Remembering Flora Nwapa – The first African woman to publish a book in English

In her first novel – ‘Efuru’ which she published at age 35, Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa, better known by her pen name as Flora Nwapa, made a bold statement that did not only announce her entry into a male dominated literary world, but also gave the world a view of the literary motif that dominated her works – addressing the plight of African women and advocating for a change of the stereotype.

In many of her works published from 1966 till she breathed her last in 1993, she strongly advocated for a change in the way women in Africa were perceived and treated by the society and with her writings she gave many women the courage to break into the literary world as published writers.

Her first and globally acclaimed novel – ‘Efuru’ published in 1966 tells the story of a talented, brilliant, and beautiful woman who, living in a small community, is limited by tradition and had no power to make a decision of her own. In an interview, Nwapa said she used Efuru to explore how women are treated in the society.

Flora Nwapa published her first novel ‘Efuru’ in 1966 to address the plight of African women.

For a woman who had studied in the United Kingdom, held political office and worked in Nigeria’s education sector in the East and Western part of the country, there is no doubt that Nwapa was already armed with the exposure that informed and influenced her writings and advocacy.

The novel Efuru carried her far, establishing Nwapa as the first African woman to publish a book in English and opening the door for the emergence of a new generation of Nigerian and African female writers who also adopted her theme; questioning stereotypes about women in African societies and changing the narrative about gender.

Born on January 13, 1938, in Oguta, Imo State, Flora was the eldest of six children of her parents – Christopher Ljeoma, an agent for the United Africa Company (UAC) and Martha Nwapa, a drama teacher. She was educated at Archdeacon Crowther’s Memorial Girls’ School, Port Harcourt in Rivers State, South-south Nigeria, CMS Girls’ School, Lagos, University College Ibadan (now University of Ibadan) in Oyo State and Edinburgh University in the UK.

Nwapa’s works influenced the writings of a new generation of female writers.

In her early education, Nwapa read and admired the works of English novelists – Jane Austen, William Thackeray, and Charles Dickens. “My whole life has been a mixture of influences…and at school, we were encouraged to speak in our tribal language and to respect our traditions and heritage,” she told The Guardian in an interview.

Growing up in an African home as the first child exposed her to a lot of uncomfortable things about how the African society treats women and she knew she had stories to tell. But she had to struggle hard for her voice to be heard through writing.

When she returned to Nigeria, Nwapa was appointed a Women Education Officer in Calabar, Cross River State. She later taught English and Geography at Queen’s School, Enugu and would later become Assistant Registrar (Public Relations) at the University of Lagos.

She wrote Efuru while she was a teacher in Enugu but could not publish until 1966 while she was working at UNILAG. She sent the manuscript to one of Africa’s greatest writers, Chinua Achebe, who was the general editor of African Writers Series at Heinemann Publishing at that time. Achebe recommended the story for publication. The book which attracted a wave of criticisms and commendations from different parts of the world was adopted as a novel on the English curriculum for Nigerian schools.

In 1967, the year the Nigerian civil war started, Nwapa got married to an industrialist, Gogo Nwakuche and they both had two daughters and a son. The civil war caused a disruption that forced her to relocate to the then Eastern region that went to war against the rest of Nigeria. After the war in 1970, she was appointed a member of the East Central State Executive Council and was for a time Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Urban Development.

In 1976, she went into full time writing and founded Tana Press Ltd., later named Flora Nwapa Books Ltd. Some of her published novels include – This is Lagos and Other Stores (1971), Never Again (1975), Wives at War and Other Stories (1980), and One is Enough (1981). Nwapa also self-published two lengthy poems called: Cassava Song and Rice Song (1986), and a number of children’s books.

In 1989, Nwapa was appointed visiting professor of creative writing at the University of Maiduguri and became a member of the University of Harin Governing Council. She also received invitations for a lecture tour to universities in the United States. Some of the institutions include – Loyola, Trinity, Rutgers, and New York University.

Nwapa constantly denied being a feminist until she finally admitted in an interview where she said: “I am a feminist with a big ‘f’”.

Before she died of pneumonia at the age of 62 on October 16, 1993 at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu State, her works had influenced the writings of a new generation of female writers who have been emboldened to tell their stories and carry on with the legacy of telling the story of African women.

Although it was easy to label her a feminist based on the theme of her writings, Nwapa constantly denied being one until she finally admitted in an interview where she said: “Years back, when I go on my tours to America and Europe, I’m usually asked, ‘Are you a feminist?’ I deny that I am a feminist. Please I am not a feminist, oh please. But they say, all your works and everything is about feminism. And I say, ‘No I am not a feminist.’ But having heard Obioma (a fellow author) on Monday, having heard Ama today, I think that I will go all out and say that I am a feminist with a big ‘f’ because Obioma said on Monday that feminism is about possibilities; there are possibilities, there are choices. Let us not be afraid to say that we are feminists. We need one another, we really need one another. Globally, we need one another”.

“Being a public figure, she never failed in her role as a mother,” Nwapa’s son, Uzoma said in an interview with Daily Independent. “She imbibed in us a great sense of respect for women. I admire her way of dealing with people and things. We will surely promote her legacy.”