“Igho Goes to Farm” is a children’s book published by Winepress in 2019. The book falls in the category of children’s literature, but it also potently promotes local tourism. It is written by Anote Ajeluorou, a well-travelled journalist and creative writer with a long list of reputable media houses under his belt. Anote is also a graduate of English and Literature.
The prose work: “Igho Goes to Farm,” tells the story of eleven years old boy, Igho who has to be asked to observe his end of term vacation in the village while his other siblings and parents travel to the United States of America for theirs. Igho’s performance in the third term of his JSS1 is dismal.
He is placed 15th in a class of 22 students and his mother insists that he would be sent to the village to help his grandparents.
His mother attributes his poor results to too much time spent on his smartphone, which his father bought for him as his 11th birthday present.
So, the other members of Igho’s family, Oke, Okiemute and Uzezi, with their parents jet out to Disneyland in the United States of America, while Igho travels to Ibedeni in Delta State Nigeria to spend his own vacation.
In this work, Igho and his cousin, Onome, both city children, are taken to Ibedeni, where they spend the holiday and where Igho is to spend time as punishment for not doing well in school, and consequently forfeiting a vacation in Disneyland in the United States.
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Igho is welcomed to the village by his grandparents and family members who promise him a great time. And indeed the vacation in the village turns out to be a beautiful time. He is allowed to go to the farm to help in his grandparents’ farm; he rides in a canoe and he is allowed to go swim in the river.
Igho’s story in the village is a sweet and unforgettable experience for him. He learns how to go hunting with Ufuoma and the outing is successful with a collection of animals: a snail, a squirrel, a tortoise and a rabbit. He also learns the different varieties of the crops and yams in the village. This is helpful as it also provides education and local intelligence for the children. They learn the way of the village people and their deployment of local science in taking care of minor cuts and bruises.
The author in this work demonstrated great dexterity, especially in the deployment of vivid rustic imagery to describe the village life, wooing the reader into the love for the village and its excitement. And this is a potent pointer to the fact that the author understands deeply the village life. The author is indeed a great story teller, especially with meticulous assemblage of simple, easy to understand words in a pulsating story telling. This makes it easy for the perceptive reader to quickly understand the message tucked into the book.
. Olatunbosun is a broadcast journalist, fact checker and book reviewer at Splash FM 105.5, Ibadan. He can be reached via 08023517565 (SMS and WhatsApp only) and molatunbosun@splashfm1055.com.