I write to encourage people, not to win award ? Ronnie Uzoigwe

By Prisca Sam-Duru

Veronica Uzoigwe is a poet and writer who has? worked as a Producer and Presenter for Galaxy Television as well as for various Print media houses including The Guardian, The Nigerian Tribune and The Comet Newspapers. She is a member of PEN Nigeria and was the former secretary of Women Writers of Nigeria (WRITA). In this interview, Ronnie as she is fondly called, shares her thoughts about writing in Nigeria and how women can make the most of their environment to do exploits.

Introduction
I started scribbling when I could hardly walk; writing in nursery school; serious writing in secondary school; more serious writing at university. I freelanced for The Guardian in my second year at the University of Ibadan and it was Mr. Yinka Fabowale, (who headed The Guardian office at Ibadan then,) who took an interest in one of my short stories, ?Olumo Rock.?I had written that short story after a dangerous and exciting excursion a few friends and I went for, there in Abeokuta.

Ronnie

Some of them were to leave Nigeria for their own countries and we thought it would be fun to visit a well known tourist sight in Nigeria. Then there were neither the railings we now see there nor the steps; it was all solid slippery rock and the climb up and back down scared the hell out of us. After he read the story, Mr. Fabowale told me about the Association of Nigerian Authors, (I did not know about ANA till then)and insisted I must attend the next meeting where he said I must read the story.

After that first experience, I? got interested in creative writing. I attended more meetings and sessions with Professor Femi Osofisan, Prof. Niyi Osundare, Mabel Segun, and many more renowned Nigerian writers in attendance and this did a lot to deepen my interest in creative writing. Then I took some courses on Creative writing at the university, taught by Professor Niyi Osundare, Dr. Remy Oriaku, Dr. Remi Raji. These lecturers introduced the world of creative writing to me.

I have since written some critical essays and reviews of different books in journals in addition to the books that I co-edited. I was the Secretary, Lagos Chapter of Women Writers of Nigeria (WRITA) for two years. In those two years, we did a lot to improve on the writing skills of Nigerian Women Writers through Creative Writing Workshops (we had one in partnership with the British Council Lagos in 2005)and constructive literary criticism of members? works during our monthly meetings.

Challenges of writing
Writing in Nigeria has its many challenges and one of them is that many times when I want to sit down to write, I may not have the electricity to do so. Electricity from within, and electricity from without,to light up the darkness. Not all of us can burn gallons of diesel all night. ?Then write during the day!? you may say. That is a tall order. I have struggled to beat the traffic daily to get home by evening so I could pen down a few words but my efforts have almost always been frustrated. One has daily chores to do even when one gets home. I sit in traffic and at times I try to write in traffic but it is pretty difficult to keep it up for long; what with the tiredness from work and all.

Full time writer in Nigeria?
Yes, it is hard to be a full time writer in Nigeria. I?d love to do that, but right now, it is not possible. I also daresay that other women in other countries do have their own challenges. Leaving Nigeria for electricity in New York will not necessarily make one a good or better writer. One needs electricity from within that is spark(s) of inspiration more than anything else. To be honest, different women face different challenges. Mine may not be the same that other women writers or aspiring writers encounter. It is not possible to know what challenges other women go through because here we run the risk of over-generalising.? Anyway, I am fighting to make that time; on that, I refuse to give up.

Challenges of publishing
This is an over flogged issue. Publishing Houses tell you the kind of books they will publish and so I think they affect the publication of books 99%. They have made many writers understand that they need to make money to survive, so if you want them to publish your works, you?ll need to give them the kind of works they are looking for. Many times, they simply call the shots unless you have the money to make them listen to you.? However, there are some, a few, that will accept a manuscript they think is promising.

Any awards?
I have not won any awards nor am I looking forward to winning any. I do not write to win awards. I write to pen down strong feelings, things I cannot, or at times do not want to hold inside of me anymore. That was what happened when I wrote ?The Fire that Charred Amani.? I write to encourage people and also to share my admiration for certain people like ?My Mother? (unpublished); or to show my anger albeit, in a way that at times, some may not understand completely as with ?Olumo Rock.?If just one person understands what I write, I am very happy. So do you see why I will never win any award!

How can women be encouraged?
I do not think women should wait to be encouraged. Like the Spanish saying goes, ?Hay que cojer el toro por los cuernos!? (?One has to take the bull by the horns?)Women need to learn to ?take the bull by the horns.? We?ve come a long way since women won the right to vote about a century ago and other rights that have gone a long way to improve the lot of women in the world today. So I do not think we

should keep singing the same old, stale song. I am well aware of the difficulties that some women have to go through, but so long as a woman writer has her wrist firmly attached to her hand, she is able to sit down or stand and write! In traffic, and out of it, while waiting for the food we are preparing to cook, while waiting in line for the BRT. Let us not blame all our challenges or problems on things outside of us or on others. The challenges are there and will always be there in one form or the other. Where there is an obstacle, we need to learn to go over, under, or through it.

Sometimes when we remain laid back, I get the feeling that it is a bit like those who keep hammering on the fact that the ?colonizers? plundered us, plundered Nigeria and stole us blind! It has been more than 50 years since the said ?colonisers? left and what do we have to show for it? Very very little indeed. It has taken 50 years for Nigeria to have smooth motorable roads. There is a lot of talk about the almighty electricity: this will definitely be a great help for the country at large and for poor writers for obvious reasons and so many other things that are milestones which show that a country is growing in age and in development and not stunted

Inspiration?
Much of my source of inspiration is what I observe around me. Then at times ideas may come rushing into my head in such a way that I have a topic for a short story and the content. So I try to jot down the topic and idea for that particular story in just three or four sentences. Then when I have the time, I sit and write out the story.

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Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/02/i-write-to-encourage-people-not-to-win-award-ronnie-uzoigwe/

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