Dr. Lola Akande is an academic and fiction writer. She earned a doctorate in English with specialisation in Prose Fiction/African Literature from the University of Ibadan. She has worked as a teacher, journalist, public servant, development worker, and public relations consultant. She currently teaches in the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos. A public relations consultant with the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON), an award-winning novelist, Akande has two novels: What It Takes, which won the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Prize for Prose Fiction, 2017, and Where Are You From? Her short stories have been published at home and abroad. She recently released a collection of short stories, Suitors Are Scarce in Lagos, published by Tunmike Pages. A mentor of students in both academic and creative writing, she speaks with Olayinka Oyegbile, Deputy Editor, about her book choices and literature
WHAT sort of books do you like most?
I like fiction and non-fiction. But because fiction is my field of study, I have a preference for fictional books. I like novels and short stories the most.
When you read a book, what are the salient things do you look out for most?
Well, what I look out for would normally depend on my motive for reading the book. What do I really want? I read with a purpose, and this could range from reading a book as a literary text for teaching, reading a book to acquaint myself with the work of a particular writer, a region of my country, another African or non-African country, a continent, or reading for pleasure. I’m an intentional reader even when I’m aware that I should read ‘everything.’ Generally, I look out for the thematic preoccupations of the book. What is this writer trying to say? What message or messages is the writer trying to pass to the reader? Many writers are very intentional about their writing. The purpose may be to entertain, to impact lives, show readers new things or new ways of looking at the world, make sense of the lives of readers by making sense of the lives of their characters, earn a living if possible, or simply because the writer has a passion for writing. I look out for the writer’s purpose, the meaning of the book, the lessons inherent in the book.
Who are your favourite authors in the world and why?
I was introduced to William Shakespeare’s Macbeth in secondary school and he remains one of my favourite authors till date. I also read the non-fictional book, Zambia Shall Be Free by Kenneth Kaunda, and it impacted my life in very remarkable ways. Thomas Hardy is undoubtedly one of my favourite authors. Tess of the D’Urbervilles gave me my first experience of weeping while reading a book. It was the first I read among his novels and my experience led me to reading many of his other titles. I love Thomas Hardy. Aminatta Forna is another of my favourite authors. I love The Memory of Love and The Hired Man. I look forward to getting and reading Happiness. I love Aminata Sow Fall and Penny Busetto as well. My other favourite authors also include Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Chukwuemeka Ike, Elechi Amadi, Gabriel Okara, Maik Nwosu, Femi Osofisan, E. E. Sule, Elnathan John, and Lola Shoneyin among many others.
When and how do you like to read?
I don’t always have the luxury of reading only when I like to read. Most times, I read because I have to. As a university teacher, different courses are assigned to me to teach semester after semester. I’m compelled to read new books to meet the needs of specific courses as outlined by the course description. At other times, I want to write academic papers and must therefore think of books that are relevant to my field of inquiry. But when I do have the privilege to read for pleasure, which is rare, I like to read when I’m on vacation.
What is your preferred literary genre?
I prefer prose fiction.
What book or books have had the greatest impact on you and why?
Most of the books I have read have impacted my life in one way or another. But William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Kenneth Kaunda’s Zambia Shall be Free, Aminatta Forna’s The Memory of Love, E. E. Sule’s Sterile Sky, Aminata Sow Fall’s The Beggars’ Strike, and Edify Yakusak’s After They Left have had tremendous impact on my life.
As a child what books tickled you most?
I grew up in my village, so my access to books was limited.
At what point in your life did you begin to nurse the idea of becoming a writer?
I could say that I started writing immediately after my national service in 1987. That was when I began to write opinion articles for newspapers. I recall that my contribution to opinion pages of newspapers gave me my first job as a news reporter. In my view, every journalist who can write news reports diligently is a writer. They are even more so if they write for the print media. To that extent, I began to nurse the idea of writing as soon as I had completed the NYSC. I believed I had something of value to contribute through writing. I thought that I could do it, that I had the gift, and of course I had the passion for it. I remember that Dr. Emma Shehu encouraged me to expand one of my opinion articles into a short story. The article was titled The Other Woman, and was published in The Punch newspaper in 2001. I didn’t follow it up then apparently because I hadn’t planned on becoming a writer in the sense that I am today. But even when I walked out of the newsroom to do other things, I continued to write opinion articles from time to time. They were published in different newspapers. I believe that my career in journalism pointed to my potential and served as bedrock for my creative writing. Through journalism, I had become sufficiently familiar with writing such that I could say that I felt fairly comfortable with writing. When I finished writing my PhD Thesis, I began to think of what to do while waiting for my viva. I had no job, and I wanted to be productive. That was when the idea of becoming a creative writer came to my mind.
How has writing shaped or reordered your life?
I would say that writing suits my personality very much in the sense that I have never been an outgoing person. I go out only when it is absolutely necessary. I like to stay at home a lot, so writing works for me. If writing has re-ordered my life at all, it would be in the way it has further defined me as a private person.
You write novels and short stories- which do you find most exciting and engaging?
Both novels and short stories are engaging as they are exciting. For me, the novel has been more engaging. It takes a lot of effort to weave various stories within one unified story, whereas, in a short story, you could have only one story to handle. The likelihood of experiencing writer’s block may also be higher with the novel than with the short story. When writing a novel, it is not uncommon to realize that you suddenly don’t know how to proceed. This rarely happens with the short story, and if it does happen, you could find a creative way to finish it without causing damage to the story. You may not be able to do that easily with a novel, so the novel appears to me to be more tasking. Contrariwise, the short story could turn out to be far more engaging than the novel depending on the story. More importantly, the short story could prove to be more engaging because of its brevity. Because you don’t have as much space as you do in the novel to pass your message to the reader, you must find the means to utilize the available space in the short story effectively. This is often both engaging and challenging. You could achieve your objective by using literary devices, and by constructing dialogue that helps to drive the theme(s). Additionally, in spite of the story being short, it must have meaning. There must be something remarkable to take away from the story even if the authorial vision is to entertain. The short story could be very engaging and tough to write in this sense. In terms of excitement, both genres are very exciting, but it would seem that the short story could be a lot more fun than the novel both for the writer and the reader. For the writer, you could go on to play and relax once you have written a story. This would give you time to refresh, and you would return to your desk as good as new whenever you are ready to start another story. For the novel, it’s the same old work you come back to over and over again. It doesn’t help much even when you return to start a new chapter. Time stretches while you are at it, and this could be boring. In my view, the novel has a greater capacity to cause fatigue, frustration, and depression for the writer than the short story. It is possible to argue that writing a novel imposes a kind of rigour that the short story may not demand of a writer. I have also heard some readers say they prefer the short story to the novel.
If you meet your favourite author face to face what would you like to ask him/her?
I don’t know really. I guess it would have to be spontaneous. I would be glad to meet any of my favourite authors.
Of the novels or short stories, you’ve read which character strikes you most?
Elias Cole in Aminatta Forna’s The Memory of Love
What book do you plan to read next?
I plan on reading Dul Johnson’s Deeper into the Night.
How do you decide which book to read; friends’ recommendations, familiarity with authors or what?
What I have to teach or write about determines what I read more of the times. I don’t have to be familiar or even know an author before I read a book. Awareness and availability also play a prominent role in determining what I read. If I’m aware of the existence of a novel, and I can get it, I would like to read it.
How do you arrange your private library?
I arrange according to genre.
Are you a re-reader and how often?
Yes, I could re-read, but I don’t do it often.
Disappointing, overrated, just not good: what book did you feel as if you were supposed to like, and didn’t? Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
No, I don’t. It takes a lot of time, effort, determination, commitment and more to write a book. For me, writing is hard work. I appreciate and commend everyone that tries to write.
If you could require the President of Nigeria to read one book, what would it be?
I would want the President to read Sterile Sky by E. E. Sule. Sterile Sky deals with the implications of the interaction between unequal power groups in terms of ethnic and religious movements in Nigeria. The novel gives us a picture of practical dysfunction in the relationship between the minorities and non-minorities, Christians and the non-Christians. There is a sense in which the novel reminds us of the way I look at the relationship between ethnic groups and the implications of such relationships in my novel, Where Are You From? What I try to do in Where Are You From? forms a common circle with what E. E. Sule and Edify Yakusak try to do in Sterile Sky and After They Left respectively. The novels give a clear and forthright description of how the mismanaged ethnic differences in Nigeria led to violent forms. Indeed, the Nigerian President needs to read these three books because all the books are interesting in their own rights. But much more than that, the president needs to read the novels because they go beyond merely giving us the ethnic forms in which interactions have taken place; they give us hope of transcending them. These books are important because when we are discussing the literature of the middle belt, we are actually discussing Nigeria.
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