He is something of an adept juggler. However his juggling skills are not for a circus show, rather he deploys them in the area of writing being at ease as a journalist, creative writer and now a biographer. Nats Onoja Agbo is involved with a couple of news magazines, has two novel manuscripts up for publication and has just completed a biography on Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki. On the eve of Agbo’s appearance at the November 28 Guest Writer Session, an initiative of the Abuja Writers Forum (AWF), Emman Usman Shehu and Kabura Zakama got him to do an e-interview. Here are excerpts:

Give us an insight into your background?
I was born at Odega Onyagede village in the present Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State. My father died early so I didn’t have the opportunity of knowing him. He has however appeared to me in real life and in dreams. I had my Secondary school education at St Murumba College, Jos and GSS Borokiri, Port Harcourt . I was among the first set of students at the School of Basic Studies , Ugbokolo just before proceeding to the University of Nigeria , Nsukka. I have been in journalism since leaving the University.

 How did the writing bug catch you?
I was in primary two when an old woman approached me to help write a letter for her. She had approached many other young men in higher classes but they refused to assist her. I wrote the letter for her and it was an intriguing experience for me because it was the first time I would be testing my ability to write. At St. Murumba, a Canadian, Miss Ida who taught Literature in our Form One, sharpened my interest in writing. I was reviewing at least two books every month. While in Port Harcourt , I started work on the history of the Idoma while Ugbokolo gave me the first opportunity to publish The Mouthpiece, a weekly campus journal, as well as Voices from SBSU, a compilation of poems that were contributed by some of the students. I began serious writing after joining the Nigerian Voice. My first book would have been The Last General, in which I predicted an end to Military rule but it got lost on the shelves of one of the big publishing houses in the country.

What was it like working with Newswatch?
It was wonderful. Newswatch was like a family and another school. Raw reporters would come out of that place as polished men and women. The directors had the patience to take reporters through the mills. I remember one reporter who rewrote her story fourteen times. We were always ahead of others. I recall with nostalgia, the Ejigbo plane crash which was my first cover story for the magazine; one of the Directors described the story as a thriller. At the site of the crash, I saw some reporters rolling on the ground; they had come there with notepads asking questions. The military boys didn’t like that so when I arrived, I joined in recovering the first six corpses from the aircraft. So Newswatch was ahead of its competitors. Newswatch took me round the world and I am still sipping from the good will of  the Newswatch era. If I have to go back to journalism in full force, I will certainly go back to Newswatch.

 What inspires your writing? Have you had any formal training?
At a personal level, I am inspired by events and characters around me.  Enewa, for instance, was based on a true-life story of a young lady who married an American-based man but couldn’t travel with him because of visa problems. Her search for a solution, as was reflected in the story, led her to a false prophet who eventually married her. I have just commenced registration for a postgraduate degree in creative writing.

You are a history major. How does that influence your perception especially in journalism, creative writing and biography writing?
If you read a book like Things Fall Apart, it is full of history.  History prepares the mind for a better understanding of the cultures of the society. At the postgraduate school, Professor Afigbo complained that journalism had infested my history. Over the years, however, I discovered that creative writing gives the historian or biographer the necessary tools to write with simplicity. If you read the unpublished biography of Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki, for instance, you don’t need extra consultations to understand the Islamic terms and the rich history that has been the life of that great Nigerian.

How did you get to write the Dasuki story?
When Sultan Dasuki was deposed in 1996, I was sent to cover the story for Newswatch. Upon reaching Sokoto, I came across documents that showed that he was unjustly removed. It was then I decided to investigate the matter. It took me ten years to finish the story and I am anxious to get it published. It is a story that would certainly interest objective readers because the subject of my story has been a major agent of change in this country.

Enewa, your debut novel,  portrayed important highlights of Idoma culture, what is your motivation?
Since I lost my father early, I grew up with Omojo, my grandmother. It was through her that I learnt about the traditions of the Idoma. We are losing some of them that I witnessed as a young man. My prayer is that some of those cultures that appear in my works would be preserved for generations yet unborn.

Enewa is a tragedy. What is your take on happy endings?
I like happy endings. In fact my forthcoming stories, The Colour of Love and The Day the Termites Came to Our House, though full of tragedies, have happy endings. In any case, Enewa had to end tragically because there is a follow-up story, The Return of Enewa which is almost ready. I would have done some injustice to the character that inspired this story if I ended it on a happy note.

Is Enewa purely fictional or did an actual event like this inspire it?
The story was inspired by the experience of a young girl who suffered Enewa’s fate and she too died.
What was your experience like in getting Enewa  published?
After losing The Last General to the big publishing firm, I had to be careful with Enewa. The two publishing houses I approached gave me bills that no sane person would ever want to settle. So I settled for Dr. Ada Ugah’s recipe: self-publishing.

Do the Idoma  people still perform the rituals mentioned in this story?
Yes. Traditional Idoma society has remained undiluted by emerging cultures from other lands. Even among communities with  strong Christian presence, ancestral worship, belief in witchcraft and consulting oracles are still prevalent.

What is the moral of your novel and what is your take on art for artsake?
There are three main issues in the story. The first one is the attitude of men towards women. Traditional Idoma society treats the woman with disdain. When I was growing up at Ukpobi, my guardian would bring his girlfriend to his matrimonial home; his grumbling wife always had the unsavory task of cooking for her rival. It is unfair. It is wrong to prefer a male child because as Omojo noted in the story, “a child is a child, whether male or female”. Secondly, religion which should be a source of emancipation is being used by some men of God to cheat fellow human beings. Finally, Prophet Chris’ death is in tandem with the Holy Books which say that death is the punishment for sin.

What do you think are the challenges facing Nigerian writers?
The first one is funding. It does appear that most people in this country have stopped reading books and because of that the big publishing houses are interested in publishing that would fetch immediate money. Nobody wants to invest in books and writing. 

What is your attitude to literary  contests?
They promote creativity. I am a little bit shy about submitting my works for such contests but I believe that literary contests would promote writing and reading in the country.

Who are your favourite writers?
Chinua Achebe is still my favourite writer. 

Why are they your favourites?
Each time I read Things Fall Apart, I have the feeling that the author is discussing Idoma society. The story is always fresh. The language is simple; you don’t need a dictionary by your side to understand Things Fall Apart. He should have won the Nobel Prize with that book.
 

What have you been reading recently?
Peter Arnett’s Live From the Battlefield. I lost the copy I bought from the US in 1994 so when I saw a copy with a friend, I picked it up. I am still battling with his school days.