Nigeria, July 10 -- It was 1988 at Union Secondary School Awkunanaw, Enugu. I was Deputy Senior Prefect, one of the best Arts students in the school. English, English Literature, and Government were my playground. I proudly carried our school's banner in quizzes and debates, earning trophies and, more importantly, the joy of wielding words-spoken, argued, written.

I was Editor-in-Chief of Union Spark, our school magazine. On stage, I was the lead actor and wore the tragic skin of Odewale in The Gods Are Not to Blame. Literature was my lifeblood.

While my mates stuck to class texts, I feasted on James Hadley Chase, Pacesetters, Sidney Sheldon. Tolstoy carried me into Russian snows, Dostoevsky made me wrestle with sin and redemption, Marx...