I wanted to show that there are no magic wands. I am interested in children who struggle against injustice and other difficulties wherever they are. Over the years I have learned about Nigeria through friends and some very fine writers. However the soldiers who stole power for many years destroyed much that was good, including people who spoke out against them. After they executed the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, I began to think about a story which involved the children of an outspoken journalist.
Fiction is a very good way of exploring reality, especially different viewpoints.
I tend to do a lot of research before I create a story and characters that are fictional. So my stories are true in the sense that everything that happens could happen. That was why at the beginning of Journey to Jo'burg there are two press cuttings about real children who made incredible journeys to find their mothers. I love it. It is also very challenging for me as new information, ideas, feelings and points of view are revealed.