I realised I was cut out for writing at 18 years — Thomas
How did you develop the flair to write? Writing enabled me to escape into another realm while in plain sight of the real environment. For me, writing was a kind of drug that costs less but gives more in terms of satisfaction. When I got to secondary school, I got better, wrote more poems and short stories. But it was when I got to the university, at 18 years of age that I realized I was cut out for writing. My writing became more visuallyoriented. I learned about narrative structure, sociology and psychology of writing and this when my writing deepened and became more thoughtful.
Apart from ‘Secrets,’ what other pieces have you worked on?
Before secrets, I was doing work on two series, both nonfictions. One was ‘Ekology: Lagos through the eyes of an outsider’. ‘Ekology’ was a chronicle of my everyday experiences of Lagos from job hunting to living in completely different world as I know it. The other was ‘Maiduguri: the untold stories.’ This was more of testimonies of men and women from civilians, social workers to uniformed personnel who were witnesses to the Boko haram crisis in Maiduguri.
What inspired you to write your novel ‘Secrets’?
‘Secrets’ was inspired by a number of things. The first few materials I ever got to read were the works of James Hadley Chase and Ian Fleming. Secondly, it’s always been my conviction that there’s one or two, even several, stories, about powerful government agencies, faceless individuals and secret programs that is worth telling in Nigeria. In 2017, I decided it was time to come up with something. I didn’t know what the story was going to be about; all I knew was it got to be a book about the intelligence community.
What was your experience writing the novel?
In the course of writing secrets, I learned a lot of things especially in sourcing out materials during the research period. Classified is classified. There was a lot of information out there on the DSS, the central agency in my story. I did approached a few guys both retired and in active service for information but I got none. I had to make do with what I had. Another thing, Nigerians are unwilling to try out new things.. People kept asking me why write a thriller? Why not romance or comedy?
How would the publishing Nigeria?
you assess industry in
Honestly, I do feel that the publishing sphere in Nigeria is the toughest place anyone can be. It’s almost cruel. First, getting a traditional publishing deal is almost an alien dream for a first time author. One has to be connected, well connected with someone influential or be able to afford the ridiculous charges of an agent to stand a chance. In most cases, young writer have none. It’s actually frustrating.