Righting wrongs in fact and fiction

The first of a new series of monthly literary events titled ‘The BookJam@Silverbird’ kicked off on February 27 with four writers, among them the celebrated author, Michela Wrong. Joining her were Kaine Agary, Jude Dibia and Eghosa Imasuen. Author of a book about Kenyan whistleblower, John Kithongo, Ms Wrong was Special Guest at the event, held at the Lifestyle Store in the Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Moderator, Anwuli Ojogwu, welcomed all to the rather small corner of the Lifestyle Store set aside for the event; the 25 available seats were taken and about 30 guests had to find comfortable standing positions.

Jude Dibia read from his second novel, ‘Unbridled’ at the BookJam, while Imasuen read excerpts from his debut novel, ‘To Saint Patrick’. Kafayat Quadri, a regular at literary meetings, provided a musical interlude.

Wrong read excerpts from her acclaimed book about Kenyan corruption, ‘It’s Our Turn to Eat’. As for the last reader, Kaine Agary, she said her book ‘Yellow Yellow’ (which won the 2008 NLNG Literature Prize) is a coming of age story about a young woman growing up in the Niger Delta.

The fact that some had to stand somehow paled into insignificance as the writers satisfied the curiosity of audience members who posed questions about their works. Ms Wrong seemed to hit the right note when she declared that, “Nigerian writers take refuge in fiction.” She drew parallels between the exile of Kenyan anti-corruption campaigner John Githongo, who she focuses on in her book, and the self-imposed exile of Nigeria’s corruption czar, Nuhu Ribadu.

Refuge in fiction

A member of the audience seemed to buttress Wrong’s ‘refuge’ theory by suggesting that Nigerian writers are heavy on fiction because they are afraid. He observed that the non-fiction genre that is the forte of writers like Wrong who write factual stories about Africa, have their writing labelled as ‘Conspiracy theories’.

Imasuen agreed that Nigerian authors write more fictional works as a way of masking their anger at social realities. “The reason why we prefer fiction writing might be because if you write the real story, readers will say it’s a lie. Because the happenings in this region are so surreal, so we coat [them] with fiction. I hide the pain with jokes and laughs.”

Wrong has had a lot of experience as a journalist covering Africa. She, therefore, acknowledged the risks involved, especially when attempting to write the truth about corrupt political regimes in Africa. “I live in London that is why I could freely write about the massive corruption in Kenya in ‘It’s Our turn to Eat’.” She expressed concerns that the book may not reach a wide ranging audience, saying, “It is frustrating that fiction readers might never read my books.” She recounted how she’d asked Githongo to write his remarkable story but the whistleblower demurred, suggesting she write it instead. Ms Wrong expressed disappointment about the need for to turn fact into fiction in order for it to reach a wide audience.

Abrupt endings

On the supposed ‘abrupt ending’ of Yellow Yellow’, Kaine Agary said, “I wanted some open-endedness to enable people think and conclude the story in their minds as they deem fit.” She ruled out a sequel to the story, but disclosed that the title of her next novel will have a title that plays on Port Harcourt as a ‘Garden City’.

Jude Dibia, whose first novel was the controversial ‘Walking With Shadows’, told the audience that he had to go through menopause while writing ‘Unbridled’. “A foreign editor who I sent the manuscript to later told me that when she saw my name, Jude, she believed I was a man but reading through the manuscript she thought I was female. But you see, I had to go through menopause as well while writing.”

A writer based in the United Kingdom, Anietie Isong, was in the audience. He said he is tired of reading writings from Westerners about Africa and would rather read about Africa from African writers. Dibia countered by saying, “Read the foreign version; it’ll spur you to write your own story from your point of view.” On the suggestion that African publishers won’t give books like ‘It’s Our Turn To Eat’ a chance, Ms Wrong said, “This sort of writing is a difficult sell, publishers believe. It took me four years to get my book published.”

With book signings and a raffle draw to round up the event, it was an okay start to the BookJam@Silverbird series. However, it is hoped that a little more space within the large enough lifestyle store will be allocated to the literary enthusiasts who will be gathering there on the first Saturday of every month for the BookJam.

Michela Wrong gives a talk about her book at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Friday March 5. The event starts at 6pm.