By JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

Mrs. Irene Ngozi Morenikeji Craig, a graduate of Language and Linguistics, is an energetic and innovative many-sided personality. After several years in the teaching field, she’s produced  nursery rhymes and other children   books which she believes to be good tools for teaching morals.

She’s just published a book, The Adventure of Kima, a children literature. In this interview, Mrs. Craig,  who is the CEO, Gozyren Nigeria Limited, talks about her new book and also lets us into her life of many parts as a linguist, fashion designer, teacher and writer; all rolled into one.

Enjoy!

What inspired your decision to venture into the intricate world of children literature?

It was in 2008, while teaching children at the Atlantic Hall School, that I suddenly discovered that the children did not realise how privileged they were. That got me thinking about how to sensitise privileged children and at same time give hope to less-privileged children.

That was the trigger that set The Adventure of Kima in motion. Kima tells the story of a little boy who happens to be underprivileged by virtue of birth, due to no fault of his. At the beginning of the story, he is a boy of eight. To worsen the situation, his parents lost their lives in an auto-crash.

Though he has extended family members, none of them is willing to take him. Kima is sent to his grandmother if very humble means, who lives in a one-room apartment. Little Kima is eventually registered as an apprentice in a mechanic workshop because nobody is ready to send him to school.

One day, while on an errand for his boss, Kima comes across some school children walking into a school and he joins them inadvertently. He also goes to sit in a classroom like the rest of the children. The school Accountant eventually finds him out when he comes in to call out the names of those who have not paid their fees.  This led to Kima being taken to the office of the headmistress. His meeting with the headmistress marks the turnaround point for his life and that of his grandma. The story goes on and on.

How did you come about the name Kima?

I actually did not want any ethnic colouration for my character, hence the name Kima. As far as my investigation has gone, the name is not tied to any ethnic class. Maybe it might do to some persons, but from my own knowledge, it is not.

Considering the millions of children literature writers out there, what dimension would you say you’re introducing into the family?

Like I said earlier, I want to teach privileged children to appreciate their fortunate life. And for those who are less-privileged, I want to let them know there is hope. If Kima could experience a turnaround and get a scholarship amongst other benefits which includes better accommodation for himself and his grandma, then any turnaround could also happen in their own lives.

*Mrs.Craig

This is the beginning of your writing career; how far do you plan to go?

God has sown the seed in me and it has taken root with the publication of Kima. I have four books ready but won’t want to over-flood the market. So, we’re releasing them in batches of two; Book 1 & 2, Book 3 & 4, and so on. I’m going to follow Kima up even until he gets into the university.

Could you tell us more about yourself?

I’m from Enugu State by birth but from Ogun State by marriage. I studied at the University of Jos where I graduated in 1980 with a degree in Language and Linguistics as a French major. That was where I met my husband. Around 1981/82, during Shagari’s era, I worked in the National Assembly Secretariat doing interpretation and translation until the coup in 1983.

After the coup, I was redeployed to the Ministry of Defence but resigned immediately to fall back on my first love- fashion designing. Along the line, I combined this with teaching nursery rhymes, French Language, and some other subjects in different schools where I was invited.

I did most of these teachings in Ibadan where my family relocated to. My last port-of-call was the Atlantic Hall in Lagos in 2008 when we returned to Lagos. Presently, I design memorabilia; gift items for functions, using African prints.

Is that readily acceptable in this part of the world?

My agenda is to inflame a change. The truth is that I got weary of attending parties and other functions and watching people giving out cutlery, plastics, torches, biros, openers and other items. That got me thinking of useful products of better value. That set the tone for the designing of memorabilia like aprons, oven protection, phone pouch, cutlery holders, Santa’s butties, etc, using materials such as brocade, Ankara, aso-oke and even aso-ebi where required.