Book Review
Oseloka Obaze*
Sunday 28 October 2007
Eugenia Abu
(ISBN: 10: 978-029-760-X Spectrum Books Ltd., Ibadan, 2007, pp. 337; Price $29.99)
Available at: www.spectrumbooksonline.com
Eugenia Abu is prolifically gregarious. She has written a transpicuous exposé into
the soul of Nigeria- the land of plenty and poverty.
Fortuitously, I came across this book atop a coffee table when I walked into the living room of a friend, who incidentally was Eugenia Abu’s neighbor. The uniqueness and quality of the cover design caught my attention, though initially, I thought it was a romance novel. Being the book hog that I am, and given my endless scavenging for Afrocentric books to promote, I immediately picked up the autographed copy, and with uncharacteristic rudeness, spent the rest of the evening perusing the book, while almost ignoring my host and the other guests. What was meant to be a cursory flip-through became an engrossing read. Going strictly by the familiar or interesting titles, I had in a quick stretch read several of them; The Epilogue, My Special Birthday Gift, A Future for Nigeria, Psychoanalyzing Michael Jackson, and Ogubuaja’s Hara-kiri in no particular order. I knew then, that I had to get a copy for myself before leaving town, and that it had to be reviewed and promoted.
Perhaps what caught my attention was the title: In the Blink of an Eye. I was aware of several books with the same or similar titles. I was most familiar with the 1996 book by Pat Milton on the investigation into the tragic crash off the coast of New York, of TWA Flight 800, in July 1996. But, as I found out, this version, was far more interesting, far more topical and a book that was beyond a cursory insight into present day Nigeria. I have never met the author, but she had a Nigerian brand name, and I recall catching glimpses of her on the Nigerian television and some of her writings in the Nigerian print media. My host promised to fetch me a copy, and I offered to pay for it, and did, just in case my eventual review was found to be unfavorable.
Another point of captivation was the back page blurb. Thereon, were preview lines by Baffour Ankomah of the celebrated “Baffour’s Beef” column in New African. Like most people, I did not always agree with Ankomah’s Nigeria bashing, but I respected him a great deal, for his uncanny ability to dissect complex issues and call a spade by its name. He had surmised that Eugenia Abu’s eclectic work, which included quirky essays, op-ed pieces, interviews, travel-notes, tributes, and then some, were worthy of his attention and commendation. He had dubbed the book, “A brilliant ensemble… that should bring joy to all discerning readers”. It did for me and I am certain, it will do the same for any reader.
Apropos Nigeria, I found that I also shared fully in words expressed in the book’s foreword by Eluem Emeka Izeze, when he said that “there are many things to complain about the country, but there are many things to celebrate in this land of plenty and poverty”. Eugenia Abu, brought both dimensions of our national gripes and festivities to life in this single compendium. But then, she wrote about other captivating and even numbing places, like her visit to Auschwitz.
The collection of essays, articles and write-up in this book span some 20 years, 1987-2007, even though Ms. Abu started writing much earlier and had published her first piece, a poem, at the age of 17. Most, are drawn for their reprise, from journals like Crown Prince, TV Guide, VONscope, Y’ello Times as well from notable print media, the likes of The Guardian, This Day, New African, Timesweek, and Genevieve, they include published and unpublished materials.
Unquestionably, this book is written from a privileged as well as Abu’s vantage point as a broadcaster with unfettered access to information and people. But its underling strength may well be that it comes from the heart and therefore, carries with it the passion and fulfillment of a narrator, who was doing what she loved most. Though essentially a television broadcaster, Abu’s total passion for the media lured her into other facets of the media beyond broadcast television. From the number of articles in this volume, Eugenia Abu must have devoted ample time to her literary contributions to the print media.
The seventy odd pieces of treatises, articles, and insights in this volume are segmented into eight distinct chapters, of which, The Readers Collective and The Ink Never Dries are my favorites. Bringing up the rear is the epilogue and a set of unedited handwritten and typed fan letters, which form the appendix. Across the breath of the book, one encounters observations, public commentaries, punditry, soul-searching and patriotism at its very best. But if one singular adjective would be used to qualify this work and Eugenia Abu, it is that she is a quintessential member of Nigeria’s attentive audience. As the author herself had acknowledged, In the Blink of an Eye “is book you can read today, tomorrow and the next year in bits or all at once.” Perhaps, it is for this reason, (maybe it was not contemplated) that the book is laced with topics that are serious, light, flighty, compassionate, livid, and investigative, plus some, which are far less interesting and even perfunctory in their content and slant.
Eugenia Abu is most eloquent, vigorous and forthcoming in her op-ed pieces that delve into governance and public affairs. She is equally ebullient and introspective in her tributes, in which she eulogizes the likes of Pope John Paul II, Brenda Fassie and Fela Anikulapo Kuti. On the latter, she affirmed what those of us who had long been Fela Aficionados had always known: “Fela will be avidly studied worldwide, his art, his music, his persona.” And essentially, that Fela lives on. Also a broad swathe of the articles, reflected essentially what it was, that made Nigeria and Nigerians unique and if I may add also, what made them so detestable. But across board, this collection of essays speaks to the special brand and style of writing that may be peculiar to Ms. Abu. Her writing form – probably influenced by television time slot, tight-knit reportage and deadline-driven form - is non pedantic, fluid, precise, decided and factual. If she had any frustrations, they came across clearly without being angry or personalized. As such, she is overall, not boring and perhaps, because her op-ed pieces were restricted, to the 1,500 or 2,000 words limit, they were routinely succinct and hardly ever more than four pages.
As mentioned earlier, this collection of essays is not all about Nigeria or life in Nigeria. As an observer, Eugenia Abu did what most avid travelers do, reminisce. “London Glimpses”, which forms Chapter 3, captures and freezes in time, her renderings of the goings-on around her during her brief sojourn in London between 1991 and 1992. Writing mostly as a Timesweek columnist and for a Nigerian audience back home, she captured in essence, what she felt would be of animated interest to her readers at home. The key gist, reflected her acute power of observation: “our cultures, music and way of life are becoming a popular genre and natural way of doing things and eating are fast becoming a fad.”
From her writings Eugenia Abu, seem to defy labels. Yet, I would dare to brand her cosmopolitan, even though one can glimpse from her expressed views, traces of conservatism, religiosity and feminism. Of the latter, it is hardly surprising, therefore, that she devotes the entire Chapter 4, titled “The Beijing Fever”, to gender mainstreaming issues, the emancipation and empowerment of women, and her role and by extension that of the media in articulating and developing a gender agenda (sounds like an oxymoron). If one piece came through as being from the innermost recess of Abu’s soul, it is the piece adapted from her 1994 paper to a women’s conference in Bangkok, titled, “Women in broadcasting: An African perspective”. It is also, perhaps, the most formal, longest and most intellectual of her articles.
Chapter 6, One-on-One, is a parade of the stars and celebrities Ms. Abu encountered on her beat. It is also a testimony to her professional pedigree and reach. From Presidents Sirleaf-Johnson, Olusegun Obasanjo, Yoweri Museveni, to Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer, Ngugi wa Thiong’O and James Adu, Ms. Abu chronicles her encounters in such intimate details, thus allowing her reader the rare privilege of vicariously bonding with these personalities of our time. She also offers rare insights. Branding Soyinka “multi-genred,” she revealed that though the Nobel laureate admires the native toga – agbada - he would never wear one. In response, Soyinka retorted, “I can admire something without using it”; also, “he admired many beautiful religions but did not have to practice it.”
The patriot in Abu is manifested in “Because It’s Nigerian”. Why not? Nigerians are happy people and this point is adduced by Ms. Abu. In this piece, she renders with relish, a palatable and uplifting cuisine that accentuates everything that is Nigerian; particularly generous Nigerians and their food. As she notes, “The Nigerian brand is fun, ubiquitous rugged die in the wool, passionate and when it comes to food, although I cook all sorts and eat all sorts, I vote Nigerian.” Also, she surmises that “love goes around her in dollops…” Finally, in “How to Be a Nigerian”, she takes umbrage at Okey Ndibe for publicly trashing Nigeria by highlighting her setbacks and follies. She blames Ndibe’s posture on the fact that he resides aboard and opines, that “Okey Ndibe took this nation and sold it for a mess of pottage under the watchful eyes of the diplomatic community.” She then surmised, that Ndibe had “exhibited a classic case of ‘How not to be a Nigerian’”. It is either that Ms. Abu is intolerant of alternative viewpoints or in denial about problems that continue to bedevil Nigeria. Clearly, what Ndibe said was not untrue, but then, even for patriots like Abu, it is hard to confront the truth especially when it is ugly, inconvenient and painful. Her shared jibe about Ndibe’s speech being “all knowledge and no wisdom” may stand, but the applicability of that assessment pertains also to all those who have led Nigeria and those like Abu, who in the protective mode, elect to wear blinkers when the ills of Nigeria become manifest. It is such denials that lead nations down to perdition.
As Eugenia Abu’s first book, In the Blink of an Eye is a worthy effort that should impress and thrill those with more than a passing interest or curiosity in Nigeria. It has dissipated strength; since it is not focused on any one theme or premise. The book is also not a poignant, since it is not a thematic book in the true sense of the word. Whereas some of the essays are dazzling, some are not so, but the blame in such instances, is on the subject more than on the author. The book’s editing is superb, but one would expect no less, since the articles would have been sifted by several professionals. The volume’s packaging and quality is impressive and a tribute to the years invested by Spectrum Books into publishing and its niche as Nigeria’s book publishing flagship.
Eugenia Abu is prolifically gregarious. This volumes greatest appeal lies in the fact that it educates, elucidates, and captivates with Eugenia Abu’s luminous writing. Surely, Abu has written a transpicuous exposé into the soul of Nigeria- the land of plenty and poverty. Skillfully, she has taken a slew of a broadcaster’s and pundit’s abbreviated edits and given them a temporal niche, home, human face and a comforting true-life freshness. She has rendered an invaluable service to the nation and posterity, but more so, to those who continue to view Nigeria from a not-so-salutary prism. Someone has already categorized In the Blink of an Eye as “a must read”; I concur.
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Mr. Oseloka Obaze, an aspiring writer, is a founding member of the Kwenu.com Book Review Forum, which is dedicated to the promotion of books with Igbo and Afrocentric themes. He is also a supporting Member of the African Writers Endowment (AWE). From 1999 to 2005 he served on the editorial board of INYEAKA, the journal of Songhai Charities, Inc., a New Jersey community-based charity founded and run by Nigerians based in New York Tri-state area in the United States, first as its founding Publisher and later as the Editor-At-Large. He is also on the editorial board of The Amaka Gazette, the journal of the Christ the King College, Onitsha Alumni Association in America. His collection of poems, “Regarscent Past: A Collection of Poems” was among the top three finalists in the poetry category in the African Writers Endowment Publishing Grant Program for 2004. His novel, “Happy Eulogy” will be published in 2007. He reviews books and arts strictly as a hobby. © Copyright 28 October 2007.