NCB: Good evening Som. You’re welcome.
FYB: Thank you.
NCB: It’s been long we see you (as a former member) and I must say we all missed you. Tell us what happened really? Why the abrupt break from NCB?
FYB: Hmm!
Break from NCB?
Or from Social Media?
NCB: Which of these do you consider accurate?
FYB: Virtual life, I guess. You know, I didn’t take a break from NCB; I left. But as for social media, I left a couple of them, but I also feel like I might come back to some. I deleted my FB. I left Twitter even though my account isn’t deleted yet. But I most likely will be back on IG. I feel like WhatsApp gives people unnecessary access to me. So, I might leave, too. As it is now, I don’t view statuses and I rarely make them. Online life is overrated. The real stuff is in doing the actual living.
NCB: Why did you leave NCB?
FYB: I think my goal shapeshifted, and NCB, good as it is, can no longer keep up with me.
NCB: Apparently, you’re absconding the media world or should I say the digital world generally?
FYB: Let’s say social media. Those platforms are great. They have revolutionized communication. They still will. But I also don’t need to lecture anyone on how dangerous they are to humankind. Jaron Lanier and Sherry Turkle have done that. Or talk about Zadie Smith and a league of others.
But I said social media because, of course, there isn’t anyway I could avoid the media. I am a news person. I read my Daily Post NG, my ESPN, my Brittle Paper, my IndieWire, my Pitchfork, and my Guardian UK.
I keep abreast of what’s up. I’m just a kind of person that prefers slow life. Sometimes, I feel like I’m a character from Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love. That’s a bad joke, BTW. Smiles*
NCB: Interesting! Can we have an in-depth knowledge about your background?
FYB: My family? I best keep it “solo” here. Lol.
NCB: Not really.
Where you came from and …
FYB: OK, then. I grew up and schooled in Iwo and Ife. I did a little bit of Osogbo. But Ibadan, especially now, is really it. It is where my heart is.”
NCB: Having gone to different schools at different locations, what disadvantage(s) do you think that would have caused?
FYB: I think it creates a disconnect from the friends you make in these locations. It could be a task keeping friends. I suspect it a has a thing to do with my being poor at keeping people. I am warm and could win people over to my side easily, esp. beautiful dark ladies. But it’s difficult keeping them. I am an anti-social extrovert.
NCB: “beautiful dark ladies”, interesting!
FYB: Yeah, I’ve got a thing for gorgeous dark-skinned ladies. It’s a nice thing we’ve got a lot of them in my class. Lol.
NCB: How many of them are you crushing on?
FYB: If crushes are people you admire but will mostly likely have nothing to do with, yes. You don’t want to know how many of them. Lol. But these people are really gorgeous. They pop fine lines out of me. They inspire the zero-budget Shakespeare in me. BTW, this is no disrespect to fair-skinned ladies. I just don’t want anyone taking up my mum’s place. Lol. But then there are too many fine ladies, dark or fair, in my class.
NCB: ☺️
How has your support system outside of academia influenced your journey as a final year student in English department?
FYB: My mum has been great. Friends do come through, too. My immediate elder sister tries her best as well. I am grateful to have all these people. But I am a hustler myself.
NCB: What kind of hustle do you partake in?
FYB: My primary source of income is magazine publications. I’m a creative writer, you know. I used to work with a number of tutorial centres, too. But that shit is slavery. I still work with Highflyers, though, because of my relationship with the tutorial.
NCB: If you were given the chance to rewrite UTME and choose again, what school and course would come to mind?
FYB: I don’t think English is bad. But I might go to UI instead.
NCB: Tell us some things that would make you rank UI over OAU?
FYB: Overpopulation. OAU is overpopulated. My department especially, is congested. The facilities will always fall short.
NCB: Obviously, English was your preferred course. Can you share some of the downs you’ve encountered so far in the department ?
FYB: Yeah, I chose the course and was given on merit.
The department almost killed my spirit with some string of results.
The thing is the system isn’t transparent. There are some courses you can never explain how they are graded. But like I said, I think the problem is overcrowding. I don’t think as a lecturer, I would thouroughly and flawlessly go through over 300, 400, 500, 600 scripts per course in that short period of time required for marking by the department. The system is bad. By the way, our lecturers are really doing the best they can. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t think they are sadists.
NCB: Then, which party do you think is culpable of that overcrowding issue?
FYB: I don’t know, really. I think it’s the government. If there was enough funding, I don’t think any department will be over-excited about acceptance fees, which, by the way, has now been scratched.
NCB: Ok. As you approach the end of your studies , what are your plans for the future? Are there any specific career paths or areas of further study that you’re considering?
FYB: I’m interested in Filmmaking. I will definitely get an MFA in Filmmaking. I will get an MFA in Creative Writing, too, beacuse, of course, writing is such a magical art form. Ben Okri is right about that. I’m also interested in African and Oriental studies. I will most likely get an MA or MPhil in African and Oriental Visual Arts. So, I’d love to be an artist and scholar.
NCB: Was there any point in time you felt like giving up?
FYB: Nope. But yes, if wishing I had a stronger CGPA so that I can flex in my finals qualifies as giving up. Otherwise, I don’t think I have felt like giving up.
NCB: If you must boast of something in you, what quality do you think it might fascinate people?
FYB: My curiosity. I want to know more about things, people, places, and life than the average guy. My Teju Cole-inspired philosophy is: cultivating the gift of being a stranger everywhere.
NCB: Do you mind marrying from another religion?
FYB: Marriage, like Nina Simone will say, is for old folks. Bad joke. Lol. But then marriage is a delicate affair, and religion is complicated. I’m not as religious as I used to be. In fact, I am inching towards freethinking. I don’t mind having a thing with someone who is different, religiously or otherwise, from me. But because religion is a veil – it taints your worldview – this is improbable.
NCB: Make your shout-out
And a sentence for NCB, probably
FYB: Shout out to, in no particular order: Dolapo (Papa), Martins, Pet, Junaid, Demon, Victoria (Amanda), Bolaji, Debbie, Joke (Alhaja), and Pecious (Lewa).
I like the innovative spirit currently at play; with it, NCB is going places.
NCB: Thank you for your time
It’s nice having you on board.
FYB: Pleasure.
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