Literature
In this interview with Henry Akubuiro, Sumaila Umaisha, literary editor of Nigerian Newspapers and two-time winner of Literary Journalist of the Year, awarded by Association of Nigerian Authors, speaks on his new book, HOODLUMS. Excerpts:
What is your new book, HOODLUMS, all about?
Sumaila Umaisha: It is a collection of 17 short stories on the Nigerian situation; creative interpretations of happenings in Nigeria. Seventy per cent of them are inspired directly by real life occurrences. For instance, the stories, ?Hoodlums?, ?The Riot?, and ?After the Riot? were inspired by the Kaduna ethno-religious riots of 2000. ?Militants? was stimulated by the militancy in the Niger Delta, how the innocent, especially women and children in the area, were bearing the brunt of the armed struggle. ?The Godfather? was motivated by the saga of the former Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, whose godfather attempted to forcefully remove him from office. ?The President?s Portrait? is a story on an artist?s impression of Obasanjo?s administration vis-à-vis the state of democracy in Nigeria from 1999 to date. ?Do or Die!? also depicts the gangster nature of our practice of democracy. In short, as stated on the back of the book; Hoodlums is a reflection of mainly the physical and psychological violence perpetrated in the name of religion, politics, culture and the quest for wealth. The stories highlight the bloodshed, injustice and jungle justice that have become the order of the day in Nigeria.
Are you saying the stories are real in the sense that you told the actual stories as they happened?
Definitely, no! If I did that it would be no longer a work of fiction. That would be a news report. What I did was to create a similar situation from my imagination. In the case of Ngige, he came out of the crisis alive. But in this story, the hero did not survive the godfather?s machinations. I wrote the stories, having in mind topical issues. In fact, I wrote ?The Godfather? when the Ngige story was still unfolding.
You seem to concentrate on the negative aspects of the Nigerian situation.
I also write on the positive aspects. Stories such as the ?The Last Hiding Place? and ?The Magic? are a proof of this fact. But, yes, I must admit that I write more on the negative aspects. This is because one sees more of these than the positive aspects. Just turn on your radio or pick up any Nigerian newspaper; apart from some government or political propaganda, all you will hear or read about is bad news ? kidnappings, corruption, endless tales of poverty amidst plenty. No committed writer writing about Nigeria that would not be tempted to write on these things. But, mark you, writing about them does not mean that one wishes for such situation. What one is doing is mirroring the repulsive state of affairs for possible correction. I am a realist; I like to draw attention to the problems rather than papering over the cracks. The idealist writer tries to give hope, which is not a bad idea, but in our own case, what do you do with hope in a hopeless situation? I feel it is better to tell someone the hell he is in than to tell him what heaven he could be in.
Don?t you think that telling these stories in this fashion is like exposing Nigeria?s weaknesses to the rest of the world?
I would rather tell the whole world about my sickness than put on a brave face and die in silence. I don?t see anything wrong with washing one?s dirty linen in public if that would cure him and others of a consuming malady. The thing about image is that it projects itself. And that?s why mere propaganda only amounts to covering your belly while your buttocks are showing! Image laundering should be approached with honesty; tell yourself the truth, then the right way would be sought out.
But it seems you only tell the truth, you don?t seek out the right way.
It is a collective responsibility that should be carried out through division of labour. While the writer sheds the light, those in power should find the way out; that is why they are there in the first place. The wherewithal to find solutions to the problems is at their disposal. The first step towards solving a societal problem is attracting attention to it by analysing it in a way that it would appeal to the consciousness and conscience of those concerned. That is what writers do. Then the leaders, who are the policy makers, are supposed to carry on from there.
With the poor reading culture and the fact that our leaders hardly read, how can this truth get to them?
Some of them do read, and I believe that the few that read can make the difference. Revolution takes only a courageous few to happen. And the book is not addressed to the leaders alone; the led also have a role to play in the moral renaissance. The stories are expected to instil in the general readers certain attitudinal change that would culminate in positive actions and reactions right from the grassroots level to the top. There are so many wrong things we regard as normal because they have been repeated over and over again. For instance, anyone occupying public office is expected to be rich overnight. That psychology needs to be changed across board. I?m not that naive to think the desired changes will come with just the reading of this book. Such changes come gradually, across generations, and through continuous reading. So I do agree that a better reading culture will create a better environment for the truth to get on target.
Why the title, HOODLUMS?
The title reflects the characters in the stories. It is a metaphor for the typical Nigerian ? the politician, the police, the journalist, the businessman, etc, ? who believes in having his way through crooked means. From the riot scenes in ?Hoodlums? to the seat of power in ?The Honourable Minister? you could see hoodlums at work. So, the word ?hoodlums? here dose not refer to violent gangsters alone, it also refers to leaders like Senator Dambo in ?Do or Die? who sent an assassin after his political opponent.
Where can one buy the book?
You can find it in some bookshops in Kaduna and Abuja. They are still being distributed, but soon it will be in many bookshops nationwide. Some of the stories could be read on my blog: http://www.everythinliterature.blogspot.com
Finally, are we expecting any work from you soon?
Yes, I still have a collection of short stories coming up. And there is this collection of my interviews with Nigerian writers; a project I?ve been working on for the past ten years. It comprises of renowned Nigerian writers. It consists of the photographs, brief biographies and views of the featured writers on literary and other issues. There are also excerpts from their works. Prefaced by Helon Habila, the Caine Prize winner, it is the first of its kind and it is meant to serve as a research material for students and scholars of literature. It will be out this year. I?m also working on a play. Yes, expect a lot from me in the coming years, God willing.
(c) Published in National Life newspaper.
- Writer's Block Is Excuse For Lazy Writers
You recently published a short story collection, Hoodlums, centred on the violence rocking the country. What inspired the theme of the collection? Sumaila Umaisha: The collection was inspired by, as you put it, the violence rocking the country. I probably...
- Hoodlums: Portrait Of A Crisis-ridden Nation
Title of book: Hoodlums Author: Sumaila Umaisha Number of pages: 110 Publishers: Hybun Publication International Date of publication: 2010 Price: N500 Reviewer: Yahaya Ibrahim Over the years, protest writing has become the focal point for many Nigerian...
- Hoodlums: A Commentary On Society
Elizabeth Adeolu?s review of Hoodlums, a collection of short stories by Sumaila Umaisha, published by Hybun; pages ? 110 When one reads Sumaila Umaisha?s collection of short stories Hoodlums, one sees how the everyday mishaps, joys, and sheer insanity...
- Hoodlums: Long Stories In Short Captivating Tales
Ahmed Dodo?s review of Hoodlums (a collection of short stories) by Sumaila Umaisha, published by Hybun, 2010, pages - 110. If there is one thing I have always loved in a good story, is the ability of the writer to intelligently weave a long story into...
- My New Book!
My collection of short stories has just been released. From the back of the book: THE BOOK Hoodlums is a collection of short stories reflecting the Nigerian situation, especially the physical and psychological violence perpetrated in the name of religion,...
Literature
How Chris Ngige inspired my new book
In this interview with Henry Akubuiro, Sumaila Umaisha, literary editor of Nigerian Newspapers and two-time winner of Literary Journalist of the Year, awarded by Association of Nigerian Authors, speaks on his new book, HOODLUMS. Excerpts:
What is your new book, HOODLUMS, all about?
Sumaila Umaisha: It is a collection of 17 short stories on the Nigerian situation; creative interpretations of happenings in Nigeria. Seventy per cent of them are inspired directly by real life occurrences. For instance, the stories, ?Hoodlums?, ?The Riot?, and ?After the Riot? were inspired by the Kaduna ethno-religious riots of 2000. ?Militants? was stimulated by the militancy in the Niger Delta, how the innocent, especially women and children in the area, were bearing the brunt of the armed struggle. ?The Godfather? was motivated by the saga of the former Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, whose godfather attempted to forcefully remove him from office. ?The President?s Portrait? is a story on an artist?s impression of Obasanjo?s administration vis-à-vis the state of democracy in Nigeria from 1999 to date. ?Do or Die!? also depicts the gangster nature of our practice of democracy. In short, as stated on the back of the book; Hoodlums is a reflection of mainly the physical and psychological violence perpetrated in the name of religion, politics, culture and the quest for wealth. The stories highlight the bloodshed, injustice and jungle justice that have become the order of the day in Nigeria.
Are you saying the stories are real in the sense that you told the actual stories as they happened?
Definitely, no! If I did that it would be no longer a work of fiction. That would be a news report. What I did was to create a similar situation from my imagination. In the case of Ngige, he came out of the crisis alive. But in this story, the hero did not survive the godfather?s machinations. I wrote the stories, having in mind topical issues. In fact, I wrote ?The Godfather? when the Ngige story was still unfolding.
You seem to concentrate on the negative aspects of the Nigerian situation.
I also write on the positive aspects. Stories such as the ?The Last Hiding Place? and ?The Magic? are a proof of this fact. But, yes, I must admit that I write more on the negative aspects. This is because one sees more of these than the positive aspects. Just turn on your radio or pick up any Nigerian newspaper; apart from some government or political propaganda, all you will hear or read about is bad news ? kidnappings, corruption, endless tales of poverty amidst plenty. No committed writer writing about Nigeria that would not be tempted to write on these things. But, mark you, writing about them does not mean that one wishes for such situation. What one is doing is mirroring the repulsive state of affairs for possible correction. I am a realist; I like to draw attention to the problems rather than papering over the cracks. The idealist writer tries to give hope, which is not a bad idea, but in our own case, what do you do with hope in a hopeless situation? I feel it is better to tell someone the hell he is in than to tell him what heaven he could be in.
Don?t you think that telling these stories in this fashion is like exposing Nigeria?s weaknesses to the rest of the world?
I would rather tell the whole world about my sickness than put on a brave face and die in silence. I don?t see anything wrong with washing one?s dirty linen in public if that would cure him and others of a consuming malady. The thing about image is that it projects itself. And that?s why mere propaganda only amounts to covering your belly while your buttocks are showing! Image laundering should be approached with honesty; tell yourself the truth, then the right way would be sought out.
But it seems you only tell the truth, you don?t seek out the right way.
It is a collective responsibility that should be carried out through division of labour. While the writer sheds the light, those in power should find the way out; that is why they are there in the first place. The wherewithal to find solutions to the problems is at their disposal. The first step towards solving a societal problem is attracting attention to it by analysing it in a way that it would appeal to the consciousness and conscience of those concerned. That is what writers do. Then the leaders, who are the policy makers, are supposed to carry on from there.
With the poor reading culture and the fact that our leaders hardly read, how can this truth get to them?
Some of them do read, and I believe that the few that read can make the difference. Revolution takes only a courageous few to happen. And the book is not addressed to the leaders alone; the led also have a role to play in the moral renaissance. The stories are expected to instil in the general readers certain attitudinal change that would culminate in positive actions and reactions right from the grassroots level to the top. There are so many wrong things we regard as normal because they have been repeated over and over again. For instance, anyone occupying public office is expected to be rich overnight. That psychology needs to be changed across board. I?m not that naive to think the desired changes will come with just the reading of this book. Such changes come gradually, across generations, and through continuous reading. So I do agree that a better reading culture will create a better environment for the truth to get on target.
Why the title, HOODLUMS?
The title reflects the characters in the stories. It is a metaphor for the typical Nigerian ? the politician, the police, the journalist, the businessman, etc, ? who believes in having his way through crooked means. From the riot scenes in ?Hoodlums? to the seat of power in ?The Honourable Minister? you could see hoodlums at work. So, the word ?hoodlums? here dose not refer to violent gangsters alone, it also refers to leaders like Senator Dambo in ?Do or Die? who sent an assassin after his political opponent.
Where can one buy the book?
You can find it in some bookshops in Kaduna and Abuja. They are still being distributed, but soon it will be in many bookshops nationwide. Some of the stories could be read on my blog: http://www.everythinliterature.blogspot.com
Finally, are we expecting any work from you soon?
Yes, I still have a collection of short stories coming up. And there is this collection of my interviews with Nigerian writers; a project I?ve been working on for the past ten years. It comprises of renowned Nigerian writers. It consists of the photographs, brief biographies and views of the featured writers on literary and other issues. There are also excerpts from their works. Prefaced by Helon Habila, the Caine Prize winner, it is the first of its kind and it is meant to serve as a research material for students and scholars of literature. It will be out this year. I?m also working on a play. Yes, expect a lot from me in the coming years, God willing.
(c) Published in National Life newspaper.
- Writer's Block Is Excuse For Lazy Writers
You recently published a short story collection, Hoodlums, centred on the violence rocking the country. What inspired the theme of the collection? Sumaila Umaisha: The collection was inspired by, as you put it, the violence rocking the country. I probably...
- Hoodlums: Portrait Of A Crisis-ridden Nation
Title of book: Hoodlums Author: Sumaila Umaisha Number of pages: 110 Publishers: Hybun Publication International Date of publication: 2010 Price: N500 Reviewer: Yahaya Ibrahim Over the years, protest writing has become the focal point for many Nigerian...
- Hoodlums: A Commentary On Society
Elizabeth Adeolu?s review of Hoodlums, a collection of short stories by Sumaila Umaisha, published by Hybun; pages ? 110 When one reads Sumaila Umaisha?s collection of short stories Hoodlums, one sees how the everyday mishaps, joys, and sheer insanity...
- Hoodlums: Long Stories In Short Captivating Tales
Ahmed Dodo?s review of Hoodlums (a collection of short stories) by Sumaila Umaisha, published by Hybun, 2010, pages - 110. If there is one thing I have always loved in a good story, is the ability of the writer to intelligently weave a long story into...
- My New Book!
My collection of short stories has just been released. From the back of the book: THE BOOK Hoodlums is a collection of short stories reflecting the Nigerian situation, especially the physical and psychological violence perpetrated in the name of religion,...