Tony Okuyeme 
Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike is a Nigerian poet, fiction writer, essayist, literary journalist, and academic. An alumnus of the International Writing Program at Iowa, Umezurike is a recipient of the James Patrick Folinsbee Memorial Scholarship in Creative Writing from the University of Alberta and the Norma Epstein Foundation Award for Creative Writing from the University of Toronto. His children’s book, Wish Maker, is one of the shortlist of three in the Nigerian Prize for Literature 2024. In this interview with TONY OKUYEME, he talks about the idea behind ‘Wish Maker’, writing process, and other issues
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.
How did the shortlist come to you?
I first heard the news when my publisher, Othuke Ominiabohs, 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 recognising 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 struggled 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, fossilised in time and space.
