A million dreams in one maxi bag

The first time I read your name was on a Facebook post made by Ofem Ubi.

Being a stan of Ofem, I checked you up. A few clicks later, and I was staring at this faceless picture of you... "Ude Ugo".

"A Million dreams in one Maxi bag", was the caption. It's quite amazing how that single line of poetry started up a series of events in our lives that has led us to this point... Where I'm hosting an interview with you here on iTell stories and everything beautiful.

I remember wanting to send you a friend request then, only to realize we were already Facebook friends, it melted my heart. LOL

It was as though Facebook had always been waiting...

It's so nice to have you here, Ugo.

1. I realized on social platforms you love to be addressed by your surname, "Ude". Is there any particular reason or it's just me amplifying little things?

Hehehe... Okay! I'm glad you asked this as the first question. 

I tell people I'd rather be called Ude, because Ude is my father's name, Ude is also my surname. Ugo is my name. 

Anna is very funny, because Anna wasn't my name at any point. My younger sister's name is "Gloryann", I used to say "Gloryanna" and then my mom would say, "No, it's not Gloryanna, it's Gloryann."

So I was just... stupid 😂 and I told my mom, "okay, please call me 'Anna', since Gloryann's name is not Gloryanna", and my mom was like "fine". I began to write it on my school books, and my mom happened to write it in my testimonial and so it stuck! 

When I had to take JAMB I just wanted all my documents to be the same— so I had to add "Anna". If not 😌 I've always been "Ude Ugo", you know "U. U." (same letter initials).

Anyway, "Ude" is what I'm known as in very-formal places. 

So yes, I prefer to be called "Ude" than I prefer to be called any of my names.

2. Ugo, your love for books is like wildfire (if not greater) 😂 and you've seem to build a camp round it— cause for starters, I know you have quite a number of following on social platforms. I mean it's quite interesting, seeing people anticipate what your next book review would be... You even started several movements, "The Book Drive Bayelsa", and your IG platform, @gushing_torrents.

I'd like to know when you started posting book reviews, did you know it will turn out like this? Or all these is just an outwork of what you've always envisioned?

Hmm... About my bookstagram... I'd like to first say that I'm a doer. Many things I do, I do them not because I envision something big but because I just get things done. 

Most times, when I get 'em done— people say "oh that's great!", and I'm like "Okay... Let's build on this."

My mentor likes to say, "Ugo, don't put your hands to everything because whatever you do, you'll succeed at. That's why you'll have to be very keen on what you do and the things you call yours..."

When I shared the first book I ever reviewed, Obasanjo's My watch. It's the second of a trilogy— his memoirs. 

I was doing photography at the time, and I was just writing random thoughts of my pictures and poetry. 

It was more about the picture than my reading, so I posted the picture, I needed a caption and I decided to share what I thought about the read (My Watch).

It was interesting because I'd always thought about Obasanjo as a very... errm, stoic character, so reading his memoirs where he was soft, he was intelligent, reading books— it was new to me, and I wanted someone else to read about it.

It's the same thing with the "The Book Drive", it was COVID time, schools were closed down... Kids came to me to request for books. I had up to seven requests and I didn't have books to foot all. So I got in touch with my ex-classmates, and friends... and then someone sent in a donation.

So basically, I do things, and they just spark something new and I'm like, let's go on.

3. Wow, wonderful! Now, there was a certain period I plunged into excessive reading of novels and anything I could lay my hands on, simply because I needed something to distract me from the hell of a life I found myself in as a teenager. It was from one novel to another.

Another time, I had issues relating with/ understanding people— so I resorted to excessive reading (at least books never had mood swings, they were always there when you needed 'em) 😌 though now, I love books simply for the love of beautiful things.

But for you Ugo, I'd like to know— what has been your push, what drives you from one novel to another?

Hmm! That's a very deep question.

Errm...I think for the most part of my bookstagram, and my life as an intentional reader; as someone who plans their reads, carefully picking books cause I need to find a connection between them— and most times it happens, it's just like I'd jinxed something, you know. Lol

I read a lot of African Writers Series— to save money, yes but also because most of them are interesting.

What drives me to read one book after the other is to find the connection between many works, comparisons— wanting to see how well told the next story will be...

4. Hmmm... Ugo, the thing is, it's almost normal for most people who are bookworms to find books a more worthy companion, compared to people, Lol. So I'd love to know, do you ever get tired of people? Or do you get bored by people?

Yes I get tired of people! Yes I get tired of people!! I am twenty, like I just turned twenty and I've never been big big on relationships. I like to even say sometimes I'm non-committal.

My friends sit and imagine marriage and stuff... but I close my eyes and I can't see myself with a... romantic partner (that kind of thing). 

Many times, when I think of my future; I see myself as a professor, I see my books, then I also see my autistic younger sister in my space.

I know that there are three things that must happen to me— I must become a professor, I must take care of my kid sister, I must have enough books to read.

Most times, I don't see present friends in my future but that's a very toxic thing.

My heart easily disconnects people.

Immediately I don't see you, I forget you. Not like I forget-forget you but I just realize that it's not so hard to live without you any more.

I begin to fill that gap with work and everything. Now, I decide to schedule calls with people and it's beginning to help me out of it.

Yes, the books fill in that space but beyond the books, it's very easy for me to find activity to cover up for the want of a person.

So I don't think it's a book thing. I think it's a personality thing that has to be fixed, because I have valuable people in my life, so why does my mind decide to snap up and just shut them out? It shouldn't happen.

So, I'm investing better in my relationships. Telling people that I love them. Sending them messages, saying, "Hey. This made me think of you". It may not be so great but I'm making an effort.

5. You just turned twenty, May 21 (congrats once again)

And recently you moved into an apartment of your own... Oh before then you'd already started drafting out the interior decor of your room. Lol 

How has it been? The new life.... Independence. How does it feel like to be a woman of your own at 20?

I've been twenty for just twelve days 😂 so it's not a big drama, but I think I'm grateful that I do not box myself in by "dates".

I'm a very high achiever, I move from one project to another. I've come to accept that even if it takes six months as long as I get it done, I get it done.

I'm keeping up with the mentality that I'm in my 20s and I don't want to be under any pressure.

I've seen what it can cost people when they are under pressure. If some things take time, let them take time.

Though it's just so warming how God provides for me.

I'm a Bayelsa girl oh! 😂 I've lived with my family all my life, so coming to Lagos was a shocker. I would call my parents nearly everyday and every time I would cry— just hearing their voices would trigger something in me and I just realize that I miss these guys so much.

I would talk to my younger sister and I would babble on the phone, cause she's autistic and then she has an intellectual disability, so speaking isn't so great for her but then I can tell her laughter and her babble and I would babble back to her on phone and I would cry.

After some time, I realized I could stay without crying, I could stay without calling.

For someone who's non-committal, I love my family so much.

6. Last question. I understand as we grow & slowly become... we tend to grow apart from a lot of people we'd been fond (sometimes without even knowing).

At this point in your Iife, is there anyone you miss terribly? Any memory you wish you could live out everyday?

Errm... okay? Hehehe 😂 

I think I miss my younger sister. I've had great friends, yeah but Gloryann is the love of my life.

I tell my roommate, that when I sing love songs, I'm singing Chike... and errm, what's this trending song on IG at some point? "...Oh there's nothing like doing nothing with you," that's like the ending of the song and every time I watched a reel with that sound, I was thinking of my younger sister. 

I just... God! I just love being in that kid's corner, just doing my work and then she's somewhere making her very unintelligible sound but I'm fine so long as I'm certain that she's there and there's nothing bad happening to her.

So, it was when I went on YouTube and I played the song and I realized that the song was a romantic one, they were even talking about kisses, sex and I'm like, oh my God, they've ruined this thing. 😂 I'm looking for a platonic song that describes how I feel about my sister.

Guy... I want to make money so that I can have that child by my side.

If there's any memory I'd love to live out everyday is the day I arrived home from Lagos after nine months (I'd not seen my family for nine months). When my sister heard my voice, she came to the door, and tugged my cloth. She kept pulling my cloth and she held me tightly, God! 😂 And I'd come home with biscuits, so I poured the biscuits into a plate for her, and she was stuffing them into her mouth and I would move and she would drag me back. Everybody was watching us, I think my mom had tears in her eyes. God... Hah [sighs] 😊 mcheew! Kai... You might not understand. Lol.

Thank you so much Nabas, for asking me to do this, it's beautiful having to share parts of my life people rarely get to know about, cause all they see is a very formal Ugo 😂 so yeah, thank you very much.

You're welcome. Thank you too for your time, Ugo. It's been an amazing interview.

And to you reading, thank you for joining us for today's interview on iTell stories and everything beautiful. 

Click Home to read more stories

Click Subscribe for updates on our next post

To know more about Ugo, kindly click on "Hall of Fame", still at the top of this post or simply click Hall of Fame

To share this post to friends and loved ones or someone you think might want to read, simply click "share" at the bottom of this post.

Don't forget to leave your comments, tell us what you think.