As a young girl

I have four children and I am married to a lovely, compassionate man who used to have a huge moustache. My greatest achievement is being able to inject silliness into my children; they are not overly self-conscious and regardless of where they are, they dance when music hits their ears.

I consider myself very lucky to have a day job that I absolutely love. I teach English and drama at a secondary school in Abuja, Nigeria. I am also Deputy Principal (Student Affairs) which means I look after the pastoral side of student life. I have had some brilliant English teachers in my life. If I can inspire my pupils the way they inspired me, I would feel like a complete person.

I like to say that I write in my spare time but really, I write all the time. I am constantly trying to memorise a memorable line and jotting down phrases on bits of paper I can never find. Yes, a lot of my poetry is autobiographical; I find it very difficult to separate myself from the poet persona. I sometimes succeed but not often.

I wanted to be a writer because I had so many stories to tell. I spend exactly 7.673% of my life day-dreaming. You see, the older I get, the more I discover how different my life has been to everyone else’s – and I don’t necessarily mean that in a good way! Nevertheless, I abhor self-pity and encourage people to take control of their lives.

I love Toni Morrison; she was my first favourite. Sula will always have a place in my top five books. Isabelle Allende is a masterful story-teller. She writes as if she has a broken heart that will never heal. I strongly recommend House of Spirits to anyone whose soul hasn’t been properly stirred. I didn’t come across Margaret Atwood until my late twenties but I love the way she bends language. The Blind Assassin is a favourite of mine. Diran Adebayo’s Some Kind of Black, I love also. Recently, I read The Girls by Lori Lansens; I cried all the way through.