Nothing Criminal About My Book,’ Nigerian Author Breaks Silence On Controversial Children’s Book
‘Nothing Criminal About My Book,’ Nigerian Author Breaks Silence On Controversial Children’s Book
The controversy erupted after a Nigerian mother, Mrs. Udoka Mary Queen, shared a video on social media raising an alarm over a passage in her five-year-old son’s textbook.
Ayengbe Ebhohimen, author of a controversial children’s textbook currently facing public backlash, has broken his silence, insisting that there is “nothing criminal” about the content of his book despite mounting concerns from parents.
The controversy erupted after a Nigerian mother, Mrs. Udoka Mary Queen, shared a video on social media raising an alarm over a passage in her five-year-old son’s textbook.
The passage described a scene in which an elderly man punished his dog by burning it with a hot iron after it failed to guard meat, an account she argued was inappropriate for children at an early learning stage.
In her video, Mrs. Udoka said her intention was to seek public opinion on whether such material should be included in educational books for young children.
However, she later alleged that after the video gained traction, she received multiple calls, including from an individual who identified as a lawyer, urging her to take down the post.
She has also been invited by the Nigeria Police Zone 2 Command Headquarters in Lagos.
Responding to the controversy in an interview posted on X by activist Chuks, Ebhohimen criticised what he described as a culture of one-sided judgment, accusing Nigerians of forming opinions without hearing all perspectives.
“Many people in this country, when they hear messages or judgments, do not even care to find out what actually happened. Everyone is simply listening to what the lady is saying,” he said. “I am here, yet nobody is asking me anything. Nigeria is a phony society.”
The author, expressed disdain for addressing the issue on social media, describing it as “not his arena.”
He argued that the complainant had direct access to him through contact details provided in the book but chose instead to escalate the matter online.
“My phone number is in the book. My address is in the book. My email is also there. She could have reached me through any of those means. Instead, she went to social media to discredit the book and me,” he said.
Ebhohimen further dismissed the complainant as “too insignificant” to warrant a response on social media, adding that his years of experience in education predate her birth.
While maintaining that he is open to criticism, the author drew a distinction between what he termed constructive correction and outright condemnation.
“Anyone who wants to succeed should welcome correction. But what I saw was not correction, it was criticism. She even called on the government to ban the book,” he said.
Defending the content, Ebhohimen insisted that the passage in question reflects a narrative element rather than an endorsement of violence.
“There is nothing criminal about the book. As I sit here, I will still say that there is nothing wrong with what I wrote. If anyone is not satisfied with it, that is simply a difference of opinion. Writing something that does not align with another person’s opinion does not make it wrong,” he added.
The author explained that the story revolves around an old man and his dog, suggesting that critics may have misinterpreted the broader context of the narrative.
