Noted for his unique vision and intense criticism of religion, imperialism and other issues, The Frank Porter Graham Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Tanure Ojaide, engaged YEMI ADEBISI in an exclusive interview at the international convention of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), recently held at Akure, Ondo State.
The highpoint include terrorism in Africa, fate of African literature, and the ASUU strike, among others.
Excerpts:
How would you react to the issue of terrorism in Africa as a writer especially with the recent killing of Awoonor in Nairobi?
When it comes to the issue of terrorism, one should not isolate Africa. It is a worldwide phenomenon. In the recent years, it became so bad. There are many good Moslems but it is unfortunate that it is a few extremists among the group that choose to be terrorists. I think there should be effort to wipe out terrorism through education to make them more moderate. If it needs to be fought, it has to be. It is mainly the less educated ones who are involved. If they are employed, I think the issue of terrorism will reduce. No form of terrorism should be excused, whether it is Moslem, Christian or ethnic groups. We need a more peaceful world to live in because these terrorists make life difficult to live for everybody. We wish Awoonor had died a more dignified death than being shot dead at a packing lot in East Africa.
Upon all the measures, it appears the rate of growth is on the high side.
The case in Somalia and the overthrow of Ghadafi have intensified terrorism in Africa specifically. If there is dictatorship in a particular government, I think there is need to look for other ways to reform the political system rather than using European-American troop to overthrow them. That was the case in Somalia. No formal government. Most of them ran to Sahel and even Nigeria. Yes, Ghadafi was bad. Maybe we should have looked for a way to make Libya to be more democratic.
How much of African literature have been used to curb or fight against terrorism?
Literature is not meant to fight war but to educate the mind, sensitise people and make us to be more human. People could have a conscience and do things that may not be terrible. It creates a type of human beings that will fight war despicably. But the problem is how many literate people read literature? It should interest you to note that most books written by Nigerian authors are more read abroad. Until the literacy rate increases, we cannot have a lot of dividends in literature. So literature can only change things when the society is literate.
Achebe wrote “A Man of the People” when the society was derailing. It appears that the tempo of such type of books have gone down the drain.
There are works that satirises current politicians. When Heinemann published A Man of the People, the readership was more focused on the African Writers series. We no longer have many reputable publishers in Nigeria of the status of Heinemann, Longman and Macmillan. The 60s and early 70s had advantage that the books were better distributed and read. There are many self-published writers who have been writing good works but they are not known. We still have some publishers but publishing is not a philanthropic exercise. Those publishers are business men and women. They feel it is better to publish known names and get their money back than publishing those that are new. A good publishing house like that of overseas has a good editorial board. They look at the manuscript; the language; the dialogue and format the thing so well. I publish both from outside and within Nigeria. There is no doubt that the one outside the country is always better than within Nigeria.
Apart from cost of production and others, don’t you think there is a way that foremost writers like you and your colleagues can help in this stance?
You render help to those who seek help from you. I look at manuscripts of those who send to me for poetry or for fiction. I think if the younger writers are patience and are ready to listen to advise, it will be better. There are some of them that have started enjoying this benefit. They should not just run to the press and print. They should look for more experience hands, write well before they publish.
What about book distribution network in overseas compared with Nigeria?
There is better distribution outside. They go to conferences and expose your books. They put it in amazon.com and take care of royalties. In Nigeria, publishers don’t even know the number of books they have sold. They don’t promote the books. I think they still need to learn a lot especially by promoting the works of the authors. They should also give back to the authors. Like in my university, I don’t need to tell them that I have written a book. Under two or three weeks, we find the books in the library. If they sell 500 copies to libraries alone, that is something big. They have better network. In Nigeria, how do you know what is new? The promotion will include arranging readings for the writers, catalogues and others. There are some libraries that have all my books even in South Africa more than any Nigerian university I will think of.
What then would you say is the future of African literature?
Literature is part of culture and it is dynamic. It has its lows and its highs but it is always going on. My greatest fear is this: In a desperate attempt for some younger writers to be noticed, they want to write more in European tradition because they said it is a global world. They are deceiving themselves. Literature is always rooted in a tradition. European and American tradition have this western canon which was there from Greco Roman times. They have literature from Aristotle etc which they can talk about up to the current time. Some Africans don’t believe in African tradition. I advise young people to read what has been written before them. If you want to be a poet, you should read Okigbo, Awoonor, JP Clark, Niyi Osundare, read Ojaide and others. You will gain something from them. If you are a novelist, read Soyinka, Achebe and others. By this you can interrogate the tradition and extend it. But to say that you don’t care about that, I think you are deceiving yourself.
You have written some fictions but you have endless counts of poetry books. Which do you do more with little stress?
I am more of a poet than a novelist. There are some things I want to say, which I cannot say with poetry and I have to say them in short stories or novels. My major genre is poetry. It is my life. That is what I do. Anything you have passion for, you can always do more of it.
Which of your works have you enjoyed most?
I have enjoyed everything. It is like asking a father who is the favourite child. Of the beginning, whether it is Labyrinth of the Delta or The Fate of Vultures, even to the most recent time. There is a book of mine which many people have not read because it was published in the states. It is entitled, Waiting for the Hatching of Cockerel. I think that is the book I will want more people to read. The most recent books are, The Beauty I Have Seen and The Tale of the Harmattan.
Some people say they find it difficult to understand poetry and that it doesn’t even appeal to them. What is your advice?
I think that is a mindset that should be changed. If you look at some of the writers of my generation like Niyi Osundare, Nwankwo, among others, I don’t think we write difficult poetry. You can easily understand what is there. Maybe those people have hang-over from early poetry of Soyinka. We now have poetry with meaning in mind. Poetry is not as difficult as it used to be in the 60s and early 70s.
Some elites of your generation were accused of migrating from Nigeria in search of greener pasture abroad instead of contributing to its growth.
People migrate for different reasons. I cannot speak for others but I can speak only for myself. I could make more money in Nigeria, but I have my own family reason. I live even more in Nigeria than outside. There is no year I won’t come to Nigeria for up to three times. Like now, I have a whole year to spend in Nigeria. All my writings are also about Nigeria. What is important is that whether you are outside or not, you should contribute to human development.
What is your stake on ASUU strike?
They have very valid reasons. The lecturers want infrastructure. You cannot train a scientist without a laboratory; an engineer without a workshop. If the quality is poor, you won’t blame the teachers that they didn’t teach well but that they don’t have the facilities to teach well. I totally support them. There are lots of wastages in all tiers of government in Nigeria. Why can’t we harness all these wastages to take care of education?
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