There would be no me, without you lord; I could not have done this

without your divine enablement. I dedicate this first effort to my

peerless master and king, my lord, Jesus Christ, who loved me, when I

was unworthy of love. And…To the Holy Spirit, my counsellor and my

guide, whose might I rely on, each day of my life….

THANK YOU FOR

HONOURING ME

Unyime-Ivy King

Author

BURNING HURT

A LABYRINTH OF HURTS

A Reflection on Burning Hurt

By

Dr Martin Akpan

I am neither a literary critic

nor a reviewer. I have refused

to don this cap, though on

several occasions, writers and

colleagues in the Pen Family,

especially the association of

Nigerian Authors [ANA] have

tried to force it on me. The

reason is simple: I do not want

to be labelled a witch or vampire

for Benedict nightingale, himself

a drama critic and reviewer for

the new York times and the

London times, in 1996 at the

Salzburg seminar, arrogated so

much (mysterious) powers to the

critics and reviewers, describing

them as “witches and vampires (who) are clearly up to no good”. And i

am inclined to agree with him, having had the fortune and misfortune

of stumbling on the works of Chiweizu, an unrepentant critic who

once described the poetry of Wole Soyinka, the revered Nobel

laureate as “barren, artistic austerities...of limping obscurities.” It

is only the likes of Chiweizu, who swagger into territories where

even angels fear to tread, that can dismiss this doyen of African

literature as ‟obscurantist poet and maker of contorted ardities‟

that are bound to cause” mental indigestion” in the reader. This

explains why I don‟t want to be called a critic.

y job here tonight is to attempt. As a hierophant of the

literary communion, to share some of the thoughts I

have garnered from burning Hurt, which to my mind, is a

great work by a great writer. Unyime-Ivy may be budding writer and

a first-timer. But she is certainly not a dabbler or an amateur. To

that extent, Burning Hurt, I can say straightaway, is well-cooked

‟native soup‟ that will continue to whet our appetite and curiosity for

a long time to come.

THE BOOK

Burning Hurt is a 276-page free-flowing novel, condensed into 23

chapters of reader-friendly prose and complete with a rich glossary.

THE BOOK COVER is glossy. And cast in a hazy motif of topless

tropical woods with birds apparently clinging meditatively to spindly

branches in a cold harmattan morning. THE BOOK TITLE, in white

cursive lettering, occupies the central part of the cover, while the

author‟s name is super imposed on a silhouette of what looks like

Cupid in her seducing nudity. The BACK COVER, which bears a close

semblance to the front, gives a bird‟s-eye view of the author; her

photograph and her bio-data. There is also a blurb which introduces

the story and leaves you to imagine the unfolding scenario. Published

in 2012 by AuthorHouse, Bloomington, the book is exquisitely

packaged to meet the taste and preference of modern readers. The

M

author DEDICATES the book to Jesus, whom she calls her peerless

Master and king as well as the Holy Spirit, “my counsellor and guide”.

A six-page tribute in the book speaks volumes of the author‟s

generosity of spirit and appreciative heart. For devoting that chunk

of a book to acknowledging the contributions of her mentors,

inspirers and friends, undoubtedly portrays Unyime as one who

treasures people and relationships.

THE STORY

Burning Hurt is an apt title for a book which chronicles a multiplicity

of seamy relationships, most of which leave bitter taste in the

mouths, if not seething wounds in the psyche of its principal

characters. Right in the thick of this labyrinth of hurts is a young

lady, Itohowo (fondly called Ity). Hers is a pathetic story. And there

is a lot to learn from Itohowo‟s saga especially by the other

‟Itohowos‟ that happen to fill this hall and the society at large. This

is a moving story of love, love gone sour and love that ironically

generates hate and bitterness-all resulting in a broken heart and a

shattered life and society.

But Itohowo is only a throw-up from a dysfunctional home. Caught in

the crossfire of a hostile and troublous home environment, she was

driven into the waiting hands of a dandy (Daniel Ukpong). Daniel‟s

initial warm friendship provided the bait that rocked Itohowo into

the blind alley of a whirlwind affair, which, expectedly resulted in a

pre-marital sex and a teenage pregnancy. And as it often happens in

such illicit relationships, Daniel abandoned the girl he claimed he

loved at the most critical point in her life. And to compound her

woes, she was denied the needed parent shield and coverage. She

was thrown out the house by her ‟step-father‟, Sunny Akpanudo and

mother, Eme and left to nurse her wounds in the cold hands of Fate.

Itohowo‟s world came crashing like a pack of cards. She was

shattered. But thank God that, after years of a tumultuous life, she

was able to pick the pieces of her life again when she found true

love and conjugal comfort in the caring heart of Geoffrey, a

relationship that produced two lovely children. Besides, she managed

to come out of her bitterness and mental pain, by forgiving and

reconciling with Daniel as well as her mother, Eme and her aunt,

Ikwo, both of who, like Daniel, had abandoned her to her fate when

she most needed them.

Burning Hurt is not about Itohowo. It is about all of us. The author

has, wittingly or unwittingly thrown up critical issues and concerns

bordering on our contemporary society. She has also attempted to

puncture some of the deep-seated myths and stereotypes in the

Ibibio cosmos, where the story is set. Using appropriate stylistic

devices, she has woven a riveting and un-put-down-able tale with

beautiful imageries and strong descriptive power and elements of

suspense.

BURNING ISSUES IN BURNING HURT

Unyime-Ivy has given us a coat of many colours in her Burning Hurt.

Unknown to her, perhaps, she has offered the reading public several

books in one. Each of her thematic concerns in Burning Hurt

signposts a book. And there are many of them ranging from the

issues of broken homes to pre- and extramarital sex, teenage

pregnancy, street children, preference for male children, plight of

the girl child, sex education, adoption issues, family inheritance and

godly lifestyle.

Other burning issues creatively explored in the book include: adult

delinquency (exemplified by Sonny‟s escapades), parents

abandonment, witchcraft practices, false prophesies as well as

Ibibio cultural/traditional norms and practices. The author‟s skilled

and expert handling of these issues is, no doubt, predicated on her

early exposure to life in the village, good childhood upbringing under

caring and God-fearing parents, deep knowledge of her cultural

milieu, seamless marriage to Ubong as well as her interest in and

closeness to her people. These and other salutary factors have

contrived to bring out of her, a book that is multivalent.

It is not possible or even desirable to gig the reader a panoramic

view of any work in just a few minutes of view. However, there are

some aspects of this sizzling offering that command immediate

attention. Foremost among them is the recurring issue of pre-

/extramarital sex, which the author has extensively and

painstakingly indicted in this book. This is personified by the

Casanova, Sunny Akpanudo, Itohowo‟s “step-father, whom the author

rightly tongue-lashes as a serial adulterer, an irredeemable

womanizer and a seasoned drunkard. In fact, the whole account in

the book – the scandal, blackmail, intrigues, conspiracies, betrayals

and bitter rivalry are largely traceable to Sonny‟s excesses, directly

or indirectly. Needless to say that it was his amorous advances to

Ity, his ‟step daughter‟, that provided the trigger for the

kaleidoscopic events in the life of the young girl and their domino

effect on her family and community at large. And to even imagine

that Sunny was Itohowo‟s true father from his early tryst with

Itohowo‟s mother, Eme, when she (Eme) was just 15, is heart-

rending. What a sordid affair!

Another key area of concern of the author is that we have almost

lost grip of our rich cultural heritage and traditional community

organisation through „Europeanized‟ lifestyle. She has, therefore,

tried to convince the reader that long before the white man came to

this part of the world with his so-called modern civilization, we had

had a well- structured society with inbuilt mechanisms to maintain

law and order as well as foster communal love and unity. The ekpe,

ekpo, akata societies (all- male groups) and ebre, iban isong etc “(all-

female groups), were examples of such mechanisms. In Burning Hurt,

the author relives that arcadian era and laments the erosion or near-

erosion of our wholesome traditional values, mores and ethos that to

engender a sense of community and shared values in our fore-

fathers.

If there‟s anything Unyime-Ivy treasures,

it is family and godly relationships. This,

she has amply demonstrated in this work

using various devices, concepts, situations and scenarios. One of such

relationships was the trio of Rita, Ese and Verity (Daniel‟s wife). So

mutual was their closeness and love that Rita and Ese stood solidly

by Verity, encouraged her and earnestly and consistently prayed for

her travails lasted until she found fulfilment in her marriage by

overcoming her barrenness of nine years.

In another development, the author frowns at the pervading virus of

prophet-lying (prophesying falsely) and witchcraft label slapped on

some aged parents by their children especially when such children

experience some life challenges such as barrenness, sudden or

chronic illness, financial hardship or unexplained losses. This was the

lot of Diana, whom Akpan, her son, accused of being a witch because

If there’s anything

Unyime-Ivy treasures, it

is family and godly

relationships.

according to prophet Inokon, she was responsible for the

barrenness of uyai, his wife, by “using a rope to tie her womb”

(page150). The twin issue of witchcraft and proliferation of prayer

houses, especially in Akwa Ibom, is extensively explored in chapter 3

of Burning Hurt. Now listen to this dialogue between Daniel, his wife,

Verity and his parents-in-law, Prof. & Mrs. Albert Umana:

“In Akwa Ibom for instance,” Prof continued, “witchcraft

is the dominant focus. „Sir, I think that can be attributed

to all the prayer houses springing all over the land,

creating confusion in families and breaking homes with

their fake prophesies”, Daniel pointed out and everyone

laughed at his observations. ”They will tell you that the

problems you are experiencing in life, are from within-

ekong ‟mkpatiang ukot‟ – they say.”

“You are right darling “, Verity chirped in, „these prayer

houses thrive on perpetuating this fear by „prophe-lying‟

to their patrons and saying that, their battles are from

their household. Hence, overnight, parents who toiled and

laboured for their kids, become witches and wizards. It is

such a dangerous trend”, everyone cackled at Verity‟s

blend of the words, „prophecy‟ and „lying.‟

“You are correct my dear”. Verity‟s mother joined in the

conversation. “In our state, having grey hair in a family is

a big misfortune because you would be suspected of

witchcraft! This sad turn of events is the story of many

families in Akwa Ibom. Abasi mmi, ubok mfo oh!

“It‟s scary, mum, Daniel concurred,” I think this is an

important reason why we have so many young people dying

in our state, unlike in Yoruba land where you have so many

old people living well beyond their 80‟s, we hardly have

elderly statesmen.”

“My love, you are right. The Bible says that when we

honour our parents, we live long upon the earth. God

cannot be mocked”, Verity said. “You will see an old man or

woman, who sacrificed so much to bring up their kids,

being labelled a witch or wizard by the very children they

gave all to raise!

You would agree with me, ladies and gentlemen, that thesis vintage

Unyime-Ivy: An exquisite synthesis of invincible truth, impeccable

diction and humour – a feature that is replicated on every page of

this book.

Overall, Burning Hurt has all the makings of an award-winning novel.

It is well packaged, attractive and reader-friendly with just minor

vetting errors that do not, in any way, detract from the merit or

import of the work. The snug blend of English and Ibibio language is

unique. [Example: Akpara ekpo ami has been sleeping around; Aunty

Ikwo, Ufon mmie? Okay, ebe ndo; etc]. And traditional songs like

this, which challenge husbands to their traditional roles:

Ebe eke nno naira-o

Naira ekem so?

Ndop nda okuk

Mme ekem inung efere?

Ndop nda okuk

Mme ekem iyak efere?

Ndop nda okuk.

This is definitely going to compel a wide readership especially among

the Efik-Ibibio speaking group. Besides, it is a welcome development

at a time in our history when our children have lost grip of their

mother tongue, because of some

policy summersaults in our

educational system.

The central message in this book is

unmistakable: that we should all be

mindful of the actions we take now, as the repercussions are sure to

come. And for our youths, instead of dissipating their energy in

sowing the proverbial wild oats, they should strive to „sow righteous

oats‟. This can be achieved through sound moral and Christian

principles. This way, the dysfunction in the family, nay the larger

society would have been reduced.

Burning Hurt is a vade mecum of wholesome tit-bits on morality,

godly lifestyle, family life and salubrious living. The book is both rich

and enriching. Rich in the sense that, it is a pot-pourri of diverse

human experiences in a nexus of interlocking and reverberating

scenes, sounds and echoes, that breathtakingly illuminate and

tantalize the heart of the reader; enriching, because it is written in

a language so simple and lucid that the salient points and lessons

cannot be missed. Indeed, it is an argosy of Ibibio folklore, myths

The central message in

this book is

unmistakable: that we

should all be mindful of

the actions we take now,

as the repercussions are

sure to come.

and cultural practices; a treasure trove of love remedies for broken

homes and wrecked relationships.

The plot is thick and rich, revealing and entertaining. A common

thread runs through the book: An impeccable diction, which clearly

portrays the author as an avid reader whose love for and emotional

attachment to books have turned her into a consummate verbalphille

(ala Des Wilson) or a connoisseur. It is a must read for all,

irrespective of class and caste. Unyime-Ivy is a master story teller

with an undisputable flair and gift of the garb. You cannot finish

reading the book without having a clear glimpse of the persona of

the author as a well-groomed and God-fearing lady who is passionate

about correct conduct, attitude and practices. I am tempted to

believe that Verity, the quintessential character in the book, is

either Unyime-Ivy fictionalized on her alter ego. I see her standing

shoulder-to-shoulder with Chimamanda in no distant future, if the

sparks and sparkles she has demonstrated in Burning Hurt are not to

allow to abate.

Thank You.........