESS LOOK LIKE TO YOU?

 

CI: It's fulfilling my brother. It makes one feel on top of one's World. That's exactly how I am feeling now after being listed second winner of IHRAF International Essay Competition.

 

WA: DO YOU GOOGLE YOURSELF?

 

CI: Yes, I do. You can't be a good writer without knowing how to Google.

 

WA: WHAT ONE THING WOULD YOU GIVE UP TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER?

 

CI: I would like to sacrifice my comfort. This comfort means the outings, the sleeping and any other thing that could discourage a writing enterprise.

 

WA: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE LITERARY JOURNALS?

 

CI: Yeah, the ones that readily come to mind are: Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, The Alaska Quarterly review, The Antioch review and of course, our revered ANA review.

 

WA: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK?

 

CI: It was Charles Dicken's 'Oliver Twist' 

 

WA: WHAT AUTHORS DID YOU DISLIKE AT FIRST BUT GREW INTO?

 

CI: I don't want to use the word 'dislike' as you put it. I rather prefer to say I was not interested in someone like reading Ngugi 'thiongo a Kenyan writer and Thomas Hardy in England. 

 

WA: WHAT OTHER AUTHORS ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH, AND HOW DO THEY HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER WRITER?

CI: I can't call someone like the Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka as a friend. He is a father, mentor and a teacher. Prof Soyinka is the man who has influenced and inspired my life in many ways. We are lucky to have him living and kicking on with life. I pray God to grant him long life and continually keep him safe. I also see Ayikwei Amah from Ghana as another writer that has given me a direction in life. Lastly Professor Chinua Achebe is one Nigerian I would have loved to meet if he were alive. Of the three, The Nobel Laureate's use of language is unique.