By Emmanuel Enebeli
Ejiro Umukoro, popularly known in the media and social media world as Lady E, is a Media Executive with Mega FM 89.1 Warri, Delta State, broadcaster, investigative journalist, writer, mentor, life improvement coach, and social activist.
She is a winner of so many journalistic awards, including the prestigious Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (Report Women Leadership Programme) Award is also recognised internationally for her work, especially in the area of the children’s right and girl child protection.
She has in her latest work, a storytelling fiction, tore our consciousness issues concerning the mental state of man, especially during crises period in the wake and impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic when the world witnessed violent spikes of abuse and violence against women and the girl child in a book, titled “DISTORTION” 
Describing the book, Ejiro says it is the first Mental Health Crime book to be written by someone in her field in multiple roles as a broadcaster, journalist, and top Executive Officer in Nigeria.
The work which is centred on the a young man, called Abu, is a work of fiction which describes the typical gender-based abuses, forbidden topics, pejorative, as seen at the height of Covid-19 as gender based issues became serious in Nigeria. She says, “During Covid-19, a lot of gender based violence happened, a lot of children were abused, who were trapped under the virus, they could not escape because of logistical reasons and protocols regarding the ravaging virus both during and long before COVID-19,” inspired her to write the story of “DISTORTION” http://lightraymedia.org/2020/10/07/distortion/
According to Umukoro, her experiences covering social issues and ills as a broadcaster, journalist, and trainer in media programmes is what she harnessed to amplify and bring it to the knowledge of people through storytelling in book form, which according to her “is one of the ways to fight, and bring social injustice to the subconscious and conscious minds of people.”
She explains that the goal of the book is to expose some of the atrocities that happened during this period, and while some of them do happen, as she has over the years as an investigative journalist discovered, some of the reasons that perpetuates gender based violence such as rape, child abuse, destructive remand homes and illegal and distorted orphanages, she has used her strong voice to call out Delta State Government alongside other CSOs and NGO to have the VAPP Act (Violence Against Persons Act) passed at the state assembly, which had hitherto dilly-dallied in passing the VAPP Bill.
She pointed out that her investigation showed that behind every crime, there is a mental story, a personality story, a societal story, a political story, an economic story as well as cultural and morality story of a people. She explains that when things are the way they are in an environment wherein every form of ills continues to be perpetuated, it is because everybody within that space keeps silent and condons it by not raising enough voice against it. Her goal with DISTORTION she states is to bring out the voices of victims, the people who commit the crimes and enablers of such human rights crime, by not justifying the crime, but exposing why they continue to happen and how solutions to these is a multi-solutions-commitment in implementing the VAPP Act in an intentional manner. “Prevention is better than infliction”, she admonishes.
The book, DISTORTION, http://lightraymedia.org/2020/10/07/distortion/ is centred on a particular young man, Abu, who lives in a village in the Eastern part of Nigeria, where he is rejected by many people, especially women, who refused to date him or marry him because they feel he has a curse in his family regarding mental health issue.
However, the book reveals that there are more to the problem of Abu, than mental health, as Ejiro tells the story. She says, “When you don’t know who you are, the chances of committing crime will be very high, and the need for conscious self awareness is something that the society need to look at more.”
The book she explains “Is targeted at all single male (young and adult) and family as it exposes most of the daily issues we over look in our day to day activities. The book exposes the vulnerable indices and pointers many of us are not aware of.” Umukoro emphasises that many persons do not know they are vulnerable to act or even take violent actions, resulting from being exploited or exploiting others. These vulnerabilities shown in the book tells how to cope when you find yourself in such a situation.
Lady E, a very positive person, points out that the book will be an earthquake, as many who had read the script, the likes of Kiki Mordi, Dayo Olupohunda, Lekan Otufodunrin, and so many others who have read the book wrote high praises for the book. Many agreeing that the story of Abu is how the society ruin the lives of many, as you can feel his loneliness, pain, rejection he is going through, confusion, anger and depression. She says “As long as you feel the pain of Abu in this book, you will definitely question yourself,” as she felt it during the process of writing this work of fiction based on real stories.
The book which is a must read by everyone, had led her to develop vulnerability pointers and indexes, a question and answer form that can be filled online, as she had been asking herself too why she does most of the things she do. “Sometimes we exposes ourselves, either as being perpetrators or silent enablers.”
There will be an introductory launching of the book today, October 13, 2020, which is also birthday. She stated its going to be a series of virtual launching to be followed by live events depending on COVID-19 protocol in place.
She however called for every individual to regularly check on how they feel, as everyone goes through mental distortion, resulting from the social environment we may find ourselves. Often this pressures she explains can result from lack of light, bad roads, poor economic system, poor implementation of economic policies, the reality that you go out to do business, and you can’t thrive as much you put efforts, it gives you mental stress at some level or degree. From her investigations, she says “There is no shame talking about mental health. When we start seeing the sign of mental distortions that is when we must start seeking for help, as mental distortion is a case of mental pressure just like someone who suffers from high blood pressure, who realises it before stroke finally strikes. Prevention is better than Infliction” is Ejiro Umukoro’s mantra is calling attention to mental health issues.
