The job of a literary journalist is a nightmare

BENJAMIN UBIRI, literary editor of the Abuja-based Newspage newspaper, and winner of the 2009 edition of Literary Journalist of the Year, awarded by the Association of Nigerian Authors, speaks to SUMAILA UMAISHA on his experience on the beat and more.

NNW: Your brief biography.
Benjamin Ubiri: I am known in the literary parlance as The Penpusher. I am the fourth of seven children; I used to have six sisters, but now I have four, and my mother. I am Isoko from Delta State. I am a compere, an actor, a stage director, and performance poet, but I guess what you want to discuss is the fact that I am a journalist: I head the literary desk of Newspage newspaper, even though I am officially its Political Editor. I have worked both in the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy. But if you ask me some other time, I will say, Ben is a simple young man on his way to conquering the world.
How does it feel winning the Literary Journalist of the Year award?
I feel greatly honoured and humbled. For me it is like winning the Nobel prize for literature. It is like the Grammy to a musician. I take it as a great icing to my career as a writer.
What would you say are the factors responsible for your winning the award?
I must admit that I was up against very great writers, and I respect them a lot, besides we still meet at literary events. However, the literary journalist of the year award is a keen contest, unlike other awards of literature where you present a book, here you present ten works, in different categories: essays, short stories, poetry, interviews, profiles and the likes and these works must spread for a space of one year. For the award, I was very prepared; I went into it to win. I started preparation a year before. You won’t believe this, each time I was writing a piece for the entry, I said to myself, this is for the contest, so I took it more seriously and with a little more care. I studied the rules, read the report of the judges after past verdicts, and I studied the writings of past winners. I guess the findings affected my writing and somehow appealed to the judges.
How would you describe the job of a literary journalist – the main attractions and the problems?
Did I hear you say attraction? Ask any journalist, and the answer you get is that the job of a literary journalist is a nightmare. You actually need three things to do it: passion, passion and passion. The job basically requires you to read, write, read and write. And most of the time you are reading and writing about some very uninteresting materials that ordinarily should not hit your eyes. You read books, poems and stories that are terribly written, sometimes you find it very difficult classifying some writings into particular genres. But in all, it is like another school, where you have very little control over the books on the syllabus, as such you read to make the audience happy.
The essence of the literary journalist is to feed the mind of literary enthusiasts: you read books and write reviews about them. You write short stories, poetry, plays, essays and commentaries. You also write news reports and interviews. The literary journalist is majorly concerned about the use of language; sometimes you are caught between writing in your normal journalese and writing in creative language. I have four pages every week, and you will agree with me that it sure requires a lot of work. But the major problem of literary journalists in Nigeria is the fact that most media managers have too little space for this broad subject. Others consider it lower than other subjects as politics, business and law. But the reward is self satisfaction. Already, this work is being rewarded in an award. So, who knows what the future holds?
What are the necessary qualifications needed for the job?
Every journalist can practise as a literary journalist, because the training of a journalist involves training in communication, creative writing and literary appreciation but the journalist must be willing to adhere to the use of language and the rigours of reading other peoples’ works and doing so over and over again. This experience is very different from the everyday practice; it is in so many ways, a kind of technical corner in journalism. People, who have taken courses in English or in Literature before going on to study Journalism, have a great advantage. But the most important qualification will be in the form of a natural talent: interest in literature, and patience for poorly written works and fairness; to be able to tell the truth about literary works. Then one must consider communication seriously, and the art of writing. This is some kind of dissecting of the literary journalist, more than just getting a university degree.
What is your assessment of the literary journalism practice in Nigeria generally?
I am happy with the things I read in Nigerian Newspapers. However, I must tell you that most newspapers do not consider the literary pages exclusive in themselves: often they are buried in the arts pages. I feel they should be different because they are different. While literature concerns itself with written works, e.g. fiction, poetry, drama, and criticism, that are recognised as having important or permanent artistic value, arts covers a vast expanse that stems from crafts, music, paintings and social entertainments. They are sure under some form of umbrella but a closer look will show you that literature is wide enough to be treated dedicatedly. I have come across very good journalists who have to struggle with the burden of the arts pages because their organisations do not consider literature large enough to be alone, so they have literary pages that are crammed, or arts pages that are filled with social engagements that choke literature. I do hope that there will be better columns, more generous dedication of pages to literature and proper programmes in the media, and I hope that in the nearest future there will be a large number of literary newspapers and journals. Literary journalism in Nigeria is good but there is room for improvement.
You were organising a monthly poetry competition in the Newspage newspaper: What informed the project, what are the gains so far and how is it faring now?
Yes, the poetry competition is still running. We give out twenty thousand naira monthly for unpublished single poems by Nigerians living in Nigeria. It was meant to encourage poets on the one hand and on the other, it is meant to help some unpublished writers to get their works in print. Part of the plan is also to produce an annual literary journal. We hope that in the future, we shall be able to get more and more writers to write good poetry. It is also a way of proving, in some way, a theory that I have taught in my column for a long time that one can make money from writing.
As a lite1rary journalist, what’s your view on the recent decision by NLNG not to confer the literary prize on the longlisted poets vis-à-vis the position of Association of Nigerian Authors on the issue?
I do not want to delve into the controversies of this prize which in my opinion, should have been Nigeria’s greatest literature prize, but unfortunately, it is being marred with credibility questions. I have followed this prize well and I am not happy with the developments. I feel very strongly that there is some form of mystery and unexplained undertone. I have a problem with some of its past winners no doubt, but I am of the opinion that the long list for this year has very many good books. If you ask, me, I’ll say, the NLNG lost the best opportunity to redeem its image. It is bad that they refused to award the prize this year. They tried it before but they were forced by Wole Soyinka to share the prize money by the two finalists that year. This year however, Wole Soyinka was not there to sound the caution, so they hold back their award. It is wrong; if you have nine good books on a long list, it is only fair that you award the prize to the best among the nine. If it is justifiable, nobody will raise an eyebrow.
With regards to the Association of Nigerian Authors, there was no official statement either condemning the non-award or cautioning against it. Although a few exco members granted interviews on personal basis, there was no official ANA stand. It shouldn’t be so. I am afraid that there may be some people in ANA who are too close to the NLNG either as friends or as contractors that they fear an official stand which at the moment is likely going to be negative, may spoil their chances. We have lost so much because of these few who think some carrot can give ANA some visibility and clout. If their position suggest that we are rabbits, I say we don’t have to eat all kinds of carrots.
What do you hope to do with your award money and what will you do this year as the winner of this prize?
[Laughter] You should think that my prize money is meant for me. Even though I am yet to receive it, I do think it is too little for me to do that which I have planned to do with it. In this year I hope to do a project that I have called: THE LITERATURE PROJECT: This project is based on the assumption that the Literary Journalist of the Year award is not so popular and its recipients do not contribute to the development of the subject matter, beyond the fact that they are recognised as great journalists in the field of literature. Therefore, in order to deviate from this norm I have decided to embark on the Literature Project. It has the following as its major components: To make more popular, the literary journalist of the year; To encourage the teaching of literature in all post primary schools; To create a forum, where literary journalists can meet at least once a year; To encourage the creation and strengthening of literary columns and programmes in Nigerian media; To encourage the reward the practice of literature by hosting; To host an annual literary festival in Nigeria. I hope to elaborate on this at the unveiling in the New Year.

(c) Interviewed by SUMAILA UMAISHA.

Revealed: The untold stories of the National Assembly

HON. WALE OKEDIRAN, the immediate past President of Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, has just completed a fictional account of his tenure as a member of the Federal House of Representatives from 2004 to 2007. Titled Tenants of the House, it was originally conceived as a biography but had to be fictionalised in view of its very sensitive and potentially explosive contents. In this interview with SUMAILA UMAISHA, he discusses the book and its public presentation at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos.

NNW: What is Tenants of the House all about?
Hon. Wale Okediran: It is a fictional account of my stay in the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2007. It traced the experience of the main character Hon. Samuel Bakura while in the National Assembly and depicted his challenges, frustrations and achievements as an idealistic young politician.
You stated in the press material that Tenants of the House is politically explosive. How will this explosiveness help heal Nigeria’s checkered political experience?
The way it will help will depend on how people react to it.The writer’s job is to write and not to prescribe. My aim is to sensitise the public about the challenges and frustrations of governing this country from the perspective of a former insider, albeit in a fictional way. The story will also let the public know that contrary to widely held belief, the problem in our governorship does not solely lie with the politicians, but also to some extent with some of the elecorate who expect too much from their elected representatives, and by so doing, put them in difficult positions.
It is my hope that with this understanding, the electorate will be more vigilant in electing the right people into office and monitor them more closely while in office. In addition, more credible people will be willing to go into politics and increase the critical mass of those who want to change the country for good.
To what extent did you try to address the problems raised in the novel while you were in the House?
As in the case of Hon. Bakura in the novel, I joined a small group of equal minded Legislators...Forum for Democracy and Good Governance, in an attempt to steer the ship of the House in the right direction. However, as its usually the case, until a critical mass of progressively minded leaders are in place, little or nothing can be achieved in changing the staus quo.
Your work is factional narrative. What kind of reception do you foresee for it, especially as known historical figures are bound to feature in it? Are you not afraid of possible vendetta, physically, that is?
I was aware of the kind of controversy the novel may generate right from the time I started the work. That was why the work was fictionalised. Even at that, the story is a familiar one to most Nigerians and shouldn’t be that provocative.
All over the world, novels have been written about political leaders and I think its time we started doing the same to our elected leaders. Specifically, former MPs and Leaders such Jeffrey Archer, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Francoise Mitterrand, not to talk of our own Olusegun Obasanjo among others have all written about power and politics in one style or the other and this tradition should be sustained . We should be able to scrutinise and even have one or two laughs at the challenges, achievements, errors and occassional follies of our leaders and learn from them. Every political literary venture is undertaken with some degree of risk but the need to tell our story should supercede such potential anxieties.
You are assembling strong political heavy-weights for the book launch. Is this not entrenching some form of ‘political megalomania’ in an intellectual exercise, and a sort of taking sides with the powers-that-be at the expense of the people, which a writer ought to be?
The idea of bringing the political class to the Book Launch is to engage them in the novel’s discourse. It is important that a meeting ground between the Litterati and the Political class be created if we really want our leaders to listen to us. It is wrong to believe that our politicians don’t also have any intellectual side to them. From my experience as a Legislator, I can confirm that a sizeable number of them actually read and are willing to engage in intellectual discourse. The problem is not having the time. At any rate, the book is about them, therefore, they should be there with other writers. Hopefully, this meeting of minds will go a long way in erasing the unfortunate but well known suspicion between our Leaders and writers.
Why are you launching the book in Lagos instead of Abuja where you are based?
Lagos is considered the hub of the country’s media and so the decision to launch the book there. However, there will be a 5- city country wide reading tour begining with Ibadan (Jan 30) Abuja (Feb 11) and Enugu, Port Harcourt and Kano at dates to be announced later.
Usually after a loud book launch as this one promises to be, finding the book to buy in bookshops is a problem. Do you think ANA under your tenure did enough, if at all, to assist publishers deepen the book distribution chain in the country?
ANA under my tenure, did its best to deepen the book distribution chain. As we all know, Publishing is business and nobody can force any publisher to invest in any project considered to be unprofitable. In the past few years, ANA organised avenues for Publishers and Writers to discuss mutual issues on publishing through which both sides came to understand each other better. With this, some of our writers were able to get their books published and distributed. We also gave awards to Publishers whom we considered to be ‘writers friendly’ and denounced those with the history of not paying royalties as at when due. Despite the pervading poor publishing culture in the country, especially for the poetry and drama genres, there are still many publishers still searching for good material to publish.
In order to get Tenants of the House to every corner of the country, the Publisher, NELSON Publisher will organise a five city country wide reading tour that will take the author to Ibadan (January 30) Abuja (February 11) as well as Kano, Enugu and Port Harcourt all before March 2010. NELSON has also promised to sustain a good distribution network both within and outside the country.
Prof. Niyi Osundare has described ANA as behaving like a political party in its relationship with governors, politicians. In view of the fact that ANA never spoke up against any known government policy, how politically conscious is the body towards the suffering masses of Nigerian people? Do you agree? What should the next executive do to correct this lapse?
One of the principal objectives for setting up ANA was to take care of the welfare of Nigerian writers at home and abroad. During my tenure as ANA President, we tried as much as possible to keep to this mandate and avoid getting distracted by the plethora of problems facing the country. This way, we tried to speak only when necessary. For example, our position against the attempted Tenure elongation plan of the immediate past regime was well publicised and appaluded by all. So also was our position concerning the invitation of the former Military Leader Gen (rtd) Ibrahim Babangida to a NNLG literary event as Key Note Speaker a few years ago.
It is important to know that writers cherish their freedom and have varying degrees of political and social leanings. Any attempt therefore to speak too much on their behalf will constitute friction. Instead of ANA speaking on every national issue, we encourage our members to express their opinions as often as possible through the various literary media available to them. This way, they will be able to express their individual biases without causing much friction.
As a form of example,just recently, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) under the able leadership of my good friend, Rotimi Akerodolu (SAN) was embroiled in a ‘war of attrition’ among some of their Executive and members who thought that the association was getting too critical of the government. It took the mature handling of some NBAs past Presidents to settle the discord. If that sort of thing had happened in ANA, it would have been difficult to rein in ANA members, many of whom have access to various media facilities with different, political and religious ideologies, a situation which could have escalated the problem.
It is my hope that the new ANA Executive will continue to search for ways and means of making ANA relevant in matters of national discourse.
How can ANA members be made to read more of their colleagues’ books as a measure of deflecting the non-reading culture and poor book sales considering their large number?
Each of the 26 ANA chapters in the country now hold regular reading sessions where the works of ANA members are readily read and shared. In addition, most of the chapters now publish regular chapbooks or anthologies which are well distributed within the association. Apart from giving the young and upcoming writers opportunities to express themselves, these publications also improve networking among the members.
What area(s) of book development would you want attention focused on?
Government needs to support publishing by bringing down the cost of publication.It is regrettable that many Nigerian Publishers now publish in India, Dubai and the UK. The odd thing about this arrangement is that when these books are finally brought back to the country, not only are they better produced than Nigerian books, they are also cheaper.
Apart from the foreign exchange loss to the country, the loss of employment is an added loss to the country.It is therefore better to allow this kind of advanced technology into the country instead of the loss of revenue and employment opportunities that come with publishing abroad.
In addition to this, prices of newsprint, and other publishing accessories need to be substantially reduced. Equally too, the moribound newspaper mills in the country at Oku Iboku (Akwa Ibom State), Jebba (Kwara State) and Iwopin (Ogun State) need to be resucitated or privatised in order to encourage local newsprint production and so bring down the cost.
Please give your take on the absence or near-absence of book festivals, residencies, journals, publishing, etc as they affect Nigerian writers.
In respect of Book Festivals, I don’t think we are doing too badly. We have the annual Nigerian International Book Festival which has been on regularly now for the past ten years or so. So also are many small regional Literary Festivals apart from those organised by NGOs such as Rainbow Book Club in Port Harcourt and the CORA in Lagos.
We however still have a long way to go in the area of Libraries which are still non existing in many parts of the country. One is looking forward to a situation where every Local Governement Area in the country will have a functional library.
It is not too much for philanthropists to also set up libraries.
As of today, Nigeria does not have a permanent and regular Writers Residency. Luckily, this will soon change as a group of committed writers will soon inaugurate a Writers Residency in Oyo State. To be known as The Ebedi Wrters Resort, the residency will be an all year round residency, especially for young and indigent writers who will be given free board for about 6 weeks to complete an ongoing literary work.
As of now, ANA publishes a quarterly newsletter, ANA NEWS while its annual Journal ANA REVIEW has been published unfailingly for the past 25 years. These publications are complemented by those from other ANA Chapters and some English and Arts departments of some of our Universities. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

(c) Interviewed by SUMAILA UMAISHA.

I write for the downtrodden

EUGENIA ABU, the popular NTA newscaster, has just made a public presentation of her new book, a collection of poems, Don’t Look At Me Like That. In this interview with SUMAILA UMAISHA, she speaks about the book, the presentation and other related matters.

NNW: Why the title Don’t Look At Me Like That?

Eugenia Abu: Actually it was a poem I wrote two and a half years ago. I actually wrote it for a poetry competition on HIV in the West African sub-region. But our submission was late and I had to suddenly produce like four HIV related poems, which I wrote in two hours. And though we were late, I kept polishing it, and eventually decided to add it to this collection. It has several layers. It is really about somebody that was HIV positive. She was sitting in a bus and people were looking at her funnily because she is sick. And she was saying ‘don’t look at me like that, I’m alright; I’m just sick, but I’m alright’. It is also written for those who are downtrodden, the unjustly accused, the unlucky in love, people whose journey you don’t know, yet you look at them in a funny way. We think we know everything as human beings, but we don’t. Most things are spiritual. Sometimes you see people very happy, you don’t know that in their homes they may be very sad. So you really don’t know people. So don’t look at anybody in a funny way. Really that’s what the title poem encapsulates.
There is this eye motif about you; when you come on screen the first thing one notices about you are your eyes, your first book is titled in the blink of an eye, and now this title – Don’t Look At Me Like That...
I think it is just coincidence. In fact, I didn’t plan it like that. When I hear people say you have lovely eyes, I’m amused because there’s an interesting story to it. I didn’t even know that I have such eyes until I was about nineteen. As a child, my mum used to say, ‘carry those stupid eyes away from here’ and I used to think that my eyes are not good enough. I think she was doing that because she wanted to prevent me from being conscious of it. So I never really thought about it until one day I went to the post office and one young man came up to me and said ‘you have such nice eyes’. I was shocked, I went home and I was asking everybody, ‘hey, there must be something wrong with my eyes, I don’t know why that man was talking like that’. But over time I came to realise people admire that particular physical quality in me. But I don’t dwell on it. So it is certainly not the reason why my books are so titled. In The Blink Of An Eye was so titled because I wanted something that would capture the fact that I wrote articles in the guardian in 1982 and those articles were just like you wrote them today, some of them are still current. So I wanted something that captured time. And decided to title it In The Blink Of An Eye. If you read any one of the stories it is like it just happened yesterday. Life turns round and round, that is why it is so titled.
Your very first book, In The Blink Of An Eye, really brought you to the limelight as a writer. You have won an award with it and you’ve held readings on it nationwide. It is so sudden – where have you been?
I’ve been on TV, it takes away your writing life. It is a very hard work. It is not that it is any less work now but most of my writings I’ve been doing them and keeping them under my bed for a long time. Where have I been also apart from TV; I have been making children, I have been having a family and that takes time. If you are doing this and your kids are still small, you won’t be able to concentrate on looking after them. And I believe that as a mother you must give your time. If you don’t, you won’t recognise your children and they will not recognise you. I have very strong family values. My mother would stay home sometimes from her work. As a hospital matron, she also transferred a lot because of my father and lost her seniority severally. She never really got her full potential in her career. And that is my mantra, I don’t like travelling far too and leaving my family. So I’m very pleased that NTA has given me the opportunity to be able to be where my family is, in terms of the work that I do that has kept me central with my family.
What did it take to come out with this collection?
The newer poems are about one quarter of the collection. I’ve been writing poems since I was twelve. And a lot of the writings here were done in 1982 and 1983. So basically it was just to collate them, apart from the newer ones. Most of the job was re-polishing. But it took a lot of time in terms of correction and editing. I had to give it to my friends who are poets and editors to help me edit them. And have a fantastic artist called Niyi Ladipo in Lagos, who helped me with this fantastic cover which pretty makes the book international. And then my publisher, Kraft Books, took time to produce a good job. Of great interest is the fact that I’ve never met the artist, we spoke through internet. He was introduced to me by my friends when I visited Australia two months ago. They said a lot of their art works were done by Nigerians, I was surprised. So they gave me his email and I contacted him. Really we have many talented Nigerians.
Why the focus on poems of rhythms, life and redemption?
I think life encapsulates everything. When I sit in a bus on the days I feellike going out in a bus, and I look out and I see the world, the whole kaleidoscope is about life. The woman who is selling banana, the little child who is running in the traffic, is life. There is also life when you go to a place, to a party and you see ostentation. When you remember the boy running in the traffic trying to sell his groundnut at the risk of getting killed, and then you see a place where food is wasted, you will see the contradictions of life. For me, those are the things that drive me into despair and make me want to write. Why would the people who have too much not give a little child running between those cars. They will lose nothing by doing that, but they would not. Only very few rich people are philanthropic. In fact, it is the average person that is philanthropic. So that was my take. In terms of freedom, I was fourth place winner of the Nigerian Action Committee Against Apartheid in the early 80s. I sent in my poems, My Mouth Is Sealed With Political Wax, and it came fourth nationally. And I have a lot of freedom poems in the collection on why Africa is not rising to where it should be. And then redemption...I like to stay close to my faith, because I believe that there is nothing in this world that you can do and be successful if you are not faithful unto God one way or the other. We are not perfect but it is always good to go and drink deep from God’s wisdom, whether you are a Muslim or Christian, so that you can stay stable. The world is very complicated. So the redemption ones are on the fact that I know there is redemption if you have faith in God. Some of the poems there are about gratitude to God for being alive. I believe in spirituality, I believe that kindness and charity don’t go unrewarded. Most people are kind and charitable, and they don’t do it to get anything back, but ultimately you are rewarded somewhere along the line.
You’ve done collection of essays and collection of poems, what are we expecting next?
I have a collection of motivational work which was actually suppose to come out before the poetry. I write in my church’s newspaper; I have a column titled A Walk In The Park. That will be my next book. My husband, who is chairman of my publicity team said to us at a meeting, while A Walk In The Park was already on its way to publication, that he thought we shouldn’t do another collection of essays. Because people don’t understand creative writing, they believe it is only when you write fiction that you are writing creative work. So my husband thought I should let people see my other side, my other literary side. I’m a short story writer, I have a collection, I have a cookery book too. Over time I will release those ones. It takes a lot of work, so it will take three to four years before those ones come out. But the one that is immediately in the offing is the collection of inspirational writing, which I do for my church newspaper. But, it appeals to both Muslims and Christians, even though I’m a Christian.
I tried to write it in a way that suggests spirituality, faith, kindness, morality and courage. For instance, I have an article in that collection called Flying Without Wings. I used to have the fear of flying, then I discovered that it is only God that takes care of you. Once you are in the plane, finished; the rest is God. And if you have no faith you will be afraid all the time. So I tell myself that God has a purpose for me and it is when it is time that it will be time. I have another one called Mummy, What Is Rape? It arose from the question one of my daughters once asked me when she was nine. So I’m trying to encourage Christians in that particular article to watch what their children are watching, to be careful because you need to explain to the children... I had to explain at 6 am what is rape. It must have been something she watched on TV. So as parents, we need to give time. So the articles are all mixed. Because I don’t believe you have to carry the bible and hit someone on the head before you can talk to him to be kind, to look after his fellow man and so on. Those are what those inspirational pieces are about. And I’ve taken quotations from philosophers of old, a few bible quotations, etc. But that will not be until next year. Father Kukah is writing in the blub and Uwem Akpan is currently looking at it for me.
What inspired your interest in poetry?
I think poetry is given only to those that God has called. It is hard, if you are not gifted. You can learn it but most of he art of poetry is a gift. My interest in poetry began when I was very little. I would just carry biro and scribble things and even I am surprised at what I write. A lot of the newer poems, I look at them and I wonder. Some of them are written within fifteen to twenty minutes. So that is a spiritual gift, I cannot explain it that God has given me the ability to play with words like this. And I like the rhythm and the music that come with poetry, which is not found in other genres. I really like it. And that’s why I have a CD of the collection.
Your book presentation seems to be different from other book presentations in Nigeria where the focus is monetary donation...
Since the marketing of In The Blink Of An Eye, which my team has been quite formidable on, we wouldn’t say that we made money in that sense of the word. But we are grateful that people read the book. I’ve met a lot of people who walk up to me and say, ‘I’ve read your book’. I met someone from the Sultan’s palace; the fellow walked up to me and said he has read my book. How it got there I don’t know. That my book is going to so many places is something for which I’m proud. That people walk up to me on the street and say we read your book; it is something. It is not about the money, it is about impacting on people’s lives. It overwhelms me and I’m grateful. My husband and I believe that if we get as many people as possible to read, it is better than making money at the launching and thereafter the book is forgotten. Our books will outlive us; it is our prayer. And that’s what happens if you write.
Organising such elaborate presentation costs money; how was the event sponsored?
When my husband announced at the presentation that it was not all about monetary donation but about buying and reading the book, it is not to say we don’t want people to buy it generously. In fact, if you give me millions, I will be very happy. Writers are generally not well to do, which is sad. It is unfortunate that in Nigeria people don’t read. So first of all we are trying to encourage reading culture by what we are doing, and we are hoping that money will come eventually. It is our prayer that people will be happy with what they read and pay. You know, writing is an art; it is like being a carpenter. When somebody makes a table you pay for it, but you write a book nobody wants to pay, which annoys me, because it is hard work. You can’t even charge for the mental work that went into the book. The price of the book is just the paper and the publishing, your brain has not been paid for. Having said that, we have been lucky to have goodwill. Some of our sponsors like First Bank, Unity Bank, paid for the hall, others paid for the food, some gave us gift vouchers to give buyers of the book, etc. Our strategy is to encourage people to read the book.
What do you have to say on a final note?
I want to thank my sponsors. It is not easy for somebody to support you. I’m grateful to the banks and others. And more than any other group of people, literary editors who do such a thankless job, I cannot thank them enough. They are the ones who have given me visibility, who have exposed my book to the public, who have held my hand in this my new journey of literature. I’m really grateful.

(c) Interviewed by SUMAILA UMAISHA.

Promoting African proverbs

Born at Ihube, Okigwe, Southeastern Nigeria in 1945, Anusionwu Okoro was educated at the Methodist College Uzuakoli, Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu, and the Textile Institute International, Manchester, England. He is an educationist, technologist and an all-round artist. He played Policarp Onwuchuruba on the original Masquerade (ECBS/TV, Enugu, 1973 - 76), with James Iroha as Gringory and Chika Okpala as Zebrudaya. He has many first class prizes for Fine Arts and Choral Music (including silver medal at the 1963 Eastern Regional Festival of Arts and Culture).
In recognition of his principled personality and active promotion of African culture through the arts for the past four decades, and his substantial contributions to human and community development, HRH Eze Obiete Ucheruaka, the Nnakeze 1 of Obinolu Autonomous Community in Abia State, Nigeria, conferred on him the chieftaincy title of Onyemegbule Nwanneya on 17 November 2001.
While in Britain he won the William Wilkinson Memorial Scholarship Award for the best Technology student of the year 1978. He retired as a Chartered Technologist (Polymer and Textiles) from the School of Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), after 35 years of meritorious public service.
In this interview with SUMAILA UMAISHA, Okoro speaks about his book, Popular African Proverbs. Excerpts:

NNW: What informed the collection of African proverbs?

Anusionwu Okoro: I’ve been interested in reading African literature from my college days since 1960. So as I read along I take note of the wise sayings and proverbs. I always like to read Chinua Achebe, Chukuemeka Ike, Elechi Amadi, Festus Iyayi, Wole Soyinka, Odia Ofeimun and the rest of them who captured African wise sayings and proverbs in their novels and poems. So I decided to compile them.

How did you go about gathering the proverbs?

Since I’ve been taking notes of these proverbs all along from 1960 from every novel written by African author, I have recorded them in notebooks. I have three voluminous notebooks where I recorded them. So after some decades I have more than enough. Even after the publication in 2007, I have collected more and a new edition is in the pipeline.

What I see in the collection are more than what one could get from novels...

That is true. I get others from people at village meetings. I belong to many organsiations so as I attend the meetings I keep collecting wise sayings from the members.

Specifically, are they Igbo proverbs?

They are not Igbo proverbs only, I got some from Yoruba land, Akan tribe in Ghana, and so on.

How do you get the ones from foreign countries?

I get them from books.

What is the main objective of compiling the proverbs?

In fact, I have been doing the collection out of interest. And along the line, just before 2007, I discovered that the collections could be compiled into a book. Honestly, it is out of my interest for African proverbs. Another reason is to preserve the proverbs for future generations. I’m a professional teacher and I know that if these proverbs are published they will serve the interest of our young ones in primary, secondary schools and universities. Though it is mainly used as a reference book for universities. Since it was published many research undergraduates have been asking for the book. The wise sayings and proverbs in the book are in twenty-five chapters dealing with various human conditions. So it is easy for research scholars to choose from any topic they want to make up their thesis.

What is your next project on the subject?

I’m currently working on Igbo proverbs. Eventually, it will be more voluminous because since I got into it the expansion has been easy for me. So I’ve been advised by my people in America (by the way, my wife, and many of my grand children are in America and my daughter is in the United Kingdom) to write this so that the culture is preserved. So I’m writing the collection of Igbo proverbs for their interest, so that they don’t forget their roots. I’m writing them in Igbo but I’m also analysi1ng them in English, so that it would also serve the interest of non-Igbo speaking people. And I have given express permission to whoever wishes to translate any of the works into his local language.

Most of African writing these days sound foreign due to the absence of literary techniques such as the use of African proverbs. What is your advice to African writers in this regard?

My advice to them is that they should stick to their own tradition. They will sell more if they tick to their own tradition.

(c) Interviewed by SUMAILA UMAISHA.