Bolaoluwa Nerat Asaolu: Kid author, animal Lover

From watching documentaries on wild life, Bolaoluwa Nerat Asaolu, an eight-year-old pupil of Corona School, Gbagada, developed an interest in animals, picking special interest in lion for its agility.

The love between Bolaoluwa and the animals grew steadily and went beyond the big screen, as she began to toy with the idea of writing a book, where she would use the lion’s hunting ability to tell the story of how people should live together and positively impact on their immediate communities.

To make her idea a reality, the Basic 4 pupil joined the Young Authors’ Club in her school and began to read more books and learn how to write good stories.

To her, the real training came when she emerged winner in a writing competition organised by Jordan Hills Organisation.

She said: “Jordan Hill awarded me a scholarship to be trained for three months at their centre, after winning the writing contest. To me, the training was fun and exciting. I went with my laptop and typed my story, drew and coloured pictures by myself. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot of things, too.

“It was after that that I wrote my first book, a fiction, titled, The Lion Comes To Town. I was just six years old and in Basic II, when I wrote the book. Although some of the characters are real, the story is purely the outcome of my imagination. I named some characters after my teachers and sister.”

On the motive for writing, the kid author disclosed that it is to change the mind of wildlife poachers, make them see the need to positively impact on their community and for everyone to lead a good life.

She said: “Although I got my idea from watching the National Geographical documentary on wildlife on the television. The lion is my favourite. I thought about how wild animals are poached and want to use my story to change the minds of these poachers. I also want to use my story to tell readers to lead a good life and care for the environment or the community we live in.”

She wrote her first book in three months. Since then, the kid author explained that writing is fun, and that she has written seven more stories, though only one has been published.

Explaining how she combines writing with her schoolwork, Bolaoluwa said she always makes time for anything she is interested in.

“I have time to study and write. I am only allowed to write during my free time at home and during my club time, if I am in school. With this, I can concentrate on my studies and writing,” she said.

With The Lion Comes To Town being read by school children, Bolaoluwa explained that she has made some money from the sales of the book. According to her, all the money she has made so far from the sales is in her bank account, and she looks forward to making use if it someday.

The author revealed that she has no problems with sales, as her father and publishers are in charge of that aspect of the business. She only gets involved during the summer, when schools are on break.

Elated to see her book on the bookshelves of some bookshops, the author, whose schoolmates describe as ‘a helper’ and a smart child, said her parents are behind her success, as they encourage her to write.

“I get all the encouragement I need from my parents. They encouraged me to join the Young Authors’ Club in my school, and also drove me to Jordan Hill every Saturday for the training. They make sure I maintain the rule of not allowing my writing to interfere with my schoolwork, as both are separate and one should not take the place of the other,” she said.