Joe Akagu is a writer with many publications to his credit. Akagu, who started writing at a very young age, alongside two others started the Early Readers Book Club, aimed at inspiring reading culture in young people. In this interview Abdulrahman Zakariyau, he speaks on his writings, the book club among others.
Can you give a brief on your background?
My name is Joe Akagu, Born to the family of Mr. And Mrs. Louis and Sussan Akagu. Am a native of Umulumgbe, in Udi Local Government Area, Enugu state.
As the son of a police officer, the incessant transfers from one place to the other ensured that I had my primary education in Enugu and Ebonyi state. Saint Charles Primary School, Nigercem Nkalagu, Ebonyi State and at Trans Ekulu Rivers Primary School Enugu to be precised.
I proceeded to Christ High School Arbor in Enugu State where I completed my secondary education.
Upon completion, I gained admission to study Mass Communication at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka after, which I proceeded to Enugu State University of Science and Technology for a Master of Science Degree in Mass Communication.
How did you begin as a writer?
My writing career started when I was very tender, I started by telling stories. In those days, I would call my younger ones; ask them to sit in circles while I tell them stories.
They would sit so calm and captivated. At the end, they would beg me not to stop. When I learnt how to read and write, I began to put those thoughts down in writing.
Then, when I came of age, that should be after my senior secondary certificate exam, I decided not to rush into writing the University Matriculation Examination as it was called then, so that I could prepare well and write it once and for all.
It was during this time that my writing career took off finally. I was able to articulate those thoughts that come running into my head and masterfully arrange them in a more interesting way.
When I gained admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, one day a lecturer came into our class with a newspaper called The Records. She read a passage tilted ‘By this time tomorrow’ at the back page of the newspaper and told us that a first-year student wrote it, that she would be glad if we could replicate that fit.
I was impressed by that and there, I promised myself to be the one who’s name shall be there next year. Alas, the next edition of The Records had my name at that spot with a story titled ‘When shall the messiah come.’
The praise was overwhelming and the joy in people’s eyes after reading it gave me the believe that I have what it takes to be the best I can be in the writing world. It was my first published article anywhere in the world and helped boost my confidence as a writer. These were the major events that gave me the wings to fly.
All good inspiration come from God, so God is where I draw inspiration from. Several times have asked myself why writing? But I realised that’s where I found myself, and I love it because I feel like am part of the Prophets.
Which writer do you see as role model?
I really do not see any writer as my role model, but I am inspired by a few, prominent among them is Ayi kwei Armah, author of ‘The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born’
Tell us about your work and are working on anything new?
I have many works to my credit, some of them are, ‘Tears For Saconda; A Journey So Uncertain; The Dairies of John; The Prominent Dwarf; Hamman The Lazy Carpenter; and many others.
Those am working on and completed but not yet gone to print include, ‘When You Left, The Golden Child Evangelista, and many others. You can find the published works in www.Okadabooks.com.
How do you get your story ideas?
My story ideas come from events happening around me, So, as long as there is life and happenings, I will never stop writing.
How long did it take you to write all these books?
It depends on the condition of my head at the time, and events am dealing with then. Some take a few weeks, some take a few years, some take a few days.
How did it feel to have your first book published?
I was afraid because I didn’t know how the public will receive a young writer, who had no name at the time, but I was amazed. Tear for Saconda, which was my first work was received generally with positive reviews coming from but the public, media and individuals and it remains my second highest selling novel with over 50,000 copies sold in a space of few years.
What are the challenges you faced and how were you able to overcome them?
The first challenge was finance, the cost of producing a book is alarming, the publishers don’t care especially if you are self-publishing.
On a second thought, you don’t blame them because everything is imported and the price of dollars decides how much you pay.
Another one is patronage. If you are not a known name, no matter what you write, you will always be looked down upon and your books priced so low.
Schools will tell you, ‘we don’t read Nigerian novels, ‘Nigerian authors don’t know anything.’ Some will say, and we read only classics please. If you read only classics, how then will the new novels survive to be classics tomorrow, if classics were not supported in their younger days, would you have them today to read?
But thank God for today, we are proving every doubter wrong and am happy Nigerian novels are beginning to gain acceptance, new talented writers are bringing our literature back to the global map. Many of the challenges we faced have been overcome.
How do you intend to create a niche for yourselves?
Alongside my beautiful sister Princess Eby Akagu and my brother Samuel, we established a mentorship programme called the Early Readers Book Club which airs every Sunday by 12:30pm on Solid 100.9Fm Enugu, through which we teach and mentor young children to develop the habit of reading because readers are leaders.
If we can re-orientate a new generation and create a generation that reads, then Nigeria will be better for it because an intellectual Nigeria is a better place than what we have now.
We also carry this mentorship programme to schools and form reading clubs in those schools and this has recorded and is still recording tremendous impact in the lives of young people.
We thought that there may be no need trying to change a grown man because he has chosen a path to toe already, so let use train up a child in the way he shall go and he will never depart from it.
So, I believe that with these in place, I have carved a niche for myself and other writers and aspiring writers.
What are the books that you always return to?
They are many, but the ones that always call for my attention are: My novel, Tears for Saconda; and A Journey So Uncertain; Deceived By Her Beauty by Princess Eby Akagu; Rain by V.C Andrews; The Beautiful ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah; and Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe; among others.
