By NAN
A popular Abuja fashion designer and restaurateur, Shehu Yakubu, has launched a book, “Maitama Linen”, to correct some societal ills.
The book has a rider: ‘The Scandalous Lives of Abuja Elites.”
Yakubu at the sideline of the event in Abuja, said the the book was inspired by the society and the idea was birthed during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
According to him, the book is a reminder of the position of the current moral compass in the society, adding that he talked about homosexuality, lack of appreciation, body enhancement and other things he felt were wrong in the society.
Yakubu said he decided to put them together as a literary work and go ahead, because it was during the lockdowns and thus, he was not thinking of any limitation or boundaries.
“I wanted the book to be a page turner so that when you start reading, you can’t stop. I wanted to make a book that can also be used for a film.
“So my main goal is that anybody who read this book will ask him or herself that ‘do I need to be like this character?.
“I have to convince the readers that certain habits will lead to destruction. “
“There are a lot of lessons to be learnt in the book, especially if you move fast in life, if you don’t take the necessary steps and refuse to wait.
“Also, as a Muslim, I used the book to correct some misconception of divorce culture in the Northern part of the country. When some people divorce their wives, they kick them out of their houses immediately or the next day.
“It is not supposed to be like that. I also talked about rape culture, how an average Nigerian man is feeling entitled to a woman’s body. When a woman says no, they normally think she meant the opposite, but that is wrong. No is no.
“These are some of the things in my book. When you read it, you will discover that there are plenty lessons to be learnt. You will see the reflection of the society. It is meant to correct the ills and impact the society,” Shehu said.
The author said as a tailor of the elites, he was close to them and as a Restaurateur, he had a lot of elites around him, adding that it was therefore simple for him to pick out the characters in the society.
He emphasised that he only used the vices in the society and partly the elites, to talk about how life could go wrong if one continued in such paths.
“I did not talk about bleaching, neglect and bias towards northern divorcees. I want to be a soldier of the unspoken. I want to write about things that people don’t want to talk about.
“And I want to make it so interesting and captivating that would attract the attention of readers.
“I want to write and talk about things, so that people can be aware. If you are sending your child to school, pay attention,” he said.
Yakubu, who studied Business Management, decided to use his journalistic history in Turkey, romantic nature and story telling gift, to write the book, ‘Maitama Linen: The Scandalous Lives of Abuja Elites.’
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 216-page fiction novel published in Turkey, has 32 chapters and is also in Amazon.
It’s the first work of the popular Abuja-based Fashion Designer. (NAN)