I consider it a great honour and privilege to write this tribute for Mama Segun on her 95th birthday. I recall that in her younger days, Mrs Segun was averse to being referred to as ‘Mama Segun’. However, at 95, I consider it very appropriate to call her by this well- deserved and distinguished name.
I have known Mrs Segun for more than 40 years. Just like many writers of my generation, my first contact with mama was through her famous book, My Father’s Daughter, which I read as a school text in my secondary school days.
Our relationship continued over the years principally through many literary platforms especially that of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).
We also collaborated on some literary projects, particularly The Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English published by Routledge, 11 New Fetter Lane, London, where I contributed two entries on “African Authors” and “Literary Associations”.
Another very significant project was the Workshop on Children’s Literature which took place many years ago in Kaduna under the auspices of the ANA.
I recollect vividly that during the workshop, which was sponsored by the late General Shehu Yar’Adua, I also registered as a participant. It was therefore Mrs Segun’s tutelage at that workshop that gave me the proficiency to become a children’s literature writer.
In addition to our literary association, Mrs Segun was also very close to my family and is remembered till today with reverence and admiration by my children who were very fond of her when they were very young.
Although Mabel Segun has written for both adults and children, it is as a writer of children’s books that she is well noted. Till date, she has written, co-authored and edited around eleven children’s books.
These include the autobiographies for younger readers My Father’s Daughter published in 1965 and My Mother’s Daughter published in 1986, as well as Olu and the Broken Statue (1985), The First Corn (1989) and The Twins and the Tree Spirits (1991/2004).
Mama has also published poetry for children, including one she co-edited with Neville Grant, Under the Mango Tree (1980), that features poems from all over Africa and the diaspora.
A champion for children’s literature in Nigeria, Mrs Segun founded the Children’s Literature Association of Nigeria in 1978 and set up the Children’s Documentation and Research Centre in 1990 in Ibadan.
In justifying a special attention to children’s literature, Mrs Segun had this to say: “… writing for children is much more difficult than writing for adults. Children at different ages have different interests, different psychological make-ups and different cognitive experiences. You must use simple language and you must never talk down to children…”
In her meritorious contribution to literature, Mrs Segun has been, among other things, a Fellow at the International Youth Library in Munich, a member of the children’s books review panel for African Book Publishing Record published in Oxford, an assessor for the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa, and a collaborator with the International Board on Books for Young People in Basel.
In 2007, Segun’s play for children, Readers’ Theatre: Twelve Plays for Young People, was the joint winner of the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Children’s Literature. The twelve plays included popular folktales, as well as ones on Nigerian heroes.
I cannot conclude this brief tribute without thanking Omowunmi, for her sterling role in the upkeep and care of her mother. I also extend the same thanksgiving to Mrs Segun’s other children, including her grandchildren.
As she celebrates her 95th birthday, I join her large group of mentees, friends, family and relatives to wish Mama many happy returns of the day in good health and happiness.
* Dr Okediran is the Secretary General, Pan African Writers Association (PAWA)
