Edmund Olu Mabo is a Nigerian who has taught and lectured art, design and technology for many years in various secondary schools, colleges and higher institutions in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. He recently published a translation of one of D.O Fagunwa’s book, Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo Irunmole. In this chat with GBENGA SALAU, Mabo provides insights into why he translates Fagunwa’s books into English.
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Why did you do another translation of D. O Fagunwa’s book considering some authors have in the past done so?
The fact that someone has translated a piece of work does not necessarily mean that another person cannot look at it again, if only to improve on it. Many everyday items are constantly being reproduced to make them look better, beautiful and efficient. And so also are literary materials.

For instance, Arabian Night has been translated over and over again by many people who still feel that they want to make the stories more appealing to a wider audience that doesn’t speak Arabic.

Nevertheless, in my own case, l fell in love, head over hills with Fagunwa’s novels, which we used for our school certificate in the 1950s. And they were the only books, which I carried with me on my journey to London in the 1960s. I read the novels over and over whenever l felt home sick and the decision to translate the novels was the most obvious thing for me to do in the circumstances after l completed my studies and was free.
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I was not aware someone else had done it. All l wanted to do was to promote Yoruba culture.

What is unique in this your new efforts from the ones in the past?
When you have had the time to read my book, you will notice that it shows clarity and fluidity. Apart from this, a good attention is paid to the English grammar and punctuation, knowing well that my book is written, primarily, for an international audience who speaks English language and not a minority Yoruba audience who happens to speak English language.

This was the comment made by the late Dr Ebenezer Olukoju of the Department of Linguistics, University of lbadan and most of the major publishing firms in the United Kingdom, which l had approached in the 1970s for the publication of my book.

Can you share your experience going through the rigour of translating the book?
Some of the names of the characters in Fagunwa’s novels follow in the tradition of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim Progress. Some of these names are easy to translate into English equivalent while others are better left as they are in Yoruba. An example of this is the eponymous character, Akara Ogun, which is left in its original Yoruba name, purposely to carry the weight of the story itself

Another difficulty experienced are the idioms, proverbs, and old sayings, which had proved very challenging in translating into acceptable English language. What specific lessons did you take away from the book and translating the book?
Fagunwa spoke specifically and extensively about death, which many people feel uncomfortable about, but also tried to prepare people’s mind to expect as an unavoidable experience we all have to go through in life.
The details of this lesson spoke volume about how Fagunwa himself would meet his death. In fact, Fagunwa was making a premonitory statement of what would confront him at the end of his life when he was asking someone in his audience to tell him when and how anyone of them would die.
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One of the unique selling points of D O Fagunwa’s books is the subtle teaching of Yoruba culture and traditions, this is not the case anymore in many novels and art works, why and what can be done to revive it?
The reason why Fagunwa’s novels are not readily used in schools and colleges today can be attributed to the rise of new authors seeking to influence those who are responsible for the planning of Yoruba syllabus in schools and colleges so that their work can replace Fagunwa’s in line with contemporary values and practices. While l support the need for new materials to be introduced, it is also pertinent to retain materials such as Fagunwa’s, which teach old values.

Apparently, the British who gave us the Western form of education have resolved this problem by teaching the old classic writers such as William Shakespeare, John Bunyan, George Orwell, alongside contemporary writers

Another reason why the teaching of Fagunwa’s novels is disparaged is because most parents don’t consider the benefits of Yoruba language relevant to the requirement of job opportunities. Hence, most parents choose to communicate with their children in English, even right from the moment they are born. Having said this, there is a growing interest in the teaching of Yoruba language and literature abroad where Yoruba people have settled, for instance in Britain, America, Cuba, Brazil, and Trinidad.

This is why a good English translation of any of Fagunwa’s novels will facilitate the teaching of Yoruba culture and traditions.
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