Your story compels your readership – Audee Giwa
Dr. Audee Tanimu Giwa has worked as a journalist with the Democrat Newspapers, Kaduna. He was the pioneer editor of Leadership newspapers and was editor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Press. Giwa who was a visiting lecturer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and c
Why did you name the novel Yarinya?
My latest novel, or novella if you will, tells a universal story that is as dated as it is current in Hausaland. It tells the story of a young girl in love, a girl whose spirit cannot be tamed or suppressed by societal mores. When her love is threatened she threatens to rebel.
This feeling is common among all teenagers, the difference being that in this case hers is not an empty threat. The name Yarinya is a Hausa word for girl. It thus is representative of all girls her age. Indeed representative of all girls in her situation. It is thus as much a name as a symbol.
Is it a Hausa or an English novel?
This question appears simple, but I know it is not. If by a Hausa novel you mean, is it written in Hausa? Then the answer is “No, it is not a Hausa novel.” But if you mean is the story set in Hausaland? Yes, it is.
The setting is identifiable as Hausa. This is evidenced by characters’ names, behaviour, dressing and general mannerism. Again, even here, the setting is universalized. It is not particularized. That means that the setting too, like the name of the central character, is universal. The representation of Hausa-Islamic patriarchy is my concern. I have always been an advocate of writers writing about what they know best. I am a Hausa Muslim. This is the society I know best.
Is this your first publication?
It’s my fourth and this is the first time it is being published. The first three in order of appearance are I’d Rather Die! (1994), Marks on the Run (2003) and From Fatika with Love (2004). Interestingly however, Yarinya was originally written in 1986, as a creative writing project submitted to the Department of English of ABU, under a different title. It has been extensively revised and expanded and the title changed so we can court general appeal. The thematic thrust however remains the same - parents should exercise caution when it comes to choosing husbands for their daughters.
What motivated you to write this novel?
I do not know much about motivation. Inspiration, yes, there was never a time in my life when I made a decision to become a writer. I had always wanted to be a teacher. My writing is a natural outgrowth of my reading habit, a habit I acquired in my secondary school days. It stands me in good stead up to now.
I got inspired after studying the nature of polygamous practices in Hausaland. I experienced them first hand. Then I became curious and wanted to know if indeed the way polygamy is practiced is the way it is prescribed. It was shocking to discover that what the religion says is different from what the people do. I felt then, and feel now, that there is urgent need for education or re-education, if you will, about how polygamy can be practiced. Indeed there is need for education about what it is and what it is not.
Polygamy is not about marrying four wives. Its focus is not even sexual. Polygamy is a social contract. It is a social responsibility which is far, very far, above the sensuous one. And as in all issues of social responsibilities, financial capacity provides the bedrock of the actualization of that responsibility. In simple English, and it is somewhere stated in the book by one of the characters, you are not even allowed to marry one wife if you cannot take care of her. It is this re-education that forms what you call motivation, my inspiration.
What is it all about?
The focus of the story is polygamy and the consequences of it. Yarinya is a product of the polygamous marriage and she has nothing against it so long as it does not touch on her rights as an individual Hausa Muslim woman. Through her action, itself a reaction against the behaviour of her polygamous father and the capricious whims of a yet another polygamous suitor, the way forward is charted and parents would henceforth be cautious in ignorantly reaching conclusions and rashly choosing husbands for their daughters.
How did you find time to write this new novel?
Most African writers are actually part time writers. The writing vocation particularly in Nigeria is fuelled only by interest and the burning desire to communicate. Other considerations, when they do come to be, are usually incidental. It is thus easy for one to squeeze time to do whatever one is interested in doing. I am a lecturer in the university. I am the Head of my department and until a few weeks ago, I was also the Dean of Student Affairs.
I have been Dean of Students for eleven years, making me comfortably the longest serving dean anywhere. And when I remember that I finished serving those eleven years without a major crisis in my hands, I give thanks to Almighty Allah for being my light and guide all through this period, indeed all through my life. What all these suggest is that I am officially extremely busy. But I still make time for my writing. I enjoy doing official work; but I enjoy doing personal work more.
What do you think should be done to encourage reading culture?
In the war between print and electronic media, the print is definitely losing out. Indeed even with print going electronic, the battle is still stiff. There are as many e-books as one can possibly imagine, yet you do not find the e-book readers.
People download e-books in hundreds, free, yet they never get to read one. What needs to be done, is what I attempted to do in Yarinya. Let the story be brief, the theme topical, the language simple and interesting, the text itself reader friendly. A book that can be read in a day, will surely attract attention and readership more than a prodigious African version of War and Peace. Quality is all. Let your story compel your readership.
What future hope do writers have?
There will always be writers. And remember, writers are hope providers in the society. Irrespective of the sorry state of our reading culture, I have no doubt that things will improve. Painfully, we must all acknowledge that it has to get worse to get better. It is getting worse now. It will be better yet. In the future I believe writers will smile. When that future will be is however not for me to say. But it will come. The orbit of the universe is cyclical, I am sure you know that.
Are you disturbed about piracy?
Surely, all writers are disturbed about piracy. But it never really hurts until such a time when JAMB or NECO or other SSCE bodies recommend a text you wrote and neither you nor your publisher have the wherewithal to produce say one million copies in one month.
Before you know it, once you produced the few thousand copies in the first print runs, someone else does the rest for you -the pirates. We really wish there is a way we can checkmate piracy in our society, but so far, that is just a wish. We should be able to expose pirates for who they are - intellectual thieves. They should be arrested and punished by the law.
The focus of the story is polygamy and the consequences of it. Yarinya is a product of the polygamous marriage and she has nothing against it so long as it does not touch on her rights as an individual Hausa Muslim woman