₦airaland Forum

When the devil cannot reach you, he sends a man.

Onyebuchi was born to Jeremy and Alice on 1944, July 21st. In Yaba, Lagos.

At that time, giving birth to a girl, was as close to as owning a goat.

Onyebuchi grew up surrounded by her parents love but once in a while, she saw the flicker of disappointment in her dad’s eye. (A reflection of the social stigma attached to having a girl child). That didn’t stop him from catering to her needs and ensuring they always had food to eat.


Jeremy Nwabudinke — Buchi’s dad.

Another striking thing about her father was how highly he spoke of the United kingdom. It was the United Kingdom of God, a place so revered that one would have to sell everything he owned to gain access. Only a few got the pass and oh. How lucky were they? One of the lucky few was a lawyer who had gone there to study and was expected to return in the coming days, sparking celebrations in every home.

Onyebuchi longed for her father to take pride in her and vowed to go to the United Kingdom of God to prove to him that she was worth just as much as a male child.

Unfortunately, her dad died by the time she turned 9, before she had the chance to prove her worth. His death left her mother a widow, who according to tradition, was to marry the next of kin; his brother.

During the mourning period, Buchi and her mother had to go back to their fathers home town; Igbuzor; Delta state. Here she was grateful for; the coconut trees, children to play with and tales by moonlight told by her big mummies. However, all these couldn’t distract her from the hunger pangs she felt digging into her soul at every moment it got.

Buchi’s uncle became her new dad at age 9 and if she thought her late dad didn’t give her enough reverence, this new one despised her. She didn’t let that get to her, instead she decided to hold on to the little beam of light in form of a dream.

Thankfully, her strong wise mother managed to persuade her new dad to let her get a bit of an education as that will elevate her status in marrying an elite.

At 12years old. She was back home, in wait to be married off to the most worthy suitor but Buchi had other plans, plans which still involved going to the United Kingdom of God. She took a scholarship exam to study in a missionary school and passed.


Buchi @ missionary school

She packed her things and left, living her mum who despised her for being stubborn. But how could she explain to her mum that she saw beyond the grey skies of their home? That she envisioned to be in a far away land with pretty blue skies, color and life.

Buchi met Sylvester and fell in love with his dreams. A handsome local boy who also thought he could make it to the United kingdom of God.

At 15years, the pressure from home for her to be married off became extreme and this led her to marrying Sylvester. At least she was getting married to the love of her life.

Buchi graduated school and found a job as a publicity officer in the American embassy. Where she worked and saved her earnings for their dreams. At this point she was pregnant with their second child.

The plan was to gather enough money to send Sylvester out and then follow in due time. This worked and in no time, Sylvester had arrived the kingdom of God. They exchanged letters and everything seemed to be as perfect as she had imagined.

At 18years with 2 children. Her dream became fruitious. She was on the deck of the Orion heading to England.

13days later, the children’s nurse on the ship came to her room, shouting excitedly

Have you seen it?!

Have you seen Liverpool?!


She ran out to the deck and her beautiful dreams plummeted a quater. Buchi thought, «if she had been Jesus. She would have passed England by».

She finally arrived where to stay and she felt even worse. There before her, was a single room her husband had rented for them and the kids. He explained that getting accommodation was very difficult and more as a black person. This was the reality of the United Kingdom of God.

This threw her into a state of depression. She had left her beautiful flat with servants in Lagos. For a single room and a status of a second class citizen. Worse, as a woman. And to call it all, her loving husband wasn’t being considerate to her feelings.

She had even given him so much money to afford a better apartment, prior to her coming. But he spent a bulk of it on getting a new suit. Apparently, her priorities wasn’t his anymore.

All these didn’t deter Buchi, as she strived to get a job at a Library, where she contributed significantly to the household finances — shouldering most of the burden. Meanwhile, it remained unclear what the love of her life was doing to support the family, apart from impregnating her year after year. By 1965, they had five children

Months passed and things seemed jolly for their family. The job Buchi had secured seemed to be doing very well and things were beginning to look brighter. However, their happiness was short lived, as their Nigerian landlord sent them packing the next second. Apparently;

Nobody wants you to succeed because it will shatter their reality that one could break out of mediocrity. For masses this is a tough pill to swallow. ~Jimmy King

During the search of a place to live, Buchi watched helplessly as what little pride her husband had left, evaporated.

As much as she could hang on, he couldn’t. Eventually, a new home was found but her husband was gone. He became violent towards Buchi and their children.

He blamed her for their loss and made mockery of her hard work. During this trying time, Buchi had to stop working and focus on the children but it only got worse. Sylvester got more violent and berating.

Looking for a form of reprieve, Buchi started writing and it happened effortlessly, this was no surprise because she had always longed to be a storyteller. The news of her writing and finding content in herself displeased Sylvester. Who went as far as burning her first manuscript.

This was the turning point for Buchi, she had enough. Although Sylvester tried to beg for her forgiveness, regain her trust and started going to a Jehovah’s Witness church.

Buchi was done.

She packed up with her children and left, but this was the most trying time for Buchi. She had descended to her nadir . As a single black woman with five children, all below 6. The United Kingdom of God was unkind to her.

Her best offer was one of the worst imaginable flats in London. She had to accept this because she needed a place to find the lost confidence in herself and build up again. Fortunately, Onyebuchi knew;

Nobody is greater than God

She went back to school to pursue a degree in sociology and in her 2nd year, she started writing for magazines and newspapers to make earnings and give her children a nearly normal life.

Her job enabled her to publish her first novel in 1972, which was a series of articles in the magazine. The New Statesman and with her second book; “SECOND CLASS CITIZEN” her writing career became established.

These are the literary works of Buchi Emecheta.

In the Ditch (1972), Second-Class Citizen (1974), Gwendolen (1989) and Kehinde (1994) The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), The Joys of Motherhood (1979), Destination Biafra (1982), and Double Yoke (1982) et al.

Source: https://medium.com/@ezinwanyi13/the-wrong-man-43d221790b13

sotomayor:
When the devil cannot reach you, he sends a man.

Onyebuchi was born to Jeremy and Alice on 1944, July 21st. In Yaba, Lagos.

At that time, giving birth to a girl, was as close to as owning a goat.

Onyebuchi grew up surrounded by her parents love but once in a while, she saw the flicker of disappointment in her dad’s eye. (A reflection of the social stigma attached to having a girl child). That didn’t stop him from catering to her needs and ensuring they always had food to eat.


Jeremy Nwabudinke — Buchi’s dad.

Another striking thing about her father was how highly he spoke of the United kingdom. It was the United Kingdom of God, a place so revered that one would have to sell everything he owned to gain access. Only a few got the pass and oh. How lucky were they? One of the lucky few was a lawyer who had gone there to study and was expected to return in the coming days, sparking celebrations in every home.

Onyebuchi longed for her father to take pride in her and vowed to go to the United Kingdom of God to prove to him that she was worth just as much as a male child.

Unfortunately, her dad died by the time she turned 9, before she had the chance to prove her worth. His death left her mother a widow, who according to tradition, was to marry the next of kin; his brother.

During the mourning period, Buchi and her mother had to go back to their fathers home town; Igbuzor; Delta state. Here she was grateful for; the coconut trees, children to play with and tales by moonlight told by her big mummies. However, all these couldn’t distract her from the hunger pangs she felt digging into her soul at every moment it got.

Buchi’s uncle became her new dad at age 9 and if she thought her late dad didn’t give her enough reverence, this new one despised her. She didn’t let that get to her, instead she decided to hold on to the little beam of light in form of a dream.

Thankfully, her strong wise mother managed to persuade her new dad to let her get a bit of an education as that will elevate her status in marrying an elite.

At 12years old. She was back home, in wait to be married off to the most worthy suitor but Buchi had other plans, plans which still involved going to the United Kingdom of God. She took a scholarship exam to study in a missionary school and passed.


Buchi @ missionary school

She packed her things and left, living her mum who despised her for being stubborn. But how could she explain to her mum that she saw beyond the grey skies of their home? That she envisioned to be in a far away land with pretty blue skies, color and life.

Buchi met Sylvester and fell in love with his dreams. A handsome local boy who also thought he could make it to the United kingdom of God.

At 15years, the pressure from home for her to be married off became extreme and this led her to marrying Sylvester. At least she was getting married to the love of her life.

Buchi graduated school and found a job as a publicity officer in the American embassy. Where she worked and saved her earnings for their dreams. At this point she was pregnant with their second child.

The plan was to gather enough money to send Sylvester out and then follow in due time. This worked and in no time, Sylvester had arrived the kingdom of God. They exchanged letters and everything seemed to be as perfect as she had imagined.

At 18years with 2 children. Her dream became fruitious. She was on the deck of the Orion heading to England.

13days later, the children’s nurse on the ship came to her room, shouting excitedly

Have you seen it?!

Have you seen Liverpool?!


She ran out to the deck and her beautiful dreams plummeted a quater. Buchi thought, «if she had been Jesus. She would have passed England by».

She finally arrived where to stay and she felt even worse. There before her, was a single room her husband had rented for them and the kids. He explained that getting accommodation was very difficult and more as a black person. This was the reality of the United Kingdom of God.

This threw her into a state of depression. She had left her beautiful flat with servants in Lagos. For a single room and a status of a second class citizen. Worse, as a woman. And to call it all, her loving husband wasn’t being considerate to her feelings.

She had even given him so much money to afford a better apartment, prior to her coming. But he spent a bulk of it on getting a new suit. Apparently, her priorities wasn’t his anymore.

All these didn’t deter Buchi, as she strived to get a job at a Library, where she contributed significantly to the household finances — shouldering most of the burden. Meanwhile, it remained unclear what the love of her life was doing to support the family, apart from impregnating her year after year. By 1965, they had five children

Months passed and things seemed jolly for their family. The job Buchi had secured seemed to be doing very well and things were beginning to look brighter. However, their happiness was short lived, as their Nigerian landlord sent them packing the next second. Apparently;

Nobody wants you to succeed because it will shatter their reality that one could break out of mediocrity. For masses this is a tough pill to swallow. ~Jimmy King

During the search of a place to live, Buchi watched helplessly as what little pride her husband had left, evaporated.

As much as she could hang on, he couldn’t. Eventually, a new home was found but her husband was gone. He became violent towards Buchi and their children.

He blamed her for their loss and made mockery of her hard work. During this trying time, Buchi had to stop working and focus on the children but it only got worse. Sylvester got more violent and berating.

Looking for a form of reprieve, Buchi started writing and it happened effortlessly, this was no surprise because she had always longed to be a storyteller. The news of her writing and finding content in herself displeased Sylvester. Who went as far as burning her first manuscript.

This was the turning point for Buchi, she had enough. Although Sylvester tried to beg for her forgiveness, regain her trust and started going to a Jehovah’s Witness church.

Buchi was done.

She packed up with her children and left, but this was the most trying time for Buchi. She had descended to her nadir . As a single black woman with five children, all below 6. The United Kingdom of God was unkind to her.

Her best offer was one of the worst imaginable flats in London. She had to accept this because she needed a place to find the lost confidence in herself and build up again. Fortunately, Onyebuchi knew;

Nobody is greater than God

She went back to school to pursue a degree in sociology and in her 2nd year, she started writing for magazines and newspapers to make earnings and give her children a nearly normal life.

Her job enabled her to publish her first novel in 1972, which was a series of articles in the magazine. The New Statesman and with her second book; “SECOND CLASS CITIZEN” her writing career became established.

These are the literary works of Buchi Emecheta.

In the Ditch (1972), Second-Class Citizen (1974), Gwendolen (1989) and Kehinde (1994) The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), The Joys of Motherhood (1979), Destination Biafra (1982), and Double Yoke (1982) et al.

Source: https://medium.com/@ezinwanyi13/the-wrong-man-43d221790b13

I read second class citizen and joys of motherhood. Very lovely books.

DrFunmisticGlow:
I read second class citizen and joys of motherhood. Very lovely books.

Menhhhh that Joy of Mother is Bae
After 15yr I read it
Gotta look for the soft copy to read it over again!!!
Very interesting Book

Unicorn009:
Menhhhh that Joy of Mother is Bae
After 15yr I read it
Gotta look for the soft copy to read it over again!!!
Very interesting Book

her endings are so realistic. Read it in SS1 then, Joy's of motherhood because it was recommended and i was earning money to help literature students to summarise books or do homework even though i wasn't offering the course, then i read 2nd class citizen in my school library when i skipped classes or during free period.Her books were the first to show me that reality is not happily ever after like most novels have us believe. Maybe because her stories were based on Nigerians like you and I that it was so shocking. Jolted my mind a little back then