Onyeka Nwelue
| Onyeka Nwelue | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Onyekachukwu George Nwelue 31 January 1988 Ezeoke Nsu, Imo State, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Period | 2000–present |
| Notable awards |
The Future Awards, 2009 TM ALUKO Prize for Fiction, 2009 TAHIR IBRAHIM Prize for First Book, 2000 THOMSON Short Story Prize |
Onyeka Nwelue (born 31 January 1988) is a Nigerian cultural entrepreneur, filmmaker, professor and author who is best known for his novel 'The Abyssinian Boy', which was published when he was 21 and won the TM Aluko Prize for Fiction, came second at the Ibrahim Tahir Prize for First Book, was nominated for the Future Awards and later won the Prince Claus Ticket Grant.
He is currently an assistant professor and Visiting Fellow of African Literature and Studies at the University of Manipur in Imphal, India.
Early life
Onyeka Nwelue was born in Ehime Mbano in Imo State, Nigeria to Honourable Sam Nwelue, a politician and Knight of St. Christopher and Lady Catherine Nwelue, a teacher and Lay Reader. When he was 11, he was sent to Mount Olives Seminary in Umuezeala Nsu, where he was meant to become a priest.
Nwelue left Mount Olives Seminary to continue at Holy Family Secondary School, before running away to Lagos, to pursue his career in writing. He wrote for The Guardian and The Punch.
Personal life
Nwelue left for Lagos when he was 16 years old to attend the Wole Soyinka Festival, after which he was introduced to the Nobel Laureate. A few years later, Nwelue travelled to India for the 2nd International Writers’ Festival, under the invitation of the India Cultural Association.
He is the 4th of 6 children to his parents. His mother is cousin to Flora Nwapa, often regarded as the first African female writer to be published internationally and acclaimed writer, Chukwuemeka Ike and Professor Leslye Obiora, former Minister of Mines and Steel.
At the age of 21, Nwelue was the first African to join Sandbox, a global community of young innovators under 30, after which he was followed by Nigerian musician, Bez.
Career
Early career
Early in his career, Nwelue wrote for The Guardian, a rare opportunity given to him by Mr. Jahman Anikulapo, who was then the Editor of Guardian on Sunday.
The Abyssinian Boy
Nwelue began writing his first novel, The Abyssinian Boy when he was in India.[1] The book partly captures his experiences in India as a black man. The publication of The Abyssinian Boy catapulted Nwelue to international fame.[2] It received the 2009 TM Aluko Prize for Fiction, came second at the Ibrahim Tahir Prize for First Book, nominated for the Future Awards and was “Book of the Month” for so many magazines. It became a national bestseller and was republished in India and the United States. From the beginning, the book was also a commercial success: Nwelue received over 2.5 a million naira as an advance.
The Abyssinian Boy received stellar reviews in major Nigerian and Indian newspapers such as ( "a Greek tale,")[3] and the Hindu ("the Indian ethos are original"), and by the end of the year, Nwelue had spoken at universities and colleges in India, Hong Kong, Kenya, Uganda, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
Burnt
His second book is a narrative in verse[4] and has been described by British-Hungarian poet, George Szirtes as ‘breathless.’ He toured 25 countries of Europe in 2014, promoting. It has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Igbo and Yoruba. It was translated by Venezuelan writer, Alberto Quero and published in Peru. It had its official launch at the Cusco Book Fair in Peru in 2015. [5]
Hip-Hop is Only for Children
Nwelue worked with musicians under La Cave Musik and travelled to different countries to meet different musicians and came up with this controversial book, which details personal encounters with musicians and music promoters. It was released in January 2015 to critical acclaim. It was admired by critics and readers alike.
Education and teaching
On his return from India, Nwelue got admitted into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to study Sociology & Anthropology. He spent two years and dropped out, to study Scriptwriting at the Asian School of Media Studies in Noida in India, after which he taught Film Directing at Center for Research in Art of Film & TV (CRAFT). He handled the Sandwich Class of the English Language Department of the University of Lagos while working as the editor of FilmAfrique, a primer on African film initiatives, published by Africa Film Academy, curators of the Africa Movie Academy Awards. He was offered a scholarship to study Directing at Prague Film School in Czech Republic.
In 2014, he was appointed a Visiting Lecturer of African Studies at the School of Modern Language and Culture, the University of Hong Kong and later an assistant professor of African Studies at Instituto d'Amicis in Puebla, Mexico.
By January 2015, he was promoted as Visiting Fellow cum assistant professor of African Literature at the University of Manipur in Imphal, north east India.
Later career
Since the success of his novel, Nwelue has co-written a film, Namaste Naija, directed by Teco Benson and shot in Hyderabad and Lagos. He also co-created the short film, The Beginning of Everything Colourful, with British actor and model, Dudley O’Shaughnessy.
In early 2012, he was signed to Pontas Agency in Spain, but has not been able to sell any of his novels.
He founded Blues & Hills Consultancy, which was featured on MTV Meets MTN with Ben Murray Bruce. His firm, organized the first ever Bayelsa Book & Craft Fair, where he served as the director. He also undertook to edit and publish FilmAfrique, a primer on African cinema, funded by the Africa Film Academy, curators of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).
Under Blues & Hills Consultancy, La Cave Musik was created and situates in Paris and Puebla, to serve as CEO/President.
At 27, Nwelue became the youngest jury member of any film festival, as part of the Woodpecker International Film Festival in India. He went on to later create The Italian-Nigerian Festival of Cultures, curating the Diplomatic Jazz Nights for the diplomatic community in Nigeria.
Controversy
Since publishing The Abyssinian Boy in 2009, Nwelue has spent most of his time, speaking at different events and festivals and forums. He has courted controversy by describing Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe as the ‘worst book ever written by an African' and once said of Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka: “He writes very bad dialogue.”[6]
References
- ↑ "The Abyssinian Boy". 234Next. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
- ↑ "The Audacity of Wakefulness". Sentinel. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ↑ "No full-time writer in Nigeria - Onyeka Nwelue". dailytrust.com.ng.
- ↑ "Writing Is Only for Children: My Stroll with Onyeka Nwelue". The Huffington Post.
- ↑ http://sankofamag.com/onyeka-nwelue-interview/
- ↑ "The Dropout Professor, Articles - THISDAY LIVE". thisdaylive.com.
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