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?

Eight life size statues of: Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Helon Habila, Chimamanda Adichie, Buchi Emecheta, Chika Unigwe, Lola Shoneyin, Eghosa Imasuen, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Flora Nwapa.

You’ve been selected for a mission to the moon. Which African author are you taking and why?

Mukoma wa Ngugi. He is so hilarious and he is a great chess player.

What invention do you think would change the lives of Africans today?

Doing away with the borders will make it easier for Africans to travel the continent and exchange ideas.

Two things you’re doing when not reading or writing?

Travelling and playing Fela Kuti’s music.

To what extent has African literature envisioned an African future?

By showing African people’s intimate connectedness and our deep relationship with the continent as evidenced by our stories, novels, plays, poetry and literary magazines..

What book do you think best captures Afrofuturism?

‘A Killing in the Sun’ by Dilman Dila.

You wake up one morning to find that you’ve grown a pair of wings. What do you do?

I would fly into the past and try to rewrite some of the distorted histories about Africa.

Name one book that made you think differently about the world.

‘Houseboy’ by Ferdinand Oyono.

What is the most difficult part of your creative process?

Deciding which point of view I must use to write a story and finding a suitable title for my stories.

What is your African dream?

A borderless peaceful continent.