QUEEN MAADIAH: Senator Okorocha, Ekong Sampson, Anietie Usen, Others Hail Nigerian Teen Author, Queen Maadiah Johnson As She Launched Her Debut Effort “Raise them, Queens.”
By Ifioque
Former governor and serving Senator, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has described
Queen Maadiah Johnson, Nigerian Teen Author as a Wizkid.
The debut of her latest effort – “Raise Them Queens” happened on Saturday, June 26, 2021, at the Conference Hall, Watbridge Hotel, IBB Way, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Okorocha in the company of the Uyo Book Club, the Johnsons, and withstanding ovation from seasoned men, women, and children at the event advised the youth to engage themselves in educational efforts that would assist them in their future endeavors.
Queen Maadiah Johnson’s journey in the industry started like a dream – a still, small voice of inspiration. And then, sheet after sheet of paper, sentence after sentence, she wrought her way to becoming the youngest author in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria with the published book “Clawed to Death” now selling on Amazon.
On June 24, 2021, Queen Maadiah Johnson launched her Pro girl child project, “Raise Them, Queens.” The initiative is a call to all arms of society, a reorientation campaign as it concerns raising the girl child, to completely toss rape, abuse, violence, servitude, and child labour into the figurative Mediterranean Sea.
Queen Madinah at the event noted that “When the girl child is accepted as a queen, she’s honoured, respected and won’t be molested nor abused.”
This concerted effort of the 16-year-old Queen Maadiah Johnson is a step to her, but a mile for the girl child and every youngster in Nigeria and around the world who lives, dreams, and hopes for the light.
“Clawed To Death” was created in Maadiah’s unbelievable imagination as a 10-year-old girl.
“I gathered paper, glued them perfectly together to form a small book, and then I designed a unique front cover with the fearsome but analytical title above.”
“I started writing and the ink kept flowing while my mind kept stringing layers upon layers of words and sentences together. It took three days to finish what my mind had canvassed.”
“Back at school, I was not hesitant to show my classmates what I had done. They were amused at what seemed like a pirated story, but if pirated means an original idea reproduced on the bearer’s mind for endless days and night, then I would agree, it had been pirated.”
“I kept writing, creating a mental world of bliss that friends could travel to just by weaving through my beautiful wordplay. Their amusement was a major inspiration; It gave a great sense of satisfaction and pleasure.”
“Then one day, I stopped. I stopped and thought: these were kids like me, what about the older population? Would they find stories of wolves and myths as interesting at their level? Were my infantile imaginations going to be controversial? Did the African society have room to accommodate science fiction literature like mine?”
“I had to pull back in loss of motivation to go a step further. I piled my works and stashed them in a box in the distant corners of my mind and the house – I stopped writing.”
“Another ‘child’s play’ sadly ended.
“5 years later, during routine home cleaning on a torrid afternoon, I stumbled on a familiar disorderly heap of abandoned books in a box. I smiled: memories of my conjured reality were refreshed. I immediately got back to work!”
“Thinking, writing, editing, canceling and writing again, chewing the back end of my pen, I refined those thoughts. It was the Covid-19 lockdown and I had enough time to recreate.”
“Word after word, line by line, I slowly but consistently cut through the sentence structures until, phew! I heaved in satisfaction.”
“After hours and days of dictionary usage, sleepless nights and laborious days way beyond what a 10-year-old should endure, “Clawed To Death” was born.”
“I dedicate this book to the girl-child in particular, and to everyone who ever faced discouragement, redundancy and fear – essentially all of us.”
Queen Maadiah in her formative days had always loved creative think-through solutions.
Hear her: “I remember spending countless hours watching shows on artistry, literary works and showmanship — basically anything that got my mind to explore.”
“I have always painted this perfect picture of a world where innovations come from the younger minds, and opportunities are given to the youths to exchange those talents and values with the world.”
“My aims and objectives with this project “Raise Them Queens” is to bring the right value of the girl child to the fore, by creating a sensitization programme for the government and parents to appreciate the need to raise female children as queens.”
“In every developed societies, inputs of women are pivotal to development. In fact, by nature, a woman was made a solution. A girl child must not be treated unequally; a girl child can not be rudely dealt with; a girl child cannot be bullied, cannot be raped, cannot be seen as body part merchandise. Women should be respected and accepted if our society must be fixed.”
According to Maadiah, her mission includes:
1. Raising a network of young women to mobilize across Africa and raise an army of confident Queens.
2. Visiting schools in Nigeria to indoctrinate the girl child on the right values and self-dignity necessary to impact society.
3. Visiting social groupings and religious communities to help them appreciate the values of our young women.
She intends to publish 3 more books before the end of first quarter in 2022. They are: Diary of the Nigerian Girl, Holding Hands and Love At First Words.
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