Nigeria is teeming with stories to be told – Chika Unigwe

Very, very excited. And to be in the company of some of the best of my generation is very humbling. It is obviously a strong shortlist this year. What is your impression of the list and seriously, what do you think of your chances? There are ten of us on the shortlist, so I have […]

Very, very excited. And to be in the company of some of the best of my generation is very humbling.

It is obviously a strong shortlist this year. What is your impression of the list and seriously, what do you think of your chances?

There are ten of us on the shortlist, so I have -like everyone else on the list- a one in a ten chance.

A lot of writers have complained about the anxiety that accompanies being shortlisted for major prizes. How do you deal with this anxiety, if you experience it?

I am working on something else and that keeps my mind away from it. That is not to say that I don’t check the internet often to see if there’s news I’ve missed

On Black Sisters Street definitely has to be considered one of the favourites for this year’s prize. It has already won several international awards and has been described as one of the best books written in the last few years. How does that make you feel?

Writing is something one does alone. It’s a solitary pursuit. Sometimes, it takes years to write a novel of a few hundred pages. Its value to others is nothing you as a writer can predict. You can only hope. I am  grateful that my hopes for it, my dreams for it  have not been disappointed. I am very grateful for that.

The novel is about four African women trapped in the sex trade in Europe. Why was it important for you to capture their story, what drove you to write about them?

I was very curious. The first time I saw prostitutes in display windows in Belgium, I was intrigued. Then when I learned that many of the African ones in Antwerp were from Nigeria, I had to find out more. Why? How?

You once told me in a previous interview that you actually had to walk the streets to observe how these women lived. How important would you say it is for a writer to get his facts right even though he is writing fiction?

It’s not as much about getting facts right as it is about getting the truth of the novel right. I did not think I could write about a Nigerian prostitute in Antwerp if I did not try to walk in her shoes- to a certain extent of course. Walking those streets, being in a cafe surrounded by prostitutes and clients, I could feel what it felt like to be ‘a new girl’ in that sort of situation. I could then write how Sisi felt much more truthfully.  I also wanted to be able to see the women, women like my characters, in their surroundings, talking, laughing, flirting.

And yet, this highly celebrated book is not available in Nigeria. Any plans to make it available here?

My publishers assure me that they have distributors in Nigeria. What I am trying to do now with my agent is to buy back the Nigerian rights, so that a Nigerian publisher can publish it. Nothing will give me greater pleasure

And now you have another new novel out, Night Dancer. What can you tell us about it? Night Dancer is set entirely in Nigeria and you have lived very long away from Nigeria, save the occasional visits, but most of your writing is focused around African issues. Why do you think it is important to keep touch with your roots through your writing?

I do not sit down and decide what themes to write. Nigeria is teeming with stories to be told. My writing is my little contribution towards telling our stories. You can move the girl but you can’t move Nigeria out of the girl.

You speak English and Dutch fluently and other European languages as well, seeing that some of your works were first published in Dutch, I wonder in which language are you most comfortable writing and how do you go about translating into the other languages that you speak?

I don’t do my translations. It would be tedious to translate oneself. And really apart from Dutch and English, I don’t speak any other European language. My French is very rudimentary although I am taking lessons now. I am intimidated by so many people around me , including my partner, who move in and out of different languages with ease.

Considering your passion for the Igbo dictionary project and the dearth of literature in Igbo despite  the plethora of reputable writers of Igbo descent such as Chinua Achebe, whose Things Fall Apart has been translated into some sixty languages and not yet into Igbo. Are there any plans to translate your works into Igbo?

Unfortunately, the legacy of colonization means that while many Igbos might be fluent in spoken Igbo, writing it is a much bigger challenge. In many schools the speaking of ‘vernacular’ is still prohibited. Colonialism isn’t just about appropriation of land and resources. It is also abbout the imposition of culture, language etc.  It is a shame because if we do not write in languages, languages die. Having said that, I am aware of at least one scholar who has on his own, undertaken to translate Things Fall Apart into Igbo. And projects like ours make me hopeful that one day the tide will turn.

You are quite prolific and yet you have some four children to look after. How do you manage to churn out so much wonderful writing alongside everything else?

Thanks. My children have a structured life which makes life easy for me.  Dinner time is the same every day of the week (mostly), as is bedtime. They are also old enough to help out and do help out. I still supervise homework but that doesn’t take too much of my time.