Tina Okpara
The 6-1 thrashing of the Lone Stars of Liberia by the Super
Eagles at the weekend would have raised hopes of their resurgence and re-emergence
as African giants once more. But in another part of the world, specifically, in
a French prison, there is no hope of glory for a lone Super Eagle.
Last week, a new French novel entitled Ma Vie A Un Prix or My Life
Has A Price in the English translation came out. It was written by Miss
Tina Okpara the adopted daughter of Godwin Okpara.
Does then name ring a bell? If it doesn’t, then think back
to the glory days of the various national soccer teams and you will remember
1989 Under-17 World Cup (That’s if you are old enough to think that back).
At that tournament was a little lanky young Godwin Okpara
shone so bright that he impressed the great Pele of Brazil who proclaimed him a
star of the future. (None of Pele’s predictions come true though. They all
belong to the museum like Maradona said).
He never lived up to that billing but he wasn’t a bad
player, yet he never became a phenomenon like Pele predicted. He played in
Belgium for Standard Liege and France for Strasbourg and Paris Saint German
(PSG) and never became a prominent player for the Super Eagles.
But that wasn’t his major misfortune. His biggest bad luck was
either that he married a devilish wife or that he had an evil streak in him
that led him into the abomination he committed.
Tina Okpara was his adopted daughter but he serially raped
her with the connivance of his wife, Linda. She was less than 13 when all this
happened.
When the French authorities found out in August 2005, Okpara
was arrested. He was found guilty and imprisoned in June 2007 for 10 years. His
wife was also found guilty of torturing Tina and was condemned to 15 years in
jail
Tina, who is now a young lady, has written about her experience
in Ma
Vie A Un Prix (My Life Has a Price).
The 192-page novel details Tina’s travails at the hands of
Godwin and his wife. She kept secret notebooks where she wrote down the things
they did to her. “These notebooks were used to dump all my sorrow, all my
hatred for Linda. It was my lifeline and my friend,” she said.
She narrates how she was adopted at the age of 13 by the
Okparas and taken to France. Linda, then enslaved her for five years and turned
a blind eye while Godwin sexually abused her, she says in the book.
Tina says her decision to write the book seven years after
she regained freedom is aimed at raising awareness and helping other girls who
might be going through the same horrendous experience.
“One day, I told myself that if I refused testifying, other
girls will continue to experience modern slavery,” she said.
The book which was written in collaboration with acclaimed
French journalist, Cyril Guinet, is published by Amalion Publishing Senegal.
