For someone who didn’t really know which career to choose initially, Helon Habila has done well for himself in the world of English Language and Literature. His success story dated back to the decision he made to return to the university after his father and sibling died. The story goes that young Habila did not really find anything challenging in school. So somehow, he found his way home. But while at home, his father and sibling died in an accident.
It was a provoking time for him; a time that eventually gingered him to return to school after he discovered a new picture of himself from the numerous novels he read in his closet while at home.
He showed a promising start at the University of Jos where he studied English Language and Literature, and that encouraged him after bagging the degree, to head for Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. He found a place in the media, and from there, the literary awards came tumbling in. From awards received for a poem, he moved into books, and even had the rare privilege of working with the renowned Late Chinua Achebe.
Said Habila: “I was invited by the late Prof Chinua Achebe in 2005, to become the first Chinua Achebe Fellow at Bard College, New York, where I spent a year, writing and teaching and after my fellowship, I stayed on in America, as a Professor of Creative Writing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.”Habila had moved up. And in the last fourteen years, he has lived in and out of America, a place where he has created a home with a family. Right now, he is still winning literary awards. Just a few weeks back, he won another that brought in several thousands of dollars. Habila shared his excitement: “The award is called the Windham-Campbell Prize for fiction. It is given every year by Yale University, and the sponsor is the late Donald Windham, who was a writer. He left the money for this purpose after his death. He knew how important it is for writers not to have to worry about money, so in essence, he is buying writers’ time. Instead of spending time looking for money to pay the bills, he wants writers to focus on their work. Writers are anonymously nominated for the award, and you don’t hear about it till you are chosen. Up to now, I have no idea who submitted my name for the award.”
According to him, “the award brought with it a great feeling.” His citation at The Windham-Campbell Prize perhaps had the most superfluous words. It read: “Helon Habila is that rare combination of storyteller and stylist who challenges expectations while deepening our empathy for ordinary people confronting extraordinary times.”
The words truly depict the poet and the author. “His first novel, ‘Waiting for an Angel,’ came out in 2002. It went on to win the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best First Book (Africa Region).” And the author did not look back. Take for instance the plot for another of his books, ‘Oil on Waters,’ described elsewhere as “a genre mixing environmental political thriller, which has become an international bestseller.”
The plot goes: “In the rich and environmentally devastated Nigerian Delta, the wife of a British oil executive has been kidnapped. Two journalists- a young upstart, Rufus, and a once-great, now disillusioned veteran, Zaq- are sent to find her. In a story rich with atmosphere and taut with suspense, oil on water explores the conflict between idealism and cynical disillusionment in a journey full of danger and unintended consequences.
“As Rufus and Zaq navigate polluted rivers flanked by exploded and dormant oil wells, in search of the ‘white woman,’ they must contend with the brutality of both government soldiers and militants. Assailed by irresolvable versions of the ‘truth’ about the woman’s disappearance, dependent on the kindness of strangers of unknowable loyalties, their journalistic objectivity will prove unsustainable, but other values might yet salvage their human dignity.” And this too went on to win another award.
‘Love Poems’ was that which did it for him in the international scene. It won him the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2001, and that went ahead to change his general literary outlook. Habila became a literary bride in the international circle with an invitation to be the first African Writing Fellow at the University of East Anglia. He was there as a Chevening Scholar, and later as a PhD Candidate, from 2002-2007.
“Habila’s second novel, Measuring Time, came out in 2007. It was nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, the Dublin IMPAC Prize, and it won the Virginia, Library Foundation Prize for fiction, 2008. In 2010 Habila published Oil on Water, which was nominated for many awards, including Pen/Open Book Award (shortlist, 2013); Commonwealth Best Book, Africa Region (Shortlist, 2012); The Orion Book Award (shortlist, 2013)”.
So what do the awards mean to him? Habila replied; “Yes, I have won quite a few awards over the years, for which I am grateful. They all have their emotional meanings to me; they all happened to me at important points in my life. The first major award I ever won was of course the MUSON prize for poetry in 2000. It is significant because it was my very first major award, and it was here in Nigeria, in Lagos, with all my friends around me. I still have the pictures. So, in that sense it will always be special. Also, it is my only prize for poetry; all the others are for prose.”
However, for every successful writer, there existed the early days of struggle. Did Habila experience much of that? Or did he start writing right from his mother’s womb? The Commonwealth Award-winning writer replies: “Writing started quite early for me and mostly it started from reading and from listening to stories. I fell in love with stories from a very early age and that determined everything that happened after. I read quite a lot as a kid, it was my way of escape, I guess. I didn’t really start writing till I was about 16 or 17. I know I wrote my first full length novel at 17. I published my first short story at university when I was 21 or 22. I have been lucky to have around me encouraging teachers and friends who believed in me and encouraged me. I have been really fortunate, I guess.”
Habila’s response suggests that he had access to books and other literature materials to choose from to read. But at that time he was growing up in Nigeria, was there such availability and access to books, and how really has the reading culture been then and now in Nigeria? And where does he have his largest number of readers and his biggest fans?
“As much as I’d wish it were otherwise, I have to admit that yes, we don’t read as much as we should in Nigeria, at least in comparison to other cultures. We mostly prefer to read newspapers and non-fiction, especially of the inspirational variety. So, definitely my biggest reading base is not in Nigeria. I have sold more books in England and USA and Germany, for instance, than I have in Nigeria. But in defence of Nigeria, I should say that we still don’t have the infrastructure and the marketing facilities that you see in Western publishing. We are getting there. But I believe my most ardent supporters and well-wishers are Nigerians, that’s enough for me.”
With little known about his background, except of course for his early years of award winning, what kind of background does the author have?
“My background, well, there isn’t much to tell. I am from Gombe State. I went to the University of Jos, and I worked as a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic in Bauchi, before moving to Lagos to become a journalist and a writer. Currently, I live and work in the US. I have been here for about nine years now. I teach Creative Writing at the George Mason University. Before then, I was in England for about five years at the University of East Anglia. So, I have been on the road for a while now.”
His family life?
“I am married with three kids, two girls and a boy. How does my family affect my work? They make it better, I guess. Like every family, we have our challenges and ups and downs, but I am blessed with a kind and understanding wife and my kids are the best in the work. They make me a better person; so, that means they make me a better writer.”
Can an interview with him be complete without looking back at the good old days of African Writer Series, and the big names that have made African literary scene vibrant in the past years? Names such as Cyrian Ekwensi, J.P Clark, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Prof Ola Rotimi and quite a handful of other renowned writers like that. Would he say that the new breed writers can hold their own in the face of such early works of these earlier writers?
“Of course they can,” declared Habila, “but only time will tell. The surest and best test of what work is good or bad is time. Some of the works being celebrated today might disappear in five to ten years’ time, and some which are not even being talked about might begin to rise to prominence as time passes. Do you remember that Hermann Melville, author of the greatest American novel, died penniless and in obscurity? But I can tell you that in publishing circles all over the world, the most sought- after authors are African authors, and the most sought-after African authors are Nigerian authors. That says something.”
And sometimes one really wonders about the lifestyle of an author. Ordinarily, people find leisure in books and writing. But writers find work in the same place, most often always seriously buried in pages of manuscripts. We asked Habila, doesn’t that make authors boring people?
His reply: “Yes, I have been accused of being boring. But the truth is that, what others find interesting, I find boring. I am a self-sufficient sort of guy. I can remain indoors alone for over a week without needing to go anywhere or to talk to anyone. I know, it’s not very healthy, but it is the only way I can get any work done. I read or watch movies when I have time on my hands. I also travel a lot because of my writing. I love to travel. I love to meet new people, as long as I don’t have to socialise too much with them. I love discussing politics and art. I run, I go to the park with my kids.”
From his reply, one could tell that the most part of his life is interwoven with his family. And that he gladly accepts. So where does the writer in him go from here? What further hopes and aspirations is he targeting?
“Where do I go from here? Forward, I hope. I have a few books I have to finish. Some friends and I have started a publishing company called Cordite, to publish mainly crime and detective fiction. I look forward to spending time developing the company in the next one year. I am also trying to build a library in my home town. These are the projects I am working on at the moment.
