Sola Osofisan
02-17-2009, 07:19 PM
By SHOBOWALE ALDER
Born in Zaria City, Kaduna state to a pharmacist father and a school-teacher mother, Ahmed Maiwada who attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the... Nigerian Law School, Lagos, from where he obtained his LL.B and Barrister at Law certificates is a consumate writer and one of the few fast-breaking creative writers from Northern Nigeria. But it is actually a series of events of his childhood that set him on the intellectual path. In this chat with SHOBOWALE ALDER, the Abuja based author of two remarkable collections of poetry, A Saint of a Woman (2004) and Fossils, (2008) hints of a new novel entitled, Back in Egypt coming from him. He also discusses crucial issues on Nigerian literary scene. Excerpts:
First experience with book.
I encountered the book much early in life, when I was just about five or six years. There were just about too many literatures in our large family house from my elder cousins and siblings who attended the boarding schools. We became readers from my mother’s unrelenting effort – she built a backboard on the wall of the children’s bedroom so that there was no excuse. I think I started with comic books, especially of foreign romance stories and Westerns. Abubakar Imam’s three volumes of Magana Jari Ce were also handy. But they were not to be enjoyed alone. They were to be read in turn by us at night under the kerosene lamp. My insatiable imagination was fed to its full, either by listening to those well-crafted tales or reading them myself. In short, my first experience with the book started the process of my full understanding of man and his ways. It was thrilling as well as fulfilling; it made me a natural reader with no better company than books even to date.
First creative work
My creative impulse broke forth in the form of drawing. The comic books I have encountered stirred the impulse about the same time one of my elder brothers, by name Sulaiman, provided the mentorship, for he was such an excellent fine artist. Fine art left me with no room to engage in creative writing until I had my fill of it and then took to painting pictures with words rather than the pencil or with colours. But that happened late, when I attended the then College of Advanced Studies Zaria for my Advanced Level Course. I studied History, Literature and Government and sat for the Interim Joint Matriculation Board Exams in the course of which I encountered William Wordsworth and Gabriel Okara at the same time. Although I did Literature right from my Primary School when I met other poets writing in Hausa and English, I had no creative writing impulse until then. Many other things might have been responsible: Dr Ahmed Babajo, a teacher who mentored me and treated me as a special student; the competition I received in the subject from a lady classmate by name Ijeoma Onyeabo which developed into a fantastic friendship between us; then the unpublished creative works of my elder brother, Muazu Maiwada, which I read voraciously and tried to imitate. The result was instant poetic mentality that gripped me like overgrown clothes. I started with romantic verses, as Wordsworth would have wanted me to write. Okara was on a much higher level, beyond imitation. But I kept working towards that level, while I was outgrowing the romantics of Wordsworth.
Writers as eccentric people
I do not agree with the proposition that writers are eccentrics. It may well be the case with one or two writers. They are so not because they are writers, but because of their nature. As part of the general public, writers must exhibit every trait of the larger society. Therefore, it is not unusual to meet an eccentric writer, just the same as meeting an eccentric non-writer. I know for a fact that many writers consciously court the habits of eccentrics: they smoke wee-wee (weed), take drugs, drink excessively, womanize, and even become gays and lesbians. They go out of their ways into all those things under the delusion they become better writers and attract more respect by those courses. No! I don’t think I am an eccentric, whether by nature or habit. I don’t take drugs, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t womanize, and I am proudly not gay. I try my best possible to live an exemplary life. Especially so, for the younger ones watching me to adopt, in order to also be good and responsible members of the society. Eccentricity is a negative trait; it grants no advantage to anyone.
Publishing experience
My publishing experience has been very satisfying indeed. I got first published in 2004. From then on I have watched my greatest objective as a writer come to fruition. And to get on that stage for the world to see is a fulfillment. My publisher made sure, from the outset that I am introduced to as many writers’ club at home and abroad as possible. That singular move has provided me with the platform to showcase my talents. To God be the glory. The rest is history in the making.
Commitment of a writer
I really do not think a proliferation of works is a good mirror of a writer’s commitment. Rather it is the quality of the products, whenever they get into the public domain. No one book receives the same attention as the other. Therefore, I find it impossible to determine the period one must take to publish the next work. I’ve just passed nearly four years in-between my first and my second collection of poetry. But I’ve been working on my novels in the interim, which may be released within the same year of my publishing the second poetry collection; and I’ve been working on the novels for some years now. I should say from experience that the more regular a writer’s publications are the more indication of a non-literary craftsman. Serious writing is an arduous venture anywhere.
Being anti-society to be successful
There has never been one yardstick for measuring the success or failure of a writer. But I think over time, these three broad standards have been established: Huge sales; prizes; canonization. Huge sales have always been the target of popular writers. Literary writers target prizes, regardless of lean sales of their titles. Somewhere in-between are the writers that would rather make the canons, which is a longer process than the first two and stems from respect for a writer’s body of works over time. The history of English literature, for example, is full of successful works and authors in all these three standards, which are not anti-society (a very subjective term indeed). One example of successful anti-society author is D H. Lawrence, whose novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover not only grossed stupendous sales but also contributed in his being commemorated in the prestigious Poet’s Corner at the Westminster Abbey, alongside Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare and Milton. On the other hand, pro-society authors like William Shakespeare and John Steinbeck have achieved as much success, if not greater success than the so-called anti-society writers. For these reasons, my answer to your question is both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. I however venture to say, successful writing always lies in the writer’s ability to communicate with his readers effectively; in his ability to stir the reader’s emotions and sustain them until the final stop. That seems the common thread that runs through all the different types of writings that have succeeded over the years
Promoting his works nationwide
I am not embarking on the tour to raise funds. My aim really is to invest in reader’s reaction which, I am convinced, will ultimately make me a much better writer. You may have heard of the trinity, Writer, Text and Reader. There is never harmony in that trinity except the three are in constant touch. I am a writer who loves to hear feedback from my readers and or critics. Accuse me of pandering to my audience; I’m guilty as charged. But it is my view that stirring the emotions of your readers the chief duty of the writer, is not possible is the writer writes in absolute darkness as to what constitute the emotions of the readers. I don’t write for myself. I write for my readers with the chief view to entertain them. God be blessed if somebody gets educated along the way. And I don’t think one can quantify the cost of bettering one’s crafts, especially knowing that one is into this trade for life.
Appraising A Saint of a Woman
A Saint of a Woman exhibits the promise in a completely new poet. I think the collection has made a strong showing in that it was critically well received by reviewers when it came out in 2004. The collection is decked with very fresh imagery, contrary to the well-worn trope that poets of these days were using, recycled forms of Christoper Okigbo, Niyi Osundare, Tanure Ojaide and God knows who. I also tried the collage, which I thought was not common in Nigerian writing of that time. Overall, I would have had a better editorial work on the content; I would have had a different cover design; I would probably have worked with less ambiguous imagery. But coming from where I have, I look at the book with the satisfaction that it brought me into critical notice, and pointed to the promise that lurks somewhere whence it issued
New work in the market
Its arrival into the market was received warmly among promising and notable Nigerian writers of my generation. This was both home and abroad. For a while the comments centered on the beauty of the book, rather than content. Now, the publisher has done a marvelous job of it. I remember going to one bookshop in Abuja with him to hear the bookshop owner observing that Fossils is as good as it ever gets anywhere in the world. I truly think that the same comment applies to the contents of the collection, for it contains poetry of the highest quality, many of which have proven their qualities by appearing in international journals and anthologies, even against stiff contests for space by foreign poetry. I am more than thrilled to hear commentators using such terms as “great” to qualify my poetry by virtue of what I have done in Fossils.
Message of new work
There is the photograph of a house in the heart of Ile-Ife, on which every discarded piece of hardware is heaped; and the house is habited by some humans. I decided to use such image to symbolise the broken home, for it is my view that the photograph graphically represents a broken home. It is also my hope that if this message gets across, if it repels the reader, then a conscious process of getting rid of the actual broken homes amongst might have been triggered.
Challenges
I think I have rather written the book of the moment. Talents exist out there who are working hard, and who have already exhibited very healthy competitive spirits. But assuming nobody exists out there, I will still be resolved to compete with myself, such that the next work will always be an enrichment of what has already been. I will always continue to challenge myself into greater heights of creativity until when I cannot write anymore. I know it is possible.
Pirates and pirating I think pirates are evil to the book business; I think their loot should be cursed, whether they exist as book sellers or as teachers and lecturers who photocopy creative works and sell to students for their own gains. They are a menace to writing, and there should be as much drive against them by the government as there is against corruption. We must empower the Nigerian Copyright Commission with vehicles and equipment to carry out their functions of uprooting piracy from Nigeria.
Hope for Nigerian book sector erian writers are not only working hard, they have their ears open to listen to criticisms. They open their works to critical reviews. They are all open to learn and better their trade. For these reasons, I submit that there is definitely every hope for the Nigerian book. The present Nigerian writings and books will ultimately gain the success that has eluded their predecessors, both in terms of sales, laurels and canonical reverence. With the novels of Biyi Bandele, Ben Okri and Helon Habila we are already at the threshold of that grand event in the fiction genre; serious promises emanate from the likes of Chika Unigwe, Molara Wood, Diana Evans and Helen Oyeyemi. We have established poets such as Niyi Osundare, Remi Raji and Uche Nduka in the poetry genre, while the likes of Muazu Maiwada, Diego Okenyodo and E. E. Sule are a bunch of promise. There is a promise from both the male and the female writers, quite unlike ever before. More poetry and fiction are being written that exhibit the higher state of the art such that it is very safe to say that our writers are finally firing on all cylinders.
Compass Newspaper (http://www.compassnews.net/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10287:you-dont-have-to-act-odd-to-be-a-writer--maiwada&catid=54:arts&Itemid=208)
Born in Zaria City, Kaduna state to a pharmacist father and a school-teacher mother, Ahmed Maiwada who attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the... Nigerian Law School, Lagos, from where he obtained his LL.B and Barrister at Law certificates is a consumate writer and one of the few fast-breaking creative writers from Northern Nigeria. But it is actually a series of events of his childhood that set him on the intellectual path. In this chat with SHOBOWALE ALDER, the Abuja based author of two remarkable collections of poetry, A Saint of a Woman (2004) and Fossils, (2008) hints of a new novel entitled, Back in Egypt coming from him. He also discusses crucial issues on Nigerian literary scene. Excerpts:
First experience with book.
I encountered the book much early in life, when I was just about five or six years. There were just about too many literatures in our large family house from my elder cousins and siblings who attended the boarding schools. We became readers from my mother’s unrelenting effort – she built a backboard on the wall of the children’s bedroom so that there was no excuse. I think I started with comic books, especially of foreign romance stories and Westerns. Abubakar Imam’s three volumes of Magana Jari Ce were also handy. But they were not to be enjoyed alone. They were to be read in turn by us at night under the kerosene lamp. My insatiable imagination was fed to its full, either by listening to those well-crafted tales or reading them myself. In short, my first experience with the book started the process of my full understanding of man and his ways. It was thrilling as well as fulfilling; it made me a natural reader with no better company than books even to date.
First creative work
My creative impulse broke forth in the form of drawing. The comic books I have encountered stirred the impulse about the same time one of my elder brothers, by name Sulaiman, provided the mentorship, for he was such an excellent fine artist. Fine art left me with no room to engage in creative writing until I had my fill of it and then took to painting pictures with words rather than the pencil or with colours. But that happened late, when I attended the then College of Advanced Studies Zaria for my Advanced Level Course. I studied History, Literature and Government and sat for the Interim Joint Matriculation Board Exams in the course of which I encountered William Wordsworth and Gabriel Okara at the same time. Although I did Literature right from my Primary School when I met other poets writing in Hausa and English, I had no creative writing impulse until then. Many other things might have been responsible: Dr Ahmed Babajo, a teacher who mentored me and treated me as a special student; the competition I received in the subject from a lady classmate by name Ijeoma Onyeabo which developed into a fantastic friendship between us; then the unpublished creative works of my elder brother, Muazu Maiwada, which I read voraciously and tried to imitate. The result was instant poetic mentality that gripped me like overgrown clothes. I started with romantic verses, as Wordsworth would have wanted me to write. Okara was on a much higher level, beyond imitation. But I kept working towards that level, while I was outgrowing the romantics of Wordsworth.
Writers as eccentric people
I do not agree with the proposition that writers are eccentrics. It may well be the case with one or two writers. They are so not because they are writers, but because of their nature. As part of the general public, writers must exhibit every trait of the larger society. Therefore, it is not unusual to meet an eccentric writer, just the same as meeting an eccentric non-writer. I know for a fact that many writers consciously court the habits of eccentrics: they smoke wee-wee (weed), take drugs, drink excessively, womanize, and even become gays and lesbians. They go out of their ways into all those things under the delusion they become better writers and attract more respect by those courses. No! I don’t think I am an eccentric, whether by nature or habit. I don’t take drugs, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t womanize, and I am proudly not gay. I try my best possible to live an exemplary life. Especially so, for the younger ones watching me to adopt, in order to also be good and responsible members of the society. Eccentricity is a negative trait; it grants no advantage to anyone.
Publishing experience
My publishing experience has been very satisfying indeed. I got first published in 2004. From then on I have watched my greatest objective as a writer come to fruition. And to get on that stage for the world to see is a fulfillment. My publisher made sure, from the outset that I am introduced to as many writers’ club at home and abroad as possible. That singular move has provided me with the platform to showcase my talents. To God be the glory. The rest is history in the making.
Commitment of a writer
I really do not think a proliferation of works is a good mirror of a writer’s commitment. Rather it is the quality of the products, whenever they get into the public domain. No one book receives the same attention as the other. Therefore, I find it impossible to determine the period one must take to publish the next work. I’ve just passed nearly four years in-between my first and my second collection of poetry. But I’ve been working on my novels in the interim, which may be released within the same year of my publishing the second poetry collection; and I’ve been working on the novels for some years now. I should say from experience that the more regular a writer’s publications are the more indication of a non-literary craftsman. Serious writing is an arduous venture anywhere.
Being anti-society to be successful
There has never been one yardstick for measuring the success or failure of a writer. But I think over time, these three broad standards have been established: Huge sales; prizes; canonization. Huge sales have always been the target of popular writers. Literary writers target prizes, regardless of lean sales of their titles. Somewhere in-between are the writers that would rather make the canons, which is a longer process than the first two and stems from respect for a writer’s body of works over time. The history of English literature, for example, is full of successful works and authors in all these three standards, which are not anti-society (a very subjective term indeed). One example of successful anti-society author is D H. Lawrence, whose novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover not only grossed stupendous sales but also contributed in his being commemorated in the prestigious Poet’s Corner at the Westminster Abbey, alongside Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare and Milton. On the other hand, pro-society authors like William Shakespeare and John Steinbeck have achieved as much success, if not greater success than the so-called anti-society writers. For these reasons, my answer to your question is both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. I however venture to say, successful writing always lies in the writer’s ability to communicate with his readers effectively; in his ability to stir the reader’s emotions and sustain them until the final stop. That seems the common thread that runs through all the different types of writings that have succeeded over the years
Promoting his works nationwide
I am not embarking on the tour to raise funds. My aim really is to invest in reader’s reaction which, I am convinced, will ultimately make me a much better writer. You may have heard of the trinity, Writer, Text and Reader. There is never harmony in that trinity except the three are in constant touch. I am a writer who loves to hear feedback from my readers and or critics. Accuse me of pandering to my audience; I’m guilty as charged. But it is my view that stirring the emotions of your readers the chief duty of the writer, is not possible is the writer writes in absolute darkness as to what constitute the emotions of the readers. I don’t write for myself. I write for my readers with the chief view to entertain them. God be blessed if somebody gets educated along the way. And I don’t think one can quantify the cost of bettering one’s crafts, especially knowing that one is into this trade for life.
Appraising A Saint of a Woman
A Saint of a Woman exhibits the promise in a completely new poet. I think the collection has made a strong showing in that it was critically well received by reviewers when it came out in 2004. The collection is decked with very fresh imagery, contrary to the well-worn trope that poets of these days were using, recycled forms of Christoper Okigbo, Niyi Osundare, Tanure Ojaide and God knows who. I also tried the collage, which I thought was not common in Nigerian writing of that time. Overall, I would have had a better editorial work on the content; I would have had a different cover design; I would probably have worked with less ambiguous imagery. But coming from where I have, I look at the book with the satisfaction that it brought me into critical notice, and pointed to the promise that lurks somewhere whence it issued
New work in the market
Its arrival into the market was received warmly among promising and notable Nigerian writers of my generation. This was both home and abroad. For a while the comments centered on the beauty of the book, rather than content. Now, the publisher has done a marvelous job of it. I remember going to one bookshop in Abuja with him to hear the bookshop owner observing that Fossils is as good as it ever gets anywhere in the world. I truly think that the same comment applies to the contents of the collection, for it contains poetry of the highest quality, many of which have proven their qualities by appearing in international journals and anthologies, even against stiff contests for space by foreign poetry. I am more than thrilled to hear commentators using such terms as “great” to qualify my poetry by virtue of what I have done in Fossils.
Message of new work
There is the photograph of a house in the heart of Ile-Ife, on which every discarded piece of hardware is heaped; and the house is habited by some humans. I decided to use such image to symbolise the broken home, for it is my view that the photograph graphically represents a broken home. It is also my hope that if this message gets across, if it repels the reader, then a conscious process of getting rid of the actual broken homes amongst might have been triggered.
Challenges
I think I have rather written the book of the moment. Talents exist out there who are working hard, and who have already exhibited very healthy competitive spirits. But assuming nobody exists out there, I will still be resolved to compete with myself, such that the next work will always be an enrichment of what has already been. I will always continue to challenge myself into greater heights of creativity until when I cannot write anymore. I know it is possible.
Pirates and pirating I think pirates are evil to the book business; I think their loot should be cursed, whether they exist as book sellers or as teachers and lecturers who photocopy creative works and sell to students for their own gains. They are a menace to writing, and there should be as much drive against them by the government as there is against corruption. We must empower the Nigerian Copyright Commission with vehicles and equipment to carry out their functions of uprooting piracy from Nigeria.
Hope for Nigerian book sector erian writers are not only working hard, they have their ears open to listen to criticisms. They open their works to critical reviews. They are all open to learn and better their trade. For these reasons, I submit that there is definitely every hope for the Nigerian book. The present Nigerian writings and books will ultimately gain the success that has eluded their predecessors, both in terms of sales, laurels and canonical reverence. With the novels of Biyi Bandele, Ben Okri and Helon Habila we are already at the threshold of that grand event in the fiction genre; serious promises emanate from the likes of Chika Unigwe, Molara Wood, Diana Evans and Helen Oyeyemi. We have established poets such as Niyi Osundare, Remi Raji and Uche Nduka in the poetry genre, while the likes of Muazu Maiwada, Diego Okenyodo and E. E. Sule are a bunch of promise. There is a promise from both the male and the female writers, quite unlike ever before. More poetry and fiction are being written that exhibit the higher state of the art such that it is very safe to say that our writers are finally firing on all cylinders.
Compass Newspaper (http://www.compassnews.net/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10287:you-dont-have-to-act-odd-to-be-a-writer--maiwada&catid=54:arts&Itemid=208)