Emerging writer, Nina unveils her new book, Disowned; gets credit from Mofe Damijo and other famous actors

The compact but rich library at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, beamed with celebrities that included Lala Akindoju, Joke Silva, Ireti Doyle, Kate Henshaw, Ramseh Noah with the event’s godfather being Richard Mofe-Damijo, who Nina described as her mentor.

The book is a collection of inflammably emotional stories bordering on sexual abuse and harassment, according to Punch. The emotion, which the stories spin and the anger they wield, is so infectious that the women who dominated the presentation almost began to carry placards right from the venue.

With Disowned, the verdict is clear and square: most Nigerian women, girls, children and daughters are not safe in the hands of men prowling at schools, offices, homes, markets and various joints. The victims of Nina’s tales, all say this.

The experiences she projects in the stories – Nnena’s Loss, Daddy’s Little Girl, Two of a Kind and Disowned – are so vivid that many participants could not help asking if she was once a victim of sexual harassment. But she diffused this fear.

According to the author, she has never been a victim. All she presents in Disowned are products of what she gathered from the field, as embellished with imagination and language.

Appreciating Silva and the other ‘big girls’ profusely, the author said she could not believe that all of them were there just because of her. She also acknowledged the presence of members of the corporate community.

But the same Nina would soon burst into tears as she recounted her experience talking to abused ladies and children.

According to Nina, although the idea of Disowned started casually when she needed to while away time at an airport in London, the promise it generated prompted her to want to know what obtains in the women’s world. Her encounter with harassed girls deepened her conviction that Disowned must come out to make a statement.

“I went home every night, opened my laptop, and the darkness started coming. The more I wrote, the worse it became. How do we let the kids be violated every day as if it does not mean anything?,” Nina explains.

(Punchng)