Host of France 24’s series Encore!, Eve Jackson, interviews Chinelo Okparanta on her novel Under the Udala Trees. It begins with Okparanta reading an excerpt from the novel, before turning to make introductions and begin the interview. Jackson begins by asking Okparanta where her inspiration for the novel came from. Okparanta explains how she started the novel by simply wanting to write the story of a family, taking the family members and showing their journeys. After a first few drafts, she realized that the heart of the novel laid in the character Ijeoma, so she followed that and revised accordingly. She also credits her mother’s story as influencing the novel, since her mother lived through the Biafran War, when the novel takes place.

The first question targets the use of religion in the novel. Jackson asks whether she believes that a narrow reading of the Bible contributes to Nigeria’s issues with homosexuality, as hinted towards in the novel. Okparanta responds by pointing to the thought that “certain laws and certain rules [in the Bible] existed for practical reasons for certain time periods” and that we need to research these times in order to understand why. She questions why we don’t change them to the current times when there was such a change between the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

The interview continues to shift with other questions. Jackson asks how Okparanta believes the views of gay people changed, especially considering that Okparanta’s grandmother was married to a woman. The esteemed author replies by bringing attention to the truth that Western missionaries brought to Africa the idea that homosexuality was a sin. Before colonization, women in Ibo land would marry each other as an economic and family alliance, and no one looked down upon it. She says whether or not there was love between these unions, even her grandma and partner, is not the point. The point is that these systems existed and were not taboo or illegal until missionaries brought their views. The next question involves bringing up Nigeria’s 2014 bill that made same-sex relationships and people of the LGBTQ+ community illegal. Jackson asks how Okparanta sees the community gaining traction in Nigeria. Okparanta discusses the power of literature and youth. She speaks to how change can come from the “bottom-up” instead of “top-down”, and that literature and the arts can begin to change views in the younger generation who will then advocate for these changed views in their society. 

During the interview, Jackson mentions the film Rafiki, a lesbian love story directed by Wanuri Kahiu. The mention of the film leads them into the conversation on how Okparanta’s novel is received in Nigeria by her family and audience. Okparanta mentions how there have been mixed reviews, some completely rejecting the novel and others messaging her and thanking her for writing it. The interview ends with Okparanta enthusiastically showing her “cultural pick”, what I assume to be a piece of art picked by the interviewee. 

In this interview, I not only learned practical information such as Nigeria’s ban on same-sex relationships, but also Chinelo Okparanta’s views on the interesection between queer identity and religion, the reception of her novel in Nigeria, and her thoughts on how the LGBTQ+ community can rise up in Nigeria. I felt as if there were a lot of different focuses that jumped off one another through the questions asked by Jackson. A particular point that struck as perhaps the central piece of this interview came towards the end. Jackson mentions that the battle against homophobia is not just happening in Nigeria, and not just in Africa, but everywhere. Okparanta agrees and launches into her own spiel on how we are “one world”. She says that people are often “blind to their own cultures”. She explains by mentioning how Americans often tell her how tragic and unfortunate the issues happening in Nigeria are, namely the homophobia mentioned in her novel. Okparanta often shoots back that she lives in America, and she finds it tragic how it happens here too — the same issues, including homophobia. I believe what she is saying is big issues like these are humanity’s issues, not just one country’s, state’s, or continent’s, but everyone’s in the world. 

Chinelo Okparanta says her novel is a call for “self-reflection”. In a way, I believe that this interview was a call for self-reflection as well. While Eve Jackson asks her questions, and Okparanta answers, a bigger picture forms. People need to look back at themselves when reading literature or considering issues in other countries. The problems that literature raises, or that the media reports, or that which is heard about in the local coffee shop, where are they coming from? Are similar issues happening around you or in your life? Issues surrounding religion, the LGBTQ+ community, and others are prevalent in almost all societies. Okparanta’s novel and interview are pushing readers and watchers to take a look inward before projecting outward. She wants us to learn not only about others, but about ourselves in the process. I believe also, Okparanta envisions the strength of people standing up to wrongdoings — to homophobia, racism, unjust war. Her literature and interviews call for people to work together, as she says, “to make things better for all of us”.