My Daughter Had A Lion As A Playmate Growing Up — 91-Year-Old Writer Mabel Segun

Iconic storyteller Mabel Segun shared her reason for writing children's books, recalling how her daughter had a lion as a playmate while growing up.

The 91-year-old author and broadcaster made the disclosure while being featured as a guest by GTBank at this year's Children's Day celebration.

Taking place at the library in GTBank's head office, the momentous occasion was a joyride by children who were given the chance to ask the famous writer questions while probing her on her literary works.

Answering a question on why she wrote children's books, Segun said it was because of her love for children and her interaction with them.

Mabel Segun

She then told the story of her daughter's playmate, Mr. Lion (the girl's imaginary childhood plaything then). According to her, Mr. Lion was under her child's bed and she used to talk to her plaything then as she didn't have any playmate.

"I wrote children's books because I like -- I interact with children", she stated. "When my daughter was small, she had a Mr. Lion under her bed.

"She didn't have any school playmate 'cause she used to talk to Mr. Lion. So I joined her and once talked to Mr. Lion even though I didn't see Mr. Lion."

Mabel Segun was born in Ondo, Nigeria. A graduate of the University of Ibadan, she earned her degree in English, Latin and History in 1953.

Her first book, My Father's Daughter, was published in 1965 and has been used widely in different schools all over the world after being translated in German, Danish, Norwegian, and Greek.

Segun's other literary works include Under the Mango Tree (1979), Sorry, No Vacancy (1985), The First Corn (1989), and The Twins and the Tree Spirits (1990).