My novel is an ode to Fela – Odafe Atogun
Odafe Atogun is a Nigerian writer who has been creating waves globally with his novel ‘Taduno’s Song’, for which he signed a two book deal with Cannongate Books (UK) and Penguin Random House (US). The novel tells the story of a famous musician who returns
Not much is known about Odafe Atogun the writer. What can you tell us about yourself that is not already out there?
I am just a man out to make a difference with written words. It took me so long to get to this point. I was a hustler and spent most of my life doing that because of my background and the need to survive. So I never got to settle down to write sooner but I have always known that is what I want to do. I was a contractor as well and the turning point for me was when I lost out on a deal that was worth over N1 billion. After that, I just thought I should get back to my first love and pay the price, forget everything else and just write.
I got a book self-published in the UK and I was supposed to move on from there but my publishers went bankrupt and I lost all the investment I had put into the book. Living in the UK, I realised I couldn’t write because of the need to pay bills and the day to day expenses. And all through the time I was living in the UK, I couldn’t finish a single book. I would write three chapters and dump them. And when I want to move to another book, I would destroy what I had done before. It was like a spiritual exercise for me. Eventually I decided to move into full-time writing and after a year, it has paid off.
How long where you in the UK for?
I was there for nine years, during which time I had a son. My return to Nigeria was informed by the birth of my son because living in a country where you are hustling to pay your bills, to get your papers sorted wasn’t great. And unfortunately I was in a relationship that would have transformed to marriage but did not. I didn’t want to be in a situation where I would be unhappy and be in which I can’t love my son the way I would want to and give him what I think he deserves so I decided to return to Nigeria.
My main aim of travelling to the UK in the first instance was to pursue a writing career, which unfortunately did not flourish at the time. So a few years into my return I was able to achieve what I couldn’t achieve then.
Wasn’t it ironic that you went to pursue a successful writing career in the UK only to return and find it here?
It is ironic. But then again I would say that the experience counted. All the while I was in the UK, I was writing and developing my art. It was there that I developed my style. In my new book, the female character is named after a real life friend of mine. She saw the passion I have for writing and said to me: it is not a question of if but a question of when I will see your book on the top shelf. And when my first book came out she rushed to get it. The character in my second book was inspired by her. So those years were not lost years for me because without them I won’t be the writer I am today. Coming back to Nigeria was a shock because of how the experience of life in Nigeria resurfaced in my mind and I merged this with my experiences in the UK and developed my style. There was a time I had three chapters of a book and sent it off to a publisher who shared it with a literary agent. They both liked it and asked me to send in the rest of the book. I didn’t want to tell them I didn’t have the rest so I went back to write but there was no light so I bought a small generator, told them I was doing some minor edits on the manuscript and sat down to write the rest of the book in two weeks. Turned out I destroyed the whole work by writing it in the two weeks and when I sent it to them, they were disappointed and said no. But one of them said I should just write a new book and that was how I started ‘Taduno’s Song’.
You are very prolific. Do you ever face challenges like writers’ block or distractions that hinder your work?
I have a secret. When I have writers’ block I go into the shower for an hour or more and with the water hitting my head, the ideas come and everything unravels itself. My cousin used to say to me that if I come back in the next life I have to come back as a fish [laughs]. Whatever inspiration I need, I find it in the shower. What I also do is I work out a lot and after working out, I go under the shower and the result is magical.
How long did it take to write your first novel ‘Taduno’s Song’?
It took me three months. I started in January and finished in March. But of course there was the editing process. I sent it out to my friend at Random House and he liked it and sent it out to a few people. They read it and said re-write the last three chapters. That took me two weeks. The second book [not yet published] I started on January 1st and finished May 18, 2016. I was targeting four months exactly but unfortunately I had erratic power supply at the time and because I hated the sound of generators, I had to rely on an inverter and once it powered down I waited. Eventually,
on the 14th of May I checked into a hotel and finished the manuscript on the 18th and sent it off. And then the light came back on and was steady for days [laughs].
‘Taduno’s Song’, blends elements of magical realism, realism and history. Where did the idea for such a novel come from?
I am a big fan of Fela Kuti and one thing that struck me about him was that he could have lived like a king. He was a musician of prodigious talent and was from a very well-to-do family, he was rich in his own right and was world-renowned. But instead of enjoying all that wealth, he chose to identify with the down-trodden and this formed the bases of his lyrics. He could have enjoyed champagne and caviar but he was very down to earth and lived a simple life. And the military regime tried to dissuade him by threats and coercion but he kept going. Unfortunately he died without seeing the vision of the society he dreamt of coming true. So I felt a need for his story to be told through fiction, because we know fiction is inspired by real life events. That was how I used him as an inspiration. Except that my character, Taduno did not womanise, or smoke pot and . . .
I was curious about that. Was there a conscious effort to distance Taduno from some of the vices Fela was famous for?
Yes, I felt Fela indulged in all those things because he felt frustrated with society and the only way he could vent this out was by indulging in smoking, drinking, womanising. But for me, in spite of all these, his focus never wavered. He had a vision and was selfless. So I wanted to create a character to whom those aspects of life are irrelevant and whose focus was his music since that is what the core issue we are talking about is. That is why the theme of music runs through the book.
Interestingly, Taduno comes across as a very nice guy, very caring, someone who is affected by what happens to his neighbours and who was ready to sacrifice himself for his love interest Lela. Being that he has modelled after Fela, who also made sacrifices and suffered all these frustrations . . .
Taduno being such a caring man is an attribute of Fela. He is just Fela. Put it that way. . .
A perfect version of Fela?
Yes. Like I said, we are all sinners, we have our vices and sometimes they are not relevant to our major goals as long as we don’t allow them to cloud our vision. For eternity, the message in Fela’s music is there for us. Despite the outcome of Taduno’s struggles, he left a message that we would never give in to dictatorship. This is a message everyone needs to imbibe. No matter who we are we need to be selfless to realise the dreams of our society. So the book is an ode to Fela Kuti and I wish I could have done it better given the status of the man.
One of the most intriguing things in the story is how everyone forgot who Taduno was despite him being quite famous and it was sort of magical, or spiritual? What happened really?
What I was trying to explore there was that Fela, without his music, would not have been remembered. We remember him by his voice, you could hear his voice anywhere and you would know it is Fela. I wanted to create a character whose identity would be his voice, not his face. In our society, if you succeed, everyone wants to associate with you but when you fail or get into trouble, no one wants to be with you. But with his neighbours forgetting him, it was also a question of the people seeing his music as a way of life. For them the man did not matter, it was the music they connected to. His music was his voice and when he lost his voice, no one could remember him.
What magical realist influences did you draw from in writing your story?
I drew from Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I drew from Ben Okri. I drew influences from Milan Kundera. I wouldn’t call him a magical realist but the way he tells his story is like folklore, there is simplicity to it. So I drew the ultimate inspiration from him. I read JM Coetzee and liked the simplicity of ‘Disgrace’. Before I wrote my book, I had not read Kafka but when people read my book they described it as Kafkaesque. So when my wife travelled to the UK, I asked her to buy me his books and she brought me two. I read them and was shocked. If I had read Kafka before I wrote my book, I wouldn’t have read ‘Taduno’s Song’ because I would feel I am stealing someone else’s style. I am glad I didn’t read Kafka before I wrote my book. But in magical realists, the one that stands out for me the most is Marquez. The character of TK has
contributed to the lives of the people around him but when he was a trouble, they turned their backs on him. Was there a parallel you were trying to draw with society?
It is very unfortunate that in society, if a problem does not affect us we fold our arms I think that is really sad.
It wasn’t only that they turned their backs on him, but they helped to push him out. . .
Yes, yes. It happens in real life. TK’s plight is our plight. It is something we should learn from because by disowning TK, they disown themselves. He was the one that produced Taduno’s song which gave them hope. TK is our conscious as a society. Remember he didn’t forget Taduno, neither did Lela, Taduno’s lover. And the idea behind this is that when all else fails, love doesn’t.
And it was that love that brought Taduno back. . .
Yes. And as long as we have love, we have a reason to continue.
Your book has been a big hit in the UK and elsewhere. It has been translated into several languages already but it is still not available in the Nigerian market. What is happening?
The Nigerian rights have been sold and bought by Ouida Books and it was launched at the Ake Festival last November. What happened was that there were minor issues with the layout and so the publishers decided to make corrections. Anytime from now, the book will be available. I am sure in the next month or so it should be available.
You got a two book deal. How did that come about?
When my editor phoned and said we want to sign you on a two book deal, I didn’t comprehend the significance of her words. She said, I haven’t read a word of your next book but I want to sign you for it. That shows how much I believe in you. What rang in my head then was that I had to write a second book. The deal was signed and a few weeks later, I got a call from my publishers that Penguin Random House had acquired the book and are signing me up on a two book deal. Same with the German publishers.
What is the second book about?
It is about tradition and how it stops us from finding love, and how it destroys the future of orphans. It is about a woman searching for love and fighting the traditions that stipulates how she is to go about finding love and tried to take away her child. She fought the tradition and gave hope to others.
When is that coming out?
It is going to be out August 3rd in the UK.