January 13th, I931, Flora Nwapa was born to her Oguta parents.. To African women, she is the pacesetter of African Literature. Her novel Efuru was the first novel written by an African woman, to be published and read in the continent and beyond. Efuru was not just a deconstruction of the narrative that only African men wrote stories, it was also a demolition of the world wherein men lived and reveled, as many women across Africa were motivated to write after the success of Flora’s publication.

The character Efuru, which is portrayed as a strong-willed and Independent woman, was the beginning of women emancipation in a terribly patriarchal continent. Through Efuru and the dauntless decisions she made, women saw themselves from a different perspective. They could be something more, they could do more.

Although she never acknowledged herself a feminist, she laid the foundation for the movement that a lot of Nigerian and even African women now flame. Through her life and characters, she opened a world of limitless possibilities to African women, and dared them to be better for themselves. Flora Nwanzuruahu Nkiruka Nwapa would have been 90 today.

Some of her notable works include:
Novels Efuru (1966)
Idu (1970)
Never Again (1975)
One is Enough (1981)
Women are Different (1986)

Short stories/poems
This is Lagos and Other Stories (1971)
Cassava Song and Rice Song (1986)
Wives at War and Other Stories (1980)
Children’s books

Children’s literature
Emeka, Driver’s Guard (1972)
Mammywater (1979)
Journey to Space (1980)
The Miracle Kittens (1980)
The Adventures of Deke (1980)