Chika Unigwe is a Nigerian writer resident in Belgium. Last year, she won the NLNG Prize for Literature with her book, On Black Sisters’ Street. In this encounter with Edozie Udeze, Unigwe, who was in Nigeria to receive her award, spoke about her life, her style and the thematic thrust of her works
What does writing mean to you?
Oh, writing is my career. It is the only profession that I know. It is my passion. It is the only thing I have always wanted to do. I wrote as a kid and I am very happy that I’ve managed to make a career out of my passion and hobby.
How do you get your inspiration to write?
Ha! That’s a difficult one. My inspiration comes from everywhere. If it comes while I am on the road, I jot a few things down. However, I eavesdrop a lot into conversations. Sometimes just one thing they say lodges in my head. Then a story idea will begin to form around that line. But I always carry a note book with me. With it, I can take notes. Whatever strikes me while on the way, I write it down. And when I sit down to write, I look through my note book to get the ideas right and correct.
When you wrote your winning novel On Black Sisters’ Street, did you go out looking for those issues you raised in it?
I don’t think human trafficking is purely a women affair or problem. I think it is the problem of humanity generally and it has to be seen and taken from that perspective. This is so, because all of us suffer a lot and women are just a part of that suffering.
While looking for the story… In fact it is one story that struck me a lot, and I fancied I’d make it come out good. There are indeed Nigerian women in Antwerp, Belgium, working as prostitutes. There are lots and lots of them. For me, that is a story waiting to be written, waiting to be attended to. It was a story I knew I’d explore and the only way to explore it was for one to write about it. The core issues raised in that novel are all part of what we live with every day.
Did you really have one–on–one encounter with any of the prostitutes?
No! But because I didn’t know anything about them, I had to go into research to do it. Their world is such a closed world and you can’t penetrate it. That was why I had to go into that research and to give a lot of respect to my readers. That was why I was able too, to create characters that were authentic. I came home to Nigeria to talk to a lot of people concerning the issues of prostitution and other social vices.
But why Antwerp? Is that the only place where such problems exist?
Oh, it is just because I live there. I have been living in Antwerp for a long time and I am used to them; to the kind of life people live there – both white and black. So, I talk about it because that is what I am familiar with. It is my work and it is what I know. That’s why I talk about it a lot.
If these issues had taken place in Nigeria, would you still have followed the same sequence in your story?
Oh no, I supposed in Nigeria, prostitution works differently. For starters in Belgium, it is legal; it a legal profession over there. But it is not here. But some of the Nigerians I spoke with were working as illegal prostitutes over there in Antwerp. So if anything happens to them there, they are on their own. But basically the profession exists and it is a booming one at that. So, that is the way it is.
How do you see the NLNG Prize for Literature?
I think it has done a lot for Nigerian Literature. Don’t forget it is the most prestigious Literature Prize in Africa today. It has come to bring Nigerian Literature to the forefront and people love to identify with what is good. The prize for me, is basically to promote literature and keep it alive not only in the minds of those who love it, but also for writers who toil every day to create their work.
It has brought literature not only closer to the people, but also to the attention of the public. Now, when they are talking about literature and the prize, people listen; people are aware and they respond. Now, you are not mentioning only my book, but two other books that made the shortlist. Even the judges who go through the works, the books build in their consciousness. These are people who otherwise wouldn’t have had time for your works.
I think also that the prize itself is encouraging because it motivates other people to write. I was at Nsukka for the award and one guy came up to me and said, oh, I want to win this award someday. That is one good area we have achieved much and again the judges say they look at the quality of the print, the editing and so on. These will help to elevate Nigerian literature to a greater height. It is a very good thing because it will motivate publishers as well, to do proper work. It will also tell on the quality of the editing and the quality of stories we write.
The quality of publishing and the quality of editing in Nigeria is so poor, that with this standard now, NLNG has tasked them to do better. Most times you won’t be able to read works published in Nigeria. Because of the poor quality, you are put off by reading it. These are some of the areas the Literature Prize has come to open new ways for our literature all over the world.
How did your undergraduate days at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, shape your writing career?
Well, we had a very vibrant creative writing department. It was well structured with good teachers who had time to teach us to write. The English Department was a good place then to develop talents. Those creative writing classes really helped me a lot and I am very grateful for that opportunity to be there when I did.
What of the natural environment; the hilly encampments of the campus and so on. How did all that influence you?
I think, for me, what made Nsukka very inspirational was the professor I had. That was Professor Enekwe. It wasn’t the hills or the highlands and all that. Enekwe was there for us; he taught us how to look at issues from the creative point of view. For him, it was proper for us to be well-educated in the field of creative writing. And when you have such a teacher, all you need do is look at those issues that would help you to become yourself in the future. That was all that we needed and I promptly grabbed the opportunity it offered me.
Well, as for the natural issues you mentioned, they were there; they have always been there. They make the campus beautiful and cool most parts of the year. But for me, that was relative compared to what I got from my professor.
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