How have people you shared early youth/secondary school life with reacted to the stories you told in Urichindere? Many of them see themselves in some characters or they remember that this or that actually happened. Some of them have asked me, 'But I can't remember this happening. Did it happen?' And some are certain that a character in the book is so-and-so in real life.
It's usually like that when you write a story that mirrors real life. It ends up feeling so familiar to those who lived through the events that inspired it. In this case, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive - a sort of nostalgia for a shared past, with all its side-splitting laughs and heart-breaking moments.
What informed the title of the book? I didn't start with the title. I just sat down and began to write the story. And when I got to the point when I had to give the main character a name, the first name that jumped into my head was Urichindere. Since the book ended up being narrated by that character, with the reader experiencing everything through his eyes, I decided to name the whole back after him when I was done.
Is it an Igbo name? What does it mean? It is. A more common variant of that name is 'Chidera'. It essentially means that you can't escape your fate. I'm slightly obsessed with African names; how they are always pregnant with such poignant philosophies. And, in the light of the events explored in the novel, I thought a name like Urichindere was an apt title. Because, sometimes, what's going to happen is what's going to happen. And the only thing you can really affect is what role you're going to play in it, or how you're going to respond to it.
How long did it take you to write the novel? The original story was written in just 10 days. But, as the popular saying goes, 'There is no great writing, only great re-writing'. So, it took another four years of rewriting to get it to what it is now.
What was your experience in the course of writing it? I always enjoy writing. It's such a therapeutic experience for me, because I get to explore and come to terms with my own emotions as I write. It wasn't any different with this novel. It made me laugh. Honestly, many times in the course of writing it, I would stop and just laugh, because boarding school life in Nigeria, a theme heavily explored in the novel, was so funny. But there were also times when writing this novel brought me very close to tears.
How did you get into creative writing? I just wanted to be like my big brother, Che. That's how it all began. He used to write - still does - beautifully. And as a child, I would read the things he wrote and want to copy them. So, I did, and started keeping a small diary of sorts, like him, full of poems, short stories, and philosophical sayings.
Then I met a friend of his as well, Onesi Dominic, who was a literary enthusiast too. Between the two of them, they set me off on a path I haven't stopped walking. So, I still tell people whenever I have the chance - careful what you say to a little child; they just might believe every word of it.
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