It’s 2118 and you’ve arrived in Lagos for a book festival. When you step out of the airport, what is the first thing you see?
A solar-powered fried plantain dispenser.

You’ve been selected for a mission to the moon. Which African author are you taking and why?
Frankly, I can’t see myself doing any reading while on the moon, but I would pack Alain Mabanckou’s novels for high-energy entertainment.

What invention do you think would change the lives of Africans today?
A cheap and abundant flow of solar energy.

Two things you’re doing when not reading or writing?
Playing sports and looking at Sicilian food porn on Instagram.

To what extent has African literature envisioned an African future?
Not much, as far as I know. Literature usually addresses the present or the past — nothing wrong with that.

What book do you think best captures Afrofuturism?
‘Lagoon’ by Nnedi Okorafor.

You wake up one morning to find that you’ve grown a pair of wings. What do you do?
I would find the remaining Chibok girls. Then I would fly around Chad, Sudan and the Horn of Africa for some aerial sightseeing.

Name one book that made you think differently about the world.
‘Guns, Germs and Steel’ by Jared Diamond. It didn’t change my view of the world as such, but it answered some vital questions I had.

What is the most difficult part of your creative process?
Organising my thoughts and observations in a coherent fashion.

What is your African dream?
Equality for everybody, and for us to control our destiny without relying on foreigners for technical or financial help.