GAM WRIT ERS

Ramatoulie Onikepo Othman is an Oku Marabou born in Banjul. The Gam bia. She had her primary and secondary schools education in Freetown, Sierra Leone and later pursued a career in Secretarial 'Studies at the Presentation Girls Vocational School, Banjul. Writing has always been her hobby. Her exposure to investigative report writing in the early 80s while working as a social worker at the Department of Social Welfare, Banjul. gave Ramou the impetus to develop her writing skills.

Between 1983 to 1994, Ramatoulie spent most of her spare time in freelance journalism. During this period, she subscribed to newspapers like the Nigerian Daily Times. National Concord and The Standard. 'In Defence of Islam', 'The Extended Family as an Insurance Arrangement', and 'Child Marriage - a Social Menace' were amongst her series of write-ups published in the Nigerian print media. In 1993, she featured as an actress in the famous Nigerian Television Authority festival called TeleTest.

In February of 1996, Ramou contributed to the much talked about topic of skin bleaching by issuing a commentary in the Daily Observer newspaper on the controversies of the practice.

'A Cherished Heritage' is Ramatou's first book written in the Gambia but her first ever in Nigeria was 'The Views of an Onlooker', a compilation of her 1991 newspaper articles.

(This is the blurb from her book, A Cherished Heritage)