Romance lane with the muse

Young Adaugo Iheanacho’s contact with the muse at age eight has resulted into a creative exercise in the fourth year of the relationship, writes GBENGA ADENIJI For 12-year-old Adaugo Iheanacho, a Junior Secondary School II student of Effortswill Academy, Lagos, there seems to be nothing which thrills her most at the moment than the love of writing.

The love is so sizzling that it has produced a novelette with the title, Uzo. The young Iheanacho says she started admiring the alluring power of writing when she was in primary four. She explains that her 17- chapter work was actually written at that stage but was not completed.

“I had started writing another book when I saw the script which I earlier misplaced. I then decided to complete it. I finished it in a month during my last summer holiday. The book is my first published work and the message I am trying to pass across is that of hope, that no matter the situation one finds himself in life, there is always a way out,” she says.

She adds that the motivation for the work is from God and that she was neither told the story nor read it in any book. The young writer whose mother teaches Government and Social Studies in the same school she attends, states that the story shows that society is made up of the good, the bad and the ugly. She also stresses that as long as the world remains, good and bad will always co-exist.

According to the young writer, her aunt was the one who ensured that the novelette was eventually published as she kept calling her father to be sure she did not stop work on it.

But the literati need not be too joyous that their campaign of catching writers young is paying off with the humble feat of Iheanacho for she says her interest lies elsewhere. She explains, ‘‘I don’t intend to be a full time writer; my dream is to be an aeronautic engineer. I will still be involved in writing but not on a full time basis. My interest in writing is not for money. No, it is because I love writing. It is just a hobby and not a career. I have a deep interest in science subjects and not ready to trade them for any other course.’’

According to the author of Uzo, her mother has influenced her in many ways except in writing. Though she also reveals that she has not read much of Nigerian and African writers, the promising kid writer does not fail to state that her literary horizon is being broadened by works of some authors of children literatures.

Talking from the experience she garnered while writing the book, Iheanacho says that the writing milieu in Nigeria is not conducive for writers and that most writers are not appreciated.

She adds, ‘‘There are many writers in this country but only few of them are known. And if one is not appreciated, she cannot encourage others to take to writing. Look at musicians for example, they are celebrated and a lot of people love to be musicians whereas writing is both an academic and creative work. Most of my generation do not read these days; the interest is only on entertainment books. And they only show seriousness when examinations are approaching.’’

However, the beautiful young writer was full of smiles as she declared the celebrated master storyteller, Chinua Achebe, as her favourite writer anyday.