Young and In Charge: Dr Nze Sylva Ifedigbo

So I have been sitting here struggling with myself to come up with something catchy to say about our young person of the week and I am still coming up empty. Maybe the thought that we have an author as our young person of the week has me quavering in my boots, lol, I don't want to write something that would make him go 'haha, amateur' 

In a country where the reading culture is slowly dying off, its nice to see authors who write purely for the love of it even when the pay is not as glamorous as it should be. Meet Dr Nze Sylva Ifedigbo our honorary Abujan, honorary because he went off on an adventure to discover Lagos a few months ago, but is truly Abuja 'bred and buttered', we know you would be home soon. This young Dr was fortunate enough to discover his love for writing at a young age.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I am a young Nigerian writer passionate about my country and about what I do. I was born in Abuja, had my secondary education at school for the Gifted Gwagwalada Abuja and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I am easy going, fun loving and currently I am an ambassador for the coca-cola A billion reasons to believe in Africa campaign.

Nze Sylva Ifedigbo

What was growing up like?

Jeez. The thought of this question fills me with nostalgia. It was really fun growing up. I often think of those years and I feel sorry for the kids of today who in my opinion are short of options. Things were ordinary back then but there was something special about the ordinariness. Every 80’s kid will appreciate what I am talking about. But then, it was strict too. Then, every other mother around was your mother and if you did something wrong outside they pulled you by the ear to your own mother who continued where they stopped. So I will summarise growing up as being both fun and strict.

Tell us a little about your educational background?

As stated earlier I attended school for the Gifted Gwagwalada, then I went to the University of Nigeria where I obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in 2007. I have in addition since also obtained professional training and certifications in Project Management, Creative writing and Public Relations. Today, I am a writer, op-ed columnist and PR professional in addition to being a Doctor.

Writing must be fun. How did you get into it? When did you get into it?

For me, writing is more than a job or a hobby. It goes way deeper and permeates every aspect of my life such that my every conversation, the expression on every face I see, the news on the radio, every circumstance I find myself in, is a story and they all provide the inspiration to write. I have been writing since the earliest memory I have of myself as a child. Growing up with books as toys has a way of immersing you into that word and one of my biggest fantasies as a child was having my name on the cover of a book. So back then I wrote stories, usually my own versions of stories I had read or been told and I will not rest until I had gotten everyone to read it. It was not hard to identify it as something I had in me and I have since worked to make it shine.

What is your typical day like?

Phew! I recently moved to Lagos and unlike Abuja, this is one hell of a crazy place to live in. My typical day begins at 5am or thereabout. I have developed a habit of first going to twitter to check things up and perhaps dropping some tweets upon waking up.  That is after praying of course. Then there is the usual routine of bathing and preparing for work and then the daily task of wading through Lagos traffic to get to work. I will rather leave out details of work here but it suffices to say that for someone like me who writes what I prefer to call every day stories in addition to having a weekly column dedicated to human interest issues in a daily, everything I encounter: from the news on television before leaving home, the actions of danfo drivers on the streets of Lagos, to the headlines in the papers and discussions with colleagues form writing materials.

What do you love most about you what you do?

There is this almost surreal satisfaction you experience as a writer when you finally tell a story that has been dancing around your thoughts for a while. It’s like giving birth. Or perhaps even more special. But there is even more. Writing is essentially not one of the wonderfully paying jobs but no pay equals that fulfilment when someone buzzes you on-line or drops you an anonymous message or hails you at the lobby of the cinema and says “hey I read your stuff and I loved it. Great job.” Such moments are simply magical. The sense of accomplishment of having contributed to knowledge, of having enriched humanity, of having made someone somewhere happy is priceless and for me and many other writers, this is what keeps us going.

Of all your works, which would you say is your best piece ever?

Arrrghhhh,  (scratches head) now that is a hard one. It’s like telling a mother to pick a favourite from a set of twins.  Really, each of my work means something special to me and are all products of a particular conception.  They are my babies you get? So I wouldn't pick one as a favourite without living with the guilt of having ignored the other. Having said that though, I must add that some of the works have been more successful than others. Some have won awards or been published in international journals while others had not. But in general, I will rather leave the readers to pick which they connected with most.

Have you been published? What are the names of your published works.

Yes I am a published author. Spectrum Books published my novella Whispering Aloud in 2007. Recently my new book The Funeral Did Not End was released by DADA Books. The Funeral Did Not End is a collection of twenty stories that peers into the fabric of the Nigerian Society, offering a delightful insight into the everyday life of Nigerians. The stories are varied in scope and theme and run the gamut, from politics to religion as well as culture, demonstrating in a fascinating way, the problems, challenges, struggles and potentials of greatness embedded in the Nigerian spirit. I also have short stories published in literary journals both at home and abroad and so many opinion articles in various publications both online and in print

What are the difficulties involved?

There is quite a story to this. Indeed I can write a book on it. Writing and publishing in Nigeria is pretty challenging. For starts it is difficult to find anyone who survives just on writing so you find many writers maintaining a full time job and struggling with their writing on the side. And unlike the other arts, such as acting and music, writers are not as celebrated. The state of our publishing industry is another not so happy story. The dearth of publishing houses interested in publishing creative writing as opposed to school text books is a major low and has hindered the discovery of many talents.

If you weren't doing this, what would you have been doing?

Em em…Perhaps I would have been an actor or may be a Catholic Priest. Hahahahaha. Don’t mind me. It is simply hard to imagine myself doing anything besides this.

In a country like ours where the reading culture is slowly dying out, have you ever felt like giving up writing?

It really gets frustrating at times but you will agree that the fact that people die at war hasn't stopped people from voluntarily signing up to join the army. I was telling someone recently that it is only in Nigeria that you find young people confidently declare as if it is a thing of pride that they don’t read. For me, beyond the fact that this is like we say bad market for the trade I ply, it is something that worries me for the future of this country. There is this joke that if you want to hide something from a Nigerian hide it inside a book. A reading nation, is a great nation and it is no wonder that we are where we are a nation.

Who or what inspires you?

More of what than who really. I am inspired by everything that happens around me from the scramble at rowdy bus parks, to the headlines in the newspapers and even game shows on the television. There are so many stories to tell around us and no one else will tell these stories but us. Someone once said we are often nauseated by the screams of the bus conductors that we fail to notice the poetry in it…the rhyme, the repetitions etc. All these inspire me. 

Considering the level of success you have attained, youths out there would be itching to know how old you are.

Now that reminds me, it’s my birthday next week actually. It gets scary sometimes knowing one is getting older you know. LOL. About my age, well I already said earlier that I am an 80’s kid. I guess that pretty much give it all away.

Asides work, what do you do for fun?

Like most people of my generation, I recently found this amazing tool, twitter which has become my favourite hangout. I guess that’s also writing in a way. What else do I do? I watch movies, I go to the beach, and I watch football…I am a Man United fan, and I love to travel. 

Where do you see yourself in the five years?

Where do I see myself? well I plan to publish more books, just finishing up work on a novel actually, I hope to have picked up a couple of awards and I aim to have become an international writer of repute with my work read in various translations by people of various tongues and creed.

Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.

Patience, discipline and hard work is key. First you must be disciplined enough to read widely and write and rewrite rigorously. You must also be patient for the time to come. I waited two years for TFDNE to be published. Due to the dearth of local publishers publishing fiction, young writers in Nigeria are faced with a peculiar challenge. But it is one that is not insurmountable. I urge them to keep working at it and the opportunity will come.

Where can we get copies of your published works?

In Abuja, the book is available at Cassava Bookshop, Shop 62 Abuja Arts & Craft Village (Opposite Sheraton Hotel) as well as at the Silverbird Lifestyle Bookshop inside the Silverbird Galleria. The book is also available in bookshops across the nation. Readers can check out details on my site www.nzesylva.com

At a book reading and signing for The Funeral Did Not End

Cover For The Funeral Did Not End

You can visit his website www.nzesylva.com
Follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/nzesylva
And visit his blog www.nzesylva.wordpress.com