“Be ready to read more than you write”: One of Nigeria’s Budding Writers and Researcher, Segun Alexandra Adeniyi Shares His Views with Dr Geraldine Sinyuy

Geraldine Sinyuy: Hello Alexandra, I’m happy to be interviewing you today. In your opinion, what makes a good story?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi:  In my opinion, the development of a character into a relatable figure that reflects the diverse versions of reality is what makes a good story.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Writers are also believed to be ardent readers. When did you start reading?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: I started reading when I began to ask questions, particularly at a very young age.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What kind of literature did you read when you were growing up?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: While growing up, I read survival/adventure literature such as Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Where do you get your inspiration for writing?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: I get my inspiration from my personal experiences. This can sometimes be an encounter with nature, people or societal events.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Do you ever get inspiration from your dreams?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: No. I'd rather say I sometimes get my inspiration from moments when I brood or encounter catharsis.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What is your favourite genre to write and why?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: Poetry. I consider it my favourite as it helps me to express my silent emotions loudly to those who can truly hear.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Who is your favourite author, and what is it that actually touches you about their work?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: My favourite author is Wole Soyinka and what really touches me about his work is particularly how he expresses complexity in reality, navigating the gray areas between truth and fiction.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Have you ever experienced what is called a writer’s block? If yes, how did you get out of it?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: Yes, so many times. To get out of it, I simply take a break, engage more in reading other books, naturally inspiring myself to put down content.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What themes do you write about?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: While I write on diverse themes, most of my poetry writings are on African revolution, particularly the need to deepen and address the irregularities in Nigeria’s society.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Do you in any way write about human rights? If yes, what aspects of human rights?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: Yes, I write on human rights. Social Justice and the political human rights.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Can you share an instance where you drew from real-life events to write your story?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: This was practically during a time I submitted an entry for the Labari prize poem. The poem was written based on a real-life encounter during my visit to the Northern part of Nigeria. The religious differences and the major Geraldine Sinyuy: Have you published any books? How have they been received in the society?

Geraldine Sinyuy: Have you published any work?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: Yes, I have published two books, one of which is a paperback short play and the other is an Amazon prose e-book titled "Before the Execution". Well, they have not been received in the society as expected due to variables which may include the decreased reading culture. However, the passion for writing traverse beyond profit margins, the ultimate relief is finding people (no matter their numbers) digging deep into the characters they resonate with and find true.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What is the most inspiring feedback you've ever received from a reader?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: That "my pen speaks the truth, breaks barriers and shouldn't stop as global space is ready for an embrace"

Geraldine Sinyuy: How has your writing evolved from when you started writing till now?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: My writing has faced great improvements. This can be attributed to my engagements in academic writings, producing scholarships that require great proofreading and editing. These strong skills thus reflect themselves in my current/subsequent works and my being published in local and international magazines, books/anthologies serve as a testament to its acceptance.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What are some of the challenges that you face as a writer?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: Being able to ensure continuity towards a particular inspiration is a task that comes with great demands and challenges. This involves stopping where you've written and starting where you've stopped. It is a challenging push. One more challenge I can highlight is the weight that comes with juggling between personal family commitments, fulfilling corporate tasks and requirements, and slipping right into the study/writing room.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What advice will you give to young aspiring people who want to become writers?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: It's simple. Be ready to read more than you write. There's too much knowledge all around. They are dynamic and what's worse for an aspiring writer is to be limited in yesterday. Learning in today matters for a young aspiring writer who wants to see what tomorrow means.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What writing project are you currently working on now?
Segun Alexandra Adeniyi: I am currently working on two scholarships and a poetry collection. The first scholarship is focused on dismantling the silent elements of gender stereotyping against women in selected Nigerian proverbs. The second is focused on examining identity and self-discovery in a post-colonial African context, as reflected by Wole Soyinka in his memoir, "You Must Set Forth at Dawn".

Segun Alexandra Adeniyi is a graduate of English Studies, Tai Solarin University of Education. He is also an academic researcher and an author of books, whose other works have also been featured in national and international books/anthologies such as "Peace in One Piece" in the Voice of Peace International Anthology (2021), "Naija Revo Wetin" in Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize (2023) and "Migration, Dislocation and Displacement" in Poetry Cafe Anthology with Wole Soyinka (2023), among several others. His research interests include social and cultural studies, literature and criminology.