Ogadinma by Ukamaka Olisakwe

An invaluable life lesson that one can learn from Ogadinma is that unless women learn to stand up for themselves, patriarchy will continue to thrive at our expense.⁣

Is it not the job of a woman to care for the family and for a man to provide? Is that not why we call our women ‘𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘬ụ’, the ones who enjoy wealth or am I mistaken?

Synopsis

After an episode of abuse results in exile from her family in Kano, seventeen-year-old Ogadinma is sent to her aunt’s house in Lagos. There she gets caught in a whirlwind romance with an older man, setting off a series of events that can only result in a tragic end unless she can rise above it all and save herself.⁣

Thoughts

I love it when I finish reading a book, and it turns out to be everything I hoped for and more. If you’ve read this book, I bet you know what I am talking about.⁣

This beautifully written story is an important read that most Nigerian women can relate to on some level because even if it’s not something you’ve experienced for yourself, someone you know must have gone through something similar. This is especially so because we live in a society where everything revolves around men and their egos.

An invaluable life lesson that one can learn from Ogadinma is that unless women learn to stand up for themselves, patriarchy will continue to thrive at our expense.⁣

I gladly recommend this book to all lovers of African Women’s Fiction, especially those who have enjoyed books from Buchi Emecheta and Flora Nwapa in the past.⁣