‘’Wish Maker’ encourages children to dream, to imagine new ways of pursuing their goal’
Canada-based Nigerian writer Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike has appeared in the children’s category of The Nigeria Prize for Literature contest for the third time this year and has landed himself in the shortlist of three for his creative effort with Wish Maker. At the Book Party jointly organised by CORA-NPL in August, Umezurike said his work is about empowering children to dream and imagine things beyond instilling good morals in them, since dreams give anyone wings to soar to the ultimate height of their powers to accomplish things for themselves and society. Umezurike further expands on his thought about children’s writing in an interview with ANOTE AJELUOROU
UMEZURIKE had said at the Book Party, “I just want children who read my book to really appreciate the need to be kind, to be courageous, and my book is just about the power to dream. And so, it’s not only about trying to instill good morals in children, but also to encourage them to take their capacity to dream, to imagine new ways of pursuing their goal. I think that’s the major motivation for me. I’ve been writing children’s books and I have over five children’s books. I’ve always thought it necessary to fill that vacuum by making books more available for children, because more often than not, we are always writing for adults, and as someone who grew up in an environment with little access to books, I felt I should contribute to children’s literature by producing and promoting children’s writing.”
On what winning the Nigeria Prize for Literature would mean, what he hoped to do with the prize money, and his advice to emerging writers, Umezurike had said, “My advice to emerging writers is to keep writing and keep supporting each other, and then what I hope to do if I happen to win. The prize, of course, is a wonderful thing. Part of my plan is to setup a prize of my own. Before I left Nigeria for Canada, I had the opportunity of donating over 100 books to 35 secondary schools in Imo and Enugu states. So I hope to pursue that dream further.”
Wish Maker is your third time on the Nigeria Prize for Literature in children’s writing. Now, it’s on the shortlist again. Congrats! What would you say is unique about your writing and writing for children?
Thank you so much. I don’t know anything about uniqueness, and for some reason, I recoil from using that word to explain literature of any sort. I simply write and hope that children find the story fun and delightful and that the story makes them think hard about themselves, their relationships with others, their place in the world, and that they are heroes in their own right. That’s the overarching idea behind Wish Maker and the other children’s books I have written.
Of course, you write across genres. What’s your writing process?
I try to write across genres, as you mentioned. Fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. My writing process is undisciplined, though, because my primary priority is on my family, so I write in what little time and space I can manage. I write because I want to; I have a desire to express or reflect upon a theme or subject, and I would love to share that reflection with the world. In other words, my writing process is less organic and schematic than I would like. Yet, that’s how I make the most of my time, space, and energy. I am thankful for my family support, nonetheless.
Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike
How did the shortlist come to you?
I first heard the news when my publisher, Othuke Ominiabohs of Masobe Books, and friend, Dr. Obari Gomba, the 2023 Nigeria Prize for Literature laureate, informed me that Wish Maker had made it to the shortlist. My wife and I had just returned from grocery shopping, and I saw their text messages, and of course, you could imagine my incredulity. Then I became elated. I am still deeply grateful to the judges for recognizing and considering my book worthy of the shortlist.
Your book is about children who experience hardship, as most children do, but who turn their lives around. What can you tell us about your hero?
Ebele is not a hero in the strictest sense of the word. However, his heroism is based upon the fact that he demonstrates courage when it is necessary to do so. He displays kindness, which I think is heroic, considering that kindness is not a given in society. At the end of Wish Maker, Ebele shows his careful thoughtfulness for his neighbours; he empathizes with them and is willing to share the numerous fish he has caught in the river. That, for me, is heroic. The capacity to share the gift of plenty with others who struggle, too.
From hardship to a transformative turnaround. Isn’t this some sort of escape from reality? How resonant do you think this is in tandem with reality?
You know, what you call reality is fantasy to some people, and fantasy is reality to others. I think some moments might come across as fantastic in our lives if we don’t view such moments through a specific or narrow way of sensing or being in the world. I would say children still believe in the fantastic, but who is to say that is not part of (their) reality? How do we even measure reality, and would you say your reality is the same as mine? Is hardship the main parameter for measuring reality? Some people live in luxury their whole lives; should we then claim that their reality is less valid than that of someone struggling with hardship?
I try to resist a narrow way of seeing the world mainly through my own understanding of reality, of what is relatable to me or what I alone can only relate to. A more expansive way of conceiving reality could entail not insisting on a prescriptive notion of reality or fantasy. Ultimately, literature is about articulating a reality that might differ from the norm, even when that reality seems fantastic or utopian. As Chinua Achebe reminds us, writers attempt to present a different order of reality. Reality is not unchanging, fossilized in time and space.
