At 25, Amby Chizaram Ezem, who is a trained Pharmacist, is creating sensation in the literary community in Abuja. Last week she presented three books at once. The books by the budding author are ‘Souls Exhale: Breathing & Bleeding’, ‘Ah a am Bu (My Name is) Chizaram’ and ‘Cinnamon Letters’. In this interview, she opens up on how she was inspired to write and her passion for charity. Our managing editor, northern operation, yusuf alli captures her mood.
As a pharmacist, how did you come to write three books?
It started out as a thought or dream that by my 25th birthday, I would have written at least one book. But as time went on, I got more inspiration and with my coming back to Nigeria for the meantime, I thought to put it together all at once. I mostly write poetry, prose and short narratives and I thought it would be better to launch all three together instead of releasing them separately as time goes on.
Writing during an age of social media must be challenging. How have you battled that?
Actually, I see a lot of people of my generation going back to books because there’s this craze of the hash tag ‘#Bookstagram’ and I see a lot of readers. I was skeptical about it at first but I’ve seen that there are young people coming up and encouraging reading more than I expected. And also with social media, it helps with getting information out there. There are eBooks as well for those who don’t really like carrying paper copies so I think that helps as well.
What are your favourite themes to explore?
The first one, ‘Souls Exhale: Breathing & Bleeding’ was more centred on religion, heartbreak and family. The second, “Ah a am Bu (My Name is) Chizaram is more cultural because living in the UK for a long time, I saw the discrimination that people pass through, the difficulty of marriages between their culture and other cultures so it focuses on that and also immigration, diaspora, religion and family as whole. The last one is more religious. For the people my age that find it difficult to speak at church or parents. It’s about being more vulnerable and open to the fact that people face these things even though they’re Christians but people don’t like talking about it.
Since you came back to Nigeria, what are some realities you’ve come to realize that weren’t known to you while you were back in the UK?
One thing is connections. It’s dominant in getting your voice heard. You must know somebody that knows somebody. For me, I was fortunate enough to know somebody that knows somebody. But what about those that are actually more qualified and have been in the system for so many years and we that are just coming. It’s good for us but for the sake of fairness, it’s not good for those who have been trying and deserve opportunities as well.
About the book that talks about discrimination, how do you think it’s going to help in reshaping government policies and people’s perceptions?
I think it will help a lot. I talk a lot about politics in Ah a am Bu (My Name is) Chizaram and the fact that people tend to take their families away when things get bad and then bring them back later but unfortunately, we have already missed out on understanding the system because we haven’t been a part of it. So we don’t understand what’s been going on. Being away from Nigeria for so long, it was easier for me to say Nigeria is this and that but coming back now and experiencing it for the past few months, it’s not what I expected. You get more in tune when you’re in the mix of it. So the book touched on that. For example, independence: there in the UK, we celebrate independence, dress in green and white but we actually don’t know anything about it. It’s more about the celebrating for us over there than what it is actually about. So it educates those in the diaspora and puts them in tune on what’s happening.
Which of the three books was the most challenging for you to write and which was your favourite to work on?
Ah a am Bu (My Name Is) Chizaram. It was difficult because I had to go to different locations, go back to my roots, ask questions from those more experienced, do research as well and having to be honest about the different issues and understand what needed to be done. I had to go back to history. But it was also my most enjoyable to work on. I had to go back to my childhood in the sense that I am someone who used to draw a lot. And so the second book has a lot of illustrations because I wanted to be a bit lighter. So the illustrations lightened it up while still passing on the message.
What do you plan to do with the profit you make from your books?
Most of them I financed myself from my saving from my job in the UK. With the profit I hope to partner with Lively Hope World Outreach Scholarship Scheme and donate the proceeds to them because I’ve been thinking about how to get involved, how I can contribute to the cause so I decided to use my books. What better way to promote education and academics if not with books?
For now, I’m just writing for charity purposes. If I can meet the goal charity wise then from there, I consider it for commercial purposes?
Can you tell us a bit about your charity work and what it has set out to do?
Lively Hope World Outreach Foundation is a charity founded by my parents about 15 years ago. Its mission is building solid hope for the future. So far, it has medical outreaches, sent about 40 students to university most of which has been privately funded and orphanage visits. So I decided to partner strongly with the education part since I am academically inclined. I thought at first to donate from my savings but I felt it was too little and I needed to do more to send more students to school. They’ve worked hard enough over the past 15 years to keep it running and now I would like to do my part.
Who are your inspirations in the literary world?
Chinua Achebe of course and I recently learnt of Cyprian Kwensi, I really loved a lot of his works. I have also been listening to some of the things Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie has been voicing. I grew up reading some of her works. Also, Maya Angelou because I look up to her performances as I actually perform my work as well and also, Tony Morrison.
What lesson do you think your readers can learn from your books?
For ‘Souls Exhale: Breathing & Bleeding’, what people can take from it, especially young women, is that we’re all imperfect and we should face the fact that we are not supportive; women don’t support one another. Another one is how a real and genuine love is meant to be, how to heal after heartbreak and dealing with jealousy, which is now built on in the third book, Cinnamon Letters.
At 25, you’ve already achieved quite a lot. What are your plans before you hit 30?
To have successful book tours. I’ve done some in the UK so hopefully Nigeria is next. I’m hoping to go further with my writing and get a novel out in the next few years and fully establish a career in writing and as a pharmacist. I just hope it doesn’t come to the point of me choosing between the two. I want to write as many books as possible.