Books galore—Inside Nigeria’s Steve Ogah’s passion for writing
BY SOUMANOU SALIFOU
Looking at the wrinkled, quiet face of a river spreading endlessly and touching the sky miles away, you can hardly tell there are millions of busy fish swimming in the water in all directions. One gets the same feeling about Steve Ogah, an award-winning Nigerian writer only in his forties whom one would not suspect of hiding beneath his quiet demeanor seven books, with one currently in the works and more to come.
“I write because I can, and I want to tell you my story. I wouldn’t want to do something that I can’t do,” he tells The African, adding, “People tend to go in the direction they feel they will succeed in and that they have a passion for. I should think that is my motivation.”
Steve Ogahs’ passion for writing didn’t come out of nowhere. As is often the case, his upbringing has a lot to do with it. “I was inspired to become a writer because I grew up in a house full of books, magazines and newspapers, and everyone at home loved reading,” Ogah says. “Our house was literally a library. I read all the great international magazines for free. I mean The Economist, Time, Newsweek, Ebony, Business Week, Woman’s World, GQ, Harper’s, Reader’s Digest, Right On, Black Beat, Jeune Afrique, Vogue, Jet, Homes and Garden etc., we had them all.”
Ogah delightedly tells The African in detail how he was constantly bumping into books in the house, reading not just the bunch of newspapers and magazines mentioned earlier, but also books. The long list includes all the major bestsellers of Chinua Achebe, Jeffery Archer, Robert Ludlum, Agatha Christie, Tom Clancy, Wole Soyinka, Ken Saro-Wiwa and other great writers. Tellingly, he says he still has a torn copy of Gene Wolfe’s The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories, a science fiction classic from Pocket Books. “That 410-page book had an impact on me,” Ogah says. “The book has a strange world of characters, and I was always trying to imagine them in real life. Perhaps, that sort of thing fertilized my growing imagination more.”
Ogah navigates several literary genres: political essays, novels, short stories, and poetry. His following three books, all published by Ritacascia, are just examples.
Obama’s logic (November 11, 2020): This book of political essays is a rendering of Obama through his political beliefs and worldview. The book highlights various aspects of the Barack Obama heroic story.
Khaki Boy (November 24, 2020): A coming of age novel of a young man on national assignment for his country. John reports at a youth camp and is filled with his own vain ideas and plans. He begins to see soldiers everywhere and discovers that things may not go as intended. But he is determined to outsmart camp officials. There are songs and laughter in this tale of friendships and patriotism. Khaki Boy is a compelling tale of a man’s determination to serve his country even when initial hope was lost.
Sowore: A Life of Social and Political Engagements (November 26, 2020): A deconstruction of the life of Omoyele Sowore, the founder and publisher of Sahara Reporters. Sowore is a career activist and former presidential candidate in Nigeria. He was active in the fight against military rule and was almost killed in the process. He fled into exile for his own safety and only returned to Nigeria when it was safe to do so.
Ogah’s passion for writing does not stop at writing books. He also embraced journalism and excelled at it.
He wrote for the defunct New Orleans-based journal www.gf21.net edited by the late journalist and author Rod Amis. Ogah stressed he “was in good company,” mentioning several African talented reporters who also wrote them for the same publication: Mphuthumi Ntabeni from South Africa, Ken Kamoche from Kenya, Ngozi Razak-Soyebi from Nigeria, and other talented writers from around the world. His writings also appeared in New York Beacon, the Daily Scrum News in Canada, The African Courier in Germany, Black History Month in UK, Sahara Reporters in New York, and Africa Briefing in London. That is not to mention his contributions to various Nigerian publications.
Such talents, of course, could not be ignored at home. So, Ogah tells The African about his contributions to the Nigeria press, which include serving as a staff writer at Splendor, a Cross River-based magazine where he wrote about sports, and in other Nigerian publications including Daily Compass, City Mail, News Direct, Integrated Energy, Lakis News and others.
The passion, talents and hard work has brough Steve Ogah some rewards, with more to come hopefully.
He wrote a poem entitled “Tomorrow” for which in 2002 Voices Network in the United States of America selected him as writer of the poem of the month in February of that year. Steve Ogah tells The African: “There were entries from all over the world and I was quite humbled and honored to be so rewarded from a crowded field of talented writers.” He adds: “That recognition made me believe I was on the right trajectory with my talents. To have someone so far away see meaning in the little lines I had written in a quiet corner of my room was a great thing to happen to me.”
But that was only a warmup session of sorts.
In 2005, he was one of eight writers selected from a multi-pool of writers across Nigeria to take part in the highly acclaimed British Council/Lancaster University Crossing Borders online writing program. After submitting his application on the last day almost like a formality, he said he couldn’t help leaping with joy when he was accepted in the program. He went on to achieve two publication honors in the program’s international journal. “It was a good feeling to see my poems paid for and get widely distributed,” says Ogah who added his pride of being “mentored in the program by Steven Waling, a Manchester based writer and poet.” In 2020, he was longlisted for the “Wakini Kuria” award for Children’s literature by the African Writers Development Trust.
Does Steve Ogah, a man one can easily call a bookworm (in a very positive way) plan on taking a break from writing soon? No way! “I am currently at work on a Pan-African book project while still finding time to write more personal books. I have lined up some children story books to be released soon along with other books. Writing never stops for me. Really, it shouldn’t until I am dead.”
When Ogah is not writing, he can be found on the farm tending animals and consulting for farmers on modern animal production practices. He says: “I live between the expansive world of writing and the idyllic world of nature. “
BOOKS BY STEVE OGAH
Title: Barack Obama’s Logic (Political Essays)
Year of Publication: 11th November 2020
ISBN: 978-139-353-0725
Publisher: Ritacascia
Distributor: www.barnesandnoble.com
www.kobo.com
www.scribd.com
www.vivlio.com
www.thalia.de
www.chapters.indigo.ca
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Title: Khaki Boy (Novel)
Year of Publication: 24th November 2020
ISBN: 978-139-376-8593
Publisher: Ritacascia
Distributor: www.barnesandnoble.com
www.kobo.com
www.thalia.de
www.vivlio.com (France)
www.books.apple.com
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Title: Sowore: A Life of Political and Social Engagements (Political Essays)
Year of Publication: 26th November 2020
ISBN: 978-139-352-6681
Publisher: Ritacascia
Distributor: www.books.apple.com/us/book/id1540531621
www.barnesandnoble.com
www.kobo.com
www.thalia.de
www.scribd.com
www.vivlio.com
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Title: The African New Yorker (Collection of Short Stories)
Year of Publication: 2018
ISBN: 978-978-963-817-8
Publisher: Ritacascia
Where Distributed: Nigeria (Hard Copies)
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Title: The Pretty Butterfly (kids)
Year of Publication: 5th April, 2015
ISBN: 978-150-702-0029
Publisher: Goodchild/Ritacascia
Seller: Draft2Digital LLC(USA)
Where Distributed: www.books.apple.com/us/book/id982844157
www.barnesandnoble.com,
www.kobo.com
www.thalia.de
Soumanou Salifou (administrator)
Soumanou is the Founder, Publisher, and CEO of The African Maganize, which is available both in print and online. Pick up a copy today!