John Anusie: Dreaming under the ‘wings of a biro’

AWAAL GATA interviews John Anusie, a critic, poet and writer, on his writing and political dreams.

The literati got a glimpse of what you are made of after your review of Maiwada’s “Eye Rhymes”. Why don’t we see such a ‘superb’ review frequently?

For one who revels in the company of words, I guess I got lazy along the line. Will this change? As in, will I get back into the corridors of review writing? Probably. In the interim, though, I’m

pretty content to just read.

What have you been working on lately?

I have got a couple of short stories I am too embarrassed to share with anyone. I just feel they aren’t good enough. At any rate, I’m still fighting with the plot of a novel with a socio-political

thematic thrust. Ultimately it might work out into a trilogy. I am excited about what’s on the way: an uproarious clash of blood and brine. Nigeria is the epicentre of it all.

How did you become a writer? What gave you the spur?

Writing was not exactly a planned adventure for me. My father, the

 loved books and bought books and was an avid subscriber to magazines and newspapers. So I found myself in the company of books, newspapers and magazines and communed with them. I discovered fine writers like Dan Agbese, Mike Awoyinfa, Maurice Akade, Onoise Osunbor, Robert

Dum, Ebino Topsy (Ebenezer Babatope), Dele Giwa, Waleola Abiri, Toun Adewale, MEE (May Ellen Ezekiel), Ray Ekpu, Stanley Macebuh, Dele Olojede, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, Prof. Niyi Osundare, Prof. Adebayo Williams, etc. Along the line, I found myself writing, too.

My very first writing adventure was probably in the corridors of poetry. That first, a ditty on an elephant, will elicit laughter today for its poverty of artistic sinews.

In secondary school, I wasn’t bad in composition. Fellow students and even the teachers had some good words about my writing. It was encouraging and I began dreaming of my life on the wings of a biro.

What do you want to achieve with it, in the long run?

As a writer I’m inclined to think I owe the society eternal watchfulness. If the writer isn’t eternally vigilant, reporting with candour and educating the public, we all might find ourselves in a benighted space, assaulted from every corner by the sons of Grendel.

Celebrated Jewish-American poet Stanley Kunitz wrote in “The System:” That pack of scoundrels/ tumbling through the gate/ emerges/ as the Order of the State/. This happens when the writers – you may say intellectuals – aren’t vigilant, or become venal slaves of power. This

happened in 2015 and we were given a chimera for change.

I will be speaking truth to power with my art, and entertaining the world, too. And when the time is right, I’ll seek an elective position, for I have a fervid interest in Nigeria’s political destiny. I can do much more in a position of power.

Have you no fears that you could be infected by power and ditch about every progressive ideology you have now? Over the years, we have lost many writers to politics, and they aren’t doing anything plausible as politicians. This brings us to Abubakar Gimba’s thesis that “Nigeria’s problem is with the followers”, given that most leaders were once followers. What do you want to do differently as a politician? When are you considering joining the ring? Don’t you think that it will impede on your literary sinew?

Oh no, I harbour no fears about ditching every progressive ideology I have now – no fears whatsoever. The possibility of ditching my progressive ideology is nil, for I am sustained by deeply-rooted values, philosophical alertness.

For one, I am unimpressed by money and power. I may possess them, but they will never possess me. Did I come into this world with sacks of money? Was a crown on my head when I was born? I’m not going to do the unconscionable for money and power.

Indeed we have lost writers to politics – writers who espoused irreproachable beliefs on governance and probity only to bury those beliefs when they got power. I should think this happened because they lost their bottles of values and could no longer draw sustaining

draughts. So they drank from the sea before them. The results are execrable: acquisitive lunacy, contempt for the people, especially the poor, contempt for the law, contempt for everything but themselves.

It isn’t surprising celebrated American writer Jeffrey Robinson had written, accurately, in his book The Sink: “Nigeria today is a monument to the former heads of state and the gaggle of crooks

surrounding them who ravished the nation and jettisoned their own people to destitution.”

By the way, my observations so far affirm Abubakar Gimba’s morbid verdict. Our history is rife with cases of people who have condemned corruption only to get to power and expand the coast of corruption. The followers are part of the problem, yes.

As a politician, my emphasis will be on dignity and education, which I consider the pillars of any nation. Others, believe me, are just ancillary.

The decision on when to run for an elective post will be taken soon. In the interim I am compiling a list of my people’s needs. I may have to address those needs before seeking their votes.

 I don’t think being a politician will corrode my literary sinews. It didn’t corrode Winston Churchill’s; it didn’t corrode Vaclav Havel’s; it wouldn’t corrode John Anusie’s.

The writers you mentioned aren’t known in the realm of fiction; didn’t you feed on fiction writers while growing up? Who were they? Can you recall the tomes specifically and the marks each left on you?

Sure, I did feed on the flesh of fiction. And nonfiction. Tasty meats include Stendhal, Emile Zola, Marcel Proust, Ernst Pawel, Kirk Douglas, John Cheever, Robert Louis Stevenson, Saul Bellow, James Joyce, Theodore Dreiser, John Bierman, Mark Twain, Maya Angelou, Susan George, Sophocles, Germaine Greer, Henrik Ibsen, Joan Didion, Eric Maria Remarque, Jung Chang, Andrea Barrett, Paulo Coelho, Sinclair Lewis, Mario Puzo and Isabel Allende.

I confess I am one of the laziest in the relationship department. But if I should snap out of this laziness and find a wife and eventually have a daughter, I will name her after the Chilean-American novelist, Isabel Allende.

Are you satisfied with the nature of Nigeria’s literary landscape?

I am somewhat ambivalent here… Nigeria’s literary landscape has evolved markedly and has maintained admirable vibrancy. Compared to the Soyinka era, we now have more writers, and even more critics, and they are doing pretty well on the podium of art. Think of the Abubakar Adam Ibrahims, the Richard Alis, the Gimba Kakandas, the Chimamanda Adichies, the Toni Kans, the Chigozie Obiomas, the Chibundu Onuzos, the Oris Aigbokhaevbolos, the Dami Ajayis, the Emmanuel Idumas….

It is a pity, though, that many literary figures have jettisoned the role of writer as conscience of the nation. Out there you find them celebrating (with) murderers and crooks in power and even “writing the talking points” for same murderers and crooks, as the critic Ikhide Ikheloa would say.

Any literary figure who supports a murderer in power is a ghastly zit on the face of our literary landscape.

What have been your challenges as a writer? Would you have fared better in other climes ?

At the outset, the challenge was a lack of mentors to guide my literary journey. And then, much later, I had trouble combining a day job with literary pursuits. The epileptic power supply, as well as enervation at the end of the day, constricted my creative space.

I would probably have fared better in other climes. But I do not regret my birth. I’m a writer of Nigerian provenance and profoundly attached to this country. Give me a million dollars and I still won’t renounce my Nigerian citizenship.

I prefer to stick around – remain here in Nigeria – and provoke development the way I can. This is why I’ll be seeking an elective post soon. By the way, I am not contemptuous of those who choose to flee the country for whatever reason. It’s a personal thing.

How can your writing affect Nigeria’s socio-political development?

Well, I really don’t know. Why do I say this? You may write and write and write but people may not read and may not implement your ideas for national renaissance. They may read and yet snub your ideas.

Let’s take a walk into the waters of Nigerian history, shall we? Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the late premier of the defunct Western Region, wrote some of the best treatises on the path to Nigeria’s economic and political advancement.

What happened to his ideas? Have they been implemented by succeeding generations? Are the people ruling us not conversant with the man’s writing? Are they not the same people who praise Chief Awolowo at every turn in their political adventure yet ignore his ideas for national advancement? Are they not the same people looting the nation?

I will write and remain where I am – in the exurb of optimism. In power I will personally implement my ideas. Someday someone might take a cue, perhaps.

Who exactly is John Anusie and what vocations does he juggle writing with?

I am just the bloke next door. An introvert, I particularly respect kind people. Just be kind, please. Be humane. Oh, I’ve been told I’m a good cook, too. Well, until I find a wife and she says the same thing, I no go believe am.

Almost all I do these days revolve around writing. On the sides, I play with code. My knowledge at this point is basic. Soon enough, I should master JavaScript and CSS.

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