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Nigerian writer and Republic’s business and economics editor, Osione Oseni-Elamah, says it is disheartening that many people still refuse to listen to the communities most affected by climate change: ‘I came across an article about the Niger Delta floods in which residents attributed rising water le
Nigerian writer and Republic’s business and economics editor, Osione Oseni-Elamah, says it is disheartening that many people still refuse to listen to the communities most affected by climate change: ‘I came across an article about the Niger Delta floods in which residents attributed rising water levels to climate change and pollution. Disturbingly, several commenters dismissed these claims, questioning how villagers could understand climate change.’
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?
Growing up, I read everything I could get my hands on. My parents and school encouraged a strong reading culture. My primary school participated in a scholastic reading club, and every month, my parents allowed my sister and me choose a book each to share. My uncle also sent us boxes of books from the US during the summer, ensuring I always had something new to dive into. Enid Blyton’s works, particularly The Famous Five and The Secret Seven, were staples. These stories fuelled my imagination, and I often reenacted my own adventures while visiting my village. I also remember reading classics like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and George Orwell’s Animal Farm before the age of ten. Though I didn’t grasp their broader meanings at the time, they opened avenues for me to engage in more adult conversations with my parents. I would say I was more of an avid reader as a child than I am now. Today, I mostly read romance novels for fiction and focus on academic papers or news articles.
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Nigerian novelist, poet and author of Graceland, Chris Abani, does not believe ‘Nigerian literature’ exists as a category: ‘It is a common misconception that there is a fixed category that can be read as essentially “Nigerian literature”. Nigeria has 500 nations, 500 languages and about 2,000 dialects. While culture and language can overlap, the level of diversity is such that Nigerian literature cannot be easily narrowed down.’
For the co-founder and publishing director, of Cassava Republic Press, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, it is telling that African literature is often pronounced dead in recent years, when more women and queer voices are becoming more prominent: ‘The loudest obituary writers about African literature tend to be men. These elegies seem to come from a tacit sense of personal or generational displacement rather than from the actual state of the field.’
Nigerian poet, novelist and author of Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted, Ben Okri, argues that Nigerian literature doesn’t always have to be about Nigeria: ‘Nigerian literature limits itself to Nigeria and then limits even the ways in which the country can be written about. What we want is a vast literature, a great literature…that speaks to all humanity.’
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