Photo: Egba Ifeayinchukwu (Nigeria) Tunji Adepoju (Nigeria) Omar Youssouf Ali (Djibouti) and Iga Zinunula Samuel ( Uganda)
FOUR writers from Djibouti, Nigeria and Uganda have arrived Iseyin, Nigeria for the May/June 2023 Edition of the Ebedi International Writers Residency.
They are: Egba Ifeayinchukwu (Nigeria) Tunji Adepoju (Nigeria) Omar Youssouf Ali (Djibouti) and Iga Zinunula Samuel ( Uganda)
In addition to their individual writing projects, the writers will also mentor Secondary School students in Iseyin during their four-week stay.
The Ebedi International Writers Residency is a private initiative for the free use of writers in need of a conducive environment to complete their ongoing works.
Since its establishment in 2010, the facility has hosted 180 Writers from 12 African Countries.
For further enquiries, kindly send a message to [email protected]
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THE WRITERS
IGA Zinunula Samuel (Uganda)
A POET, he was born May 28 1964 in present-day Lwengo District in the old Buddu County of Buganda Kingdom, the centre of Uganda. He traces his poetry interest way back to lower primary school in the bitontome (recitations) and proverbs learnt in childhood in the mother language Luganda, through elocution competitions in secondary school at Namasagali College Kamuli in Busoga, another region of the country. He studied sciences at A Levels and graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences in Agriculture majoring in Animal Science from Makerere University after qualifying as a Veterinary Assistant at the Veterinary Training Institute, Entebbe.
He is largely self taught and writes from the heart. His poems have been variously published in Makerere’s literary journal, Dhana; in the Uganda Poetry Anthology 2000; in FEMRITE Uganda’s Painted Poetry Poster projects; in Beverly Namboozo’s A Thousand Voices Rising, and a number of other anthologies. Iga is currently collating his own anthology.
He likes to travel and enjoys seeing the world. He is married and lives in Uganda in a beautiful place called Bwerenga with his wife and many children.
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Omar Youssouf Ali (Ethiopia)
BORN in Djibouti in 1959, he was a teacher, school director and then pedagogical advisor. In 1990-1991, he trained in publishing at the Higher School of Graphic Arts and Industries at Paris (France). In 1991, he was responsible for desktop publishing and then became Head of the Publishing Department at the Centre de Recherche, d’Information et de Production de l’Éducation Nationale (CRIPEN). As such, he has contributed to the publication of more than 300 titles ranging from kindergarten to Terminale class.
Holder of a Master 2 Letters “Book and Publishing Professions” at the University of Rennes 2 (France), he was a part-time teacher at the University of Djibouti including students in Bachelor of Journalism and Documentation.
Retired since 2020, he devotes himself to writing and storytelling sessions.
As a writer-storyteller, he has already published “Bouti, the ogress of ancient times” (1997), “My brother, the hyena … (1998), “The Dromedary’s Hump” (2019) as well as “Adventures in Guba” (2023) and “Crocodiles of Ambouli” (2023). Two other tales are awaiting illustration.
During his 4-week stay at Ebedi International Writers Residency, he plans to translate his tales into Somali. He is happy to exchange his experience with other residents and improve his English.
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Egba Ifeayinchukwu (Nigeria)
BORN in Nasarawa State, he spent his formative years in the nearby city of Abuja. He holds Nigerian Certificate of Education and a Bachelor of Education degree in English Language and Educational Management from Ebonyi State College of Education, Ikwo and Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu respectively. Despite being trained as a teacher, Egba Ifeayinchukwu soon found love in making his own stories-fiction. Some of his books were approved by Ebonyi State Ministry of Education, and recommended for use in secondary schools in Ebonyi State.
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Tunji Adepoju (Nigeria)
BORN in Iseyin on a St. Valentine Day of 1959, he was educated at the Polytechnic Ibadan and worked in the broadcast media for 35 years before retiring in 2019. An award winning journalist, Tunji rose to the rank of Assistant Director News at the Abuja headquarters of the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA. He has authored a book titled Great Sense Series volume 1. A Justice of Peace (JP), and consummate family man with children, his one point agenda is to make humanity better than he met it. He pursues this agenda with a tireless passion.
