Where do you consider home and why?

I’ve always considered Nigeria home. It is where I feel most connected to; the people, our mannerisms, the food. Even when I’m not home, I’m always reminding people that I’m Nigerian.

List three words or phrases that come to mind when you think of home.

Comfort, warmth, laughter.

Have you ever been homesick? Tell us the circumstances and how it felt.

I’m always homesick whenever I’m not in Nigeria. I’ve been in Iowa for a few months now and it really feels like being uprooted from my place of comfort, the community I love and value.

What is your opinion about brain-drain?

I understand why young Nigerians are moving to build better lives for themselves, the situation in Nigeria isn’t ideal in so many ways. It is human to desire better, it’s sad because Nigeria is losing so many qualified and talented people but Nigeria must get better if it wants to retain its talent. I’ll never condemn someone for doing what’s best for them.

In what way does your physical location impact your creative output?

It takes a while for me to adapt to a new location, because part of my creative process is being so used to my environment that I’m able to block out the noise and work. I also hate extreme weather conditions —hot or cold.

What is your preferred mode of travel and why?

Air. It’s faster and probably the most convenient.

In her debut collection of poems Home Coming, Sonia Sanchez’s writes:

“i have returned \\ leaving behind me \\ all those hide and \\ seek faces peeling\\ with freudian dreams.”

      What does the phrase “freudian dreams” mean to you?

Unrealized dreams/aspirations; something I believe we know all too well.

The mission to establish a colony of humans on Mars is becoming a realistic proposition. Would you agree to be one of the founding members?

No, too dangerous. Let them establish it and call me.

This is the 10th anniversary of Ake Arts and Book Festival. If you have attended this festival before, please tell us what was special about your experience. If you have never attended, what are your expectations?

Unfortunately, I’ve never attended Ake Arts and Book Festival, although I’ve followed the event online. I’m hoping to connect with fellow lovers of the art literature, to have meaningful conversations about African literature in particular and discover talents previously unknown to me.

What does Africa need right now?

Decent and committed leaders. Sounds so simple, and yet, that’s what we’re lacking the most.