Tomiwa Akinnimi is a medical student on his last lap in Obafemi Awolowo University. By night, he’s a writer and an aspiring rapper. Tomiwa wrote his first complete book in 2020 and submitted to Quramo Writer’s Prize. He won. Months later, Tomiwa is more focused on graduating from med school than writing but his passion is never far from his mind.
So, for the record, who is Akinwumi Akintomiwa?
Tomiwa: Akinwumi Akintomiwa is a med student at the Obafemi Awolowo University. Away from that, and more importantly, a writer and a content creator at 49th street. I also harbour secret dreams of doing music and going into music. So yes, medical student, writer, and aspiring artiste.
Lol, I like that. Since this is a Litverse interview, let’s focus a little bit more on the writing. When did you start writing? Is it something you’ve always wanted to do or did you just stumble into it?
Tomiwa: I think it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I remember the first time I had an idea for a story, I was nine years old and I was in primary 5 or so. It was a very funny story about some twins, who were separated at birth and found themselves years later. So yeah, it’s always something I’ve wanted to do because I’ve always been very much into reading from like, age 7 to age 9. And being someone who has a very wild imagination, reading always inspired me to come up with my own stories. So yes, it has always been something I’ve wanted to do and it’s nice to be able to do that
The pipeline from reader to writer is always a nice progression because once you read, you’re always like why can’t I write too?
Tomiwa: Exactly, that’s how it is. That’s what reading does too, it just inspires the mind to go off on its own. It’s like if I can read this, and I can imagine, then I can write it
True. When did you start taking writing seriously, like okay I’m going to write a book?
Tomiwa: It took a while. I know I said I got the first ever story idea I had at the age of nine, but I think I was 15 years old the next time I took writing very seriously. Of course, along the line, I had like a billion story ideas in between, but the first time I tried to go back and see if I could make a full story of it was sometime in SS1. I had a different idea, and I was like “Okay, let’s see if we could pen this down”.
Then I started to write in a book, I got a couple of pages in but I never went back to it. A lot of things happened; there was never enough free time and because I was a science student as well, there wasn’t much of that extra push you would’ve gotten if you were an art student or in literature class, like if you were tasked to write certain things. So I got busy with science things and I abandoned it again
Over the years, I got story ideas, and some of them I would write down like “okay, let’s just record it and we’ll get back to it”. Until when I finally got back to it in 2020 during the pandemic.
I feel like every writer has that notebook, where they would just write down ideas
Tomiwa: Yeah. Let’s just write it down and we can get back to it.
Yeah. So you said pandemic, please expand on that. You finally wrote your first book and finished it?
Tomiwa: Yeah, the pandemic. So during the pandemic, of course, the amount of free time that was available, one had to do something with it. I had always used the excuse of time to not get down to writing, and there I was with all the time in the world, and I was like okay I have to do something with it. So I went back to my ideas book, the ones I had written down and also the ones I had in my head, and I was like “okay, which one can I successfully write out?” I wanted something– I know I’ve written down bits and pieces in the past but that would have been the first time of getting down to work.
So, I wanted to go for the easiest story, something that wouldn’t be too complicated for somebody inexperienced, because that’s actually what I was, inexperienced in writing. So I sifted through all the ideas I had, and I finally landed on one that I got the year before. I was like “yeah this one I could write in first person perspective and wouldn’t get too lost trying to develop characters”. So I thought “okay, let’s do this”. There was a lot of hesitation because I didn’t want to just start something again and not finish it. So I was hesitant and at the end of the day, I decided against starting.
But then, the break went on forever and ever and I had a lot of time and I had to just start, and I was like, “yeah let’s do it”. So I brought out a book and biro and just jot down plot lines, different scenes, and stuff that would make up the plot line. I waited for a little while, being all “ASUU would call off the strike and the world was going to go back to normal” but again no indication that was going to happen. So I just picked it up, my laptop wasn’t even working so I took out my phone, opened the WPS office app, and started writing.
And you finally finished that, praise the Lord. I hope to be like you one day, finally finishing a book
Tomiwa: I finished the first draft in like a month
Wow
Tomiwa: Yeah. So by the time I got there, I didn’t feel the story was quite complete enough. So, I used another 2 weeks to write an additional part to complete it, then I stepped away from it for like a month. I mean obviously, I was going to come back to it, because the first draft can never be perfect. So I came back to it after a month and wrote to the top again, and at the time I was at 45,000 words. So I printed out the whole thing, and decided to read through the whole thing -only God knows how many pages that was-, with a pen, making corrections, scraping this, replacing this. And when I did that for another two weeks, I started retyping from scratch. And then by the time I was done with that, I was around 60,000 words, so yeah
Then I sent it out to people, left and right–
Like me
Tomiwa: Yes, like you. I got a lot of feedback like “you should change this, and add this”, and “this works better”, which probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. So I took that and used that to make the third draft and so yeah, basically I did everything in like four to five months, more of four months though
Wow, four months to write 60,000 words. That was three drafts?
Tomiwa: Yeah three drafts
And that was the book you used to win Quramo right?
Tomiwa: Yes that happens to be the very book that won the award
So let’s talk about Quramo for a bit. Because I have been looking to apply for that thing for years but there was never any time to write a proper book. So, how did you find out about Quramo? Was it something you’ve always known about or someone just sent it to you like “oh you should apply for this”?
Tomiwa: Yeah, someone sent it to me. I mean, I’d heard of it once or twice but never really paid attention to it. Even when I’d finished the book it didn’t come to mind, that there was a yearly I could apply for. It was one of my friends, who I told that I had just completed a book that informed me. When the announcement came up, he just sent me a screenshot and a link to the Twitter page and said I should apply to it. I told him I would, but I didn’t plan to. And at that point In time -and yes I know this is something people say especially when they win stuff-, I didn’t think I had any chance of winning it for two reasons. I knew what I had written was good because a lot of people commented and told me they liked it, but then I thought for a first-timer, I wouldn’t be able to compete with other people who had probably published multiple books.
Yeah
Tomiwa: And the second thing I thought was that Quramo was an African award, and they were going to prioritize people that wrote in like a Chinua Achebe kind of style
Like a Tomi Adeyemi kind of style?
Tomiwa: Yeah. People that write in that kind of style, a story that focused on the “Africa-ness” of the story. Yes, the story was set in Lagos, but it wasn’t much of a focus on the environment, Nigeria, Africa, the tribes, and stuff like that.
It was more about the stories, and people and not about the setting
Tomiwa: Yes exactly. I didn’t focus on the setting at all, it was more about the people, I didn’t bother to emphasize the tribe or spirituality, and the things that make an African story really ‘African’. So when I saw the entry, I was like, there’s no need to waste an application. He reminded me like twice after that, and I was like, “Yeah yeah I’ll get down to it”. Then there was something he now said to me, he said, “What do you stand to lose if you submit it?”, and I said, “You know what, I stand to lose absolutely nothing”. So I finally submitted it, a week before the deadline, and I started to get down to it. You’re supposed to submit a one-page synopsis of the book, and a cover letter, so I started to do that. I almost didn’t finish because, as I said, I’m a medical student, and I was in 500 level and posting was killing me, I didn’t even have time for anything. I almost did not get through with it, it was on the last day before submission that I sent it. ” There goes nothing”, was literally what I was thinking so that my friend Peter will not kill me, but after everything, he said to me I still did not submit it.
And for the longest time, I thought that was really nothing because the deadline was in April, and they didn’t get back to us until September, so I had completely forgotten about it. I thought that “Oh I didn’t make the cut, they would’ve selected people already”. So it was back in September of 2021 that I got a message that I made the shortlist of 10. Then the shortlist of 5 was invited to the ceremony in Eko Hotel and everything like that just. And then they told me I won, and I was like, “What?!”.
Lol. You were like, “Who? Me?”
Tomiwa: Yes, exactly. Because when I’d made it into the top 10, what I thought was that it was an honour to have come this far, and this is where it ends. And then they cut it down to 5 again and I’m still there and I’m like, “Okay, surely this is as good as it gets”. Like, could I really win this thing? Like a first-time author, with not much practice or anything, could I win this with a first-time book? So I doubted and doubted. But as the events unfolded, I guess I had more faith because then they cut it down to the top 3 again and I was still there and I was like surely anyone who was in the first three has a genuine chance of winning, so at some point, you have to start believing.
So, I started believing, but also trying not to believe too much because Quramo is such a crazy prize and such a “winner takes all” thing, and when you publish a book later, you get to say that the book was shortlisted for Publisher’s writer’s prizes, there’s no intrigue to it, there’s no publishing deal. So, I tried not to have too much faith so that the disappointment will not hurt too much. But I can’t lie, I was pretty optimistic at that point, because if you got to the top three then you have a chance of winning the whole thing
And then they announced your name as the winner. How did you feel? Give me your thought process at that point. Were you like, “Oh shit, oh my god?” or more like “I won? Did I win? I won.”
Tomiwa: Lol. How did I feel at that moment?. So what happened was, on the main day, they announced that they were down to three, so then they called the first five to the stage. So after they called the first five to the stage, they announced the second runner-up, and it wasn’t me; they announced the first runner-up and it wasn’t me; so by normal logic, if I was in the first three and I wasn’t the second runner-up nor the first runner-up, I won, right?
But then, I don’t know if they realized there was some kind of mistake or something because they were still trying to create some kind of suspense about it. And then I was on the stage with two people who were not in the first three, yet they were still trying to make some drama about it, and that’s when it got confusing for me because I didn’t know whether to celebrate it or not. After all, I was like, they’ve called second they’ve called third and I am in the first three, so why are they still trying to make a drama about who was the first. Like, this thing is done already.
But then I started to get scared. They were making a whole ceremony of bringing out the paper and everything so I started to get scared, like were they doing some kind of plot twist or something? This was a gathering of writers, and plot twists are something we all like to use in our books. So was it going to be like some plot twist, where someone that wasn’t even announced in the top three was going to be announced as the winner?
A cliffhanger
Tomiwa: Yes, exactly. I was scared at that moment, I was confused, trying not to panic and then they finally announced it and they announced it as me and the first thing I did was to laugh, just laughing and trying not to be hysterical so that people don’t think I’m going crazy on stage. But genuinely, it was some weird type of funny to me, like wow. Just wow. That they weren’t joking and I won. And then I was just laughing at that moment in time and I just couldn’t stop smiling. For like six hours straight, I was just smiling and, my cheeks hurt.
Yeah, that is a wonderful thing, you know? The first time, money too and all. You did not even give me out that cash prize too actually. Let me even think about it. Where’s my cash prize?
Tomiwa: The money has finished. Your money’s in heaven, it’s not in cash prize. And I don’t know who I was telling it to, but that at the moment before the money comes, one million is like a huge amount of money
Was it one million or one hundred thousand?
Tomiwa: No no, one million
No no no, Tomiwa, where’s my money? What do you mean it was one million? That’s it, I’m entering Quramo next year, there’s nothing anyone can tell me. I’m going to write a book. No one told me it was one million, I thought it was one hundred thousand
Tomiwa: No no, it has always been one million
Wow. You know what? It’s like I’ll take this writing thing seriously now
Tomiwa: Lol. It’s crazy because at first, it did seem like a lot of money, but then when you get it and you have to plan the money for things like getting things for mom, for dad, providing for the family; and then of course you don’t want to waste the money and you want to invest, and you also want to get yourself stuff too. And then right before my eyes, I saw one million naira evaporate like that’s all there is to it. I thought one million was a lot but by the time I gave money to my parents, did stuff for my siblings, invested in things, and bought stuff, it was finished.
Buy a laptop, buy a new phone
Tomiwa: Funny enough, I didn’t get to buy a laptop. There wasn’t enough money to buy a laptop
Are you– wow
Tomiwa: I’m serious there wasn’t enough money to buy a laptop because by the time I invested, did this, bought some little luxury items, new shoes, and by the end of it, I was like “Woah, so that’s all one million is really worth?”. I thought it was a lot more amount of money than it is. So yeah that money flew by quickly. Of course, I didn’t waste it and invested it in stuff so yeah, I can confidently say that money is “gone”. The rest of it is in investments, which I’m not about to touch, I have to let them appreciate – though the thing is not even appreciating like that. Stocks are even going down too, maybe I should go and eat shawarma. Stocks are going down, I’m even just observing
Lol. The world is in a financial crisis. So moving on from Quramo, have you written anything else? Asides from work because I know you write for work. Have you written anything personally?
Tomiwa: No. Most of the writing I’ve been able to do are still very much freelancing, my work at 49th street. I’ve not had the time to do creative stuff– okay the only creative stuff I’ve been doing is rewriting some aspects of the book because it comes with a publishing deal and the editor is like “this has to go”, or “this doesn’t fit in the context”, so I’ve been working on writing the book based on the editor’s recommendation. But for something new outside of the book that won, I’ve not really had time. Okay, it’s not even really I’ve not had time, but more like I don’t want to yet. Because, I realized that the way I wrote that first book, I liked the process that went into it. So it wasn’t like working at day, writing at night; it was like the main thing, and I realized that subsequent books that I want to write, that I’m going to write, I want to write in it In the same way. I want to take a month or two off of every other thing and just focus one hundred per cent on writing the book, and at least getting the first draft down. Subsequently, one can work on the second draft and maybe do other stuff, but I want the first draft to go down the way that the other one did, the primary focus
So I’m just waiting till September when I’m done with medical school. And then I’ll just work on the next thing that’s in the idea pipeline
Of course, of course. So that brings me to my next question: medical school. Do you ever get like conflicting identities? Like Tomiwa the Doctor and Tomiwa the Writer? Tomiwa the Medical student and Tomiwa the “artist”? Is there a conflicting identity?
Tomiwa: Yes, there very much is. I know some people manage to do some of these things and do not feel this kind of conflict. I know some doctors who also do some art stuff, but for me, there is very much a conflict. I don’t feel like I belong in this medicine thing. It’s always weird when I say it to someone, to people because they’ll be like, I’m kidding, that I’m a really good A+ student, how can you say you hate this thing so much and still be pretty good at it?
For me, I realize now that I’m more inclined to work in art than to work in sciences. I’ve always known but we are in a society where very smart people have to go to science class. Once they see you do really well in school, they just automatically put you in the sciences. I mean, that’s the way they split students in the senior schools; the very best go-to science, and those after going to arts and then those after that now go to commercials, and that’s the rationale for selecting students which is very wrong and that’s not how it should be.
And I was a victim of that. Back in secondary school, I was a pretty good student. Back in JSS 3 NECO exams, I had all As in my subjects.
What?
Tomiwa: Yeah. So based on that 12 or 13 As, they just went all “you belong in science class, don’t even think about it twice” and just threw me know there. So ever since then, I’ve felt this conflicting identity. Like I know I can do science, but I kind of want to do more art-related stuff. I kind of let others decide for me. So I went with it, finished secondary school, and went to university. So it wasn’t until my third year in uni that I got fed up and I was like, I hate this medicine thing, I hate it. I remember the day I took a bus from Ife to Lagos and I went to tell my parents that I’m done, I’m not doing it anymore.
Then they were confused. They were so confused because they were like, you are far from flunking the school, how can you say you’re done with this? And I’m like, don’t look at the result. This medicine stuff, there’s no creativity in it and it’s all just protocol. You pass your exams by repeating word for word what you’re taught. Nobody wants to see you put a comma or a full stop or a semicolon anywhere they didn’t put it. They want it exactly the way they taught you, verbatim. It’s just bland and kind of boring and I wasn’t enjoying any of that.
But of course, my parents can’t let me quit school. They didn’t get any of that. They were like, I have to finish it. And I’m like, okay fine, I am going to finish it but once I finish it, I’m going to do me. And I’m really glad because of the Quramo thing that came before I finished. It gives me the platform, it gives me the confidence to be able to turn my back on medicine and not ask myself questions like, “Am I making a mistake?”. And like I’m not going to be starting with zero points, I’m going to be starting with a prestigious award, a book that will soon be published, and my work in the 49th which is very much an art-related community, which also gives me this inside background for when I want to delve into this art community.
So I’m delighted I’m not going to be starting from catch per se when med school is done. There’s a resolution of conflict now that I know that I’m going to do this and I have the validation from a company like Quramo that’s also saying that I can do this. So the conflict is resolved, and it’s just a matter of finishing this now and finishing it well and getting into the arts full time
Wow, that was inspiring, and I’m happy that you’ve reconciled your identity into the person you were always meant to be
Tomiwa: Yeah
Has winning Quramo kind of like thrust you into this literary space? Because I know you’re a quiet person and I know that winning an award like that would thrust you into a community space of writers so how has that been for you?
Tomiwa: So yes, winning Quramo has thrust me into the space of writers, although I’ve not fully been able to enter it because of med school. However, I’ve been put in the door now by the judges that decided the winner of the award, and they are some of the big men in this space. So winning the award kind of have me access to them, and I was able to exchange contact with some of them and speak with some of them occasionally. Also, I’m in contact with the person that won the award before me, and he has made it into the literary space. He’s an inspiration to me because he has made it beyond Quramo, and he has accepted entry into so many competitions and everything.
I’ve just gotten in contact with so many other writers, and also some of the groups and pages I’ve been added to since then. It’s just a matter of getting rid of medical school because it’s a lot, and it’s as tasking as they say it is. Also, it doesn’t give much for much you know? But now with the sort of connections I now have with people, it’s just a matter of finishing this so I could get started.
And that’s my plan. Once I’m done with medical school, I want to call all the people, call the head judge for the last competition and he’s an LMNG prize winner for literature – so what I just want to do is call him and tell him, “Now I’m ready to be a writer. What next?”. So I just want his guidance and the guidance of other big people in the industry, and make even better stuff
Yeah, I’m looking forward to that stuff. You owe me a signed copy of “Through the looking glass, the first edition, I’m not accepting anything less. I’ll become a mint collector on your head, lol. So a lot of people are like “Nigerians don’t read, Nigerians don’t write”, you know, compared to the movie industry and when it comes to entertainment, Nigerian books are kind of far behind when it comes to other art endeavors right? So what do you think about that?
Tomiwa: So personally, I don’t think it’s only a Nigerian thing, I think it’s a global phenomenon, let me just say. The reading culture has dropped, and why it just seems that way in Nigeria is because illiteracy is pure on the high and when we have the literal people reading even less, it just seems like chaos, like an epidemic, like nobody is reading all of a sudden. So yeah, I do agree the reading culture isn’t as great as it used to be, and even at its peak it wasn’t super great; but one thing I’ve also learnt from getting my foot in the door of this literary space, there are still a lot of people that read, there are still a bunch of people, like a lot. So as discouraging as that can be for writers, I think it’s just about putting in the extra work to find your audience and get into the space where the people that do read are left because there are still a lot of them so it’s just about locating them and getting your stuff to them.
So there are still a lot of writers that make money from writing and selling millions of copies, and those millions of people, some of them are in Nigeria. So yeah, the number of people that read has dropped, but the absolute number of people that read is still impressive. There are still a lot of writers and fellow readers to mingle with ourselves so it’s just a matter of finding and reaching out to ourselves, writers, and readers alike. So yeah, we could still do something with the reading and writing culture
True true. Do you think the reason why the reading culture has dropped is that there is no purchasing power to support people’s reading habits?
Tomiwa: Yes, that has a lot to do with it. Books are expensive, so to read books are expensive and there aren’t many, I mean I know a couple but there aren’t many people that go to get books, like second hand and get it into the hands of people who want to read but can’t afford to pay as much. So there aren’t enough of them. If you want to buy books, like brand new, it costs a lot of money and then it’s– okay let’s start from the top.
Firstly, it’s costing publishing houses a lot to publish books in the first place so they’re going to raise the prices. And then inflation. Things are getting more expensive and people aren’t getting paid more so it’s severely affecting the ability of people to pay for these books. So yeah, I do agree that it’s one of the problems
Yeah. Nigeria happens to everybody
Tomiwa: Yeah and it’s happening for me. From the top. Okay let me not say from the top, it’s more like from the middle to the top, they are the ones sharing all the money. It’s from the middle to bottom that’s suffering it
Lol. So what’s next for you? I know you said writing so you have an idea after medical school. But does your publishing deal cover your next book? Are you going to look for another publisher?
Tomiwa: Yeah. That’s like the good thing about the deal, it does cover the next book. Okay, how it was phrased was that “Quramo has the first refusal to my next work”, so anything I write next, I’ll have to take it to them and if they like it, they’ll work on publishing it, and only if they don’t like it that I can now look for another publisher, so yes to a good extent, it covers the next book. The goal is to work on the next idea I have in mind and then put it out. Then what I then plan to do after working on it, is to study writing. Because you know, I’m still basically doing it based on raw talent, so yeah I want to do that. I’ll write the first book, write the second book and then also kind of freeze me up in terms of auctions for publishers because I have a lot of ideas but those will be kind of complex and raw talent won’t be enough to get me through those books. I’ll need that, knowledge and expertise to get through those books. So I really want to study and get a Masters in creative writing
Oh, an MFA?
Tomiwa: Yeah an MFA. So after that, I’ll then continue the good work of writing. So yeah the immediate plan is to get started on the next book as quickly as possible, and when that is done, I will become a professional writer and not just a talented writer, but a professional writer with academic qualifications you know? And get a masters in that, mostly just a year or a year and a half courses, and then continue writing because I want to learn more intricate aspects of writing like word building, and creating characters with more depth. So yeah, that’s my writing plan, for life. Let’s see what life has to say about that plan
That’s nice. It’s nice to be going with you on this journey. So I think I’ve exhausted all my questions. Do you have anything to add?
Tomiwa: No, I don’t think so
Alright. So, anything for your fans?
Tomiwa: Fans? Do I have fans here?
Yeah. Us, we. Anything for your fans?
Tomiwa: For my fans, for my very small section of fans. Well, the only thing I have to say is that I’ll be counting on you guys to propagate the gospel of Akintomiwa to the world. And yes, for this very small section of fans, will be guaranteed the first edition of Through the Looking glass with love letters and fruit baskets or something
My address is in your DMs, you have my address
Tomiwa: Yes I do. And for those set, I’m grateful for the support. I mean, who was I? No one knew me and I sent my book to people who took the time to read through 60,000 words–
It took me three days
Tomiwa: And also all the praise and all the constructive criticism because that was very instrumental to win because I know that without some key advice here and there, the gap between myself and second place wouldn’t have been much. So without those little key inputs of all those people, I may have well ended up in second place. So I’m grateful for the support and I hope not to disappoint, and I hope to justify the faith that several people have shown
You’ll justify it, don’t worry. Thank you for agreeing to this interview
Tomiwa: Thank you for having me
