Mujahid Ameen Lilo is a versatile young writer and reader. He is a published writer.
Lilo is the 1st runner-up of the maiden edition of the Nigeria Prize for Teen Authors, 2020. He is a 100-level student at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria studying English and Literary Studies. In this interview with Adepoju Isaiah of ANA Osun Lilo bares his mind on variety of issues about writing and society.
My name is Adepoju Isaiah, can you tell me a little about yourself?
Thanks for the honor. I’m Mujahid Ameen Lilo, sometimes I go by the name Deen Ameen. I am seventeen. I’m currently in 100 level studying English and Literary Studies at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. I grew up in Kano.
Well, Mr. Mujahid, I will like to start from the scratch, how did you begin writing?
Well, I think it began from the feelings reading unearthed in me. You know that feeling of wanting to do something led me to it. Also, I loved listening to moonlight tales and retelling them in my own way. I am an avid reader.
According to Niyi Osundare, writing is one job that you have to do alone, what is your view on that?
I agree totally. It’s something you alone stay up the nights and work on, alone in a room. But then you send to others for editing and polishing or feedback, thereby involving them in the job, slightly. I think Osundare had those young writers in mind that expect a mentor to do the job for them. Somebody once told me that he had an idea so I should compose it for him and he would still be the writer (laughs). Writing is one job you have to do alone.
You are a winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize, what was your mindset like when you were preparing for the contest? And how did you come up with the idea of the calligraphy you presented?
In preparing for that contest, I tried to stay positive. I worked hard and prayed. I wasn’t that competitive after making the shortlist which automatically means a mentoring session with the Nobel Laureate, which is the biggest award really. But then in the grand finale when I won for my region, I was like ‘Wow, okay oo. Good. As for the calligraphy, it’s not really my idea. It was a friend’s. He is a sackful of ideas, that guy from Gombe (Garko).
Describe who Soyinka is to you. Please tell us a little about the grand finale, I mean the activities you engaged in during your stay in his place.
I’ve always admired Prof. Wole Soyinka. His The Lion and The Jewel is one of the best plays I have ever read. And he got us the Nobel Prize you know, the first African to do that.
The grand finale took place in Abeoukuta’s Cultural Center on a drizzly morning. The judge informed us that we were writing on a totally different topic that morning.
There were lots of activities like some minor competitions such as debate, spelling bee, poetry reading, quiz, traditional snacks exhibition etc. We explored his forest. We met with some other students of Ogun state. We were having a cultural exchange you know. We went to the Olumo Rock. The traditional food exhibition and traditional attire was something else because we got to see how diverse and unique our country is.
We went to Ondo State too and we were addressed by their kindhearted governor and mentoring sessions with some of his commissioners. It was all great.
In your poem titled ‘Borno’ did you actually grow up there? Or it was a one-time inspirational experience?
Funny enough, I’ve never been to Maiduguri. I was just inspired by the irony in the whole thing. Borno is always ‘Home of Peace’ on number plates of cars but it’s the state the people, in my father’s radio, says is full of dead bodies, fire and smoke. On Aljazeera TV, it is a landscape of ruins. Borno was always hovering in my consciousness. It became the canvas I paint most of my musings on.
How do you write? Do you wait for inspiration or you just start writing anytime you want to?
I write when I have the inspiration. Sometimes though I write just like that. I would pick a pen and paper or go to my phone’s note to start writing because writing is something that requires constant practice.
You came 2nd in the maiden edition of the Nigeria Prize for Teen Authors; did you feel satisfied by that?
Yes. A newspaper made a report on the winners and wrote that I came third and I still felt fortunate and even happy because I know how competitive and diligent our country’s teenagers are, especially the writers. But when it was announced that I came second, I was satisfied. I liked the judge’s report honestly because I placed it at the back of my mind. The Prize gave me the opportunity to visit Niger State and met many amazing writers and my mentors.
Talk about these three genres of literature in your own perception and words: play, prose and poetry.
Play can be boring; prose is totally cool; poetry is hard and grand.
I have noticed a sudden boom in writing by teenagers and young people generally? What do you foresee for Nigerian literature in the coming years?
Yes. Many wonderful voices are rising like Adamu Usman Garko, Ali Mamman, Zakiyyah Dzukogi who are inspiring a lot of other young writers to take their art seriously. I was in Niger State and I just sat and watch the members of the Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation dazzling everyone with their creativity. Read their works and you will be wowed. Likewise, in Abeokuta, teenagers were writing powerful essays and poetry. The future is indeed very bright.
Can you remember your first written work and what it was about?
I can remember my first poem about the many problems of Nigeria.
Being a bilingual writer, have you ever had any issues between switching from English to Hausa or Hausa to English? And how has it affected your audience?
None actually. I don’t share my works in Hausa with anyone (though I will soon start) so I don’t know the effect.
Which is the most convenient for you to write in?
English of course!
Concerning your published e-book titled Election Season you narrated the ignorance of political thugs and the Skulduggery played by the aspiring political gluttons, the book carries with it a voice. Do you in the nearest future, dream to become a human right activist.
Yeah, sure!
Who then is your role model, speaking of being a human right activist? And why have you chosen him/her?
Prof. Wole Soyinka because his activism is through writing matched with action.
How did you picture the story (“Election Season”), how did you capture the full scope? Was it from a real-life story of a friend, a street thug, a relative, or was it plain imagination?
Purely imaginative.
And what inspired it?
It was inspired by the street kids and thugs, the election rigging all which are everyday occurrences in Nigeria.
How do you view politics?
I view politics especially the sort played in Nigeria as a very frustrating game.
Frustrating! In what sense?
In the sense that so much corruption and deception pervade it. This leaves many citizens hopeless and helpless including me. At seventeen, I am already hopeless in my country.
Do you think your view has been effective in your writing? How do you explain that?
Perhaps! I can’t say because when writing I tried not to use my own view of politics but my characters’ and their views and mine will not necessarily be the same. How do I explain that? Well I’m not conscious of that when writing so I can’t really explain it.
Who is your godfather in the literary sphere? And who also is your mentor?
I don’t think I have a godfather. For mentors I’ve a multiplicity of them: Chika Unigwe, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, BM Dzukogi, Kamarudden Mustapha, Zaharadden Kallah, Nosakhare Collins, Sada Malumfashi and others whose books do the mentoring like Chimamanda, Jhumpa Lahiri and Chinua Achebe.
If you are given a slot by country to demand something concerning your writing, what would you ask for and why?
Hmm, maybe residency.
Why?
So, I can write all the stories in my head comfortably.
What is the most vital in a work of art? And which genre do you like most?
Beautiful language that aptly captures whatever the writer wants to say. I prefer prose.
Between passion and prizes, which surpasses the other? And how do they intertwine?
Passion. If you are passionate about something, you will do it so well that the prizes come effortlessly. Passion can get you the prizes and they in turn may make you more passionate.
If there was a day-old writer, which work of yours would you recommend to him/her, and why?
Well, I would recommend my collection of short stories because I think he may enjoy them more than my poetry.
What beauty is constant in your collection of short stories that makes you think that’s exactly what a premature writer need?
Because I think my stories are better than my poems. Talking of beauty, I think that is for the reader and critics to point out.
What advice would you give to upcoming unpublished teen writers?
There is no need to rush. Patience and maturation are required in not only writing but everything.
Mention one unique thing about you?
I write bilingually, if you consider that unique. Also, I read a lot.
Thank you, Mr. Mujahid Ameen Lilo for your time. We are expecting more of your impact in the literary sphere, we are honored, Sir.
Thank you too.
Adepoju Isaiah is currently a Jambite student from Ataoja Government High School, Oshogbo, Osun State. He is a member of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), a member of Society of Young Nigerian Writers (SYNW) and also a member of Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation. He is a teen author who has published a book titled Eniobasin FB/Isaiah_Gbenga, whatsApp @ 08144255854, Instagram @ijaya_dynasty.
Isaiah Adepoju is going places. Just watch out for him.