MY LADY PAR EXCELLENCE

I have always been asked who my role model is, especially in job interviews,and my answer has always been: none. I honestly thought I was weird for not having someone to look up to. I mean, I have heard of wonderful people that have made good impressions , either in their handiwork or their personal life but it has never occurred to me to emulate any of them.  For me, I have to be able to relate with whoever I was to look up to. It couldn't just be an abstract person I heard or read about;even a heavenly being didn't cut it ( I am a good christian o!....lol). It took me almost a quarter of my lifetime, but I finally found that person,although she doesn't know it (yet,hopefully). She's no other than the amiable Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Esegee). I am yet to meet someone that exudes confidence at its fullest. Chimamanda grew up in Enugu, but her mastery of the cultures she writes about,is out of this world. In Chinua Achebe's words (another literature doyen I respect), :"Adichie came, almost fully made", which implies that she was born a star, she only needed little, almost insignificant touch ups. So confident is she of her personae and her roots, that I was shocked to discover she did not marry an "onye igbo" (who would have thought). She endeared all to the Igbo language and culture, which was feared to be almost extinct. I for one, an Igbo lady born and bred in Lagos, sometimes struggled my identity of self in my current environment, but she made me proud of who I am: an Igbo, smart and confident lady that can conquer the world, once she sets her mind to it. It is an open secret that some of the characters in her books (especially Ifemelu in Americanah) describes her person:a strong woman, who can be tossed, rolled and battered, but not easily broken( a piece of me, story for another day).
I love to write too, so I find her worthy of emulation in that regard. Her write-ups come across to me as chats from one babe making sense to another. That's the way I like to write. Most times, I avoid technical write-ups that can't be comprehended without an OXFORD dictionary,(not just any dictionary o). I like to take a pen and paper, and just run with my ideas, without any word restrictions.That's my Adichie for you. Growing up in the remote of area of Nsukka did not stop her shine. Her life story taught me this valuable lesson: That I can be whoever I want to be, regardless of any circumstance. She lived where I have lived, and identifies with  my challenges as a fellow Nigerian citizen, and has fought to the end, to be one of the finest writers in Africa.I love her.....my Woman Crush Everyday.
Ji Si Ike Ada Be Anyi