‘Women Writers Act as Mediators Between Tradition, Transformation’

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

A female varsity don, Professor Ofure Aito, has described post-colonial African women writers as builders of their own rooms in which silence is broken, taboos are confronted, and new cultural possibilities are imagined. According to her, “many women writers act as mediators between tradition and transformation, between inherited norms and emergent realities. In this role, they do not always take oppositional stances.

Aito who is a professor of English and Literary Studies  made this known while speaking as the a lecturer of the Federal University, Lokoja, 27th inaugural lecture titled: “Navigating a Room of Her Own: Women Writing Dynamics of Culture and Politics of Identity,” at  the Auditorium of  Adankolo Campus, weekend.

Her words: “Rather, they often write from within the cultural space to negotiate meaning and power. In doing so, they reframe traditional narratives and forge new ones, offering alternative models of womanhood.

“To explain Diaspora, Migration, and Cultural Hybridity in women’s writing as they navigate their gender space, Homi Bhabha’s ‘The Location of Culture’ is foundational in postcolonial theory, especially, his concepts of hybridity, third space, and cultural negotiation. These ideas help us grasp how identities are formed, transformed, and lived in transnational and diasporic contexts.

“Diaspora involves the movement or scattering of people from their original homelands, often due to colonization, slavery, economic pressures, or war. In ‘The Location of Culture’, Bhabha emphasizes that identity is not a static essence but a process of becoming – formed through history, memory, and experience.

“The contemporary world is increasingly shaped by instability – political violence, economic collapse, climate change, pandemics. In a world where many official histories are sanitized or manipulated, women’s writing becomes a counter-archive – bearing witness to the unspoken and unacknowledged.

“Across Africa and the diaspora, women writers have used their writing to expose cultural mechanisms that sustain gender violence, silence, and inequality. Literature becomes a battleground – as a way of confronting harmful traditions, questioning religious orthodoxy, and exposing power abuses. Culture is not inherently oppressive or liberatory – it depends on how it is interpreted, lived, and enforced”, she stressed

Professor Aito pointed that this era is characterized by intersectionality, digital activism, and a globalized pushback against neo-patriarchy and misogyny. African women writers are central to this wave, producing works that are not only literary but interventionist.

She added that women  writing mirrors the anxieties and aspirations of contemporary African womanhood, and in doing so, assert literature’s continuing relevance as a space of resistance, reflection, and re-imagination.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Lokoja, Professor Olayemi Akinwunmi, stated that “inaugural lectures are very important to us as a university. They are not just ceremonial events; they are special opportunities for our professors to share their research, academic experiences, and the journey that brought them to the highest level in their field.

“It is a proud moment when a professor gets to speak about their work to both the University and the public. Today’s lecture, titled “Navigating a Room of Her Own: Women’s Writing, Dynamics of Culture and the Politics of Identity,” to be delivered by Professor Ofure Odede Maria Aito is very important and timely.”