A Worthy Heir to Purple Hibiscus

In his debut novel, Blessings, Chukwuebuka Ibeh uses the unique tableau of the Nigerian boarding school experience to explore the complexities of loving, accepting and outgrowing one’s biological and chosen family. 

In December 2018, Chukwuebuka Ibeh joined 21 other emerging writers for the 15th edition of the Purple Hibiscus Trust Creative Writing Workshop. The workshop was easily the most revered literary event on the continent, partly because it was organized and hosted personally by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the most influential Nigerian writer since Chinua Achebe and partly because of its enviable alums, which includes celebrated Nigerian writers, essayists, poets and performers like ’Pemi Aguda, Wana Udobang, Bassey Ikpi, El-Nathan John, Akweke Emezi, Chika Jones, and Dare Segun Falowo. Many apply for the singular reason of meeting the year’s coterie of tutors and experiencing the rare privilege of having their voices shaped by them. But even fewer receive the workshop’s ultimate privilege, a co-sign from Adichie herself, bestowed on a handful of writers over the years.  

At the workshop award ceremony for Purple Hibiscus Trust Workshop’s 2018 cohort, Adichie singles out Ibeh. She speaks glowingly of his craft, compares his work to hers and says she sees herself in him. This is an astute observation, an augury that comes full circle with the arrival of his debut novel, Blessings. Adichie makes the uncharacteristic choice to blurb this debut nearly a decade after she stopped blurbing for other writers...

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