Interview with Ngozi Achebe

by Richard Ali

Ngozi Achebe was born in London, raised in Nigeria and is the author of the historical fiction novel “Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter”, which has been described as “an extraordinary story of a courageous woman who takes her life as it comes, always facing her circumstances with uncommon bravery. . .”. Her uncle is Chinua Achebe, an author best known for his book “Things Fall Apart”—the most widely read book in modern African literature. She’s currently working on her next book titled “The Secret Keeper of Utopia”, a coming of age novel set in 1960’s Nigeria. She is also a practising physician and lives in the USA. Her website is www.ngoziachebe.com

Richard Ali – Could you tell us a bit about yourself and how you came about writing Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter? Our readers are equally curious to hear how a medical doctor became a storyteller.

Ngozi Achebe – I’m both a scientist and an artist because I was exposed to both quite early. I came to write the Blacksmith’s Daughter by happenstance. I was researching a novel about the Nigeria-Biafra civil war and came across Sao Tome Island which was a site of humanitarian  relief to the then blockaded Biafra. I found the ancient history of Sao Tome quite fascinating and so decided to write a different book altogether.

A medical doctor writes a scientific story whenever he or she sees a patient. We call it taking a history because that’s what it is. Maybe that is the connection between medicine and writing.  I sometimes tend to over-analyze things and the challenge for me is to make sure my emotional heart  is laid out in my characters and in my writing as a whole. Writing quite simply, is a passion for me.

RA – Could you tell us about your novel’s creation process, from preconception to the final draft? Were there particular plot or other challenges? If there were, how did you go about overcoming them?

NA – It took me a while, a few years actually to finally get this particular book done. It’s not a factual thesis but as a work of historical fiction and I had to give the story some authenticity with research. I tried to recreate what life was like both on the West African coast and on the island of Sao Tome which was a Portuguese colony at that time. But the story had to be exciting too with unexpected twists thrown in to keep things going.  I have been to Sao Tome and it is a truly stunning island. I intend to go back someday soon.

RA – The character, Onaedo, is a strong willed, resilient Igbo girl sold into slavery in the 16th century; was she inspired by a real life person, you perhaps, a historical person or is she purely fictional?

NA – Purely fictional but inspired by stories from that time. I have always wanted to write about that era from the African view point without being overly sentimental or resort to the usual clichés about life in Africa at that time.

RA – Your novel is set in the 16th century, at the time of the Portuguese discovery; what are your thoughts on the “ahistoricism” of Nigerians and black people generally – the old jibe of keeping things perpetually hidden from black people if its kept in a book?

NA – Yea, it can be problematic when other people tell your story. Chinua Achebe said when Penguin was planning an African writer’s series in 2009, that what he personally wanted to see was “writers from all over Africa contributing to a definition of themselves, writing ourselves and our stories into history.” That is the kind of call to action that I hope Onaedo will help to fulfill.

RA – The principal character tries severally to escape from slavery in Sao Tome; African countries have largely remained in the throes of one subjugation or the other. Your novel quite brilliantly shows the dynamics of Onaedo’s several attempts. What do you think the problem with Africa is, Nigeria especially?

NA – Is Onaedo a metaphor for Africa?  Maybe, but it would be presumptuous of me to try to give glib answers about so monumental a problem as we have in Africa. Our difficulties are as myriad as the different countries themselves, birthed under different, albeit sometimes similar, circumstances. But some of our problems are also self-inflicted. I do not believe that we should continually blame colonialism for every ill that has befallen us, ad infinitum. At some point we have to take responsibility and that, I’m afraid, is sadly lacking. There is a lot of despair especially watching a country like Nigeria that has not fulfilled its brilliant potential by any means. Nobody who has been in Nigeria in the past few years can honestly say that anything works. Our problems are surmountable if only our leaders will put all our people first and let everyone, and I mean everyone, share in the good fortune of that country called Nigeria. But it has not happened and I see no evidence that it will any time soon. Very sad.

RA – There has been a renaissance of Nigerian writing, with several major international prizes being won. Could you share your present reading list with us, what African writers have you been reading recently? What advice do you have for aspiring writers who want to get their voices out there?

NA – These are definitely exciting times Nigerian writers. I have quite a few stacked up I’m yet to read. I just finished Voice of America by EC Osondu who you recently featured. I could identify with those stories. I’m reading  Zahrah the Windseeker  by Nnedi Okorafor, a scifi book I’m  loving for its great escapism.  I’m going to read her other books too. Next for me will be Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo’ s Hitting Budapest and I’m still to read Sefi Atta’s Swallow. In between all this I will have to squeeze in medical journals too.

RA – Any new books down the line?

NA – Yes.  Coming soon is the original coming of age novel that I was working on before Onaedo. It is called The Secret Keeper of Utopia. Will be able to give more details in the near future.

RA – Thank you very much, Ms. Achebe, it was a pleasure interviewing you. We look forward to following your writing career in the years ahead.

NA – The pleasure was absolutely mine and thank you for your time.

 

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Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter is published in Nigeria by AfricAgenda Publications and is available at Silverbird Bookshops across the country.