I write for the downtrodden

EUGENIA ABU, the popular NTA newscaster, has just made a public presentation of her new book, a collection of poems, Don?t Look At Me Like That. In this interview with SUMAILA UMAISHA, she speaks about the book, the presentation and other related matters.

NNW: Why the title Don?t Look At Me Like That?

Eugenia Abu: Actually it was a poem I wrote two and a half years ago. I actually wrote it for a poetry competition on HIV in the West African sub-region. But our submission was late and I had to suddenly produce like four HIV related poems, which I wrote in two hours. And though we were late, I kept polishing it, and eventually decided to add it to this collection. It has several layers. It is really about somebody that was HIV positive. She was sitting in a bus and people were looking at her funnily because she is sick. And she was saying ?don?t look at me like that, I?m alright; I?m just sick, but I?m alright?. It is also written for those who are downtrodden, the unjustly accused, the unlucky in love, people whose journey you don?t know, yet you look at them in a funny way. We think we know everything as human beings, but we don?t. Most things are spiritual. Sometimes you see people very happy, you don?t know that in their homes they may be very sad. So you really don?t know people. So don?t look at anybody in a funny way. Really that?s what the title poem encapsulates.
There is this eye motif about you; when you come on screen the first thing one notices about you are your eyes, your first book is titled in the blink of an eye, and now this title ? Don?t Look At Me Like That...
I think it is just coincidence. In fact, I didn?t plan it like that. When I hear people say you have lovely eyes, I?m amused because there?s an interesting story to it. I didn?t even know that I have such eyes until I was about nineteen. As a child, my mum used to say, ?carry those stupid eyes away from here? and I used to think that my eyes are not good enough. I think she was doing that because she wanted to prevent me from being conscious of it. So I never really thought about it until one day I went to the post office and one young man came up to me and said ?you have such nice eyes?. I was shocked, I went home and I was asking everybody, ?hey, there must be something wrong with my eyes, I don?t know why that man was talking like that?. But over time I came to realise people admire that particular physical quality in me. But I don?t dwell on it. So it is certainly not the reason why my books are so titled. In The Blink Of An Eye was so titled because I wanted something that would capture the fact that I wrote articles in the guardian in 1982 and those articles were just like you wrote them today, some of them are still current. So I wanted something that captured time. And decided to title it In The Blink Of An Eye. If you read any one of the stories it is like it just happened yesterday. Life turns round and round, that is why it is so titled.
Your very first book, In The Blink Of An Eye, really brought you to the limelight as a writer. You have won an award with it and you?ve held readings on it nationwide. It is so sudden ? where have you been?
I?ve been on TV, it takes away your writing life. It is a very hard work. It is not that it is any less work now but most of my writings I?ve been doing them and keeping them under my bed for a long time. Where have I been also apart from TV; I have been making children, I have been having a family and that takes time. If you are doing this and your kids are still small, you won?t be able to concentrate on looking after them. And I believe that as a mother you must give your time. If you don?t, you won?t recognise your children and they will not recognise you. I have very strong family values. My mother would stay home sometimes from her work. As a hospital matron, she also transferred a lot because of my father and lost her seniority severally. She never really got her full potential in her career. And that is my mantra, I don?t like travelling far too and leaving my family. So I?m very pleased that NTA has given me the opportunity to be able to be where my family is, in terms of the work that I do that has kept me central with my family.
What did it take to come out with this collection?
The newer poems are about one quarter of the collection. I?ve been writing poems since I was twelve. And a lot of the writings here were done in 1982 and 1983. So basically it was just to collate them, apart from the newer ones. Most of the job was re-polishing. But it took a lot of time in terms of correction and editing. I had to give it to my friends who are poets and editors to help me edit them. And have a fantastic artist called Niyi Ladipo in Lagos, who helped me with this fantastic cover which pretty makes the book international. And then my publisher, Kraft Books, took time to produce a good job. Of great interest is the fact that I?ve never met the artist, we spoke through internet. He was introduced to me by my friends when I visited Australia two months ago. They said a lot of their art works were done by Nigerians, I was surprised. So they gave me his email and I contacted him. Really we have many talented Nigerians.
Why the focus on poems of rhythms, life and redemption?
I think life encapsulates everything. When I sit in a bus on the days I feellike going out in a bus, and I look out and I see the world, the whole kaleidoscope is about life. The woman who is selling banana, the little child who is running in the traffic, is life. There is also life when you go to a place, to a party and you see ostentation. When you remember the boy running in the traffic trying to sell his groundnut at the risk of getting killed, and then you see a place where food is wasted, you will see the contradictions of life. For me, those are the things that drive me into despair and make me want to write. Why would the people who have too much not give a little child running between those cars. They will lose nothing by doing that, but they would not. Only very few rich people are philanthropic. In fact, it is the average person that is philanthropic. So that was my take. In terms of freedom, I was fourth place winner of the Nigerian Action Committee Against Apartheid in the early 80s. I sent in my poems, My Mouth Is Sealed With Political Wax, and it came fourth nationally. And I have a lot of freedom poems in the collection on why Africa is not rising to where it should be. And then redemption...I like to stay close to my faith, because I believe that there is nothing in this world that you can do and be successful if you are not faithful unto God one way or the other. We are not perfect but it is always good to go and drink deep from God?s wisdom, whether you are a Muslim or Christian, so that you can stay stable. The world is very complicated. So the redemption ones are on the fact that I know there is redemption if you have faith in God. Some of the poems there are about gratitude to God for being alive. I believe in spirituality, I believe that kindness and charity don?t go unrewarded. Most people are kind and charitable, and they don?t do it to get anything back, but ultimately you are rewarded somewhere along the line.
You?ve done collection of essays and collection of poems, what are we expecting next?
I have a collection of motivational work which was actually suppose to come out before the poetry. I write in my church?s newspaper; I have a column titled A Walk In The Park. That will be my next book. My husband, who is chairman of my publicity team said to us at a meeting, while A Walk In The Park was already on its way to publication, that he thought we shouldn?t do another collection of essays. Because people don?t understand creative writing, they believe it is only when you write fiction that you are writing creative work. So my husband thought I should let people see my other side, my other literary side. I?m a short story writer, I have a collection, I have a cookery book too. Over time I will release those ones. It takes a lot of work, so it will take three to four years before those ones come out. But the one that is immediately in the offing is the collection of inspirational writing, which I do for my church newspaper. But, it appeals to both Muslims and Christians, even though I?m a Christian.
I tried to write it in a way that suggests spirituality, faith, kindness, morality and courage. For instance, I have an article in that collection called Flying Without Wings. I used to have the fear of flying, then I discovered that it is only God that takes care of you. Once you are in the plane, finished; the rest is God. And if you have no faith you will be afraid all the time. So I tell myself that God has a purpose for me and it is when it is time that it will be time. I have another one called Mummy, What Is Rape? It arose from the question one of my daughters once asked me when she was nine. So I?m trying to encourage Christians in that particular article to watch what their children are watching, to be careful because you need to explain to the children... I had to explain at 6 am what is rape. It must have been something she watched on TV. So as parents, we need to give time. So the articles are all mixed. Because I don?t believe you have to carry the bible and hit someone on the head before you can talk to him to be kind, to look after his fellow man and so on. Those are what those inspirational pieces are about. And I?ve taken quotations from philosophers of old, a few bible quotations, etc. But that will not be until next year. Father Kukah is writing in the blub and Uwem Akpan is currently looking at it for me.
What inspired your interest in poetry?
I think poetry is given only to those that God has called. It is hard, if you are not gifted. You can learn it but most of he art of poetry is a gift. My interest in poetry began when I was very little. I would just carry biro and scribble things and even I am surprised at what I write. A lot of the newer poems, I look at them and I wonder. Some of them are written within fifteen to twenty minutes. So that is a spiritual gift, I cannot explain it that God has given me the ability to play with words like this. And I like the rhythm and the music that come with poetry, which is not found in other genres. I really like it. And that?s why I have a CD of the collection.
Your book presentation seems to be different from other book presentations in Nigeria where the focus is monetary donation...
Since the marketing of In The Blink Of An Eye, which my team has been quite formidable on, we wouldn?t say that we made money in that sense of the word. But we are grateful that people read the book. I?ve met a lot of people who walk up to me and say, ?I?ve read your book?. I met someone from the Sultan?s palace; the fellow walked up to me and said he has read my book. How it got there I don?t know. That my book is going to so many places is something for which I?m proud. That people walk up to me on the street and say we read your book; it is something. It is not about the money, it is about impacting on people?s lives. It overwhelms me and I?m grateful. My husband and I believe that if we get as many people as possible to read, it is better than making money at the launching and thereafter the book is forgotten. Our books will outlive us; it is our prayer. And that?s what happens if you write.
Organising such elaborate presentation costs money; how was the event sponsored?
When my husband announced at the presentation that it was not all about monetary donation but about buying and reading the book, it is not to say we don?t want people to buy it generously. In fact, if you give me millions, I will be very happy. Writers are generally not well to do, which is sad. It is unfortunate that in Nigeria people don?t read. So first of all we are trying to encourage reading culture by what we are doing, and we are hoping that money will come eventually. It is our prayer that people will be happy with what they read and pay. You know, writing is an art; it is like being a carpenter. When somebody makes a table you pay for it, but you write a book nobody wants to pay, which annoys me, because it is hard work. You can?t even charge for the mental work that went into the book. The price of the book is just the paper and the publishing, your brain has not been paid for. Having said that, we have been lucky to have goodwill. Some of our sponsors like First Bank, Unity Bank, paid for the hall, others paid for the food, some gave us gift vouchers to give buyers of the book, etc. Our strategy is to encourage people to read the book.
What do you have to say on a final note?
I want to thank my sponsors. It is not easy for somebody to support you. I?m grateful to the banks and others. And more than any other group of people, literary editors who do such a thankless job, I cannot thank them enough. They are the ones who have given me visibility, who have exposed my book to the public, who have held my hand in this my new journey of literature. I?m really grateful.

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