I've been offered paltry sums for my writing. My gift has been undermined and minimized multiple times. We have come to see it as normal, accepting payments as low as one naira per word.

Respect for writers has dwindled, and only once in a decade does a writer shine brightly enough to be noticed. The reading culture is in the pits, leading to a further decline in respect for writers. Writing is now seen as an elite activity.

When you tell your family you want to pursue writing as a career, they might not outrightly shun your ambition because you could become the next "Chimamanda Adichie," but they certainly believe it’s not sustainable. Can you depend on writing to pay your bills?

In an ideal world, writers would be accommodated, allowed to grow and blossom. Such a world would have a solid readership. What is art without consumption? This world would protect the intellectual property of writers, a dying species.

There would be less competition for a cheapened spotlight. Writers wouldn’t have to contort themselves into pretzels to fit the Western gaze. African stories would be told authentically, without the need to dilute or explain.

An ideal world would change perceptions towards writers, offering them the respect and support they deserve.