A Letter Away From Asaba: A Novella

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You are slowly turning into one of them. A descendant of colonist who belittle our continent and undermine our experiences to doge responsibility for their despicable actions. " How difficult was it getting the novel published? Did people take you less seriously because you are a university student? That just came to my head when writing it. I have many international friends in Edinburgh from the continent and we have different views about contemporary politics in Africa. As much as I want to decolonise the curriculum, I realise that when I talk about issues in Nigeria, I am looking at it from a western lens which I want to detach from. YouthDay2023 #OTD #YouthDay #Soweto #screenprinting #illustration #artivism #SouthAfrica #Mzanzi #Soweto #June16 #heritage #youth #students #school #tohellwithafrikaans Writing fiction based in a country that I have never lived in was quite challenging. I had to draw on conversations I’ve had with people who live there, my ethnic ties to Nigeria and my imagination. The dual setting of the novella definitely helped ease the writing process, given that the book is set in London and Asaba.

Amongst us interns there is Emmanuel, lawyer in Nigeria, who is going on to do his PhD in Germany 🙏🏽, Dejuan founder of The Bookdems and undergrad at SOAS University of London, Medomfo talented musician and singer, as well as music undergrad at the University of Cambridge, Ndubuisi who is currently studying in the UK and has written a phenomenal play called Luscinia, Spencer who has recently graduated with his masters from the University of Cambridge, Patience recent undergrad graduate and aspiring councillor, Usha genius in all things pertaining to renewable energy who holds multiple master degrees and is a lecturer in Nigeria, and myself. The process of writing was good. I got lots of my friends involved who wanted to help. Being in a university space gives access to inform a lot more people and broadens the reach. Being in an academic space means I can get advice and knowledge from people. If I waited until after graduation, I wouldn’t have that community of people who are passionate about history, and decolonising the curriculum, so though it was scary I am glad I did it. A Letter from Asaba is History and Politics student Claudia Efemini’s debut novel. We spoke with Claudia about publishing, the history behind the story, and the importance of learning about colonialism and its ongoing effects. Therefore, instead of having narrative chapters in between each letter I changed them into alternating diary entries of the two protagonists. So, A Letter Away From Asaba is a novella of letters and diary entries! The structure really allows for a mixture of narration and letter writing, which keeps the reader well informed about not only the lives of Onome and Chioma but also their long-distance conversations with each other.A Letter Away From Asaba' is an account of the Asaba massacre during the Nigerian Civil War woven into a fictional narrative.

Why did you choose this particular style of narration? How does it compliment the message you are trying to get across?A Letter Away From Asaba, an epistolary novella, is a historical fictional narrative centred on the Asaba massacre of the Nigerian Civil War. The story follows the lives of best friends Onome and Chioma. Onome is an international student from Nigeria studying law at King's College London whilst Chioma lives in Asaba, Nigeria. Chioma experiences the Asaba massacre, an overlooked and traumatic event of the war, and is forced to confront issues of censorship, grief, and trust. Whilst in London, Onome notices the blatant censorship of the event within the British press. Through a series of diary entries and letters these two young women attempt to come to grips with the massacre and fulfil their desire of publicising its existence in opposition to this censorship. This is far from easy, and they await a series of hurdles in ways they least expect that, in contrast, try to ensure that the victims of the massacre die in vain. The book is narrated by two young Nigerian women, one of whom is now a student in London, the other still living in Nigeria in the wake of the massacre. What did you hope to achieve in presenting two such different perspectives and the effect this has on the women’s relationship? Do you feel there are parts of your own experience reflected in the characters? (Being at university, in the diaspora, being Nigerian in the UK) Another difficulty was drawing the line between fact and fiction. As this is a historical fiction, it was important for me to ensure that there is a sense of reality and accuracy in the story, but I also had to weave fictional narratives into the plot. Nevertheless, the entire writing process was fun and enriching! Advocate: We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion within the university and society at large. Through this project, I wanted to illustrate the brutality students faced while protesting their rights during the Soweto uprising. For this reason, I chose the mask as an element to put the viewer in the same position as the Soweto students» Alicia