BY ABIODUN ADEBAYO (OneAfricanWriter)
Blog: oneafricanwriter..com
Email: oneafricanwriter@yahoo.com

7 Fundamental Challenges An Upcoming Nigerian Writer Faces—By Abiodun Adebayo

Are you an upcoming writer too? And you crave that moment when the world wants to read your works? I mean, you’d like to board a plane someday and find out that someone sitting next to you is reading one of your books? That’s interesting isn’t it? But as an upcoming Nigerian writer, there are several hurdles that needs to be jumped. And as a note of warning, please do not be discouraged by any of the challenges I emphasized below, rather, see them as spinning trundles that keeps you moving.

You have read books written by New York Times bestselling authors or those written by our famous Nigerian writers, and you’re convinced deep down within you that you can tug reader’s mind better than these authors, but your works got only a handful of comments and very little attention. Well, I understand that sort of feeling. And the good news is: You’re not the only one who feels that way. Sometimes, I even want to quit writing. Considering the intrinsic challenges of writing and the attitude of readers and publishers, you would understand why sometimes, quitting feels like best option.

But whenever you feel like quitting, always think about why you have started…

Here are quite a few things you must keep in mind as an upcoming Nigerian writer:

1. A SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION OF NIGERIANS ARE VIEWERS NOT READERS.

Ask yourself this simple question: How many Nigerians would prefer reading Harry Porter series (books) to seeing the movie? Of course about 90% would love to see the movie instead. That’s the kind of country we live in; so many viewers, little readers. Some people haven’t even realized that most of the so called movies were directed based on a book written by reputable authors. The likes of Half of a Yellow Sun, Gifted Hands, The Notebook, Fifty Shades of Grey, Lord of The Rings and a lot more. They are all movies initiated by the power of imagination of renowned writers. But how many people wants to read these books? It’s very sad that the audiovisuals have claimed a huge portion of an average Nigerian’s leisure or recreation period. You can imagine how normal even kids relate with seeing TV shows… but do they have that same relationship with books? It’s a big NO. Some parents don’t beat or punish their kids anymore; instead, they give them books to read and lock them in a room. And to be honest, that’s the worst punishment for any kid. But just imagine… imagine you lock them up in a room equipped with TV, laptops and the likes…

Let me share this with you: I was with a friend who claimed to enjoy reading fiction some few weeks ago. He told me about a lot of books he had read and how they helped shape his spoken English and quite a number of new words he learned. I was glad to hear him speak of books that way, and I wished a lot of people like him exists. We talked about books till we eventually reached the building where we were supposed to register for our National ID. And because the queue was pretty much that we had to sit for roughly an hour before we were attended to, I took his phone, typed the blog address of a famous university fiction writer on his browser and asked him to read the fascinating short stories. I scrutinized his face as he read through for a while, and when I peered at his phone after few minutes, guess what? He was already on Instagram…

Now, you see why most times people pay little attention to your works? It’s not that you don’t write pretty well enough, but for the fact that our world has been configured with technologies that makes reading sounds almost too boring—particularly in Nigeria.

2. WE TALK AND LISTEN, WE DON’T READ IN NIGERIA

Have you ever wondered why the telecommunications and music industries in Nigeria have soared so high in ranking? The truth is: we spend considerable time conversing on phone, gist, gossiping, ranting etc. We listen to all sort of songs by our local and foreign artiste. As a matter of fact, most Nigerians would prefer to listen to news on radio rather than reading from newspapers.

The summary is: we spend little or no time reading.

3. SPONSORSHIP CONSTRAINTS

What are the so-called renowned writers doing to help motivate talented and upcoming writers? Nothing for real… the likes of Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi etc. Thank God for the NGOs that have taken genuine interests in writers of different genres and have sponsored quite a number of winners of writing competitions. Unlike in developed countries where there are plenty of opportunities and platforms that an upcoming writer could explore, there are few here in Nigeria.

It’s even sad to inform you that the very few that are available are mostly those sponsored by international bodies.
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To be continued… please stay tuned.
And please don’t forget to drop your comment(s).
Thanks.

Hello, thanks for the insight though i disagree on the second point you mentioned. We do read in Nigeria or should i say that my generation did.

I would rather read all books than watch the movies made out of them as movies somehow are lacking. 'Game of thrones, fifty shades series, Helen of Troy (and all movies made from it), Les miserable. I read all these books and watched the movies as well but the movies do not show us their thoughts. Or show us the interaction among the gods and between mortals in the case of ' Troy' Odysseus. BUT i will not also deny the fact that movies sometimes point us to great books.