Anote Ajeluorou, former Arts Editor of The Guardian has accomplished what newshounds/arts journalists find little time to do: get into the hearts and minds of our little ones, with his first, delightful children’s book dedicated to his 10 year old daughter, Oghale-Oghene.
I felt Igho's pain deeply when he came 15th out of a class of 22 at his primary school. Too much time spent surfing mobile gadgetry (which his parents must have given him...). But his punishment! A holiday on grandma and grandpa's farm in Ibedeni: that way out village! Heated debate about it made for gripping reading and I felt the same as his older siblings: the punishment was just too ‘harsh.’
But brace yourselves, little ones, for the adventures of Igho and his girl cousin Onome, exiled to their ancestral village. With fun-loving and watchful grown-ups, the children have the time of their lives across a span of 56 pages of text and illustrations - pencil drawings: some are excellent.
It has always been difficult but today with the urbanising (westernising) function of cable TV and the Internet consumable on easy platforms, (Igho has them all) it’s no mean feat to persuade children (and adults) to go out and hunt for adventures here in Nigeria, not within the techy clutches of the city but in the country, through the unbeaten paths of nature. Next year, Igho and Onome are going to do their best to persuade their siblings to choose a holiday in the village over yet another trip to Disneyland.
