Violence inspired writer shouldn’t write for children

Dr Chinyere Agabi is a lecturer in the department of Education Foundations and Management at the Rivers State University of Education, and the author of numerous children's literary books. In this interview, she speaks about her books and children's literature generally. Excerpts:

Your books are directed at teaching moral lessons. Does this imply that every children’s literature must have this didactic aspect to qualify as children’s literature?
Dr. Chinyere Agabi: Children’s literature should be designed to first capture the interest of a child and in sustaining that interest, carefully lead the child to learn one or more lessons. The child should be entertained in the course of learning. Every good literature for children must have these two aspects. The entertainment aspect must be within the lesson content; and the lessons may be moral, academic or purely social.
Your characters are quite striking, full of determination. This is not a general view about children, who are often seen as helpless individuals that should be closely guided or they go astray. What are you implying by this characterisation?
A child who is old enough to read a story book or to listen to a story, ask questions based on the story and correctly decode the message in the story is a complete human being with a well developed mind. Guidance only facilitates the consistent manifestation of desirable or socially acceptable behaviour on one hand, and the suppression of unacceptable behaviour on the other. A child of about five years (and above) already has a mind that can think and draw conclusions from issues and events around him or her. This is why some parents spend time and money educating a child in such fields as Medicine, Law or Engineering and the child upon graduation becomes not a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer, but a musician, a fashion designer or cobbler and so on. Listening ears and watchful eyes are the basic requirements in understanding the strength in every child. It is only by understanding their strength that we can guide them aright.
Your usage of language is so well controlled that the diction is quite appropriate to the target readers. Does this moderation in language require special training or skill?
The appropriate use of language is very important in children’s literature since it is a medium that can be used in formal and informal settings to entertain and educate children, especially on the use of appropriate words. In studying English at the university, one is exposed to all kinds of literature, some of which teach the use of language while others teach the techniques in different types of writing. Yet, not everything is taught in the classroom; but whatever is not taught in the classroom may be acquired from research and practice. I learn a lot from watching children when they are playing and when they are at a task. Sometimes I deliberately expose my manuscript to my first child who is within the target age. I make her read aloud and I note the words that she had problem pronouncing. Sometimes I change such words and sometimes I include them in the list of difficult words. Basically, writing for children requires sharing their world by listening to their stories, playing with them, allowing them to play around you and by sharing in their joys and sorrows. In doing this, you can learn more about children than you can ever learn in the classroom.
Is it every writer that can write children’s stories?
Any writer that draws inspiration from violence or from the use of obscenities cannot and should not write for children. I feel strongly, though it may not always be the case, that the source of inspiration often determines the type of story and language in which it is written. Violence will beget violence, and obscenity will beget obscenity, even in the use of language. These are social vices that should not be encouraged in any form, especially in children’s literature.
What’s your assessment of Nigeria’s literary scene as regards children’s literature?
It is still in a developing stage, but it is not doing badly considering the variety of home-made and interesting story books available in bookshops all over the country; considering also that the storybook writer has to compete with foreign authors whose works flood our bookshops. Last year, at Abuja, I walked into a bookshop to get some storybooks for my children and I had a big problem deciding what books to take. First, I was surprised by the vast array of Nigerian authors in the children’s section of the bookshop. In my growing-up years, we had very few storybooks by Nigerian authors. The contemporary Nigerian child has a great variety of very good books by Nigerian authors in particular and African authors in general. I have also come across a couple of children’s books written in very bad language. Sometimes, such books find their way into the curriculum of some States. Parents and all stake holders in children’s education should never choose children’s literature in a hurry or on sentiments. Generally, the literary scene can be described as encouraging.
Nigerian parents seem to prefer foreign reading materials for their children, why?
I guess it is different strokes for different folks. I assume that by foreign reading material, you are referring to books from the UK and the US. When I was growing up I read a lot of foreign books probably because my father didn’t have easy access to storybooks by Nigerian authors. Parents who insist on maintaining a foreign literature base for their children often say that they are more colourful and have better paper quality; this is not always true. There is also the general belief that books from the UK and the US are written in flawless English. This is also not always true. What about content in terms of lessons to be learnt? What about relevance to the child’s environment? What about relevance to the education curriculum. These should all be considered in the choice of literature for any child. It is not wrong to expose children to a variety of reading materials from any part of the world but parents must choose wisely.
Is children’s literature being given the required attention in Nigeria?
I don’t think so. Although the planners of education in Nigeria prescribe themes for children’s literature to enable it fit into the education curriculum, publishers would only invest on books that have been approved for school curriculum and therefore have a big and ready market. The rising cost of production may also be discouraging many good writers from venturing into children’s literature. Something has to be done about the rising cost of paper, non-toxic ink, and other vital printing materials. Other wise, the price of books will continue to rise and authors and publishers will continue to scramble for government approval as the only way to reach a greater number of the target audience. Meanwhile, parents should regularly visit bookshops for supplementary literature to enhance the development of good reading habits in their children.
Why do you prefer writing children’s literature?
Hmm! This is one question I have had to answer at virtually every social event at which someone identifies me as the author of The golden pack, or Nwamba, or any of my storybooks that he or she has read. My answer remains the same. I prefer writing for children because it helps me relax. There is peace and relaxation in the world of children. Writing for children is also a very good and pleasant way through which I contribute to the social development of the Nigerian child. This is in addition to carrying out my responsibility as a classroom teacher which I also enjoy very much. Through my stories, I reach out to children who may not have access to me as a teacher, a mother, or a friend.
How are you being rewarded for your efforts in contributing to children’s literature?
My greatest reward comes from the joy I see on the faces of children who have read my books, and from parents and teachers who keep requesting for more stories. The excitement with which children and adults greet me when I’m recognized in public also gives me a great sense of fulfillment. But if you’re talking about money, I am presently spending much more than I’m getting from the books.
What is the future of Nigeria’s literature vis-à-vis children’s literature?
The future is bright because we have more people who are interested in writing for children and who are doing very good works in that direction, but the cost of production is getting higher every year; and publishers keep complaining about the rising cost of paper and other printing materials. This situation is rather discouraging. The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC, encourages Nigerian authors to write books, especially in core subjects like Mathematics, English and the sciences. This encouragement will facilitate the production of children’s literature if books in this area are published at NERDC subsidized rates.
Should we expect any works from you soon?
Yes, two novels designed for young adults. One of them, The survivor, is ready for the press. The other, The care taker, is on the verge of completion. I’m not going to talk about them now. You’ll need to read them to know who’s surviving what, and who‘s taking care of who or what. There is also a popular demand by teachers and parents, for a collection of the stories in the children’s series in one or two volumes so that children can read just for pleasure. I’m already compiling the collection of works. You’ll definitely get free copies as soon as these books are out.

(c) Interviewed by Sumaila Umaisha and published in New Nigerian.

Pull of Fate: Portrait of a patriot

Sumaila Umaisha’s review of Pull of Fate, The Autobiography of Magaji Dambatta, published by ABU Press Limited, Zaria, (2010), pages - 362.

Have you ever imagined how interesting it could be to watch in detail the life of an individual from birth to old age? ‘Very interesting’, you would say. And, you might add; ‘but that is impossible!’ Of course, it is hard to believe that one could single out an individual for such a detailed study, until you have read the autobiography of Magaji Dambatta, titled Pull of Fate.
The 362-page book, which reads like an adventure novel, zooms on the life of Alhaji (Dr.) Magaji Dambatta, OFR, in great details that leave no one in doubt about his personality and his successful careers in journalism, civil service, politics and community service. It portrays clearly how dynamic, dignified and dignifying the life of an individual who has chosen the path of honesty and hard work could be.
It could be argued that the detailed view was achieved because the book is an autobiography; the autobiographer enjoys a vantage and intimate position which the biographer does not have the benefit of. As the saying goes; if the goal of biography is to find the man, that of autobiography is to reveal him for the benefit of readers in a way no writer can. This is quite true of Pull of Fate.
But in addition to the fact that autobiography has advantages over biography in terms of revealing the subject matter, there are many other factors that combined to make Pull of Fate stand out from other contemporary autobiographical works. These include, first and foremost, the approach adopted in the planning and execution of the project. Unlike other autobiographers who would simply write about their lives the way they see them and thereby, in most cases, end up with a heavily subjective and controversial book, Dambatta added a third eye for a better vision.
The third eye is in form of a committee comprising writers, researchers and interviewers. Some members of the committee conducted extensive interviews with Dambatta’s friends, co-workers, classmates, political colleagues and other acquaintances. And these people generously volunteered their own side of the story – their reminiscences of events in which they and the subject were involved or of which they were aware. To complement the interviews, jottings and stream of consciousness recordings by the subject were also employed.
Above all, the success of Pull of Fate lies mainly in the fact that the author indeed has a lot of interesting stories to tell and knows how to craft them into fascinating accounts.
The book opens with an introduction, which focuses on the making of the book, followed by the stories of his early life. Chapter Three, ‘Growing Up’, covers his childhood days. He began by laying the background of his birth place thus:
“Dambatta was a quiet town with serene surroundings, and the main preoccupations of the people in our part of the town were farming and attending religious schools for more knowledge on Islam and devotion to the religion. Of course, many of the households kept domestic animals like cattle, sheep and goats which provided them with milk as a regular source of income. Some of the animals were also sold to meet needs as they arose.” (p. 25).
Having set the scene, he then focused the lens on himself, the major character. He narrated the circumstances into which he was born, how lovely and loving his family was, and how he became popularly known by the name Magaji:
“...I was born in 1931, one of the nine children born by my mother, Hajiya Salamatu and my father, Malam Shehu Usman. On the seventh day of my birth I was named Nuhu after my maternal grandfather, Chief Imam Nuhu. It was out of respect, dissimulation and in due reverence to him that my parents, uncles and aunts nicknamed me Magaji (literally, the successor) to avoid calling his name. Consequently, the name Magaji has stuck with me ever since.” (p. 49).
The fourth chapter is on his transition from childhood to adolescence and all it entails to be moulded into a promising young man. Titled ‘Stepping Out’, the chapter covers pages 69 to 79.
According to the author, at the time he went to school, education in the north was primarily for producing teachers and clerks to man the lower and middle cadres of the nascent public service of colonial administration. Hence, by the time he left school, a job was already waiting for him: “At the end of the two-year course at the school for Arabic Studies I was drafted to a newly opened fest infestation control unit of the Nigeria Produce Inspection Department, which was located in Bompai, Kano.” (p. 70).
Subsequently, on furthering is education he took to other careers, like journalism where he was at his best in terms of personal growth and contribution to the national development.
On how he got into journalism in the 1950s, he says: “The editor of the Daily Comet at the time, Mr. Chukwuma Anueyiagu, a very dynamic and hard working professional, took me under his wings and taught me the basics of journalism. Before joining the Comet I used to read Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo, a Hausa weekly newspaper being published in Zaria. I also had the chance of reading some English newspapers from abroad whenever I visited the British Council library in Kano city.” (p. 88).
From the Daily Comet, he joined the Nigerian Citizen, a bi-weekly newspaper published by Gaskiya Corporation in Zaria, in 1954. This, according to him, “began with me as one of its avid readers and as a regular contributor of articles much of which were about NEPU’s activities or in defence of its policies.” (p. 117).
He later joined the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation and after just about a year as Regional News Editor he moved to the Northern Government service as Senior Information Officer.
In between his journalism practice, he also played active role in the development of political parties such as the Northern Elements Progressive Union, NEPU, and National Party of Nigeria, NPN. Though his political activities could be found in virtually all the chapters of the book, Chapter Five, ‘Beginning of Political Activism’, focuses more on this aspect of his life. According to him, it all began in 1947 when a group of Northerners with pan-Nigerian inclinations established in Kano city an association called the Northern Elements Progressive Association (NEPA); which eventually culminated in the founding of NEPU.
Explaining the reasons behind founding the party by Aminu Kano and others he advanced several objectives, among which is; “To raise the level of consciousness of the Talakawa to recognise their worth and fight for their human dignity and insist on their right to freedom of speech, of association, of movement, of assembly and of action within the law of which all citizens were entitled.” (p. 94).
Reading Dambatta’s story is like reading the story of Nigeria as a nation defying all odds to emerge as a true independent country. This fact becomes more apparent as one reads from Chapter Eight ‘End of an Era’ to the last chapter. He was practically involved in the major developments of the country, such as the first coup that toppled the first civilian government and the subsequent upheaval that invariably led to the bloody civil war.
Narrating the role he played especially during the civil war, he says: “As chief information officer during those turbulent days, it was my duty to utilise government information machinery in the sensitisation exercise for the enlistment of recruits into the Nigerian army at the initial stage of the crisis, as well as for boosting the morale of those already enlisted.” (p. 198).
And after the war, which he described as “the most tragic event in the history of Nigeria” (p. 187), he found himself among those who were involved in tidying up the mess of the war, just as he was at the initial stage engaged in moblilising some of those who prosecuted and shaped its course. “It became my duty to focus on and publicise government’s policy on healing the wounds.” (p. 230).
Indeed, after reading Pull of Fate, one cannot but conclude that though Dambatta is not a partisan politician in the real sense of the word, (he never occupied elective position), he could be regarded as a political activist, whose contribution to the development of Nigeria will remain conspicuous not just in this autobiography, but in the history books.
This book is a must-read for everyone who is interested in the history of Nigeria vis-a-vis Dambatta’s roles in shaping its development.

Reviewed by Sumaila Umaisha and published in the New Nigerian.

Celebrating Clark’s 50 years of literary excellence

Professor John Pepper Clark Bekederemo, popularly known as JP Clark, is not a new name on the Nigerian literary scene. Literature students who passed through Nigerian secondary schools and universities from the 1960s to date would testify to the quality of his works, especially his plays and poems. He is easily remembered for his poems, ‘Night Rain’ and ‘The Casualties’, and his play, Ozidi, which, like most of his other works, vividly depict the Nigerian situation. Having spent fifty years on the beat, one could refer to him as an icon of Nigerian literature. And this is why the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, decided to celebrate him by organizing a two-day colloquium to highlight his works.
The event, tagged 50 Years of the Writings of J P Clark, took place in Lagos from 13th to 14th August, 2010, under the theme, “Casualties, Innovations, Perspectives”, with writers and literary scholars within and outside Nigeria in attendance.
The opening ceremony was held at Afe Babalola Auditorium, University of Lagos, under the chairmanship of Captain Elechi Amadi. In his opening remarks, the chairman eulogized the celebrant, saying he wrote freely because he began writing when there were few literary prizes available to Nigerian writers.
He spoke on the current craze for foreign literary prizes by Nigerian writers, observing that foreign prizes come with a price. He said such prizes can and do inf1uence our writing in a subtle way because “the donor of a prize cannot appreciate you fully unless you wholly or in part share his mindset, worldview, sensibilities and worse, his prejudices about Africa and Africans”. He added that many of the prize-winning books either abuse our government and its people or depict black protagonists who are stupid, instinct-driven and crude, even when they are supposed to be educated.
He then called on the new generation of writers to learn from the likes of JP Clark in order to protect the Nigerian literature from neo-colonialism.
The President of ANA, Dr. Jerry Agada, who is the Chief Host of the event, began his speech by apologising for the poor turn-out at the event. He said the shortcoming was as a result of some administrative lapses and promised to rectify them in future.
The event was indeed poorly organised; the attendance was very scanty, and not even a banner to indicate the venue of the event.
Speaking on the aim of organising the event, the President said it was an expression of a permanent commitment to Nigerian writers, especially the forebears in the writing business. “It is our way of saying that we recognise what they have done in promoting the role of the writer in national and global development.”
He further pointed out that the colloquium was a consolidation of a tradition his predecessors started some years ago, when similar colloquiums were held in honour of Prof. Wole Soyinka in celebration of his Nobel achievement, Prof. Chinua Achebe in celebration of fifty years of the monumental novel Things Fall Apart, Abubakar Imam, for his contributions to the development of literature in indigenous language, specifically Hausa literature, and Adebayo Faleti for his role in shaping creative discourse about Yoruba culture.
He said celebrating JP Clark became necessary in view of the fact that his contributions to the development of African oral literature through his dramatic and poetic writing nay the literature of the world speaks for itself. “His critical writings have shaped and also broadened the scope of global understanding of Africa and her rich cultural heritage,” he stressed.
Speaking in the same vein, Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan of Delta State, home state of the celebrant, described JP Clark as an excellent writer whose fame is a source of pride to the people of the state.
The governor, who was represented by one of his advisers, Mr. G.G. Dara, said it was in recognistion of JP Clark’s literary contribution that the state donated the sum of 10 million naira towards organising the colloquium. He expressed gratitude to ANA for taking the initiative, saying this will encourage the upcoming writers to put in their best.
The governor’s speech was followed by the keynote address presented by Prof. Atukwei Okai of the Department of Applied Linguistics, University of Education, Winneba. In the 25-page paper, titled ‘Historical Chameleonisation and Anti-palanquinity; Human Beings As Casualties of the Womb and Writers as Murderers of the Gods - the Creational Marathon of J.P. Clark Bekederemo’, he highlighted the writings of JP Clark.
Prof. Okai, who is the Secretary-General of Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA), observed that “JP Clark is a writer whose literary career is a creational marathon whose origin was tap rooted in the spirit and times of the foundation layers of Nigerian literature, thanks to the University of Ibadan and the Mbari Club”.
Responding, JP Clark commented on the shortcomings of the event but thanked ANA and all those who contributed towards making it a reality.
The opening ceremony was followed by the first plenary session, under the chairmanship of Prof. Sam Okala. Presenters at the plenary included Dr. Joseph Ushie and Dr. Sunny Awhefeada, who discussed the management of linguistic taboos in Clark’s Song of a Goat, and analysis of Ozidi in the light of contemporary Nigerian experience, respectively.
The second and last session of the plenary took place the following morning at the university’s Faculty of Arts Boardroom. Chaired by Dr. Joseph Ushie, the session had five presenters, including Mrs. Maria Ajima who discussed the recurring motif of the poetry of Clark, and Dr. Idris Okpanachi, who analyzed the construction of conflict in Clark’s The Wives Revolt.
The event come concludsion later in the day with a cocktail at the university’s Senior Staff Club.

c) Reported by Sumaila Umaisha in the New Nigerian newspapers.

AWF: A commitment to literary service

DR. EMMAN USMAN SHEHU, founding President of Abuja Writers Forum (AWF), and Director of the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ), Abuja, hails from Maradun in Zamfara State. The holder of doctorate in African Literature in English has published two collections of poetry, Questions For Big Brother and Open Sesame. A third collection, Icarus Rising will soon be available. He is also working on a collection of short stories. Shehu is a veteran journalist, having worked in both broadcast and print media. He has also had a stint as a university lecturer. He is currently nurturing the fledgling Topaz Publishing House which has recently published Ozioma Izuora’s Dreams Deffered (Fiction) and Iyorwuese Hagher’s Once Upon An Eagle (Poetry). In this interview with SUMAILA UMAISHA, he speaks about the AWF; its objectives, activities, problems and prospects. Excerpts:

When was the Abuja Writers Forum founded and what is the main aim of establishing it?
Dr. Emman Usman Shehu: It started in June 2008. Basically, our concern is to provide interventions that will uplift Nigeria’s literature, because we believe that our literature, especially in English, has the capability of being a world class literature. If we are sounding like a mission statement of one of these corporate organisations, this is because that is the only way we can put it across. As you are well aware, even before the talk of re-branding, Nigerian literature has been responsible for giving Nigeria a positive image – even long before independence. So the quality is there, the potentials are there, it remains for us to find ways of ensuring there is consistency in the production of Nigerian literature, especially in English.
From its beginning to date, how would you describe your development?
It is been challenging, given the circumstances of our birth. As with any new product, any new brand, the initial challenge is making people recognise and accept you. That was the initial problem we had. But gradually we’ve been able to show through our consistency, the seriousness of our commitment to what we have envisioned for the development of Nigerian literature; the initial difficulties have been overcome. But then there are structural challenges especially in this sector because you discover that not much is being done in terms of providing grants, fellowships and sponsorships in the area of creative writing or literature or book publishing and in the arts generally in this country. Whereas the musicians enjoy millions of naira being invested by the telecommunication companies, for instance, the same cannot be said of literature. So we overcome the initial challenges only to be faced with another set of challenges. But we are soldiering on.
Specifically, what are the activities of AWF?
One, we have the guest writer session which for us is an opportunity to make emerging writers and established writers have access to the public. You know very well that in Nigeria we don’t have a structure that enables people to even know that books have been published. This is a very serious structural problem. Unlike in developed economies where a publisher willingly advertises, creates an environment whereby a forthcoming book is known and by the time the book comes out there is so much publicity and the author therefore is known by the public, we don’t have that here. So the guest writer session intends to address that by providing a forum for the published writers to be publicised. The requirement for you to be a guest writer is that you must be published. It is not for just any writer, you have to be published. We’ve been inundated with requests by people who want to be guest writers, but the number one condition is that you must have a book. Because for us, this is a platform to publicise your book, not a platform to publicise yourself. It is a forum for the public to get to patronise your work, to know what your vision is as a writer. It is also an opportunity for publishers to use the platform as a vehicle to push their books across. That is the number one thing about the guest writer session.
The other thing, as you witnessed yesterday, is that we also, in terms of structuring of the event, want to carry along all our fellow creative artists. In other words, we host musicians, fine artists, performance poets, etc. The idea is to provide a forum where all these aspects of creativity can be appreciated by the audience. Through this, we become more literate and appreciate the various aspects of creativity. That will also enhance the appreciation of what writers are doing because once you stimulate the senses people just don’t sit down and listen to a writer but there is quite a lot that is going on visually and orally; other senses are also being challenged and stimulated and so people become more appreciative, more enlightened. And we have noticed that our audience has become more and more critical as a result of this, as most of the guest writers have noted that they come and face an audience that is very demanding, an audience that is very alert, sensitive and critical. So that is one intervention.
The other intervention is the weekly critique session that we have. The critique session is an intervention that enables members of the forum to have their works looked at by fellow writers. You produce your work and we have a process whereby your work is made available. The session is even more critical because it is for work in progress. As you well know, we don’t have an environment where people showcase their ideas, so this is what this platform provides. Every Sunday, minus the Sunday immediately after the reading session, we meet and tear each other’s works apart. And everybody has the opportunity therefore to have his or her work in progress assessed and have suggestions. We don’t leave it at that; our intention is that through this process we encourage writers by having an avenue to have these works from the critique session published. And that is why recently we launched Dugwe, (i.e. ‘Forum’, in Gbagyi language) a journal of new writing. All the things in the first edition of Dugwe are materials that have been critiqued at the critique session – The writers have gone back to rework them and then we publish them, minus, of course, the contributions by the previous guest writers.
As somebody has noted, people who come to these sessions gradually become confident in their writing and that is basically the intention; to provide an environment whereby we can strengthen the skills of those who are interested in writing. I feel this is necessary since we don’t have an environment where people go to learn creative writing on a regular basis.
This brings us to another intervention we have been doing of recent, which is the monthly creative writing workshop. We usually do that during the guest writer session. Either we get the guest writer to take the sessions or as we have done in the past few months, we run a series and source other resource persons to do the creative writing session. This monthly creative writing session has proved to be quite interesting; we have had people coming all the way from Enugu, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Makurdi, Jos and Bauchi, just to attend it. We’ve just finished the poetry series and hopefully in January we will start the fiction series.
Then we also have literary competition. We think there are not enough literary contests in the country so our intervention is to provide more avenues for writers to be able to showcase their works, whether published or unpublished. In fact, for us it is very important that the unpublished writer has an opportunity to have his manuscript brought into the public domain. Again, as you are well aware, we don’t have a process in the country whereby the publishing houses are organised in such a way that they get quick responses when writers send in their manuscripts. So this is an opportunity for unpublished writers to bring their manuscripts. And in the maiden edition that we did, several manuscripts actually came ahead of published works in terms of winning, which shows that we have touched on something very vital. Our hope is that from then on the winning manuscript can then be taken to the publishing houses, making it a lot easier for the process of getting books published to be hastened.
What are your future plans?
We want to expand the workshop series and not just make it an Abuja-based thing but also a nation-wide thing. So we are looking at the possibilities of doing it at various levels. We intend also to go into publishing. There have been a lot of pressure on us to go into publishing, but it is not something we want to rush into. We want to create a structure that will stand the test of time, be worthwhile and done with integrity, because most time what happens is that these things are done and you discover that they is so much self-serving nature to it and at the end of the day the purpose is defeated because the quality you are looking for, the standard that you want to establish, you fail to do them.
There are other things we intend to do. We are trying to see if we can regularly get books into the new library that has been built by the Education Resource Centre. It is also one of our interventions; to establish contacts to ensure that books are available. It will be very unfortunate if in these days and age people go to the library in the capital city of Nigeria and they don’t see current books by Nigerian writers. And that is the situation; if you go to the library now there is nothing in the library. We must commend the Education Resource Centre for doing what most people have not done. As you well know, the issue of libraries in this country has become a sore point; government is no longer interested in supporting libraries. But libraries are a very important part of our literature, of our reading culture. Because, if you cannot afford the books you can go to the library and read them. And indeed in developed economies that is what they do; they stock the libraries regularly with new books and encourage you to go and read them. And that is an advantage. For instance, if every library in this country, 36 libraries, if every state has a library, and if they all purchase nothing less than 50 copies of Hoodlums, for instance; what will that do to you?
It will go a long way.
It will indeed go a long way. In the developed economies this is what happens. The library becomes the number one place of supporting writers, because once a book comes out and they are convinced about the quality of the book, libraries make sure they stock them. In these countries there are state libraries, community libraries, city libraries, all kinds of libraries. And that is why the writers are sure that there are avenues for them to be patronised. We don’t have that here. That is why we feel that we must do this intervention of encouraging the city library. Majority of the books we will be buying are books by our own writers, not foreign writers. And that will be a plus for our writers.
So far, how have you been able to sponsor your numerous activities?
Well, you know, when there is passion you will do everything you can to see that your passion is realised. Sponsorship in this area is very difficult, it is hard; Nigerians, especially those who are in a position to provide sponsorship seem to have their values placed somewhere else. You know, the interesting thing is we all shout about poor reading culture, but what are we doing to change the situation? You invite people to come to a book launch, they will not come. And the issue of book launch; normally that is not the way a book should be publicised. But that is the way the structure has been. We have publishing houses where most time it is the author that puts his money into it and he wants to recoup all he has put in. So this is why we have come to a situation of a book launch. This has become part of our culture. But you invite people, how many people do you see? If it is a wedding, or chieftaincy title celebration or political gathering, you see people there. Look at the other day, Peoples’ Democratic Party was launching funds for its secretariat; see the amount of money that was realised. That money could go a long way to turn around book production process in this country, if we could do something like that. But then people don’t do that. So we have to look for creative ways of raising money.
We started first of all by making commitments individually and occasionally we have somebody who will say ‘I like what you are doing, please, how can I support you?’ and then we bring in something. But we hope that gradually this will change as people see that we are serious. Then there is also the issue of integrity, people in the past who have supported such causes have found out that their money were not properly used and could not be accounted for and so people are hesitant to put in their money, because it might go into something else. But I think with what we are doing things are going to change. A couple of people have expressed their willingness to be of assistance to us. The important thing is for us to continue to find a creative means of generating funds and keep the forum going because consistency is the key to what we are doing. If you are not consistent then people will not take you seriously. But I think our consistency is beginning to pay off.

(c) Interviewed by Sumaila Umaisha and published in New Nigerian newspapers.

I feel at the top of the world!

ISAAC ATTAH OGEZI, legal practitioner, playwright, short story writer and literary essayist, based in Keffi, Nasarawa State, is a consistent literary prizes winner . In addition to his numerous prizes, his play, Waiting for Savon, has just won this year’s edition of Esiaba Irobi Prize. In this interview, he speaks to SUMAILA UMAISHA about the secret behind his phenomenal success.

How do you feel winning the Esiaba Prize?
Isaac Attah Ogezi: I feel, to use a cliché, at the top of the world! I feel so great words cannot express my happiness.
Did you know you were going to win especially after you’ve been shortlisted?
Actually I didn’t know because I happen to know some of the writers on the shortlist personally and I know them as good writers. So it came to me as a surprise.
Now that you have won it, what will this do to your writing career?
A prize of this nature challenges the writer to be more serious. It is a prize that asks the writer to train for excellence, because a prize makes the winner more marketable by bringing him to public notice. And it beholds on the winner not to disappoint his gathering fans and the reading public. So the prize entails more research, more fidelity to details and so many other literary criteria that deserve attention.
What other prizes have you won so far?
Recently, on the 19th day of October I came third in a CHD/Ford Foundation Prize for short story. Also my unpublished play, A Requiem for the Misbegotten came second last year in AWS/Zulu Sofola Award for drama. And in 2006 my adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s novel, The Interpreters, under the title, The Misfit, came third in an adaptation competition organised by ANA. And in 2008 my adaptation of Achebe’s Arrow of God, under the title Ezeulu, came first, in an adaptation competition organised by ANA.
What is the secret behind the success?
The secret behind the success is focus. As a writer, I have great partiality for playwright; I don’t want to be a Jack of all trade master of none. If I go to a bookshop, my first interest is drama. So I’m more focused on drama writing. That is why most of my dramatic works win awards.
Given your own experience, what is your advice to other writers?
I advise for focus. All writers should be focused and again they need patience. As a writer, my training days were at the university and I was privileged to read some of the greatest dramatists in the world like William Shakespeare, some of the best award-winning American and Norwegian dramas. It entails reading the best, the classics. That is the secret.

(c) Interviewed by Sumaila Umaisha and published in New Nigerian newspapers.

Umaisha, Omalicha thrill Abuja writers

Writers’ brotherhood never had a single event so loaded. That was what happened at the November edition of the Guest Writer Session organized by Abuja Writers’ Forum (AWF). It was a literary outing packed with interesting activities. Writers from various backgrounds had all come out to interact with newspaper editor and short story writer Sumaila Umaisha as well as poetry performer, Ify Omalicha, but they had more than they bargained for. In the end, every participant walked out of the Pen and Pages, Abuja venue, excited. Comments such as “I have never been part of a literary event like this,” with the expression of desires to be more involved in literary activities, were part of what the event provoked. As some of the writers present said, the nation’s literature never had it so good with the more than two-year consistent running of the literary event that featured mini Art Exhibition, musical and poetry performances.
An opening glee by Omalicha was what the Compere, Mike Ekuno, brought to the stage after the introductory remarks. That had the title: The green pasture. The fervour associated with some religious sects and visits to them by miracle seekers featured prominently in the piece. To point out that Omalicha and her fellow performer, Hanah Chima, a 300 level Theatre Arts student, were as electric on stage as they were passionate about their art was an understatement. Their audience was enthralled, laughing, clapping, not just for the believability but for the good grasp of the craft in poetic delivery. Those were top class performers there, Omalicha and her fellow. But it was just the opening glee, a sort of first course. Her main performance of the day was ahead.
Meanwhile, Miss Millicent, an artist came to the stage next. A member of the audience would soon remark that her work was as expressive and bold as she was. A true thing. Millicent’s painting came in bright, gay colours. Her explanation showed why. There was this three-piece work that had a man in-between two ladies. A man’s world, she called the name of the three-in-one piece. Imagine a man’s eyes set on two ladies at the same time and you got the essence of Millicent’s work. Two ladies were dying to have a man, he stayed in between enjoying the show like an unbending Iroko tree at a time wind and flood terrorize every other plant around. The artist said, “We women can’t do without men around us”; under normal circumstances, that is. Yet, see the way the man threats the ladies, “It’s an irony,” of some sort, she concluded about ‘A man’s world.’
Many in the audience pointed out that they liked her work, they were beautiful. Ladies especially saluted the punches the artist threw at men in the course of her explanation, even though the title of her most interesting work would give a different impression. Then came the musical duo. Laolu, who said “I am part time singer and he is a full time,” referring to his fellow, Valerino, would join him to give life music performance. A scintillating thing, that one, comprising of a song titled, ‘Abuja Queen.’ And there was a pidgin English song titled, ‘Anaconda’ performed by Valerino. Anaconda was a girl, as its performer explained. The two songs had told stories of what guys come up against in the timeless effort to conquer.
The big masquerade was what the MC called the first Guest Writer to climb the stage. And so he was. Umaisha, literary editor of the Kaduna-based New Nigerian, is a short story writer, poet and an award winning literary journalist whose stories and poems have appeared in journals, anthologies and online publications. He read ‘Militants’ and ‘After the riots’ from his debut collection of short stories, Hoodlums, a book that has attracted attention in literary circles for its focus on the violence perpetrated in the country in the name of religion, politics and culture. The Guest Writer would be taken on by his audience for his stories that not only painted pictures of violence in its diverse forms but also indicted everyone, including the reader. He would explain that he belonged to the realist school of thought which posited that a writer should use his medium to bring issues across ‘the way they are.’ But all of that were yet for the Question and Answer Time.
Omalicha’s second coming was a full blown performance. She might as well have been performing on the stage of the patriarch of Theater Arts department in the country – the University of Ibadan. This post-graduate Theatre Arts student of the University might have put up for her lecturer, the seamless, entertaining performance of the poem titled, ‘Untitled,’ in an examination and she would have passed. There was that professional, well-rehearsed touch to every move, every line she performed alongside Hannah. Untitled was about apartheid South Africa and the plight of the poor black under the oppressive regime in place at one stage in the life of the people in that part. That was a poem with no identification going by its name; but the first few lines of the poetic rendition showed it for what it was – a poetic exposition of poverty, sufferings, oppression, lack, denials, and values that had been devalued. Omalicha’s work was dissected by her audience: Why did she take to poetry performance? How did she memorize such long lines of poems for her two performances of the day? How did she come up with so much energy and zest that everyone saw her display? Who and what were her motivations? These were some of the questions the audience asked. But that happened during the Question and Answer Session.
“For me words don’t live on paper. When I write a poem, I want people to hear it. I don’t believe it can connect with you as much as it will when I speak or perform it,” was one of her responses. And she had been in theatre for ten years, so it had become part of her – internalizing lines. Even when she performed the works of other poets, she actually internalized them, felt what they felt, a thing that enabled her to interpret the works’ very essence on stage.
“I go through the emotions of the writer and that pushes me to express it; It is not about memorizing”, she explained how she was who she was on stage. Passion for anything one does, she pointed out, is important.
The comments directed at Umaisha were as ponderous and thought-provoking as his work. They were about why and how he focused on themes he treated in Hoodlums. It so happened that he initially wrote many of the stories in the collection for his newspaper audience, and he had had to write one story a week. That raised some issues. One, some of the stories reflected current situation in the country, they were topical. The writer knew of the amnesty granted to militants in the Niger Delta, he wrote angles to it that no government official seemed to have given a thought. He read most news items on violent situations around the country, took note of aspects of it that didn’t make it into the news, the realities of the issues – he caught them in stories. “if you look at some of the stories, you will notice that they are topical,” Umaisha explained. And he felt writers have a duty to tell things as they are. “Bring out all the dirt for everyone to see.” It was why he wrote the way he did.
The event ended with a raffle that had the audience winning books courtesy of AWF. In his remarks, the president of AWF, Dr Emman Usman Shehu, noted that the Forum would continue to engage in intervention programes that would positively change the nation’s poor reading culture. The AWF Guest Writer Session is one of the platforms created to showcase the works of published writers while the Forum has created other opportunities for unpublished writers to become published.

Reported by Ajibade, a Consultant Writer, who lives in Abuja. tunjioa@yahoo.com

Umaisha and Omalicha offer November treat in Abuja

Two emerging writers, Sumaila Umaisha and Ifeyinwa Omalicha, will feature at the 28th edition of the Abuja Writers’ Forum’s Guest Writer Session, which holds on November 27, according to the Forum’s PRO, Abudullahi Abubakar:

The event, which holds from 4 pm at the Pen and Pages Bookstore, White House Plaza, Plot 79, Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, will be attended by writers from both within and outside the federal capital city.
Sumaila Umaisha, literary editor of the Kaduna-based New Nigerian, is a short story writer and poet. His stories and poems have appeared in several journals, anthologies and online publications. He has also won several awards for literary journalism including the Literary Journalist of the Year Award by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), which he won in 2004 and 2007.
Umaisha’s debut collection of short stories, Hoodlums, appeared recently and is attracting attention for its focus on the violence perpetrated in the country in the name of religion, politics and culture.
This collection, notes Yahaya Ibrahim in a review, “paints (in seventeen short stories) a graphic picture of physical and psychological violence …(and) focuses on ethno-religious conflicts to militancy and other violent crises... Umaisha unveils scenes of savagery that have become the trademark of the Nigerian nation …. One of the major strengths of Umaisha is his ability to craft harsh realities into simple metaphors. On the surface is the story, but between the lines is the heart of the story itself – story that involves or implicates everyone. In the story even the reader stands accused without knowing it.”
Ms Omalicha is a post-graduate student of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She is also a poet and performance artist. She performed at the maiden event of the Nigerian Prize for Literature endowed by NLNG
She has three published collections of poetry: Amidst the Blowing Tempest, They Run Still and Now that Dreams are Born. She was Resident Poet at the ABTI Academy, Yola, where she worked as a teacher and literary consultant.
The popular monthly literary event hosted by the Abuja Writers’ Forum and regarded as the most consistent in the country, will also feature music, performance poetry, a mini visual arts exhibition and a raffle with book prizes at stake.
Umaisha and Omalicha appear in the wake of the October edition which featured the Abuja-based poet, Kabura Zakama. The Guest Writer Session which started in June 2008 has become the inspiration for similar literary interventions in some of the nation’s major cities, a testimony of its success.

I used to steal my father’s books to read

Gimba Kakanda is a literary critic, novelist and poet. In this interview, he speaks about his just released collection of poems, Safari Pants.

Your new poetry collection is titled Safari Pants; why this title?
Gimba Kakanda: The title, Safari Pants, is born in ambiguity; I realized that when I was collecting the poems into a volume. The first concept of safari used in the book is created in thought of the usual safari expedition, used with the respiratory ‘pants’; so, safari pants are the hard breaths, nay struggles we take on our expedition through life. The second face of the title comes from the safari dress; here the safari pant which some of us wear is used to portray a dress that, accidentally, symbolizes troubled life by a particular experience of mine or simply, safari pant is metaphor of drudgery. Actually, the second side of the title came to me during a demonstration in which a lad dressed in safari pant was chased by a dog and had his pant torn by the beast. This quite pricked a poem in me because the safari pants I was used to weren’t a fashion that goes with haughtiness. Nonetheless, interchangeable images of Safari the expedition and Safari the dress is used in this collection; by this I have to say both sides of the meaning fits in, ambiguously, on occasions that the readers conjure their meanings.
There is a consistent theme of sadness in your poetry. Why?
The world is never a field of continuous feast. We face travails in life, every one of us. The fact that you see folks laughing mirthfully doesn’t portend total happiness. We have inner scars that we can’t just express with desired alacrity which is what poetry does. I inherited the poetry I must’ve encountered in my earlier childhood (I’m still a child, you know). My father was one of those village headmasters that held sway in the postcolonial Nigeria of the late 70’s and early 80’s. I never got to see the best of him because he was sick, and away for medication during my growing up days. So, I used to sneak into his study and steal books to read until my mum caught me one day and thought me some lessons - that meant a moment of love lost. That experience was indeed my initiation into the reading life because I was baffled as to why my mum, whom everyone cautioned for pampering me to a fault, got so annoyed by mere books. She wouldn’t have been thus angry had I stolen her money. Later I mastered a better trick of stealing into the study. Along the line of this thievery, I chanced upon some styled writings which I mistook for song lyrics. But one common trait I observed in those writings, even though I could not perceive the difficult sentences, was angry tone - what I later realized as protest literature of the era. I was to be mocked by time that those writings I took for song lyrics were poems! So, at a time in those years I began to imitate those writings but I think I was more enthusiastic about prose, judged by my obsession with a particular story which I drafted but shamefully tore as I came of age. My first inspiration to write poem was in 2002, when I lost my mother. I was, to say the least, mad! I wrote her a poem simply titled ‘Tribute’ (included in this collection). It was an embarrassing belch until I grew in the art and gave it a true touch of poetry. So, I don’t think an orphan is indeed a completely happy being; sadness wields the greater portion of human life because however you strive to remain in the course of hedonism, it shall find you.
Other prominent themes in the collection are freedom and the quest for happiness. In a plain language what’s your concept of these two?
First, I’m an African, a black African- the most humiliated race in the history of humanity, so the essence of freedom and happiness is quite understood and celebrated by us in our dispersed locations across the universe. In a plain logic, the quest for happiness and freedom is the dominant wish of a sad and physically or emotionally oppressed hence the recurrence of such attempts in the collection. Nigeria is not an idyll for any thinker; we grumble over our thieving government which is not getting better. And also the fact that we have conscience tears us in sympathy for ourselves, grieving family, friends or neighbours. You can never escape sadness one way or the other, that’s why the literatures of happy characters or tonality never last; it doesn’t depict a long-lasting reality.
The collection also speaks about nature and environment; what are the importance of these elements to human existence and creative endeavour in particular?
Nature and environment are two things you can never cease to depend on. We are all borne in them. Nature and its myriad wonders remind us of the unknown Architect that adorns our dwellings, our environments. All the inventions of man were inspired by nature but environment alone defines our grasp of nature and also life. Nature inspires us to build our environment, and environment inspires us to build our life and art. The heterogeneity of our environments accentuates the variation in our creativity and thematic engagements; an African writer is spun to protest; an American narrates crime or love tales;
What does poetry writing really entail?
Poetry, to me, is the magic of the words- an incursion into another world done to feel the rhythms of life. Poetry is a way of escaping ordinariness of the world for a foray into a more definable life, emotionally, spiritually or musically. Nothing has ever given me half the inner bliss derived from beautifully written poems. I never fantasized with the idea of having my poems published until later in life that I understood that the beauty of arts is the sharing of the crafts. So, poetry was to me a private and secret exercise. A kind of yoga, you may say. My place of residence, Minna, being a hub of literary activities challenged me to strive and attain that level of considerable poetic skills even though I was not physically attached to Minna literature in my formative years.
What were your major inspirations in writing this book?
The environment and personal experiences! What else? Environment inspires and defines every good artiste. In writing the poems in this collection, I resolved to record only those circumstances, occurrences and events that truly worth documentation. I believe that any literary piece that fails to introduce the reader into a fresh grasp of the common life is a bad one. So, my target wasn’t to just gather some measured texts and forward to the printers. The modern world is so riddled with too many opinions on the criterion of good poetry, but nobody can deny that any expression without figurative blends isn’t literary, especially in poetry. That’s my problem with those self-contradicted poets that flaunt modernism or postmodernism in severe cases; their obsession with the modern objects obstructs their perception of poetry judged from their laughable attempts to sound more musical than the musicians.
The funniest extent is when they imitate metrically rhymed verses or concrete poetry; that’s when you’re bombarded with watery expressions that beg for a space on the pages of prose, yet mistaken for poems. Many modernists can’t tell song lyrics from poems. I once printed a Celine Dion song lyric for one and he nodded admiringly as he called it a ‘beautiful poem.’
How would you describe your experience in writing and publishing the collection?
A beginner is a sufferer in the realm of art. I think my first relationship with a writer in hope of having these poems published was with the poet Ahmed Maiwada. That’s one fine novelist that history will never forget, for his writings and altruism. Maiwada is one modernist poet whose art are beautiful in an angle; I am not a disciple of his poetry even though I did one of the accessible reviews of his second book, Fossils. When we met in 2008, I reported our encounter in various newspapers just to say, ‘Behold, the modernist wants to corrupt me’. Well, it was a sweet encounter but our relationship wasn’t fruitful in a sense that I wasn’t infected by the bug of modernism. I’m not a big fan of the so-called modernist verses. However, Maiwada pledged to publish me in spite of my stubborn refusal to write good poems, his kind of poems perhaps. But, sadly, the Ibadan-based publisher assigned the publication was an egotist that wouldn’t let a neophyte utter a word of correction without sounding offended. So, when the book came, in 2008, it was so irredeemably flawed I rejected it, only to have the publication sponsored by the novelist Abubakar Gimba this year, 2010.
Apart from being a poet you are also an essayist, literary critic and novelist; which of these genres of writing do you find more challenging and why?
No genuine literary activity is easy but one trend that challenges me is literary criticism; being a critic in the literary realm is same as being a frontline activist in the political terrain. Criticism is a dangerous foray because the number of your haters expands in unimaginable progressions. For instance, when my good friend’s book came out, I was the first to have it reviewed; it cut a cord of our relationship. So, being a critic means being an antagonist; the authors perceive your activities as acts of sadism. When Richard Ali and I took on the Northern Nigerian literature, the region boiled in anger, yet the observations were undeniable facts. Richard attached the dying state of Northern Nigerian writings to what he termed ‘kowtowing’ or Ran-ka-ya-dade stymied writings; by this he meant the critics, reviewers and enthusiasts literarily kowtow in judging the works of familiar, senior or culturally regarded authors. Sadly, I was involved in that selfless display of the literary activism. Another critic, E. E. Sule, is a bigger example of misunderstood critics. Despite being the most active, read and noticed critic in the region, he’s often written off by the affected authors of the region. Well, however they respond, criticism remains the only therapy for resuscitation of the Northern Nigerian literature. Back to the choice based on readership and popularity. Essays come to me, as it would any restless creative writer, with ease. As for being a novelist, I think that tag isn’t for me at the hours because I’m yet to let the world into any bit of my fiction. I’ve never sent my prose works out, not for fear of critics but that belief that I’m yet to attain the level of maturity I wanted to inculcate in my narratives. My writer-friends that had seen my ongoing novel entitled Footfalls of Night praised the scribbles. I wish the world will welcome it. So, readership doesn’t mean superiority of one genre to the other. You see, poetry remains the most superior genre of literature. Poetry is to art what mathematics is to science. A bad student of mathematics rarely makes a good scientist.
In terms of readership, which of these genre would you say is more popular, and why?
If you want me to take essay as a genre, then it is the most popular. The world is forged in longing for the simple and easily digestible creative outputs. I don’t like the noise that people don’t read, especially poems. Truth being the intellectual fort is increasingly becoming a deserted place owing to the wand of capitalism that grips the modern world. Everyone is just after what easily translates into Naira, or easily understood. No one goes after the complex art like poetry chiefly because the world is revolving around capitalism but if we all choose to chase money, who are going to build the art? Good writing is a sacrifice.
What would you say, if I said this book will win a prize?
Prize? Oh no, that’s not going to happen. I know of greater books that never clinch a prize. In Nigeria today, the only way a creative writer is celebrated is having won one of those foreign prizes. Believe me, those that are being applauded in our literary cycles today aren’t the best pack. They are also flawed, some to embarrassing degree. The Diasporan-authors are being acknowledged because of the impartial endorsements by the West. I don’t think that Nigerian critics, especially the scholars, read enough to merit their position in the country; many of them only paraphrase the rambles of foreign press and critics. Read Sefi Atta’s novel entitled Everything Good Will Come which is by actual literary criticism a sociology textbook to Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun that betrays the tool of literature with its overt propagandas, and discover for yourself; much as I believe that Helon Habila possesses amazing linguistic dexterity, you can’t compare him with Biyi Bandele. And nobody is talking about Bandele; this is a masterful storyteller of this decade. Nobody talks about Maik Nwosu as they do his companions because our critics are dormant and failed to research into his writings. Nobody talks about Ahmed Maiwada’s novel as they do Chimamanda’s or that classical junk, Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow, which edged a better Jude Dibia’s away from the NLNG Prize. So, if you say that again, I will say, prize shouldn’t be the yardstick of measuring literary excellence. The almighty critic is time.

(c) Interviewed by Sumaila Umaisha and published in the New Nigerian newspaper.

Zaynab Alkali chats with KASU students

AS part of the regular interactive sessions for its students, the Department of English and Drama, Faculty of Arts, Kaduna State University, Kaduna, hosted Zaynab Alkali, last week. Zaynab is the first Northern Nigerian woman novelist in English language and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Nasarawa State University. The two-day interactive session took place in the Faculty of Arts Lecture Room from Monday 27th to Tuesday 28th, October, 2010.
Tagged ‘Special Author for Special Topic’, the interactive session was in two parts. The first part, involving only the English and Drama students, focused mainly on Zaynab’s books while the second part, which took place the following day, was a general session involving all interested students. The session featured, in addition to the main guest, Chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of Association of Nigerian authors, ANA, Friday John Abba, literary editor of New Nigerian, Sumaila Umaisha and literary editor of Weekly Trust, Diego Odoh Okenyodo. The three handled the literature-and-media aspect of the discussion.
The programme began with a visit to the Vice Chancellor’s office, where Dr. A.K. Babajo, organiser of the event, introduced Zaynab to the Vice Chancillor, Professor E. M. Abdulrahman. After general discussions on literature and other related issues, Zaynab presented some of her latest works to the Vice Chancellor.
The interactive session started at about 11.30 am with a welcome address by Dr. Babajo, in which he explained the main objective of the exercise. According to him, it was in fulfilment of the requirement of parts of the students’ course, which is aimed at inculcating in them the values of creativity through interaction with writers across the globe. Under this programme, he said, the institution had earlier hosted writers like Abubakar Gimba, author of several literary works and former President of Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, and Labo Yari, first Northern Nigerian novelist in English lanuage.
Dr. Babajo further explained that in compliance with the mission and vision of establishing Kaduna State University, the programme is, for now, focusing on Nigerian writers, with emphasis on Northern writers.
After the introductory speech, Zaynab gave a brief biography of herself and went down memory lane, recounting her writing experiences. Born in the early fifties at Garkida, Gombi Local Government Area, Adamawa State to parents of Borno State, she went to Queen Elizabeth Secondary School, Ilorin, Kwara State. She did her B.A. English and M.A. African Literature in English, ABU Zaria, in the 70s and 80s, Ph.D in African Literature, BUK in 1995. Her career is mostly in the University system from the early 80s to date. Between the years 2000 – 2003, she was with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency as an editor of a health magazine. She joined the Nasarawa State University, September, 2003 and she is, apart from being the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, currently a Professor of African Literature and Creative Writing.
Speaking on her two new books, The Descendants and The Initiates, she said they highlight the changing circumstances of women; the major characters at the end of the day are now directors and ministers. According to her, The Initiates is nothing like any of her previous works because, for once, the major characters are men.
The dominant question that came from the students during the question and answer session was on feminism; whether feminism was a correct label for her kind of writings or not. In response to the question she said, “Assigning a label to an artist is not only intimidating, but limiting. I would rather not be labeled a feminist, because I would like to tackle any issue and project any kind of character at any given time. Labeling me a feminist is like putting me in a cage.
She then explained the real meaning of feminism and what the genre generally intends to achieve. According to her, the word feminism derives its root from Women’s Revolutionary Movement which started in the16th century. The movement was fully nurtured on sentiments based on the need for the woman rights to be respected. With time, it assumed a different facet, a kind of radical feminism where some women are advocating for their rights based on ‘what man can do women can do’. She is not for this kind of feminism, she said. “Rather, feminist writing, I believe, intends to engender an understanding between the two genders for peaceful co-existence.”
Her discussion on the second day was generally advice to the students, particularly those who wish to write. “My advice to you is that you should read a lot, if you want to be a writer. And rather than try to be like me, or any other writer, you should try to be yourselves. Every author has his style, his own identity. The secret is to discover oneself, that way; a writer becomes the best of himself, not any body’s copy.”
The event was wrapped up with some advice from Diego, Umaisha and Abba on how the media could be exploited towards making one a better writer.

Reported By Sumaila Umaisha.

How Chris Ngige inspired my new book

In this interview with Henry Akubuiro, Sumaila Umaisha, literary editor of Nigerian Newspapers and two-time winner of Literary Journalist of the Year, awarded by Association of Nigerian Authors, speaks on his new book, HOODLUMS. Excerpts:

What is your new book, HOODLUMS, all about?
Sumaila Umaisha: It is a collection of 17 short stories on the Nigerian situation; creative interpretations of happenings in Nigeria. Seventy per cent of them are inspired directly by real life occurrences. For instance, the stories, ‘Hoodlums’, ‘The Riot’, and ‘After the Riot’ were inspired by the Kaduna ethno-religious riots of 2000. ‘Militants’ was stimulated by the militancy in the Niger Delta, how the innocent, especially women and children in the area, were bearing the brunt of the armed struggle. ‘The Godfather’ was motivated by the saga of the former Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, whose godfather attempted to forcefully remove him from office. ‘The President’s Portrait’ is a story on an artist’s impression of Obasanjo’s administration vis-à-vis the state of democracy in Nigeria from 1999 to date. ‘Do or Die!’ also depicts the gangster nature of our practice of democracy. In short, as stated on the back of the book; Hoodlums is a reflection of mainly the physical and psychological violence perpetrated in the name of religion, politics, culture and the quest for wealth. The stories highlight the bloodshed, injustice and jungle justice that have become the order of the day in Nigeria.
Are you saying the stories are real in the sense that you told the actual stories as they happened?
Definitely, no! If I did that it would be no longer a work of fiction. That would be a news report. What I did was to create a similar situation from my imagination. In the case of Ngige, he came out of the crisis alive. But in this story, the hero did not survive the godfather’s machinations. I wrote the stories, having in mind topical issues. In fact, I wrote ‘The Godfather’ when the Ngige story was still unfolding.
You seem to concentrate on the negative aspects of the Nigerian situation.
I also write on the positive aspects. Stories such as the ‘The Last Hiding Place’ and ‘The Magic’ are a proof of this fact. But, yes, I must admit that I write more on the negative aspects. This is because one sees more of these than the positive aspects. Just turn on your radio or pick up any Nigerian newspaper; apart from some government or political propaganda, all you will hear or read about is bad news – kidnappings, corruption, endless tales of poverty amidst plenty. No committed writer writing about Nigeria that would not be tempted to write on these things. But, mark you, writing about them does not mean that one wishes for such situation. What one is doing is mirroring the repulsive state of affairs for possible correction. I am a realist; I like to draw attention to the problems rather than papering over the cracks. The idealist writer tries to give hope, which is not a bad idea, but in our own case, what do you do with hope in a hopeless situation? I feel it is better to tell someone the hell he is in than to tell him what heaven he could be in.
Don’t you think that telling these stories in this fashion is like exposing Nigeria’s weaknesses to the rest of the world?
I would rather tell the whole world about my sickness than put on a brave face and die in silence. I don’t see anything wrong with washing one’s dirty linen in public if that would cure him and others of a consuming malady. The thing about image is that it projects itself. And that’s why mere propaganda only amounts to covering your belly while your buttocks are showing! Image laundering should be approached with honesty; tell yourself the truth, then the right way would be sought out.
But it seems you only tell the truth, you don’t seek out the right way.
It is a collective responsibility that should be carried out through division of labour. While the writer sheds the light, those in power should find the way out; that is why they are there in the first place. The wherewithal to find solutions to the problems is at their disposal. The first step towards solving a societal problem is attracting attention to it by analysing it in a way that it would appeal to the consciousness and conscience of those concerned. That is what writers do. Then the leaders, who are the policy makers, are supposed to carry on from there.
With the poor reading culture and the fact that our leaders hardly read, how can this truth get to them?
Some of them do read, and I believe that the few that read can make the difference. Revolution takes only a courageous few to happen. And the book is not addressed to the leaders alone; the led also have a role to play in the moral renaissance. The stories are expected to instil in the general readers certain attitudinal change that would culminate in positive actions and reactions right from the grassroots level to the top. There are so many wrong things we regard as normal because they have been repeated over and over again. For instance, anyone occupying public office is expected to be rich overnight. That psychology needs to be changed across board. I’m not that naive to think the desired changes will come with just the reading of this book. Such changes come gradually, across generations, and through continuous reading. So I do agree that a better reading culture will create a better environment for the truth to get on target.
Why the title, HOODLUMS?
The title reflects the characters in the stories. It is a metaphor for the typical Nigerian – the politician, the police, the journalist, the businessman, etc, – who believes in having his way through crooked means. From the riot scenes in ‘Hoodlums’ to the seat of power in ‘The Honourable Minister’ you could see hoodlums at work. So, the word ‘hoodlums’ here dose not refer to violent gangsters alone, it also refers to leaders like Senator Dambo in ‘Do or Die’ who sent an assassin after his political opponent.
Where can one buy the book?
You can find it in some bookshops in Kaduna and Abuja. They are still being distributed, but soon it will be in many bookshops nationwide. Some of the stories could be read on my blog: http://www.everythinliterature.blogspot.com
Finally, are we expecting any work from you soon?
Yes, I still have a collection of short stories coming up. And there is this collection of my interviews with Nigerian writers; a project I’ve been working on for the past ten years. It comprises of renowned Nigerian writers. It consists of the photographs, brief biographies and views of the featured writers on literary and other issues. There are also excerpts from their works. Prefaced by Helon Habila, the Caine Prize winner, it is the first of its kind and it is meant to serve as a research material for students and scholars of literature. It will be out this year. I’m also working on a play. Yes, expect a lot from me in the coming years, God willing.

(c) Published in National Life newspaper.

Writer's block is excuse for lazy writers

You recently published a short story collection, Hoodlums, centred on the violence rocking the country. What inspired the theme of the collection?
Sumaila Umaisha: The collection was inspired by, as you put it, the violence rocking the country. I probably would have written on a different theme if I were not living in the 21st century Nigeria where violence seems to be the order of the day, where bomb blasts, kidnappings and wanton corruption are threatening to undermine our nationhood. Specifically, the collection was motivated by the ethno-religious riots in the Northern part of the country, such as the Kaduna and Jos crises, the armed struggle in the Niger Delta, the phenomenon of political Godfatherism, and so on. I have witnessed about three riots since I came to Kaduna in 1993, and even though I’ve not been directly affected, as a journalist and writer, I was in a vantage position to assess the destruction, the deaths, the misery and the damage to the human psyche. It is this pathetic situation that Hoodlums seeks to paint.
In the title story of the collection, you wove a tale of the unusual treatment of two journalists covering the Kaduna crisis by the police. Was this borne out of a true experience?
As I have already implied, the collection is not a memoir or report on actual happenings. It is a creative version of the happenings. In the art of writing there is what is called ‘real imagination’, where the writer directly reproduces his personal or interpersonal experiences, and there is ‘creative imagination’, where the writer pieces together his various knowledge and experiences, personal and interpersonal, to bring into being something new – an innovative picture that reflects the reality. To answer your question, therefore, I will say ‘Hoodlums’ is not borne out of true experience; I was never involved with the police in the cause of my reporting the riots. All that the writer’s imagination needs is the atmosphere and the stories making the round. The atmosphere was there; you could at times hear gunshots and see dark smoke against the horizon. Some times you even narrowly escape being lynched. All these and the stories of misery widely related by victims converged to fire up the imagination.
Do you think journalists in Nigeria tend to incite the flames of violence in the country?
I wouldn’t say all journalists in Nigeria incite the flames of violence. But certainly some journalists allow their personal opinions and interests to interfere with their editorial judgement, thereby inadvertently escalating the crisis. Not just the journalists, some media owners are also guilty of this. You can easily guess the ownership of a newspaper, TV or radio station through its editorial or news contents, because they are usually tailored towards shoring up a particular region, religion or political affiliation. Propaganda through the mass media has unfortunately become a global practice where professional ethics is shamelessly sacrificed on the altar of personal or group interests that are often parochial. The case of Nigeria seems to be the worst, as some journalists even engage in sensational reporting just for the fun of it. In the story, ‘Hoodlums’ you could see how Ben rounded up a death toll recorded in a riot from 450 to 500 just to thrill his readers! Nigerian journalists are like Nigerian leaders, some of them hardly think about the consequences of their actions. This is very unfortunate because such insensitivity not only heats up the polity, but if unchecked, it could snowball into a time bomb that would eventually break up this nation. So the story is a call on my colleagues to retrace their steps back to the good old responsible journalism that the likes of Dr. Azikiwe used to fight for the independence of this country. They should bear in mind that we owe this country a moral obligation to ensure its unity and progress.
You also focused on domestic violence and a descent into insanity in one of the stories, ‘The King Himself’; are you trying to tell us to what extent violence is prevalent in our society, within and outside the home?
That is the message; violence is everywhere, including the home. In fact, the genesis of the perennial conflicts across the country could be traced to the home. The family being the nucleus of the society, the moral standard of the society is generally determined by that of the family. In a house where the couple attack each other physically or psychologically, the children are very likely to copy the behaviour, thinking it is normal. It is even worse where the children themselves are abused and deprived of parental love and care. Such children may grow up bitter and aggressive. They are always waiting for an opportunity to take it out on the society. In fact, lawless homes cannot but produce a lawless society. And a lawless society can only produce lawless leaders. That is why it is unrealistic to blame our leaders alone for the ills of this country; almost everybody is guilty. We must cleanse ourselves, beginning from our individual homes.
What have been the challenges you have dealt with in bringing out this collection?
The first challenge was finding the time to write the stories. Many a times I would start a story only to stop half-way because of other activities; to make ends meet. Sometimes I spent a whole month writing just one short story, even though there were always other story ideas waiting to be developed. But I eventually rose to the challenge by creating a short story sub-column in my literary column in the New Nigerian newspaper and ran my short stories on weekly basis. This compelled me to write stories regularly in order to keep the column going. I did this for a year and at the end produced many stories. This collection, Hoodlums, is the first of the two collections of short stories I produced from the exercise. The second one will soon be published, insha Allah. So, writing requires self-discipline. ‘Waiting for inspiration’ or ‘suffering from writer’s block’ are excuses only for lazy writers. You just have to get up and go!
Another challenge was publishing. As you know, getting publishers to publish you in the traditional way based on royalties is not easy these days, especially in this country. Even the old renowned writers, some of them now engage in self-publishing. So I had to do self-publishing after waiting in vain for the opportunity get published the traditional way. But I hope to succeed in my next attempt with the second collection.
We agree that Hoodlums is thematically apt, do you consider it an artistic triumph?
I think critics are in the best position to answer that question. The few reviews that have been published on the collection so far tend to portray it as a good attempt. The reviewers did comparative analysis with other works and came out with encouraging comments. Some are impressed by my handling of delicate issues like religion and ethnicity without being sentimental or judgmental. Others have also pointed out that my background as a journalist has affected my narrative style both positively and negatively – the stories are told in simple metaphor, but some parts are too journalistic. There is always plus and minus. So, like I said, critics are the better judges in this matter.
If you were to write the entire collection all over again, what would you do differently and what would you retain?
This is like asking me, if I were to speak again would I speak with the same voice? Of course, everyone’s voice is unique to him, and so is writing style. No matter how hard a writer tries, he cannot write in the style of another writer. Therefore, I guess, if I were to write the entire collection again, I would write it in the same manner. Maybe, I might be less journalistic...but journalism has become a part of me, having being in it for about twenty years.
How will the experience of putting this collection together affect your future works?
It will affect them positively. With the collection already in the market and doing well, I might be able to convince publishers to take on my next work.

(c) Published in Sunday Trust newspaper.

Nigeria at 50: The great book has not emerged

Dr. E. E. Sule, lecturer at the University of Abuja assesses the Nigerian literary scene at 50.

What’s your assessment of Nigeria's literary development?
Dr. E. E. Sule: The literary scene in Nigeria, in my view, is as sick as Nigeria in her 50th independence. Nigeria and her literature in English are glorying in mediocrity, self-praise, and complacency. This is even more telling when you consider closely the public actions and utterances of our writers. Like the politicians, the writers are ethnically bigoted; like the politicians, the writers are narcissistic; like the politicians, the writers are rapacious; like the politicians, the writers are, shocking as it is, shallow in their opinions, views, and judgments. In short, it hurts to know that Nigeria does not only lack a leader, she also lacks a prophet. For a prophet of a nation is not one Joshua of a Synagogue, but a writer with a sense of art and a sense of nation combined. I think the case is that of a nation getting the kind of writers it asks for. As a writer living and writing in Nigeria, I may have to indulge in all kinds of bad deeds, just like the politicians do, in order to survive.
What are the major positive developments so far on the literary scene?
Well, the “developments” so far, as I can see, is that more and more people, who in the strictest sense, shouldn’t be considered as writers, are churning out stuffs and projecting themselves as the newest voices of our literary imagination. There are more writers’ websites or blogs. There are more writers’ association or groups. There are more writing workshops taking place. There are more writing awards and prizes. It is amazing that Nigeria does not have a dull moment for writers – well, it does not have a dull moment for other kinds of people either. So, you see our sense of “development” is that more things keep being produced, keep coming on board, keep being additional numbers in the scheme of data that informs our sense of progress.
What are the shortcomings?
Those things we consider “developments” are paradoxically the shortcomings of our literary scene. We are producing books, but most of them are failures, in content and in form, in printing quality and in marketing. We spend much time opening websites and blogs, or talking trivialities on the internet, but not really writing. So-called writers struggle and fight over ruling ANA or other associations, or over forming associations, or over organising programmes, without actually getting down to write. Writers who themselves ought to hone their skills are running workshops all over the nation. Terribly bad books are winning prizes. So, what I can see is that writers are busy doing this or that but the great writer has not emerged, the great book has not emerged. The great book cannot be found.
What is the way forward for Nigerian literature?
In my opinion, people who call themselves writers, or people who have made a good start with one considerable effort or the other, should get to their desks and start writing the great books of our time. Organisations should spend less money on prizes, and concentrate on building and equipping libraries. The temperament of Nigerian literature should tolerate more criticisms, that is to say, there should be more constructive critical debates instead of the self-praise and the hyper-publicity going round.

Hoodlums: Portrait of a crisis-ridden nation

Title of book: Hoodlums
Author: Sumaila Umaisha
Number of pages: 110
Publishers: Hybun Publication International
Date of publication: 2010
Price: N500
Reviewer: Yahaya Ibrahim

Over the years, protest writing has become the focal point for many Nigerian writers as the country continues to provide fertile environment for such thematic pre-occupation. From Festus Iyayi’s novel, Violence (1979) to Wale Okediran’s Tenants of the House (2009), it has been a gloomy portrait of a nation in crisis. Sumaila Umaisha’s new book, Hoodlums, is a veritable addition to the genre.
The book, which is a collection of seventeen short stories, paints a graphic picture of the physical and psychological violence perpetrated in the name of religion, politics and culture. It captures the greed and the resultant blind quest for wealth that serve as the fuel for the incessant pugnacity and bloodshed across the country. Focusing on ethno-religious conflicts to militancy and other violent crises, Umaisha unveils scenes of savagery that has become the trademark of the Nigerian nation – the tragedies of life that is the lot of the ordinary Nigerian.
The book opens with a story on the armed struggle in the Niger Delta area. Titled, ‘Militants’, the story reflects the other side of the militancy – the fate of women and children in the hostility. In the heat of a clash between the militants and soldiers, “The confused flow of human traffic was so charged with the fear of death that it had no regard for little kids...” (p. 9). The kids “had to manage along at the risk of being trampled upon by the moving forest of adult feet…” (p. 10). And the mother of one of the kids, who was shot while searching for her child, “struggled to her feet but fell back.” (p. 11).
Four stories are dedicated to the ethno-religious riots in the North, particularly the bloody crises in Kaduna (2000) and Jos (2009). They are, ‘After the Riot’ (p. 12), ‘Hoodlums’ (p. 16), ‘The Riot’ (p. 99) and ‘Soul Mate’ (p. 80). The title story, ‘Hoodlums’ could be said to be the bloodiest. It is the story of a journalist, Ben, arrested by the police on the allegation of sensational reporting on the riot, and how the raging clashes turned everyone into a monster. Jungle justice is so starkly revealed in its elements that reading the story is like being in the scene of the riot, hedged in by the sight and sound of death and destruction. As Ben is being driven in the police van “through the streets amidst raging flames from burning houses, vehicles and dead bodies...” (p. 25), he couldn’t help appealing to his captors: “Should we all turn ourselves into hoodlums because of the situation in which we find ourselves? …I think we can say no to further descent down the abyss of death and destruction…” (p. 28 - 29). But the inspector’s response shattered Ben’s hope of freedom: “Sorry, but it too late.” (p. 29). Too late, perhaps, not just for Ben, but for a nation on the edge of total destruction.
Apart from the open violence on the streets, there is also a depiction of the silent but salient acts that are usually the genesis of the crises. They include political manipulation as shown in ‘The President’s Portrait’ (p. 96); perverted cultural beliefs and practices as portrayed in ‘The Outcast’ (p. 39) and ‘The Forbidden Path’, (p. 54); and corruption, moral decadence and administrative ineptitude, as painted in ‘The Honourable Minister’ (p. 87), ‘The King Himself’ (p. 46) and ‘Do or Die!’ (p. 106).
‘The King Himself’ is particularly interesting because it centres on an unusual character whose “position afforded him the uncanny privilege of being a combination of a top civil servant, a politician, a businessman... He was all these at the same time, but you could not pin him down to any of these at any time…” (p. 49). The character, who actually becomes mad and names himself king, is not just a metaphor for the typical Nigerian elite, but a pathetic image of a degenerating society. It is a picture of a society in limbo, a society that is at a stage where even a confirmed mad man could clearly see the madness in the so-called sane. Read this excerpt from a dialogue between a journalist and the mad man, the king:
“…is it true that one millionaire murdered his wife yesterday?” said the king.
“How did you get the information?” I asked, surprised.
“I have my ears cocked all the time. Moreover, the poor woman is my ex-wife. She left me when I became a king.”
“Your ex-wife?”
“Now, tell me, is the millionaire mad?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“No, he is perfectly sane. They said he did it out of anger.”
“Out of anger? From the way you speak, you don’t seem to know the story well. I’ve never seen a millionaire who is not mad one way or the other.”
“I know the story very well. In fact, I have just finished writing the story. I know every detail of it.”
“You are a journalist or a policeman then?”
“News editor.”
“And you are saying the man is sane?”
I saw a mocking smile frolicking round his mouth... (p. 48)
Another interesting dialogue could be found in ‘The Honourable Minister’, a drama crafted in a short story form. A journalist is interviewing the minister on the electricity problem and just as the minister is boasting about the country’s repositioned power company, there is a power failure, leaving them in solid darkness!
One of the major strengths of Umaisha is his ability to craft harsh realities into simple metaphors. On the surface is the story, but between the lines is the heart of the story itself – story that involves or implicates everyone. In the stories even the reader stands accused without knowing it! The author being a journalist (an award-winning literary journalist with the New Nigerian Newspapers), it is no wonder that the stories are topical and presented in a simple but artistic and thought-provoking style that leaves the reader enough room to partake in the creative process of appreciating the works.
Hoodlums is also about love and the quest for a harmonious co-existence. This is most explicit in ‘The Last Hiding Place’ (p. 31) where the couple, Professor Ameh Deen and Amelia, come to terms with their individual shortcomings, reconcile their differences and live happily ever after – a clear statement on the way forward for Nigeria: If Nigerians could learn to be upright, accommodate each other’s weaknesses and emphasise the affinity between their individual concepts of humanity, hope is not lost.
In conclusion, therefore, one could say Umaisha’s Hoodlums is a harvest of crises as well as a message of hope.

Yahaya Ibrahim, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria.