Hon. Ernest Nnamdi Onuoha, a novelist, poet and public analyst, is a former legislator in Abia State. A rotarian and member of the Association of Nigerian Authors, he is the author of Challenges of Existence (1999), Biafra the Victims (2012), Tomorrow in Our Hands (2013), Beauty in the Rubbles (2018). He also has been published in several journals and anthologies.
Hon. Onuoha is a fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors and a Justice of Peace. He is currently the Deputy General Manager, Sales/Marketing, South East Dana Pharmaceuticals LTD. An influential member of the third generation of Nigerian writers, HENRY AKUBUIRO engaged him on some topical issues regarding writing and publishing in Nigeria. Hon. Onuoha doesn’t share the view that Nigerian writers do not have an audience. He has made a case for an Endowment for the Writers to support literature and boost the reading culture in Nigeria.
A Nigerian bibliophile resident in the US has been vociferous in his criticisms that Nigerian authors write books nobody reads nowadays. How true is this? Are Nigerian writers talking to themselves?
I must commend Nigerian writers for their patriotism, courage and self-sacrifice who have been carrying the burdens of educating and pointing the decay in our society. Nigerian writers have, through drama, poetry and prose, kept the conscience of our dear country alive. They have kept the conversation of a better society running, protesting against bad governance, corruption and nepotism, with prophetic titles as: The Trouble with Nigeria, Toad for Supper; Prodigals in Paradise, Tomorrow in Our Hands, The Man Died, Half of a Yellow Sun; The Famished Road, Songs of a Caged Bird, The Sick Throne, to mention a few. These works have set a pattern of engaging the society and interrogating the whole process of being. It is pathological fallacy for any person to claim that our authors write books nobody reads.
What do you think are factors militating against the reading culture in the country?
The Nigerian reading culture has been diminishing for over two decades now. There are several factors that caused the low reading culture in Nigeria. One of the reasons has to do with the economic crash that took out the middle class from the system. When citizens’ standard of living is grossly affected, they can hardly afford to have a peaceful mind to read any book. The failures of government and governance have created multidimensional poverty, with over one hundred and thirty million Nigerians not able to meet their basic human needs. The high level of graduate unemployment, where students spend long years at the high institutions and, after graduating, there is no job for them, has created a disdain for books. Another recent factor is social media. Social media has provided various platforms for communication and reading. Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Ticktok, Whatsapp, and other social media platforms, have captured the soul and mind of our youths and adults. With the intensity of their engagements, picking a book to read has become difficult and unattractive. However, there have been sincere efforts by the Nigerian authors to refocus the young mind to reading. This has been done through teen authorship linking students at secondary school level to develop the passion for reading.
The cost of publishing in Nigeria has raised the cost of books now, how does the book industry survive?
The book publishing industry has suffered a decline since twenty years ago. With the high cost of foreign exchange, paper materials have all gone up, making publishing very expensive. Unfortunately, bank lending rates have also gone up, which would have provided a succour for soft loans. Government policies should be supportive of our book industry to enable publishers break even.
Prof. Chimalum Nwankwo said in a recent interview with Saturday Sun that a writer must not be neutral in the politics of his time, does this resonate with you?
From my earlier comment on various ways, writers have been engaging the society with their works. It is obvious that it is impossible for a writer to be unconcerned with the politics of his or her country. In time past, late Prof Chinua Achebe rejected a national award to him, citing failure of the government to create a conducive environment for her citizens to thrive. Prof. Soyinka was imprisoned for opposing the failure of governance and injustice. I have also, in various radio and newspaper interviews, pointed out where the government is wrong. Writers are patriots who champion the good of all within our society. We cannot afford to be neutral when the nation needs our support.
How have you fared as an author in terms of acceptability, do you break even from your writing?
Every writer must have a goal of what he or she intends to achieve with their works. In Nigeria of today, it is difficult to sustain oneself only with proceeds from your published works. The high rate of poverty in the land has diminished citizens’ income and standard of living to buy new books for reading. The high cost of publication has also shot up the prices of books, making it difficult for people to have extra money to buy books these days.
As a writer, with four published works, it has not been easy to live only on the proceeds from my works. However, it gives me joy that, through my literary works, I have added a voice to redirect the mindset of the citizens and point out where the government got it wrong. I must thank many of my friends who have, at my various book presentations, donated generously to encourage me to write more books. I have also had the pleasure of people purchasing my books for donation to some secondary schools, the College of Technology, Aba; Abia State Polytechnic, Aba; and Abia State University, Uturu.
How has traditional publishing helped the cause of authors like you and others in Nigeria?
For over a decade, writers have not been finding it easy with traditional publishers, whose main interest is on approved school text books. They seem to have difficulties in publishing literary works, as returns on their investments are not yielding profit. Oftentimes, writers have to pay the traditional publishers for the cost of the publication. They are not able to market our works or pay royalties. Whether it is traditional publishing or selfpublishing, writers have borne the cost of publishing their works and also market them. We are appealing to both federal and state governments to create an endowment fund for writers to enable sustainability of the industry.
What’s new? Are you working on it at the moment?
As a writer, you are never tired of writing, because that is what drives you. Through our works, we inform, educate and entertain the society. Some of us who have been critical of government failures, lack of opportunity for people to pursue their dreams and the endemic poverty pervading our land, we never stopped writing.
Presently, I am working on my authorbiographical novel. I have lived sixty-two years on earth, and I have passed through a lot. Some experiences were so bad – surviving the Nigerian Nigerian Civil War at childhood was a terrible mark that might never go away. Growing up with so much struggles to become somebody and pursue my dreams was daunting. At the age of seventeen, I discovered that our society and polity have no space for me to fly. With courage and determination and the grace of God Almighty, we are here to tell our story. My authorbiography is still a work in progress, with a mind camera to capture what was, what is, and what may be.
Ngugi wa Thiong’o has maintained that we need to be writing in indigenous languages in Africa, what’s the way forward? Are there prospects?
Writing in indigenous languages has gained some attention in recent times, but it is difficult for writers to sustain it, as many of our children are compelled, even at home, to speak in English. As our society makes more progress, more efforts will be made by writers to produce works in our indigenous languages.