Kaine Agary: ‘Why my next book’ll focus on Hausa community’

You work with lawyers a lot. Are you one? No. My interest in the law stems from my belief that the law defines all of our interactions in society, business, family, etc. So it is important to know what the laws are, what your responsibilities as defined by the laws are and how the laws […]

You work with lawyers a lot. Are you one?

No. My interest in the law stems from my belief that the law defines all of our interactions in society, business, family, etc. So it is important to know what the laws are, what your responsibilities as defined by the laws are and how the laws protect you and your business from being cheated.

Nobody likes to feel cheated and one way to ensure that is to enter into relationships from a position of strength, which knowledge of the law gives you.

What we do at dtalkshop is to inform people about the law, make the law accessible and inform them about the different access points to justice. It is all well and good to say you are defending people’s rights but I think it is just as important to inform them of their rights, otherwise you find people suffering injustice, not knowing that they have rights in that situation.

We hear you’re prepping your sophomore book. True?

Yes. It’s a story about loss, grief and nostalgia for a city. It is set in Port Harcourt. This story is closer to me than ‘Yellow-Yellow’ because it is giving me an opportunity to deal with my current feelings about Port Harcourt. I loved the city when I was growing up and now I can’t really understand it. I am not excited to visit it and I don’t even like talking about it.

Is it true that the story is set against the backdrop of the Hausa community over there?

The main character is mixed Hausa and Rivers, so you see some of that culture clash in a community in Port Harcourt. For research, I drew from my personal experiences, talking to friends and I did some focus group sessions last year regarding the militancy in Port Harcourt and the new atmosphere.

I chose the Hausa community because of its rich history and cultural heritage. Plus Hausa people are quite interesting.

Do you feel any pressure to perform, given that your debut novel won the biggest prize in Africa?

Of course. But also personally, I want to tell a better story. You always want to improve on your skills, make a bigger impact, etc.

And the $50,000 prize money…how did you spend it?

(Laughter) Some of it is still cooling. Some went to a vacation in Cuba. Some may go to another degree in law.

How true is the chatter about a ‘Yellow-Yellow’ movie being in the works. At a point it was even reported that director ‘Mak Kusare was attached to helm it…

That’s always funny to hear. The most I discussed with anyone was with my friend Kisha who works with Focus Features (in the US) and she wanted to option the book even before she read it and I told her to read it first then decide. But I haven’t followed up with her.

People always come up to me to say they want to do the movie but it never goes beyond that passing ‘I want to do the movie for ‘Yellow-Yellow’ thing.

You are a movie buff, actually. In fact you have worked in the film industry internationally and locally. What can you tell us about that?

I love movies, but don’t have time to get involved in the industry as much as could in the past. There is so much that excites me about movies. Being able to move through time and space in a movie excites me. The little technical things that make a movie, from the creative design, costumes, sets, etc. Everything!

Who would you like to see play the part of Zilayefa and Admiral in a movie of ‘Yellow-Yellow’?

I haven’t thought about it but I would really love to cast Admiral. I have a friend who badly wants to be the one to cast Lolo, so everyone, I am sure will be covered. We’ll just line up a group a people to cast their favourites.

It’s probably too early, but what’s your next book going to be about?

After [latest book] ‘In a Garden of Graves’ I’ll most likely work on something related to my family history, probably non-fiction. I’ll have to do a lot of research that I am honestly not looking forward to.

I am looking forward to what I shall uncover but not looking forward to the actual work, like digging into archives and human memories.

In closing, what struck you the most in your journey becoming a famous author that you’d like to share with aspiring writers?

I think it is interesting how your story takes on a life of its own once it is published. Critics have their own take, different people have their own interpretations of the story and what it is trying to say, some intended by the author, others not. But I’d say it’s all good.