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Onyeka Nwelue: The Abyssinian Boy Comes Of Age
Interview By Uche Nworah
At an age when most of his peers
are still running around the block sowing their wild
teenage oaths, 18 year-old Onyeka Nwelue born to the
family of Honourable Sam Nwelue and Mrs Katherine Nwelue
of Ezeoke in Imo state is busy positioning himself to
face the literary challenges of tomorrow. He has his
sights set on conquering the literary world as one of
the bright and future hopes of Nigerian literature,
alongside other young writers of this generation such as
Chimamanda Adichie, Helen Opeyemi, etc.
In 2004, the Nigerian Guardian
newspaper described Onyeka as a ‘teenager with steaming
pen’ in recognition of his literary gift. He won the
THOMSON Short Story Prize in 2000 at the age of eleven,
and was recently selected to participate in the
International Writers Festival and Youth Literary
Seminar in India and Bangladesh. He has authored a
collection of prose poems - I Will Die When I Want,
which would soon be released in Lagos. His work has been
published on Eclectica Online, The Guardian,
The Sun, New Age, Daily Times,
Nigeria Village Square, Litbits Magazine,
Afro Toronto,
Kwenu and in several other newspapers and literary
journals. In this e-interview, he talks about his
inspirations and his forthcoming novel - The Abyssinian
Boy.
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Uche: Tell us about your
family
Onyeka: Well, my father is a
politician and my mother is a schoolteacher. Both of
them are deeply involved in the arts, which makes my job
easier and sweet. I have four brothers and a wonderful
sister.
In fact, my family background is such
that interests people, because I happen to be maternally
related to Nigeria’s first female novelist, Professor (Mrs)
Flora Nwapa. Although I was very young when she died, my
mom tells me about her so much, because she actually
lived with her, even when she was writing some of her
works. One of my maternal aunts was recently appointed a
minister in Nigeria, and my uncle is the Chief Press
Secretary to the Imo State Government, but I believe
that everything depends on what we (my father, mother
and siblings) have achieved for ourselves.
Also, we are a Christian family, my
mom happens to be so religious and fanatical about it.
You can’t mess around with Christianity where she is. It
is just the sexism in the Christian church that has
deprived her of what she wants to be. – a church
Priestess. You can imagine!
Uche: How was growing up?
Onyeka: There was really
nothing tough about my growing up, because I had a
wonderful grandmother who stood there for me, even when
my father was beating the hell out of me. For example if
I didn’t go to school, he would bring me and hold my
head up into the air and beat the nonsense out of me. He
was harsh though, but not like Eugene in Chimamanda
Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. I grew up in a remote village
where art is valued so much. They believe in me (my
villagers). It was fun growing up in a village such as
Ezeoke Nsu in Imo state.
Uche: Tell us about your
educational background
Onyeka: I attended Community
Primary School, Umunuhu Nsu, then gained admission into
Mount Olives Seminary Umuezeala Nsu, where I wanted to
become a priest, but later found out that it would
definitely distract me from what I want to be, and then
after some hassles with my school, I left and went to
Holy Family Secondary School instead, where I took my
senior school leaving certificate. These are all in Imo
State. The bushiest parts, you know.
But still, I didn’t worry; it didn’t
stop me either from meeting Wole Soyinka in 2004 from
the village (Laughs). I have been offered a place at the
University of Manchester, England to study English
Literature, so by fall (September) I would start my
undergraduate studies.
Uche: What’s your connection
with India?
Onyeka: I am really doing many
things out here. I finished writing some sections of my
novel in Lagos, which has its settings there and I
needed to get the real perspectives of India, I just
didn’t want to Google about Mumbai and write about it, I
wanted to see and experience the place myself, so I
decided that I must come and do the job here, and also
see the tomb of Jesus in Srinagar, which I am not yet
permitted to see, but I promised myself to see it before
I leave. At the moment, I have been working with my
editor, Sangeeta. And then, I have been trying to get my
collection of prose poems published, before moving to
Manchester. There are many things that I am engaged with
here at moment.
Uche: How did you get into
writing?
Onyeka: I started writing at
the age of eleven, because that was when I wrote a short
story that my Principal at the time asked the students
to be reading in school, it was published as a pamphlet.
But previously, I re-wrote Ghazab, a Bollywood movie I
watched when I was about ten. That was before my
grandmother died, and I showed it to her. Of course, the
script is still in my house now with that childish
handwriting I used.
Uche: What influenced you to
start writing?
Onyeka: I can’t really say
what influenced me exactly, but that one of my friends
actually got me started on the idea. We were reading in
the classroom in 1999 and he suggested that we write
some stories, from there I think I became unstoppable.
Automatically, I really didn’t know what else to do
apart from writing, drawing and then acting (my plays).
There is nothing else I know that I could do now, other
than to be the ‘booksexual’ that my siblings call me.
Uche: Which African authors
have influenced you the most?
Onyeka: I would say Soyinka
first, and then Flora Nwapa second, and a little bit of
Chinua Achebe, Femi Osofisan, Odia Ofeimun, and most
recently Jude Dibia and Chimamanda Adichie. Many of
them, so many of them actually.
Uche: Who has been sponsoring
your trips, and which countries have you visited in the
course of your writing?
Onyeka: I have been to
Bangladesh, Maldives and then India. There is no one
else to sponsor me, apart from my father. He has been
there for me. He said that he is ready to pay any amount
to see me through, and I pray that he lives, so that I
could get to that point. I just pray so and I’m ever
grateful to him and my family, and of course to God for
all the blessings and gift of talent.
Uche: Tell us about your soon
-to -published novel and the challenges of breaking into
publishing
Onyeka: The title of the novel
is The Abyssinian Boy. It chronicles the tale of
a family torn apart by religion. Imagine a family where
you have a member of the Brotherhood of the Cross and
Star, which I know are great foes of the Ancient and
Mystical Order of Rosicrucian (AMORC), then a devilish
member of the Knighthood of St. Mulumba, coupled with
the grandmother of the narrator as a witch, battling
over the soul of the narrator who is 17, and
unbelievably an ogbanje, a spirit child, who on his
spiritual visit to India, discovers the Shroud. . . the
image of Jesus Christ in Srinagar, Kashmir.
I am sure that I have written the
book slightly with innocence without being biased. When
I was writing it, I was only thinking of bringing all
the religions together. When I mean all, I mean ALL.
Some of my characters are Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists,
Moslems, Christians, Jains, Atheists, and Jews—every
religion has its place in my novel. Let people question
their conscience how they see who God is.
The only thing I believe I haven't
done in my story is to depict any religion wrongly. I
had to pray to God to make me LOVE all of them, as well,
I don't believe in any religion now, and that would make
it good for me, because as all religions are
fabrications, I try to question the world by asking who
God is? God is God. No one is the Son of God. God is
God. He is no woman, no man.
That is what I have discovered and to
deal with this issue, I took my time out to research
thoughtfully. Learn people's characters. Trying to make
the world understand that if we could throw all
religions away, the world would be a better place for
all of us. There would be no sectarian riot any more.
Moslems and Christians will never destroy each other
again. No terrorist would be called an
Islamic-terrorist. Every evil one does, must be
attributed to him as a person, not religion.
It is a story that I believe that has
never been told, though I can't pride myself about it,
because I am not all that too much in love with English
language, but the way I speak is the way my language is
written and that I believe is the most beautiful thing
that would ever happen. The Abyssinian Boy will bring us
all together.
Let me use a chapter in my novel as
an example, here you have about eleven people traveling
on a bus and they happen to belong to different
religions. A problem develops. When they see that they
are all going to die without each other's help, they
have to offer help to one another to survive. I think
that stands out that religion has divided the entire
universe. But we can still overcome it, by rejecting it
totally. God is God.
But religion is not religion. You can
imagine all the sexism, internal racism, hatred, and the
murders that took place in the Christian
churches...Religions are just flops. It doesn't mean
anything to me.
This book is a pure work of fiction
although I share similar experiences with Udoka (who
later adopted the name Jorge while in India) the central
character. We share things in common. I can safely say
though that it may come across as part autobiography,
but like I said, it is greatly a work of fiction because
none of my siblings or my parents are in the story.
Well, I am affiliating with
HarperCollins in New Delhi to push it over to Europe
soon. It may likely be out next year. Well, I guess that
it wasn’t difficult for me, because I ventured into a
different theme altogether. I just couldn’t have gotten
a publisher, if I have not written about my real life
experience.
I think it depends on the synopsis
and query letters which you send out to agents and
publishers. I believe the person must be able to
highlight those things that would make the recipient of
these papers shudder and ponder over what you are
writing about.
Uche: How do you unwind?
Onyeka: Obviously, I don’t
have relaxation in my dictionary. I am thin, slim and
bad looking, because I don’t rest. You can imagine that
I don’t sleep at night, But then when I think I’m
relaxing is when I am using the internet, or maybe when
I am reading with my MP3 tucked in my ears.
Uche: Do you have a
girlfriend?
Onyeka: Of course I have both
boys and girlfriends. But most importantly, Marjan is
outstanding. She is a poet. A great one indeed. She is
even better than any so-called great poet in the world.
Well, we met as we should meet.
Uche: What is your advice for
the youth of today?
Onyeka: Let them dream high,
maybe be devilishly ambitious like Macbeth, because we
are in the 21st century and everyone must be desperate
enough to catch that bus going to the Himalayan
mountains or the Ganges. Dream and dream. Do not allow
anyone to come and tell you what you would be. Get up
and pursue it all alone. If possible, die trying.
Uche: What would you want to
see the government do for the youth to encourage and
support their talents?
Onyeka: Government? Well, I
couldn’t say now. But to give a little tip, the
government should at least recognize those youths who
have achieved a lot. Like Helen Opeyemi, Uzodinma Iweala,
Chimamanda Adichie, Tolu Ogunlesi and many of them, so
that the others would say, ‘Well, I must try and do
something to get their attention myself’. The youth must
be supported by the government in many ways, financially
or otherwise. It all depends on what the person is
trying to do.
Uche: Which of the candidates
for the 2007 presidential elections has impressed you
the most?
Onyeka: Professor Pat Utomi
has. I have not met him in person, but know him through
his works. You have asked me to mention one, but I would
have also loved to mention Chief Achike Udenwa and Orji
Uzor Kalu. They have done incredibly well. They have
really tried, especially Udenwa, cleaning up Imo State
entirely and making life better for the people. He would
make an awesome president for Nigeria, but Utomi is
unbeatable, that is if we believe.
Uche: What are your plans for
the future?
Onyeka: My plans for the
future lie in God’s hands. I just want to finish my
work, get it published, after graduating from the
University, I would love to go into politics. This is
something writers shy away from, but I believe that I
will break that bridge and barricade. We should not
continue criticizing our leaders all the time. I am not
their apologist. But we should also think about what
people would say of us if we had been in their
position,. I just want to go into politics, at least
almost all Indian writers are engaged in politics and
activism like Arundhati Roy, the President of India is a
wonderful writer. So we should not say anything against
them. They are also like us. Imperfect.
Uche: Do you network with
other writers of your generation?
Onyeka: Hmm—recently, I was
talking to Uzodinma Iweala about his book. Some said the
book is ‘a strong breed of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of
Darkness’, and after speaking with this young man
and reading some of the interviews he gave in the past,
I found out that he has no intention to ‘sell Africa’.
Well, I don’t know if Sefi Atta is in my
generation.(Laughs) I have been in touch with her. Well,
many of them, that I can’t remember, but not with
Chimamanda.
Uche: How do you manage to
keep your feet on the ground having tasted fame at such
a young age?
Onyeka: I haven’t tasted any
fame at all. Nothing like that. I am still like our
agberos in Lagos, hassling to leap into that Molue bus
going to Orile from Oshodi. I haven’t. You can only say
that when you come to my village. O yeah! They value me
so much. There are no two ways about it. They say I am
their Wole Soyinka. You can imagine! (Laughs).
But when you say I have tasted fame,
it’s like you are ridiculing me. Then, what would you
say to Uzodinma and others? You said success? I don’t
know what you mean by that. But I have never perceived
anything like success all my life. It has been tragic
for me, when it comes to being a writer.
I am just glad for people like Jahman
Anikulapo, who actually brought me out, washed me and
mashed tomato on my head so that people like Osofisan
now engage in conversations with me. But who knows? The
success might just come today. I pray so. Don’t you?
(Laughs)
July 2006 ©
info@uchenworah.com
posted 16 July 2006
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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The New Jim Crow
Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness
By Michele Alexander
Contrary to the
rosy picture of race embodied in Barack
Obama's political success and Oprah
Winfrey's financial success, legal
scholar Alexander argues vigorously and
persuasively that [w]e have not ended
racial caste in America; we have merely
redesigned it. Jim Crow and legal racial
segregation has been replaced by mass
incarceration as a system of social
control (More African Americans are
under correctional control today... than
were enslaved in 1850). Alexander
reviews American racial history from the
colonies to the Clinton administration,
delineating its transformation into the
war on drugs. She offers an acute
analysis of the effect of this mass
incarceration upon former inmates who
will be discriminated against, legally,
for the rest of their lives, denied
employment, housing, education, and
public benefits. Most provocatively, she
reveals how both the move toward
colorblindness and affirmative action
may blur our vision of injustice: most
Americans know and don't know the truth
about mass incarceration—but her
carefully researched, deeply engaging,
and thoroughly readable book should
change that.—Publishers
Weekly |
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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If you like this page consider making a donation
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Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
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Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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updated 3 November 2007
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