Three women from Uganda and Nigeria left their works, homes and families for the ancient town of Iseyin, Oyo State. But they were not seeking the large markets of woven traditional cloth and pot. Since the establishment of the Ebedi International Writers Residency, Iseyin has become a haven for writers across the continent. The trio came determined to write but fate had more in store for them. In this conversation with EVELYN OSAGIE, they shared their thoughts on the town and more.
Akisanze Segawa, Timi Ovuru and Chinyere Obi-Obasi are three women united by their passion. Their passion for writing drew them to the prehistoric town of Iseyin in Oyo State. They were residents at the Ebedi International Writers Residency.
Each had set out to achieve something different with their writing but got more out of the place.
On the notion “Nigerians don’t buy books”
Timi Ovuru:
Really, they don’t. As a publisher, I have two books out: one is an audio children book, Little Snake and Little Frog by Gabriel Okara and a children story by my daughter. My experience is Nigerians don’t by books. Even when the audio book is as cheap as N300, people would often price it for 100 or N150 when the cost of production is N250. At an annual book and craft festival I gave a paper on the challenges publishers are facing. After putting so many efforts to produce a work, you and your author are hoping that much money would be made from it at the end of the day. Unfortunately, that is not usually the case. It would interest you to note that most of the copies I have sold were bought from outside the country. I always take my books with me when I am travelling.
Nakisanze Segawa: I don’t agree with that statement that Africans don’t read or books. I don’t think Ugandans or Nigerians or Africans don’t read. I think we are trying to be elitist when we say otherwise: we don’t go down to the grassroots. It also depends certain circumstances, like in South Africa, most black South Africans don’t read because the books sold in black communities are made expensive. If the books are cheap people would buy them. I remember Chimamanda Adichie once said such statement is one of those stereotypes that have managed to get into people’s head. Sometimes, we let these stereotypes get to us and we get to believe them. From my experience, although I have never published a book, we have a bad marketing strategy. Last year, I volunteered to sell books for a publishing house. The publishing house was so amazed that I sold more copies than the marketers that they’ve employed. I realised that authors are not involved in the marketing and selling of their books. They expect the publisher alone to do that. But this is a growing economy and a young literary culture. As a mother of your baby, you should get involved in every process. I know my book would come out one day so I am getting involved by volunteering to sell other people’s books.
You are your own brand. It is about packaging of the writer. Someone would buy your book because you are visible, or good-looking. I would still cite Chimamanda as an example; she has done well building her brand.
On dwindling reading culture
Chinyere Obi Obasi: I think the problem of reading or the reading culture began to decline at a time when the Middle Class was almost wiped off in Nigeria. Before then we used to mobile book hawkers. At that time cost of living was cheap and standard of living was high.
If parents recognise the effect of reading, they would make that extra effort to buy. This will force them to read. Let the consciousness be there. Buy books for your kids. Everywhere my children go, whether it is in the car, the market, the barber or photographer’s shop, I make them carry a book. So, for instance, assuming your children don’t want to read at all but want to watch Disney Channel, they will go to the channel one day and find that the programme showing is the one they have watched many times before. And by the time they turn to another one, they’d find it is the same with everywhere they’d probably pick up a book. And if they find it is very interesting, unknown to them they’re already imbibing a reading culture which when nurtured could go a long way to improving the child mentally. Note that we are only talking about rich parents here.
Also books are now very expensive. The music industry, not the pirates, has found a way of mass producing their CDs, making their products cheap and accessible to the man on the street. You now find original CDs selling for as low as N200.
But as a writer, the least I can sell my children’s books to break even is N500 and the book is 60 pages. For me, the question is how we can bring down the price of books. And make very affordable. I once went for a writers’ programme where the three guest writers’ books were above N1500 each. I remember protesting openly because by that time the three books cost about N7500. They explained that the books were imported.
Ovuru: This generation of youth does not have a reading culture. I remember when growing up I used to read a lot. Also then, there were lots of books children stories and all kinds of novels. As a growing child we used to buy books ourselves from money we’ve saved. We used to read James Hadley Chase, Mills and Boons: our parents don’t used to buy it for us. And they were cheap. You could easily walk into a bookstore and buy a book.
And it is not about cost because books are still cheap. It depends on what you your heart is. People who say it is expensive can afford to spend N5000 on recharge card, on home videos, etc. Probably with the influence of the social media, most youths won’t save money to buy books but would rather buy recharge cards to stay on social sites, shoes, beauty accessories- things that I regard as unnecessary. Then such things did not matter. You could wear a pair of shoes for some time as long as you kept it clean, but you are always with a new book every week and sit and chat about them with friends. There is now a saying that the easiest way to hide information from an African is to write a book.
Segawa: I must add that the bad quality of books also a major cause of the decline. Some books are badly written: you’d read some books and from the first line you find a lot of grammatical errors. And this we can blame on self-publishing. Books no longer go through the rigour of the publishing process like those of the past.
Our six weeks experience
Obi Obasi: It was a wonderful time because I am a mother of five. I always have a lot on my plate and do not that much time for leisure. Ebedi was a combination of many things for me. I already have a good writing culture but Ebedi gave me unlimited time to write. Ebedi gave me time to relax. I didn’t have to cook or wash. I slept well, woke up refreshed and wrote well. And for every working mother, that is a great gift. I had time to work on a project all day. At home, I could start a project on Monday, and then something else may demand my attention, which often happens, and by the next day when I want to return to my writing, I’d spend time I should be writing other to refresh my memory. Mind you such routine goes on throughout the week, every month and year. But Ebedi gave me the opportunity to run through a work without any break in transmission, no “mummy we want to eat”.
It also gave me time reflect on my past and think on the way forward for the future. Up until last year August when I resigned from the bank to go into writing full-time, I knew what I wanted to do. These six weeks gave me time to articulate and put my thoughts and life together. All these would not ordinary have happened with a crowed schedule. Ebedi also told me you can be a writer. Before I wrote sparingly, but here, it kept flowing. I also started something on Facebook; I pasted the short stories I wrote here on my wall.
When I was coming to the residency, one of my worries the residents: would be difficult or friendly. Ebedi made see the goodness in a human heart. I meet two wonderful people and now anytime I am set to go to Uganda or Bayelsa, I know where to stay. Also, looking at this structure by one man, I am challenged on what I am also going to do for humanity and Nigeria. Segawa trip was sponsored to and fro. I am going to liaise with Dr Okediran to set up a library for Ebedi that would involve the donation of books from past residents and new residents.
Segawa: My six weeks experience was simply amazing and I think I have done all I came to do. I have worked on my manuscripts and done some short stories I never thought I would do. I worked on my novel project, entitled The Yellow Ghetto, and completed another one I had started before coming to the residency. I am yet to finish working on the first one.
Also, I had expectations to meet new people; to write and to share my writings with other residents. I had wanted to move around; get a little bit of the remote Nigeria and see how Nigerians live and the food they eat. I am glad I was able to see Nigeria through the community, Iseyin. I think Africa is basically the same; apart from the weather which is hotter, in the beginning it was a bit misty, Iseyin could pass for any other remote village in Uganda and across the continent.
Their food is amazing. I would trade Nigeria foods for our food. Laughs. Apart from the pepper which I would have to reduce or do away with, but I really like the food. I especially like the yam the boiled yam with stew. We have yam in Uganda but it is a different kind of yam. But I think I enjoyed the soup more than the yam because it is new to me. I like the soups and the coconut rice.
However, as Chinyere mentioned Ebedi needs a library, because there were moments when I experience a writer’s block, all I needed was a shelf of books to awaken my muse. They also need to add another school to the one which residents are presently mentoring so at a point, it became too monotonous.
Ovuru: I actually got more than I bargained for. I have never written like this or dedicated so much time to concentrate on my writing. Because of the nature of my job as a Speechwriter to the First Lady of Bayelsa State, I have never really had time to write. Most of my writing is done during my spare moment which should not be. I don’t think writing should keep until when one has some spare moments.
As is the tradition with Ebedi, we interacted with the students. I taught them creative writing prose. It was fun. At first when we met them they were complaining of us not speaking Yoruba. Chinyere helped us manage the children: she is good working with children. Chinyere taught them public speaking and poetry while Nakisanze took them poetry. Aside the initial hiccup of communication gaps, it was fun all the way. They have good finished works which were products of the assignments I gave them from which I would select the best stories to publish them as my contribution to their development
I worked on a collection of short stories, The Butterflies in my Stomach. I actually plan to do a ninestory book but by the time I got here and started working, I was advised by Segawa to do a 12-story book that 12 was a lucky number. I have eight stories already. Poetry is what I used come out of the writer’s block. I have been able to complete a collection of poetry here. And I have almost finished a play that I started here, Akuri Eleven which is about the Odi Saga that happened in 1999.
Obi Obasi: I concluded work on and hope to soon republish, Chijike, a children book that had won the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Prize for Literature in 2011. I had kept working on it since it won, but completed work on it when I came here, and sent it out to some of my wonderful friends Peter Umez, Kenechukwu Izukwu and Kelechi Njoku. I had tidied up a book I have been working on for about eight years, Even with talent. I am sending it to an editor, Izukwu, and have contacted the publisher, Timi, who I met here at the residency. She would be publishing my book, it is now over 300 pages. Then I had wanted to start a series in children work and had meted the idea about two. Interestingly, I have completed the first and second drafts of two of those books in the series; they are to go the editors. I was able to able to assess the works I have done in previous years. That was when I discovered I even had an unfinished novel that was over 100. And I started work on it. So I am leaving here very happy and fulfilled.
