1. There would be no me, without
you lord; I could not have done
this without your divine
enablement. I dedicate this first
effort to my peerless master and
king, my lord, Jesus Christ, who
loved me, when I was unworthy
of love. And…To the Holy Spirit,
my counsellor and my guide,
whose might I rely on, each day
of my life….
THANK YOU FOR
HONOURING ME
Unyime-Ivy King
Author
BURNING
HURT

2. A LABYRINTH OF HURTS
A Reflection on Burning Hurt
By
Dr Martin Akpan

3. I am neither a literary critic
nor a reviewer. I have refused
to do this cap, though on several
occasions, writers and colleagues
in the Pen Family, especially the
association of Nigerian Authors
[ANA] have tried to force it on
me. The reason is simple: I do
not want to be labelled a witch
or vampire for Benedict
nightingale, himself a drama
critic and reviewer for the new
York times and the London
times, in 1996 at the Salzburg
seminar, arrogated so much
(mysterious) powers to the
critics and reviewers, describing
them as “witches and vampires (who) are clearly up to no good”. And i
am inclined to agree with him, having had the fortune and misfortune
of stumbling on the works of Chiweizu, an unrepentant critic who
once described the poetry of Wole Soyinka, the revered Nobel
laureate as “barren, artistic austerities...of limping obscurities.” It
is only the likes of Chiweizu, who swagger into territories where
even angels fear to tread, that can dismiss this doyen of African
literature as ‟obscurantist poet and maker of contorted ardities‟
that are bound to cause” mental indigestion” in the reader. This
explains why I don‟t want to be called a critic.

4. y job here tonight is to attempt. As a hierophant of the
literary communion, to share some of the thoughts I
have garnered from burning Hurt, which to my mind, is a
great work by a great writer. Unyime-Ivy may be budding writer and
a first-timer. But she is certainly not a dabbler or an amateur. To
that extent, Burning Hurt, I can say straightaway, is well-cooked
‟native soup‟ that will continue to whet our appetite and curiosity for
a long time to come.
THE BOOK
Burning Hurt is a 276-page free-flowing novel, condensed into 23
chapters of reader-friendly prose and complete with a rich glossary.
THE BOOK COVER is glossy. And cast in a hazy motif of topless
tropical woods with birds apparently clinging meditatively to spindly
branches in a cold harmattan morning. THE BOOK TITLE, in white
cursive lettering, occupies the central part of the cover, while the
author‟s name is super imposed on a silhouette of what looks like
Cupid in her seducing nudity. The BACK COVER, which bears a close
semblance to the front, gives a bird‟s-eye view of the author; her
photograph and her bio-data. There is also a blurb which introduces
the story and leaves you to imagine the unfolding scenario. Published
in 2012 by AuthorHouse, Bloomington, the book is exquisitely
packaged to meet the taste and preference of modern readers. The
M

5. author DEDICATES the book to Jesus, whom she calls her peerless
Master and king as well as the Holy Spirit, “my counsellor and guide”.
A six-page tribute in the book speaks volumes of the author‟s
generosity of spirit and appreciative heart. For devoting that chunk
of a book to acknowledging the contributions of her mentors,
inspirers and friends, undoubtedly portrays Unyime as one who
treasures people and relationships.
THE STORY
Burning Hurt is an apt title for a book which chronicles a multiplicity
of seamy relationships, most of which leave bitter taste in the
mouths, if not seething wounds in the psyche of its principal
characters. Right in the thick of this labyrinth of hurts is a young
lady, Itohowo (fondly called Ity). Hers is a pathetic story. And there
is a lot to learn from Itohowo‟s saga especially by the other
‟Itohowos‟ that happen to fill this hall and the society at large. This
is a moving story of love, love gone sour and love that ironically
generates hate and bitterness-all resulting in a broken heart and a
shattered life and society.
But Itohowo is only a throw-up from a dysfunctional home. Caught in
the crossfire of a hostile and troublous home environment, she was
driven into the waiting hands of a dandy (Daniel Ukpong). Daniel‟s
initial warm friendship provided the bait that rocked Itohowo into

6. the blind alley of a whirlwind affair, which, expectedly resulted in a
pre-marital sex and a teenage pregnancy. And as it often happens in
such illicit relationships, Daniel abandoned the girl he claimed he
loved at the most critical point in her life. And to compound her
woes, she was denied the needed parent shield and coverage. She
was thrown out the house by her ‟step-father‟, Sunny Akpanudo and
mother, Eme and left to nurse her wounds in the cold hands of Fate.
Itohowo‟s world came crashing like a pack of cards. She was
shattered. But thank God that, after years of a tumultuous life, she
was able to pick the pieces of her life again when she found true
love and conjugal comfort in the caring heart of Geoffrey, a
relationship that produced two lovely children. Besides, she managed
to come out of her bitterness and mental pain, by forgiving and
reconciling with Daniel as well as her mother, Eme and her aunt,
Ikwo, both of who, like Daniel, had abandoned her to her fate when
she most needed them.
Burning Hurt is not about Itohowo. It is about all of us. The author
has, wittingly or unwittingly thrown up critical issues and concerns
bordering on our contemporary society. She has also attempted to
puncture some of the deep-seated myths and stereotypes in the
Ibibio cosmos, where the story is set. Using appropriate stylistic
devices, she has woven a riveting and un-put-down-able tale with

7. beautiful imageries and strong descriptive power and elements of
suspense.
BURNING ISSUES IN BURNING HURT
Unyime-Ivy has given us a coat of many colours in her Burning Hurt.
Unknown to her, perhaps, she has offered the reading public several
books in one. Each of her thematic concerns in Burning Hurt
signposts a book. And there are many of them ranging from the
issues of broken homes to pre- and extramarital sex, teenage
pregnancy, street children, preference for male children, plight of
the girl child, sex education, adoption issues, family inheritance and
godly lifestyle.
Other burning issues creatively explored in the book include: adult
delinquency (exemplified by Sonny‟s escapades), parents
abandonment, witchcraft practices, false prophesies as well as
Ibibio cultural/traditional norms and practices. The author‟s skilled
and expert handling of these issues is, no doubt, predicated on her
early exposure to life in the village, good childhood upbringing under
caring and God-fearing parents, deep knowledge of her cultural
milieu, seamless marriage to Ubong as well as her interest in and
closeness to her people. These and other salutary factors have
contrived to bring out of her, a book that is multivalent.

8. It is not possible or even desirable to gig the reader a panoramic
view of any work in just a few minutes of view. However, there are
some aspects of this sizzling offering that command immediate
attention. Foremost among them is the recurring issue of pre-
/extramarital sex, which the author has extensively and
painstakingly indicted in this book. This is personified by the
Casanova, Sunny Akpanudo, Itohowo‟s “step-father, whom the author
rightly tongue-lashes as a serial adulterer, an irredeemable
womanizer and a seasoned drunkard. In fact, the whole account in
the book – the scandal, blackmail, intrigues, conspiracies, betrayals
and bitter rivalry are largely traceable to Sonny‟s excesses, directly
or indirectly. Needless to say that it was his amorous advances to
Ity, his ‟step daughter‟, that provided the trigger for the
kaleidoscopic events in the life of the young girl and their domino
effect on her family and community at large. And to even imagine
that Sunny was Itohowo‟s true father from his early tryst with
Itohowo‟s mother, Eme, when she (Eme) was just 15, is heart-
rending. What a sordid affair!
Another key area of concern of the author is that we have almost
lost grip of our rich cultural heritage and traditional community
organisation through „Europeanized‟ lifestyle. She has, therefore,
tried to convince the reader that long before the white man came to
this part of the world with his so-called modern civilization, we had

9. had a well- structured society with inbuilt mechanisms to maintain
law and order as well as foster communal love and unity. The ekpe,
ekpo, akata societies (all- male groups) and ebre, iban isong etc “(all-
female groups), were examples of such mechanisms. In Burning Hurt,
the author relives that arcadian era and laments the erosion or near-
erosion of our wholesome traditional values, mores and ethos that to
engender a sense of community and shared values in our fore-
fathers.
If there‟s anything Unyime-Ivy treasures, it is family and godly
relationships. This, she has amply demonstrated in this work using
various devices, concepts, situations and scenarios. One of such
relationships was the trio of Rita, Ese and Verity (Daniel‟s wife). So
mutual was their closeness and love that Rita and Ese stood solidly
by Verity, encouraged her and earnestly and consistently prayed for
her travails lasted until she found fulfilment in her marriage by
overcoming her barrenness of nine years.
In another development, the author frowns at the pervading virus of
prophet-lying (prophesying falsely) and witchcraft label slapped on
some aged parents by their children especially when such children
experience some life challenges such as barrenness, sudden or
chronic illness, financial hardship or unexplained losses. This was the
lot of Diana, whom Akpan, her son, accused of being a witch because
according to prophet Inokon, she was responsible for the

10. barrenness of uyai, his wife, by “using a rope to tie her womb”
(page150). The twin issue of witchcraft and proliferation of prayer
houses, especially in Akwa Ibom, is extensively explored in chapter 3
of Burning Hurt. Now listen to this dialogue between Daniel, his wife,
Verity and his parents-in-law, Prof. & Mrs. Albert Umana:
“In Akwa Ibom for instance,” Prof continued, “witchcraft
is the dominant focus. „Sir, I think that can be attributed
to all the prayer houses springing all over the land,
creating confusion in families and breaking homes with
their fake prophesies”, Daniel pointed out and everyone
laughed at his observations. ”They will tell you that the
problems you are experiencing in life, are from within-
ekong ‟mkpatiang ukot‟ – they say.”
“You are right darling “, Verity chirped in, „these prayer
houses thrive on perpetuating this fear by „prophe-lying‟
to their patrons and saying that, their battles are from
their household. Hence, overnight, parents who toiled and
laboured for their kids, become witches and wizards. It is
such a dangerous trend”, everyone cackled at Verity‟s
blend of the words, „prophecy‟ and „lying.‟
“You are correct my dear”. Verity‟s mother joined in the
conversation. “In our state, having grey hair in a family is
a big misfortune because you would be suspected of
witchcraft! This sad turn of events is the story of many
families in Akwa Ibom. Abasi mmi, ubok mfo oh!
“It‟s scary, mum, Daniel concurred,” I think this is an
important reason why we have so many young people dying
in our state, unlike in Yoruba land where you have so many
old people living well beyond their 80‟s, we hardly have
elderly statesmen.”

11. “My love, you are right. The Bible says that when we
honour our parents, we live long upon the earth. God
cannot be mocked”, Verity said. “You will see an old man or
woman, who sacrificed so much to bring up their kids,
being labelled a witch or wizard by the very children they
gave all to raise!
You would agree with me, ladies and gentlemen, that thesis vintage
Unyime-Ivy: An exquisite synthesis of invincible truth, impeccable
diction and humour – a feature that is replicated on every page of
this book.
Overall, Burning Hurt has all the makings of an award-winning novel.
It is well packaged, attractive and reader-friendly with just minor
vetting errors that do not, in any way, detract from the merit or
import of the work. The snug blend of English and Ibibio language is
unique. [Example: Akpara ekpo ami has been sleeping around; Aunty
Ikwo, Ufon mmie? Okay, ebe ndo; etc]. And traditional songs like
this, which challenge husbands to their traditional roles:

12. Ebe eke nno naira-o
Naira ekem so?
Ndop nda okuk
Mme ekem inung efere?
Ndop nda okuk
Mme ekem iyak efere?
Ndop nda okuk.
This is definitely going to compel a wide readership especially among
the Efik-Ibibio speaking group. Besides, it is a welcome development
at a time in our history when our children have lost grip of their
mother tongue, because of some policy summersaults in our
educational system.
The central message in this book is unmistakable: that we should all
be mindful of the actions we take now, as the repercussions are sure
to come. And for our youths, instead of dissipating their energy in
sowing the proverbial wild oats, they should strive to „sow righteous
oats‟. This can be achieved through sound moral and Christian
principles. This way, the dysfunction in the family, nay the larger
society would have been reduced.
Burning Hurt is a vade mecum of wholesome tit-bits on morality,
godly lifestyle, family life and salubrious living. The book is both rich
and enriching. Rich in the sense that, it is a pot-pourri of diverse
human experiences in a nexus of interlocking and reverberating
scenes, sounds and echoes, that breathtakingly illuminate and

13. tantalize the heart of the reader; enriching, because it is written in
a language so simple and lucid that the salient points and lessons
cannot be missed. Indeed, it is an argosy of Ibibio folklore, myths
and cultural practices; a treasure trove of love remedies for broken
homes and wrecked relationships.
The plot is thick and rich, revealing and entertaining. A common
thread runs through the book: An impeccable diction, which clearly
portrays the author as an avid reader whose love for and emotional
attachment to books have turned her into a consummate verbalphille
(ala Des Wilson) or a connoisseur. It is a must read for all,
irrespective of class and caste. Unyime-Ivy is a master story teller
with an undisputable flair and gift of the garb. You cannot finish
reading the book without having a clear glimpse of the persona of
the author as a well-groomed and God-fearing lady who is passionate
about correct conduct, attitude and practices. I am tempted to
believe that Verity, the quintessential character in the book, is
either Unyime-Ivy fictionalized on her alter ego. I see her standing
shoulder-to-shoulder with Chimamanda in no distant future, if the
sparks and sparkles she has demonstrated in Burning Hurt are not to
allow to abate.
Thank You.........