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Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo
Born
Eastern Nigeria
Alma materUniversity of Lagos; University of Ibadan
Occupation(s)Author and educator
AwardsNigeria Prize for Literature

Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo // ⓘ is a Nigerian author and educator, whose published work includes novels, poetry, short stories, books for children, essays and journalism.[1] She is the winner of several awards in Nigeria, including the Nigeria Prize for Literature.[2]

Biography

Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo was born and raised in Eastern Nigeria, but now lives in Lagos. She is the first child of Joshua and Christiana Adimora and has five siblings. Raised partially in a rural environment and partially in the city, she combines these two factors, as background and setting for her children's stories and adult fiction. Though born in Eastern Nigeria, she has lived in different parts of the country – East, North and West. She has travelled extensively in Africa, Europe and in the USA.

She obtained her Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Masters (MA) degrees in English from the University of Lagos and her Ph.D. from University of Ibadan, in Nigeria. She also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) from University of Lagos.

A lecturer, writer, novelist, critic, essayist, journalist, and administrator, she was appointed a professor of English at University of Lagos in 1999. She has taught in this university, in the Department of English, since 1981. She headed the English Department in 1997 and 1998, from 2002 to 2005, and 2008–2009. In September 2015, she relocated to Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Ebonyi State, in South-East Nigeria, where she has continued to teach students and mentor younger lecturers.

She is married to Professor Chris Ezeigbo and they have three children.

Professional experience

She taught in Secondary schools and a Teachers College before becoming a university lecturer. Member of the editorial board of two newspapers in Lagos – The Independent (1992–1995) and The Post Express (1997–1999). While with the two newspapers, she wrote editorials, feature articles and maintained regular columns. She has held administrative posts at University of Lagos as Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Arts for two years (1992–1994) and as acting Head of English Department in 1997/98. She has also been in hall administration in the university as Assistant hall Warden in Moremi Hall and Moremi Annexe from 1981 to 1984; Hall Mistress of Madam Tinubu Hall from 1994 to 1996. Hall Mistress of Amina Hall from 1996 to 1997.

The National Treasurer of the Association of Nigerian Authors from 1995 to 1997 Vice President of Women Writers of Nigeria (WRITA) from 1998 to 2000. Currently the First Vice-President of P.E.N. Nigeria and the financial secretary of WRITA National.

Research Supervision
Undergraduate Level: Supervised more than 160 final year undergraduate projects at Unilag (B.A. (Hons.), 1986–2015). And, so far, 12 projects at Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo (2015–2022).
Postgraduate (Masters): Supervised more than 100 M.A. dissertations between 1986 and 2015 at Unilag.
Postgraduate (Ph.D.): Under her supervision 12 candidates successfully completed their PhD and graduated between 2003 and 2018 at Unilag. currently supervising a doctoral (PhD) student at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State.
Postgraduate Diploma (PGD): Supervised six students in the Postgraduate Diploma programme at the University of Lagos Between 2012 and 2014.

External examination/Professional assessment
Have served as external examiner/assessor to various universities (15) in the country:

Reading tours

She has toured many countries and in each of them she has read from her works.
In October/November, 1993, she toured six British cities – London, Bristol, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham – and gave readings from her first collection of short stories, Rhythms of Life, Stories of Modern Nigeria. The tour was organized by Karnak House (her London publisher). In May 1998, she was a guest of the Centre for African Studies of the University of Edinburgh at a Literary Retreat at the Burn, in Scotland. She also read from her works at Evangelische Akademie, in Bad Boll, Germany, in October 2000 and also at Humboldt University in Berlin, in May 2002. She participated in "Time of the Writer Festival" in April 2002, at the Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, in South Africa. She was at the 2002 Convention of International PEN held in Macedonia. she presented a paper at the Indaba at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in Harare from 25 July to 2 August 2003.

Membership

She is a member of many academic associations such as the Literary Society of Nigeria, Modern Languages Association of Nigeria. She is an active member of some writers’ organizations and they include, International PEN, PEN Nigeria, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and the Women Writers Association of Nigeria (WRITA).
She is the First Vice-President of PEN Nigeria. She served as the National Treasurer of ANA from 1995 to 1997 and the first Vice President of Women Writers’ Association of Nigeria. She is currently the Financial Secretary of WRITA.

Finished publications

Apart from publishing more than 60 academic papers in local and international journals and as chapters in books and having her short stories appear in five anthologies, Adimora-Ezeigbo has published forty eight (58) books.
She has published 23 books for children (more are in the press), has been a children's Sunday School teacher and regularly gives talks to children in schools and to women's clubs on topics such as culture and youth development in Nigeria, child upbringing and the education of the girl-child, etc.

Children's books

Two of her stories for children have been translated into Swahili and Xhosa languages. Her books are listed below:

Fiction

Non-fiction

Other books

Essays

Articles published in academic journals

Honours and awards

Community service

She has served her community, Uga, both at home and in Lagos in many capacities. She was a member of the Uga Post Office building Committee in the 1980s, and a member of the Ada Uga Association – an association of the Daughters of Uga. In the early 1980s, she served as Assistant Secretary of Uga Improvement Union (Women's Wing). She was elected First Vice President of the same union and served from 1991 to 1993.
She was First Vice President of Umuoru Community Union (Women's Wing) from 1996 to 1999. Ezeigbo was one of the members who drafted the constitutions of these two women associations. She is a representative of U.I.U. (Women's Wing) in Aguata Progressive Union (APU), Lagos, as well as the Chairperson of the Education Committee of Aguata Progressive Union, Lagos.

References

  1. ^ Geoffrey Kwadwo Gyasi, "Interview with Nigerian Writer, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo", Munyori Literary Journal, via Geosi Reads, 22 August 2013.
  2. ^ "Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo", African Books Collective.

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