Onaedo: The Blacksmith's daughter is a fast and fun read.  In this book, she fuses the history of the Igbo people with a lot of imagination to tell a story of a strong people before and after the advent of slavery.   Our attention was initially drawn to Dr.Ngozi Achebe's last name and we knew that when we eventually get a hold of this very busy practicing Physician, we will have a lot to ask about being an Achebe, her debut novel and most importantly what inspired her need to tell this story of a people.  Enjoy the interview and go buy this book. We can get this book from Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Kindle,Borders. Please remember to click play for complete interview

Who is Chinua Achebe to you?

 He's my dad’s younger brother.  He’s always written so we’ve always read.  I will say he was and is my greatest inspiration. I read Things Fall Apart, Flora Nwapa, Ngugi, Cyprian Ekwensi.  I was very lucky to be exposed to literature very early on because of him. He introduced us to the African writers series.

How was it growing up an Achebe.?

I don’t think that it was any different that anyone else.   He was one of the key people that traveled out of Biafra, to plead the cause of the Biafra.  At the begining, we were with the Nigerian Broadcasting corporation. There was a coup.  They came after him and he escaped with his life.  He left and went home.

Do you feel overwhelmed by him?

I can't compare myself to him.  I think people try to compare me to him.  But, i don’t know but only time will tell, I believe that I will proove myself with time and that people will eventually recognize my style as time goes in.  It is a double edged sword because some comment  with "you think you can write because you are an Achebe".  I am really honored to have grown up around him.

Which of his books is your favorite book?

Arrow of God.  Because the protoganist was the epitome of wisdom.   He played by the rules.  I see him as a tragic figure.  He was a man of principles and he weighed and measured everything that he did.   He wrote another book which he dedicated to us, ‘Chike and the river’.  It was a really funny book.  He is really funny in real life.  He has understated sense of humor.

How long did it take you to become published?

It took about two years.  I started with a small publishing firm - the idea was to start with a small firm and move on to a big firm.   It is great and encouraging.  I love to write and I will do it even if wasn’t paid to do it.


What’s going on with Sao Tome - why that area as a setting?

I wanted to write a book about Nigerian civil war from what I could recall. I was a small child when the war occured.  I remember very clearlythen in Biafra, that they used to have planes coming from Sao Tome. . So, I ended up researching the history of Sao Tome and I researched it back to the main land. It is serendipitous actually.

Being a Nigerian, I have found that many don’t want to talk about Biafra - so what’s your thoughts on the war?

Since I was part of it and survived it, I have no interest about not talking about it.  It is a time in our history that a lot of people willl like to forget.  It is part of our history and I don’t think that there is much to be gained about not talking about our country’s history.  Have you noticed that we never talk about slavery or our Portugese past?  We hardly were taught what the Portugese did and when they came.  Their contact with African coast was one of the earlier contacts between Europeans and African.  If we have any intellectual curiousity we should ask questions about that period.  But, I do understand why many do not want to talk about Biafra.

Though we know this story is heavily researched fiction, it is still fiction.  One of the ideas that you put across in the book was the physical appearance of Onaedo.  You described her being mulatoo with a color of eyes that was quite interesting.  In Onaedo’s family history - we have a mixed race relationship that took place.  Is that ever true?

The plot might not be true but  you know when portugese people came to Nigeria, many came in and settled.  Some came in and married.  So it wasn’t always slavery.  As a matter of fact, one of the books I read for my research was by Elizabeth Esiche, she mentioned in one of her books, how a Portugese woman in 16 something came back to Nigeria with her husband.  As you might now, the king of Congo, sent his son as an Ambassador to Portugal and there was an exchange that took place between Congo and Africa in the past.  The first Bishop of Sao Tome was one such person, he was sent to Sao Tome to become a bishop.  Though, this is fiction it is based on things that had happened within that time.  Though Onaedo is not real but she could have been.

Onaedo is the story of strong women - women ahead of their time, did you draw inspiration from real people?

(laughs) When you say women ahead of their time, there is a little bit of discordance there because women in African history have always been strong women.  Women had strong forte where women made decisions about things.  When we talk about Onaedo’s aunt especially Aku, we had women like that who actually went against the tradition before Mary Selesor came.  They were women who tried to save twins.  Women have always had a role in Igbo culture.  In some cultures, women were chiefs and married wives.  They will marry other women, who go ahead to have kids to continue the husband lineage.  I think since the begining of time, women have always had important roles in the family.


Onaedo seemed to be quite different from the rest of the slaves that were featured in the book, in that she always wanted to go back home? What was it about Onaedo that made her that way?

You will find in history that the Igbo slaves where the one’s that always wanted to find their way home.  They were the one’s that will jump into the ocean during the Middle Passage than become slaves.  I wanted to emphasize that a little bit with Onaedo.  I wanted people to understand this people, that despite everything that happened to them they wanted to go home.   The Igbo belief is that the soul that dies in the Diaspora wanders forever - so there was always that yearning to go back home.  It was very important that when people die, it will be in an environment that had to do with their ancestors.  We see it today, that when people die in the diaspora, they are sent back home - even those that do not have any connections back home.  There is that yearning to go back home.  

There is a reoccuring theme of Spirituality in this book.  What were you trying to put across with that?

I wanted to show the loss to the community of Onaedo not being there.  Because she was the natural heir of Aku - this was to show a personal loss to the community. I wanted to emphasize that a lot of people were pragmatic about things like that.    I believe there is a spiritual side to people and that some people are able to express it more than others.   Her being able to get into the mode, in which she saw that guy in the forest, I don’t know if it is real or not but it happens so I wanted to put that in there for people to think about.  I believe that we are all spiritual beings, there are so many dimensions to us being human.  


Do you think that if the slave had chosen to continue with their traditional worship would this have been a problem in Sao Tome ?

Yes, it would have been problematic for the slave masters to have slaves worshipping different kinds of gods, it was more expedient to have everyone worship all kinds of gods.  I think it would have been a problem.  You have to remember that some went into slavery to get souls for christ.  I do not think that it would have gone that well to cement that kind of religion.


I drew similarities between your book and Alex Haley's root - did you draw inspiration from that book?

I felt that something was really lacking in the story.  I wanted to show that Onaedo had a real life and it wasn’t the usual cliche African life.  She actually had a husband, job, kids, friends, she had a girlfriend and they gossiped.  She had a full life.  I felt that the book really talked about the African side of things.   People have mentioned the connection with 'Roots' but I don't really think so.  I felt there was no book that went into details about the African side of life before slavery.  There were  books that talked aout happened when the slaves got to their destination.


Any plans to write a part two or part three?

A lot of people have asked me that question.  Yes, I will but not right after.  But my next book will be about coming of age during the war.  But after that right, it will be an opportunity to continue with her journey.

What do you want us to get from the book?

Have as much pleasure reading it as I had writing it.  If you have get any thing educational out of it that is an added bonus.  But  you should enjoy it for what it is  - a work of historical fiction.  

If a young person comes up to you and they say that they want to be like you - what advice will you give them?

Perfect your art.  Keep on writing. I will just say write with a passion, write about the things that you like and if you write well enough people will like it.


What time do you write?

During the night time, on the days that I am working.  When I am not working as much, I can write during the day as well.  So really , you might have to have the discipline to write everyday.  There is no big difference to it.  Just get down and do it.  Then spend a couple of hours everyday just doing it.  That's  discipline.  I love writing stories. I write sometimes everyday.

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Edited by C.O