Chinyere Obi-Obasi is a lawyer, a banker and an author who had made the NLNG Literature prize list twice. Her latest book. The Great Fall made the shortlist three years ago. Today, she has over ten books to her credit and she says she finds time to write very early in the morning when no one is around to disturb or distract her. She told Edozie Udeze how passionate she is about writing which has brought her fame and popularity.
How do you write?
Now, how do I write? Anything can inspire me to write, because writing is a talent. If you have the talent there’s no stopping you. I always joke about it. If they want me to produce ten books in a year, that I’ll give it to them.
It is nothing really to boast about. It is a gift God has given to me freely. So, if a writer wants to write, anything can inspire you. An event you attend; a burial, anything. You only have to look at people there, then an inspiration or imagination can trigger in you. Then you sit down and develop a story out of it.
Then when that happens, do you do jotting…?
Oh, yes. I do a lot of jotting. I have small notepads and books which I use to jot down issues that come to me. The story ideas are usually written down. Thank God for I-pad now and some of these phones that have voice recorders. When you see my phone that has voice recorder, you’ll see story ideas one to ten and so on. So, when the idea comes I put it there. At the end of the day, I look at it. Sometimes too, I can discard those that do not really make meaning to me.
When you write, what interests you most?
What interests me most is that I try to be a humorous writer, and then I put pictures into what I write. So, the idea of the characters coming into life inspires me a lot. Like the last air crash in Nigeria. It had many stories to it. As I was working on different aspects of it, it was either I was smiling or crying. Then, I had the story of a house-maid who was travelling for the first time by air to go and meet her madam’s sister, who was travelling abroad and leaving her children. And then she had a dream where she died and everybody laughed at her saying that she was a bush girl. This was because she’d not flown by air before. And then she was given all the instructions at the airport and that day she died. When you write that sort of story, first, the character has to come to life. The story has to look real. You’ll now end up asking me, did it really happen?
My children read my stories and they ask, mummy did it really happen? You know, that’s where I really get my kick.
In any of the favourite books you’ve read, which character struck you most?
Emm…You know that sometimes you are asked this kind of question and immediately you’re thinking of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. That’s what most people would say. But you see in each book you’ve read, you have a character that stands out. For instance in Trials of Brother Jero by Wole Soyinka, you’ll be amazed the way the character exhibited himself.
When you remember that prophet, you’ll just laugh. That prophet and all that, you’ll find out that he is an interesting character. And then you see his craftiness and when he discovered that people were to understand his character, he changed his strategy. It is so funny because that is how human beings are. When people discover that the line they’re toeing will put them into trouble, they change. This is what we see in government. So you see someone who is saying yes today, turning to say no tomorrow. It is one of the characters that really struck me. There are so many others but then that’s the one that stands out.
When you see a book you like, what is the first attraction?
What is the first attraction? I like a book that there has been some noise about. You know what I mean? Money being a scarce commodity in quote, you don’t want to buy something and at the end of the day, you say oh, I have just wasted my money. So, you find out that most times you read a book, whether you like it or not, on recommendation. And because we’re writers most often we meet at forums and all that we discuss books too. One writer would ask you, oh have you read this guy’s book and so on? Sometimes it may not even be a book that has won an award but someone has read it and liked it. Then he mentions it to you. So, when I am buying the book, honestly, I am not looking at the paper quality or the like. I am reading it because there is a lot of noise about it.
When and where do you like to write?
Ah, because I do a demanding job that takes most of my time, sometimes I come home between eight and nine at night. Then the only hours left for me is the early hours of the morning. From 3am till when I go to work, I utilise it to do my writings. And I do that very judiciously. And I sit on a single couch in my parlour and begin to scribble down. Even if I leave the banking industry today, something good has happened to me because I value time.
I write anywhere because I don’t have the time. So, whatever time I have I maximise it. I have therefore made my writing time to be anywhere, anytime.
At what point in your life did you decide to be a writer?
As a young person, really, I read a lot. I didn’t just start writing, I read a lot. When you’ve read a lot and the gift is there, it helps. And I read a lot when I was doing my first degree in English. After that, I took a degree in law. Then I finished writing a novel which I sent to a publishing house. They never acknowledged or sent back the manuscript, I lost it. But again, after many years, there’s this voice inside me which kept saying oh Chinyere go back to writing.
Even while I was working in a bank, there’s still this voice that I must be a writer. And then when I go for an occasion and see somebody reading, I am thrilled. Then I picked up writing again in 2001. By 2006, I got to the final of NLNG Nigeria Literature prize. It was on and off thing, but now it is permanent.
What book made the greatest impact on you while growing up?
Eh, it is very funny. But I had a lot of Mills and Boon. And you know that was what was in vogue in our time. Then you know about Nick Carter, James Hadley Chase, they all were there for us to read and I read plenty of them.
The stories gave you some kind of flavour which you’d not find elsewhere. But above all, I think Chike and the River by Chinua Achebe created the greatest impact; the simplicity and the style of prose is what I like.
How do you arrange your library?
Library? My dear, they say when you live in someone’s house, don’t plant flower. And when you’re not living in your own house, you find out you do not have enough space. But if you have a whole room to yourself, you can then arrange the shelf the way you want it to be. So, I don’t have that yet. When I do, I’ll arrange my library in such a way that when you look at it, you’ll admire it. However when I own my own home, I’ll do that.
When you meet any of your favourite authors, what will you ask him?
Ah, the first question will be: Are you fulfilled? Are you happy being a writer? People think otherwise about these people, but their answers may shock you. Has writing brought to you everything you look forward to?
