Adesuwa O’man Nwokedi wears many hats, but she is a storyteller by heart. What began as scribbles shared with friends has grown into a love affair with romance writing, now spanning over 30 titles. A self-proclaimed hopeless romantic and eternal daydreamer, Adesuwa creates characters who love deeply and imperfectly. When she’s not writing or plotting her next story, she’s at home being the happiest version of herself: a wife and proud mom of three.
Haneefah Abdulrahman: Can you take us back to the moment when you first started writing? What inspired you to put pen to paper, and what emotions or experiences drove you to create?
Adesuwa O’man Nwokedi: I started writing so young, so, as an avid reader, it was simply just the love of books.
Haneefah: Someone once said, ” Do writers still exist because AI is taking over the writers’ job?” What do you have to say about that in regards to authenticity?
Adesuwa: AI can never capture the soul of a true writer, no matter how well it is trained.
Haneefah:What is your assessment of the development of women writers in Nigeria in the last two decades?
Adesuwa: Exceptional. There has been rapid growth.
Haneefah: What is the most daring thing you’ve done as a writer?
Adesuwa: Writing unpopular and/or controversial topics/tropes
Haneefah: What was the most daring part of writing NO PERFECT LOVE ?
Adesuwa: Not sure I would call any part of it daring.
Haneefah: What was the writing process of NO PERFECT LOVE?
Adesuwa: I wrote it 6 years ago and it was mainly for my existing community of readers. It involved a lot of soul searching, discussions with friends, and research.
Haneefah: How did you create Tobenna’s character to evoke both sympathy and frustration?
Adesuwa: I modelled him after what many would say is the average Nigerian man.
Haneefah: I am intrigued by the character dynamics in your book. How did you develop the complex relationship between Tobenna , Gina and Mudi and what inspired the plot twist.
Adesuwa: I wanted to portray the unravelling of a marriage. That largely inspired the plot twist.
Haneefah: What role does Kelechi, Tobenna, and Gina’s son play in exploring the balance between judgment and empathy, and what insights or themes does his character bring to the story?
Adesuwa: Kelechi, as the child, saw his parents from a lens different from the outside world. I wanted to have an insider corroborate Gina’s account of neglect which the world could not see.
Haneefah: The setting of the book is across time , from past to present yet the narrative was stable. How did you maintain that?
Adesuwa: By trying to vividly depict both time spans to allow the reader to immerse themselves in each and recognise the switch in between.
Haneefah:You are known for writing romance. But you wrote something different once, a tragic book called ADANNA, which I thoroughly also enjoyed. If you are to write something different from romance again. Would it be a tragedy ?
Adesuwa: Unlikely.
Haneefah: Do you believe that a writer’s primary obligation is to their own creative vision, or should they prioritize the needs and expectations of their audience or society? Should art be created solely for its own sake, or should it serve a specific purpose or message intended by the writer?
Adesuwa: For art to be true, it has to be borne from the soul of the artist, not in response to what is deemed the interest of the consuming public.
Haneefah: In your wide interactions with critics,how should the relationship between writers and critics stand?
Adesuwa: Critics are necessary, but for both parties to truthfully perform their roles, the interactions should be as dispassionate and unbiased as possible.
Haneefah Abdulrahman is a writer, interviewer, spoken poetry artiste and podcaster from Nigeria whose work has appeared in Nigerian Review, Wisprout Project, Arts MuseFair, and elsewhere. She is a 2021 fellow of Ebedi International Writers Residency, a Pioneer fellow of Imodoye Writers’ Residency, and she was a Columnist at DailyTrust Newspaper. She is the Author of Shades of Becoming. She is the 2021 Winner of The Arewa Rising Literary Star. Born in Kaduna, Haneefah is an indigene of Kogi State. She is a student of English Literature at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Haneefah is the founder of FitzNArtz. She is the Chairperson of the Kaduna Branch, Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation, the 2021/ 2022 Chairperson of the Creative Writers Club, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria – Nigeria, the Editor-in-Chief of Literature Voices (LITVO) and the Editorial Assistant of the Moveee Magazine.
