NIGERIAN SCIENCE FICTION WRITER NNEDI OKORAFOR INSPIRES NEW GENERATION OF WRITERS

I was so excited, I could not wait. I had seen chatter on social media about this amazing lady blazing a trail for Africa in the world of science fiction books and it was one of those stories you just knew would make a story. You don't need to overthink it. What is needed at that point is how to cook it and I was so looking forward to it. I love writing. Always have. I loved writing poems especially. I even wrote poems for my best friend back in the day. And I keep them. Poems, letters..... They are my most prized treasures. So when I come across certain authors, I am instantly drawn to them especially one that involves talk of aliens coming to Nigeria. I reached out to Nnedi Okorafor, award winning Nigerian-American writer and she mentioned she would be at this year's Ake Arts and Books Festival in Abeokuta. That did it for me... distance was no barrier. Abeokuta is one of my favourite places. I was counting down to the day until I found out my sister was getting married same day and to top that, my daughter fell ill same week of the shoot. Bummer! My colleagues made it to the rocky city. Though I was not there, I felt like I was there. From dozens of kilometres away, I could feel the energy. And I was not disappointed.
Nnedi Okorafor desperate to see more diversity in the world of superheroes and considering that comics have always been interesting to her is taking her stories to a new audience this time with Marvel Comics, making it a new chapter for them as it is the first Marvel story to be set in a real-life African country. The character, Ngozi stems from the high-profile abduction of about 220 schoolgirls in Chibok in northeast Nigeria in 2014 by the militant group Boko Haram, and the comic's author hopes the teenage superhero will resonate with girls across the country. The author is set to write a three-issue storyline for Marvel’s Black Panther. One of Nnedi's books "Who fears Death" is also being adapted for a TV series by HBO. It took three years for it to culminate. She wrote the book cos of her father's passing so it is close to her heart.
At the festival, Nnedi Okorafor hosted writing and mentorship sessions on Afrofuturism and science fiction. Seeing the video edit two days after, I noticed her hair. Wow! I found it quite fascinating. She was an enigma to me. I did not meet her but I did meet her. She responded to mails, messages on Twitter and even called me when she got to Abeokuta. She expressed how much she was looking forward to the interview and I'm so grateful she made it easy for us.
Nnedi Okorafor, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants was raised in Illinois. She went to school in the states but spent vacations with family back in Nigeria. Her trips to Nigeria over the years inspired her to start writing science fiction books.
Her science fiction and fantasy novels reflect experiences of both Nigeria and the United States and often center around characters who are trying to figure how to make different aspects of their identities fit together. Nnedi has written over 12 novels that have the trends and themes she is obsessed with. She is interested in portraying strong female characters, showing their stories. For her, it is also important to show male characters as well. We cannot wait for the new and exciting opportunities that lies ahead for science fiction stories from Nigeria and Africa.

Pictures courtesy Angela Ukomadu