Renowned Congolese French author, novelist, poet, lawyer and scholar, Alain Mabanckou was in Nigeria last week during his five West African nation book tour, where he interacted with reporters. The session was moderated by Magaly Losange and termed conversation with Alain Mabanckou – telling your story…authentically. And he was able to dazzle with his deep repertoire and knowledge about what it takes for an African writer in Diaspora to tell African stories without losing touch with the efficacy and authenticity of the rudiments of the people. He speaks to EDOZIE UDEZE.
Alian Mabanckou is an artist, a Congolese author based in France. At first, he comes to you as an entertainer, a musician, or better still as a visual artist who is used to painting images and landscapes. He has a carriage that is imposing, gregarious and intimidating. But he carries himself well, displaying therein all the trappings of an artist, a gentleman writer who is surreal and ever sure of himself. He has a personality that is positively infectious, friendly and benign. All these, he has endeavoured over the years to transfer into his story telling technique.
He tells stories like an ubiquitous frenzied thinker imbued with the powers of his ancestors. Last week, Mabanckou was in Lagos and was hosted by the French Cultural Centre, Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos. He came to mingle and fraternize with his Nigerian brothers and sisters; people who love his books. He came so that people will get more acquainted with his numerous works, works that dwell exceedingly on African stories and experiences. He was on a five West African nation book tour. The programme was designed to present his newest book, then talk to people and extend hands of friendship to his Nigerian audiences and counterparts.
It was a moment when guests were exposed to the inner nuances that propel Mabanckou to think like an African but writes like a French man. It was a moment also to learn how the spirits of his ancestors still consume him at night but desert him somewhat in the day time. In those moments when he hears voices while sleeping, when his people want to commune with him and inspire him with the idea of storytelling. Mabanckou has thus become a phenomenon, indeed, a thorough-bred writer; someone who domiciles in a strange land, the land of the white man yet listens and communicates with his land of birth. All these reflect in his stories and that is why he termed it telling your stories…authentically. Yes, indeed his stories are broadly African.
But how does he mingle? How is it possible for him to write in a strange man’s language the stories of his people? “Stories are universal now,” he says in his usual calm but authentic and resilient voice. The session, handled by Magaly Losange, a cultural attaché at the French embassy in Nigeria, proved to be a rare opportunity for Mabanckou to reveal that East or West, home will always beckon on you even as a writer. “As a writer you must discover your roots as an African. You must always realize you are an African no matter where you live. Whether you succeed or not, where you come from matters”, he says with relish.
“My journeys to Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria were meant to let people be aware of my works. At the University of Lagos, I discovered that some students of English are aware of my works. However, they complained they could not purchase them due to high cost of the books. What this shows is that African stories are universal. We often share the same experiences. The stories reflect who we are as a people, as a continent. No matter where you have chosen to live, the stories from home cannot be obliterated. The stories portray the people even though told in a language other than your local tongue”, he said.
A soft spoken, urbane and vibrant author, he acknowledged that Nigeria is peopled by brilliant authors, authors whose books influenced him greatly while growing up in his cradle in Congo Brazzaville. “Most of the stories by Nigerian authors intrigued us, inspired us to look at our own stories which we are now telling from wherever we are. My being in Nigeria is to consolidate my popularity in the minds of those who read my works. It is also to ensure that more people are aware of my latest books”.
Interestingly, Mabanckou translated Uzodimma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation into French. About that he says “It was interesting to embark on that project. The translation indeed became a huge success. But while on it, I encountered some difficulties. The portion where Uzodimma used broken English was not easy to translate into French. What I did however was to go back to my local area in Congo to borrow our own version of smattering French to do the magic. It came out with a big success”. Today that translated version commands attention in France.
Mabanckou is upbeat about the universality of his works either in Europe, America, Africa, or elsewhere. As it is now his works are already translated into English by a white lady author. But wouldn’t that affect or distort the import of the work, he was asked by Magaly. “No, no”, he responded, shaking his head. “She is good and mindful of the originality of the words, the meanings they convey” he reassured. As an author, he is not really far from Nigeria. Mabanckou had attended Ake Book Festival several times in Nigeria. He is at home with most Nigerian writers, young and old. “Nigerian writers all over the world are making us proud. I have met Uzodimma in France. I have also met Helon Habila a host of others.
Concerning the difficult situations writers face daily, he says, “Yes, writing and daily struggles to survive are all part of the life of a writer. Your daily living informs the richness or otherwise of your works. Your life is a story. The people you encounter form the characters. They also help to nurse your muse, the muse that generates the stories. Therefore all over the world, writers feel the same way. They feel the same pain; they feel the same forms of inspiration even though living in different locations. If for instance I give an advice to a Congolese writer, it will still sound the same way because all of us face tough struggles to become better writers. In the same way, we write to impact on the society and help our people in different ways”.
Even then, Mabanckou admitted that he still thinks and will always think like a Congolese. Yet, he writes in French. “It does not remove the fact that I am a Congolese, an African who lives in France. This is why I said that I hear different voices at night. Some of the voices create stories in my head. Are they not Congolese voices?” he mused smiling. In all these, it is evident that most of the local Congolese languages which he speaks fluently influence what he writes. This, of course, makes his works possess those rich African flavour that one feels and encounters in the works of notable African authors like Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Ferdinand Oyono, Amos Tutuola, etc. These are some of the African authors who have influenced his thought pattern. The truth in all these is that the French language does not colonize Mabanckou any longer. “All my thought process come to me in my local tongues. Music also influences my works. Music inspires me to think deep into the nuances of life, creating thereby good and extra ordinary literary pieces. These are mostly music from Congo, from my cradle back home in Africa”.
As a writer he does TikTok from time to time to discuss books and let the young ones see the hidden treasures in fictions and other forms of creativity. As at today, he believes that the social media, skits, television and some other forms of services have influenced the literary creation a great deal. And this is why once he gets on his TikTok, it is time to revert attention to the importance of books. “Yes, TikTok is good for books. The message is straight and brief. It gets across to the target audience with speed. When it is well handled, the young ones can easily realize that through books you can as well get rich. This is why I have a TikTok account”, he said.
Mabanckou’s books are characteristically linked to one another. “All my books are good. They all represent who we are. This explains why they are authentic stories, told from the point of an insider. We explore African situations. Everywhere you look there are stories waiting to be told and explored”. Some of his books include; Death of Comrade President, Lights Pointe-Noire, Memoirs of a Porcupine, Black Glasses, Black Moses and more. His tour was sponsored by Alliance Francaise to support the promotion of African and multilingual Literature. This was aimed also to raise heated debate on the ideas that trigger African stories.
Born in 1966 in Mouyondzi the Republic of Congo, he started school at the age of 6. But before then he had learnt a couple of local languages that helped him to be far ahead of his mates. He is a poet, philosopher, lawyer, novelist and scholar. Before leaving Congo, he had equally written couples of manuscripts which were later published. At the age of 22, he won a scholarship to study law in Paris. Thereafter, he took another degree in business law in 1993. Today, he has risen to become a professor of Francophone studies, this time, at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA where he has also written extensively. Indeed Alain Mabanckou is a sound ambassador and defender of the black race.
