The screen adaptation of Chimamanda’s Half of a yellow sun is another milestone for the author and the Nigerian literati. It laid rest to
whatever doubts there was about the creativity (and commercialism) of Nigerian literature. Some pundits say it is a success for Nigerian writing and writers. But is it? Is the true picture of Nigerian literature embodied in the successes of Adichie, Nnedi okoroafor, Ben okri et al? Such a hasty conclusion is unlikely if we consider the numerous Nigerian writers still trapped underneath the literary glass ceiling. The selected few who break through this hypothetical glass have been reverred as demi-gods of Nigerian wordsmithery.
What then is a literary glass ceiling you may ask?
The term ‘glass-ceiling’ refers to an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in the work environment
because of the individual’s gender, race or ethnicity. For the purposes of this discourse, the operationalization of the term ’glass-ceiling’ would include geographical location. As such, the term literary glass ceiling would imply “an invisible barrier that blocks
the promotion of a qualified writer because of his geographical location”.
I had the opportunity to attend the 13th Lagos book and art festival held at the freedom park, last year. At the event, I witnessed a panel deliberation themed ‘mapping the future’, which had Onyeka Nwelue, Chude jideonwo and Ayo Arigbabu, amongst the discussants. The panel sought to discuss the changing landscape of publishing in the country and how it affected the contemporary Nigerian writer. When the Farifina agent (who was among the discussants) was asked why the organisation published only well-known authors (to the detriment of fresh ones), the lady proudly stated that there are hardly any ‘good’ manuscripts from fresh authors (based in the country). In otherwords, they (Farafina) preferred working with already established authors.
A more vivid illustration of this untoward bias towards Nigerian writers in Diaspora was encapsulated in the January 28, 2012, Punch
Newspaper article titled “Nigerian authors look to the west to gain fame”. Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, a Nigerian author quoted in the
write-up re-echoed the suppressed fear of many nigerian writers resident within the country when she stated”(unfortunately) no matter how well the book is written, writers who come into prominence, come into prominence because they are recognized by the west”. She went further to state how she had to engage the services of a foreign agent for her latest novel.
This has made self-publishing a viable option for writers frustrated by the impediments of the literary glass ceiling placed on them by
local publishers. The days when flowetry of words, plots, characterization, sentence structure, originality and ability to convey
ideas in an unambiguous manner; where parameters for judging literary works are fast becoming relics of a lost age. It seems what it takes to be a celebrated writer in the country is for one to be based abroad (even if it Asia), get local publishers to accept your work, a review from an unknown state publication, and a dubious award from your cronies and you are guaranteed to be Naija’s next hottest literary act.
99% of Nigeria’s celebrated writers either reside abroad or have foreign publishers who erstwhile endorsed them before our local
publishers with cap-in-hand desperately try to woo them. The voice of the home-based writer has been doused in a cocoon of alienation because he can’t get quantum value for his creativity. He finds himself in a cannibalistic society drenched in the blood of would-be writers gobbled up by literary sharks. Many a writer who have not been able to break the literary glass ceiling have pocketed their pens, choosing to focus their energies in other ventures. The few bold ones that remain are treated as lepers, because in Nigeria writing is not a career, but a hobby.
While one can hardly fault writers for looking up to the west to achieve and fulfill their aspirations, what future does such trend
hold for Nigerian literature vis-à-vis African literature? Books and literature are a potent means of preserving and transferring culture,
knowledge, beliefs and values. Writers are custodians and transmitters of history. When Alexander the Great invaded Egypt, he did not busy himself with gold, precious stones and other numerous treasures which the Nubians possessed. Rather he pillaged the libraries of Alexandria, seeking for the secrets of Egyptian mysteries hidden in books. Africa as a geographical and racial entity has never been able to recover from that singular act. The history of the African has been distorted and mis-represented because their are hardly any materials to refer to. A society without knowledge of its history is like a tree without roots. If we keep waitinng for the west to ‘rubber-stamp’ Nigerian writers, are we not making ourselves susceptible to cultural mis-representations?
Art like science is essential to civilization. It performs its own unique functions which science as yet cannot perform. You can explain
the sunset according to uniform natural laws, but this leaves out its radiance. The radiance of the sun cannot be conveyed by scientific
laws and theories. The artist’s creativity can portray the radiance vividly, either through painting, poetry, music and literature.
However, how the artist portrays this creativity is still subject to environmental and social influences. How accurately and objectively
would a Nigerian writer in Diaspora portray such radiance without succumbing to the caddis of westernization? This explains why some writers come back to conduct research to have a grasp of the reality back home. It also explains the coming to fore of writers such as Chris Abani, who in his infamous Kalakuta republic has created a misconception of the country.
Furthermore, over-reliance on western publishers creates an avenue for cultural genocide. Literary works would be suited to western
tastes and ideologies, as in the case of Chris Abani previously cited. What also happens to writers in indigenous languages? A writer’s
feelings, emotions and experiences are better conveyed in his native toungue than in alien languages. When you speak to a man, you get to his head; but when you speak in his mother toungue, you get to his heart. Are we going to allow the west dictate the way we tell our stories?
Breaking the literary glass ceiling entails believing in the ingenuity of the home-based writers. A father, not a neighbour or stranger has the responsibility of naming his child. What name is the Nigerian society giving its resident writers? Any society without enough faith in its indigenous knowledge system (arts, literature, science and technology) can never make sustainable progress. If local publishers chose to publish only established (diaspora) writers, then they themselves are hindering their own progress. It is hightime local publishers look within our shores to celebrate their own rather than playing zombies to foreign publishers.
Related posts:
- Literary Associations, Administration And Writing
- Book N Gauge: Filling a Literary Niche
- Decolonizing My Literary Mind
True talk. But still, we won’t blame them. It’s the economy. Nobody wants to put his/her money where it’ll remain stagnant. Writers would have to find ways to promote themselves.
Simple.
i don’t think it’s the economy. it is the mind set. the western publisher get new writers and make them into superstars. the publisher are short sighted i should say. they only invest in history without faith in the future.
Very true.The darned economy is to blame.If I were a publisher I’d publish known authors first because the reading public would buy their books (and may find out it doesnt meetup to previous standards) over a relative newbie.
Hey..er…do you have a younger sister…named…?
emmmm…which of em exactly?
Emma.
I still think pubs can help. What of anthologies featuring well known authors and newbies. That would be a great way to discover fresh talent
Chika..once again, You have written an insightful article..
Well we can’t blame the publishers but I do think @osakwe has a point..
120% well said chika! You hit several nails and sordid truths on the head here! Very though provoking and insightful. I always suspected that the success of Nigerian based abroad was as a result of the pointers raised here. Thanks so much for this write up…its an eye opener.
Okay, let’s just say some of our known local publishers have no good facilities for promotion on ground; that they so much look forward to riding on the glory of the West’s influence.
Nice article, Chika. Even our local publishers could be hypocritical sometimes.
Very well said…and the beauty of your write-up is that it can be translated into every field of human endeavour.
We, as Nigerians love celebrating any and everything from outside our shores…(from clothes, shoes,-initially music as well etc)
I believe we need a serious reorientation. Publishers are just paying lip service.
SAD
I wont totally blame it on the economy. I think it also has a lot to do with how much value we place on books as a people.
I don’t know how it is now as I left Secondary School years back,but I used to know that getting students to study literature books was an uphill task for any teacher. I know it would be worse now with the increasing failure rate in WAEC and NECO.
Thank God Naijastories that is challenging more up and coming writers not to rest on their oars.
Nigerians, and in deed Africans, will gladly spend ten dollars to buy that fancy soap (made from a Nigeria-grown product) from Paris, than spend pennies to get a purer, less toxic equivalent at Oyingbo Market. As Fela once stated: “That is why black man dey suffer today.” Slave mentality. We only take something seriously only after it’s been validated by the white man. Sad.
But Chika, your descent into literary tribalism is equally disturbing. This point about – to paraphrase you- one can only get the true meaning of a piece of literary art if it’s written in the writer’s native tongue is bullshit. Trust me, you’re apt to find grumblers who would readily accuse you of sacrilege if you or I were to speak our native languages before the King’s audience donkey generations ago.
Listen, the problem is not which type of car you drive to the office, or what type of clothes you wear when you sit behind the desk. It is what you DO when you’re in that office that counts. Look at all the thieving Nigerian politicians that are responsible for that great country becoming the symbol of black misrule. They wear agbada everyday, they eat eba everyday, they speak with nary a western accent in their voice, yet they are as criminal as they come.
Abeg.
That’s why I joined the literary revolution here at naijastories.
@chika…well said. Even in our universities, the lecturers endorse works from these already famous writers such that students can rightly guess what books they would recommend for a course. I think one of the reasons for this is that books by already known writers are easier to get in the Nigerian market than books from new writers.
@howyoudey, big point you got brother. Slave mentality. Every part has a share of the blame. We don’t value our own. They can’t publish us because they know it might not attract the kinda attention that an internationally known writer will attract.
Moreover, how many nigerians buy books aside people like us? You hear taylor swift sold millions of albums under a short period of time, how many has omawunmi sold? And she’s a cool musician who woulda gained the love of the world if she was based out. That’s the same with writing.
No publisher wants to invest in something that would bring little or no returns. Even if he must take a risk, ‘the juice has to be worth the squeeze’.
Beautiful write up chika.
I think the problem is a complex problem, both on the part of publishers and on the part of writers. Publishers want established writers who are easily recognizable and easier to market. Then they want people whose work is marketable in the West or work that has been praised in the West. Writers too are now writing things that will please publishers, as opposed to readers. Then there is lack of quality of a lot of new writing by Nigerian writers.
I think the solution to the whole Western-focus of Naija publishing is to catch the attention of the people who really matter: THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE! Everybody was listening to American music once upon a time, bcos no one here was singing the sort of thing, in terms of quality and style, that we liked. And then suddenly, some musicians started upping their game, and now look, how many parties even play Yankee music these days?
Naija books need to be like that. They need to cater to the tastes and the desires of Nigerian people. Don’t explain common Naija terms in your story. Don’t translate parts of your dialogue where characters use local language. Use pidgin. Write things that are relatable, that normal Nigerians are going thru, and then finally, when you’re sure you have a great story, if no one refuses to publish, get it to a good editor to check for errors, then get it printed and take it out there yourself! That’s what I would do. When it succeeds the publishers will be BEGGING you. Begging!
The problem with all these publishers is that they’ve not seen a home-grown, home-marketed Nigerian book that became a success story. We need a Nigerian Harry Potter, a book that will have millions of Nigerians rushing to buy it like they do with music CDs…if we can have one of that, I can bet we’d see a change from all these West-focused behaviour!
Word!
And now let the growth continue…
Insightful…enjoying the comments too…
Very insightful article @ afroxyz. @ howyoudey and @guywriterer have raised important points too. I do hope things improve one day.
Well done!!!
Gbam! Gboyega. Nice write up Chika.