Lawyer writes book on psychological effect of Warri crisis

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

A Bayelsa-based lawyer, Theresa Ebi Tobuyei, has finalised work on a book that chronicled the devastating effect of the years of ethnic crisis that rocked Warri, Delta State, for several years ending in 2003.

The book titled, GASP, is scheduled for fourth reading in Abuja, today, alongside a colloquium on the topic, “Appraising the Aesthetics of a Reading Culture in Nigeria.”

Tobuyei told journalists at a press briefing in Abuja that the essence of the book was to highlight the devastating effects of the crisis, and the lasting horrible memories it had on the lives of the victims and other people that witnessed it.

 “Warri was involved with conflict/crisis between 1997 to 2003 recording a great number of casualties, thereby attracting the attention of international peacekeeping and human right bodies from around the globe.

“It was in a bid to appraise the negative consequences of the violence in the light of the active and passive conflict still plaguing the Nigerian State, Africa and the World, that I wrote GASP. It’s a literary piece that focused on the consequences, the psychological and psychosocial issues that arose from the scars inflicted on the people, especially marginalized groups such as children, young people, and women, in the times of the crisis, wars, and armed conflicts, around the world.

“GASP is a piece of literature that unearthed the harsh realities of how even decades after the end of active violence, the victims still struggle to embrace their now-tainted lives.”

Tobuyei, however, insisted that the aim of the publication was not to revisit the crisis or remind the people of the pains they passed through nor what could have led to the crisis that resulted in loss of lives and destruction of property but was documented to point out the negative effects of the crisis and the destruction it had on the psyche of the people.