Two female writers, Amina Aboje and
Elsie Oghenekaro, will take centre stage at the February 24, Guest
Writer Session at Aso Hall, Nanet Suites, Abuja by 4pm. The monthly
event, an intervention by the Abuja Writers Forum (AWF) which
features readings, a Q and A session, live music and a raffle –draw
for books is open to the public.
Born in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State
capital, Amina Aboje had her primary education in the beautiful city
of Buguma, one of the many towns in the Kalabari Kingdom. She holds a
first degree in Biochemistry and is currently running a post-graduate
course at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi. Her interest in
writing was birthed when she discovered the delight of reading as a
little girl. Ms Aboje expresses herself in both poetry and prose.
Her short stories have featured in some
online literary journals like Dugwe and Lunaris Review. Her poems and
short stories have severally topped the Abuja Writers Forum Writing
Challenge series. In 2016, she won the Mandela Day Poetry Prize.
She’s also the third place winner (in the poetry category) of the
maiden edition of the Communicators League writing contest.
Aboje is one among several featured in
the soon to be published Best New African Poets 2017 Anthology. She
is the author of Promises on Sand, a collection of poems focused on
the many intricacies of life and the disturbing issue of corruption
in politics.
Ms Aboje who is an independent editor,
also finds pleasure in teaching poetry. She works and lives in Abuja,
Nigeria.
Elsie Dennis Oghenekaro started her
journey into writing in the very early nineties when she worked as a
reporter for newspapers and magazines, including Abuja's first
newspaper, Abuja Newsday.
She later veered off into diplomatic
circles as Liaison Officer for the International Committed of the Red
Cross (ICRC). Some of her duties in the Red Cross required her to
use her writing skills for various high level reports. Leaving the
Red Cross, she worked with the Open Society Initiative for West
Africa (OSIWA) and several other organizations.
She has run her own travel business as
well as other businesses. After a ten year absence from Abuja with
her family, she finally came back to the city she considers home in
2012 and has since focused on her writing and literary consulting.
Under the nom -de -plum Elsie O.
Dennis, she has written several books for young children as well as
several novels and inspirational books. She runs a small reading NGO
for urban ghettos and trains young people on how to live a more
meaningful life. Her latest book is God Is Not Here.
Mrs Oghenekaro is passionate about the
Nigeria project and speaks in issues concerning the girl child, women
empowerment and the Nigeria of her dream. A mother of five
children,her hobbies include travelling, cooking, reading, and is
currently working on her MBA. She is a craftsman of the Jerry Jenkins
Writers Guild USA, and considers writing as her life's purpose.
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