Nigerian editor and author of Nigerian Gods, Kome Otobo, wants Nigerians to take pride in their traditional belief systems: ‘Our traditional religions were long-established before Christianity, Islam, and Judaism came to our shores and largely displaced them. Other countries have embraced and promoted their pantheons to the world—Greek, Roman, Hindu, Norse, etc.—so I think Nigerians should be just as proud of our myriad traditional belief systems instead of hiding them away.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
I was introduced to books by my mother who began reading to me from when I was a few months old. My parents love to tell the story of how I could recognize that a book was upside down at the tender age of six months, and I would turn it the right way up. I like to think that this was the foundation of my lifelong love affair with books. I’ve always been a reader of a wide variety of subject matters—historical, autobiographical, romance, science fiction, fantasy. I didn’t limit myself because there were no limits imposed upon me by my parents who themselves read authors like Wole Soyinka, C.S. Lewis and Tanure Ojaide. I started out reading teen classics such as Sweet Valley High, The Famous Five and Nancy Drew. I subsequently discovered Nigerian authors such as Buchi Emecheta, Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi, then I expanded my horizons to engage with international writers like Arundhati Roy, Gabriel García Márquez and Octavia Butler.
If your life so far was a series of texts, which text (fiction or non-fiction) represents you at this moment?
If I had to choose one text that is an accurate screenshot of my life at this point, it would be Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta. Firstly, the title itself represents the cautious optimism with which I’m greeting each new day. Secondly, the novel’s themes of feminism, political unrest, religion and tribalism are issues that I navigate on a daily basis as a Nigerian who’s deeply invested in what’s happening in Nigeria.
What’s the last thing you read that changed your mind about something?
I recently read The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, translated by Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, and it completely transformed the way I saw many of the hallmarks of womanhood by saying the unsayable. The book also approached a number of romanticized concepts with unnerving clinical precision using extremely clear language, which in turn has helped me to sharpen my own writing. There’s a joy that comes with encountering a writer who has been fully liberated from their social conditioning.
My parents love to tell the story of how I could recognize that a book was upside down at the tender age of six months, and I would turn it the right way up.
What makes a text powerful: the subject or how it’s written?
In my opinion, I would have to say both are equally important. You can have a vital subject but with poor execution, the message is lost. Similarly, you can have an excellent writer but if the topic is weak or uninteresting, their skills may count for nothing. Therefore, in order to have maximum impact, both elements need to be honed to perfection or as close to it as one can get.
What is your writing process: edit as you write or draft first, then edit?
I edit as I write, that has always been my writing process. I’m constantly refining as I go because my personal mantra is that the first draft should be able to survive close scrutiny from a potential reviewer. I’ve also found that this makes the editing stage easier to navigate further down the line because a significant amount of the heavy lifting has already been done.
What was your process for writing for your book, Nigerian Gods?
I made considerable use of my day job’s project management skills before I started writing Nigerian Gods. Certain factors were identified and decided upon before I wrote a single word: the number of ethnic groups that would be discussed; the primary, secondary and tertiary sources of research that would be used; and the estimated number of pages per chapter. I also set aside a number of days per week as ‘writing days’ and on those days, I made sure that I wrote a minimum number of pages; this was the only way to ensure that I made consistent progress with the book.
How long did it take you to write this book?
I started writing Nigerian Gods in April 2021 and I completed the first draft in October of the same year. I took a short break to reset my mind and then began editing the second draft in November 2021, which took me around a month to work through. I took another much-needed break for Christmas and New Year, which allowed me to return with fresh eyes in January 2022 and focus on editing the third draft. After another month of final edits and proofreading, I submitted my manuscript to the publisher in February 2022. The hard work I’d done in the editing stage paid off, as the publisher requested minimal changes to my work, which was a huge relief.
Why was it important that you wrote on the impact of the introduction of the three main Abrahamic religions on Nigeria’s traditional religions, culture and way of life?
I think it’s essential that we tell our own stories. Our traditional religions were long-established before Christianity, Islam and Judaism came to our shores and largely displaced them. Other countries have embraced and promoted their pantheons to the world—Greek, Roman, Hindu, Norse, etc.—so I think Nigerians should be just as proud of our myriad traditional belief systems instead of hiding them away. I realized that there was a knowledge gap and I had the ability to attempt to fill it. My main goal in writing Nigerian Gods was to answer the questions that I was asking—What did we believe in before the Western religions came to Nigeria? Why don’t we know more about our traditional religions? What happened to all the traditional practitioners? How can we spark conversations about the damage that was done to our national psyches as a result of being forced to eliminate key elements of our culture?
You can have a vital subject but with poor execution, the message is lost. Similarly, you can have an excellent writer but if the topic is weak or uninteresting, their skills may count for nothing.
What was the most interesting/fascinating discovery during the research process of your book?
I was staggered at the similarities between the traditional religions of the various ethnic groups and the problems that the religions addressed such as community policing, the continuation of legacies and a way of understanding and negotiating with the supernatural. These ethnic groups historically had more in common than they ever imagined and yet, the prevailing atmosphere was and continues to be one of simmering hostility and outright competition. My research shed further light on centuries of tribal tensions in Nigeria and it has provided me, and hopefully readers of the book, with clarity regarding some of the root causes.
And which books would you say Nigerian Gods is in conversation with?
As a non-fiction book with strong components of myth and mythology, I think Nigerian Gods is able to sit with fiction books such as American Gods by Neil Gaiman which inspired my book idea and non-fiction books such as Ethnic Pluralism and Ethnicity in Nigeria by Onigu Otite. I’ve been privileged to hear my book likened to works of legendary authors such as D. O. Fágúnwà’s Ògbójú Ọdẹ nínú Igbó Irúnmọlẹ̀ (translated into English by Wole Soyinka as Forest of a Thousand Daemons : A Hunter’s Saga) and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. It’s truly an honour to bear witness to these comparisons.
What’s the most interesting reaction/feedback you’ve had about your writing?
I was prepared for a certain amount of pushback because of the themes in Nigerian Gods. For instance, the favourable treatment of traditional religions on par with the Abrahamic religions, the collaboration of Nigerians in the transatlantic slave trade and the detailed descriptions of the dark arts, for example, witchcraft. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback I’ve received, nationally and internationally, on the topics raised in the book. It showed me that there’s a hunger to know more about our shared culture and history, and there’s always room for nuanced dialogue when it comes to these matters.
My research shed further light on centuries of tribal tensions in Nigeria and it has provided me, and hopefully readers of the book, with clarity regarding some of the root causes.
What is your favourite and least favourite Nigerian God? And why?
The answer to my favourite Nigerian God is quite easy. The Ijaw believe in a feminine God who is also the Supreme Creatress; this is an unusual departure from the masculine Supreme Beings found in majority of our ethnic groups. She has many names but there are four principal ones: Temearau or Tamuno, meaning literally, ‘The Creatress or Creatix’, she who is the moulder of the universe. The second name is Ayebaarau or more laconically Ayeba, ‘the foundress of the universe’; and then we have Woyingi or Oyin, ‘Our Mother’ and Oginarau, ‘she who dwells in the heavens.’
My least favourite Nigerian God is a tricky question to answer, mostly because I don’t want to cause any offence! So, what I will say is that the most upsetting aspect of some of the traditional religions I researched was the fear that some of these gods inspired, and the extreme behaviour that manifested in their believers as they sought to worship them. For example, hundreds of thousands of women lived in a state of anxiety caused by the indiscriminate use of witchcraft accusations, which served as a means of keeping them subjugated, or the killing of twins which is perhaps more well-known due to the well-publicized efforts of Mary Slessor to put an end to the practice.
You’re the managing editor of Malthouse Press, a Nigerian publishing house. What’s a common misconception about African publishing, writing, and storytelling
Many people believe that the sector is more lucrative than it is. The profit margins are razor-thin so the success of a book often rests on whether the readership for a particular title exists and if they have the purchasing power to make it a success. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, the co-founder and publishing director of Cassava Republic, recently identified some of the unique challenges faced by African publishing, for example, limited distribution networks, a lack of good quality and affordable printing paper, and persistent copyright infringement and piracy. Of course, there’s always room for excellent writing from an authentic African perspective but the question remains as to whether there’s a robust infrastructure in place to enable sustained success for the publisher and the author.
And what do we need to do differently, if at all anything, to correct this misconception?
I’m always in favour of raising awareness because it tends to lead to improved circumstances for the involved stakeholders. If the average Nigerian or African, becomes enlightened about the ups and downs of the publishing sector, it will encourage them to engage with books and authors to a greater extent…at least that’s my hope. For African literature to continue to develop and thrive on the African continent, it will require financial, administrative and social support from all levels of the literary ecosystem.
Who are the authors you’re most excited about today (and why?)
This is a tough question because I have so many authors that I respect and admire! If I must narrow it down, here are my top four in no particular order:
I discovered Terry Pratchett in my school years and my love for his writing remains undiminished until today because of his wit, his unerring ability to describe real-life problems in a thought-provoking way and his obvious kindness.
I encountered bell hooks for the first time in Summer 2022 and the way she writes about love, womanhood and relationships remodeled many of my long-held thoughts about these concepts. It’s rare to find an author who changes the way you see the world.
I started reading TJ Benson in 2023 and it has been wonderful to discover a writer who engages so frankly with traditionally sensitive subjects such as mental health, life in Nigeria under military rule, and the consequences of unhealed trauma.
I’m not sure where I first read Warsan Shire’s work, but I do know that as soon as I read the first line of one of her poems, I knew I had stumbled across someone special. The way she interweaves her family background with her views on love, life and everything in between blows my mind every time.
What is your favourite topic to write or read about these days? (Please include the names of articles and books, if possible)
Writing: Recently, I’ve been focusing on the transient nature of life as my own small contribution to our collective memento mori [a Latin phrase meaning ‘remember you must die’]. It’s astonishing to think that one day we will no longer be present in this reality, and it’s frighteningly easy to forget as we navigate our individual paths through life. For this reason, I’m fascinated by writers who refuse to look away from the fragile nature of our existence and instead choose to describe it—Louise Glück’s Ararat and ‘Pemi Aguda’s The Hollow are perfect examples of this.
Reading: My recent reading habits have gravitated towards escapism in the form of historical non-fiction and reflective fiction—Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror & the Light, Karl Maier’s This House Has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis, Frank Herbert’s Dune and Bolu Babalola’s Love in Colour have provided comfort over the past few months.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on an art project that will marry elements of my mixed heritage—Isoko, Ìtsẹkírì, Urhobo and Yorùbá—with complex representations of the universe and our shared sense of self. On the writing front, I’ve been developing and refining a collection of short stories and poetry, which I’m hoping will be published in 2024.
I encountered bell hooks for the first time in Summer 2022 and the way she writes about love, womanhood and relationships remodeled many of my long-held thoughts about these concepts. It’s rare to find an author who changes the way you see the world.
Question from Nancy Adimora: When’s the last time a book or a piece of writing made you feel seen?
James Baldwin is a fount of wisdom when it comes to writing advice but there’s one quote in particular that has stayed with me ever since I read it. In fact, it has become the standard by which I measure my writing because it speaks to my love of minimalism:
‘The hardest thing in the world is simplicity. And the most fearful thing, too. You have to strip yourself of all your disguises, some of which you didn’t know you had. You want to write a sentence as clean as a bone. That is the goal.’
Bonus: Please suggest a question for a future author’s First Draft.
If you could choose one line from any literary work that has profoundly resonated with you, what would it be?⎈
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