Pakdokter missed the Opening Ceremony at the Neka Museum as pakdokter had to queue for a bit to get the day pass. And having already studied the programme the night before, pakdokter stayed on at the Neka Museum to listen to the first session there - an interview with Nigerian writer, Chris Abani, moderated by Ugandan writer, Mohezin Tejani.
Chris Abani wrote his first novel when he was 18. It was a story of a Neo-Nazi government which he said inspired a General to launch a coup in Nigeria. When the next coup de tat took place this General and his group was sent to prison and Chris Abani was also imprisoned on charges of conspiracy. He was set free following another round of coup by a differrent General and was later re-imprisoned for putting up subversive plays in the university.
He tried becoming a priest - joining a seminary but dropped out after 2 years. He also joined the Hari Krishna but only lasted for a short two weeks.
His parents studied in Oxford - his father an Ebo native of Nigeria and his mother, English. He grew up in war-torn Nigeria and took up English at undergraduate level in Nigeria. He has an MA in Gender Studies from the University of London and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from USC ( Uni Southern California).
Abani read a passage from one of his books about teenage kids in war-torn Nigeria who were made to defuse mines from the ground. These kids had their vocal cords severed so that they could not scream if the mines exploded lest it would scare the other kids to run away.
Abani kept us all engaged as he discussed issues of torture, politics, religion, spirituality and how they affected him and his writing. It was a great one hour.....
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