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Doing Life With… is a BellaNaija Features series that showcases how people live, work, travel, care for their families and… everything in between. We are documenting the lives of all people and ensuring everyone is well-represented at BN.
Did you miss last week’s conversation with Andrew Esiebo? You can catch up here.
This week, we’re doing life with Victor Daniel, a lawyer, creative writer and screenwriter. Victor talks to us about his journey as a writer and debuting on Netflix soon. Enjoy the conversation!
Hi Victor. How are you feeling today?
I’m doing well, I guess. My daily routine mostly revolves around fathering my daughter and watching House MD. So, there’s no stress.
Love that. Give me a peep into your background and an aspect of your childhood that influenced who you are today
There’s nothing special, really. I was born in a small town to lower-middle-class parents who had a good education. I attended some of the best private schools around, which helped me, foundationally. Growing up, I was exposed to a lot of books, newspapers, and television, so naturally, I was a very exposed kid. Secondary school and the experiences that came with it easily played the most role in who I am today.
What kinds of books did you read that spurred your interest in writing?
My mother had a lot of her books from secondary school lying around at home by the time I was old enough to read. In hindsight, that was a really impressive level of meticulousness. I read a lot of Chinua Achebe before I got into secondary school where they became recommended texts. But my favourite writer at the time was Cyprian Ekwensi. Great guy. I read a lot of the bible too. Back then I didn’t attach much spiritual relevance to it. I just consumed it for its storytelling.
A lot of people still don’t, to be honest
I guess.
A part of you that can’t be easily seen online is that you’re a lawyer. Has it always been a dream to study law?
Nah, I didn’t particularly aspire to study law. I was an art student who was considered smart. My grades were alright and studying law became a convenient decision. I was in 200 level when I suddenly realised that I had very little interest in the profession itself, so I just sleepwalked through the rest of my legal education.
Why are you not actively practising law today?
Who says I’m not practising? I am na. I’m even a partner at my own firm. I’m just really lowkey about it online and I don’t litigate. But if you have a private issue and you have some money, I know a guy.
Haha. How have you managed to build that huge following on Facebook?
I joined Facebook when it was very cool to be on the app. I realised I could express myself in ways I couldn’t do in person. I took this freedom seriously and people just became interested in whatever I had to say. So they started to follow me. In the beginning, you may get pressured to keep up appearances because you have followers to feed. However, it gets very overwhelming and the burnout that follows is crushing. So I learnt from this. Now I really don’t bother myself.
You are different and many things in one. A creative writer, a lawyer, a content writer and now scripting a movie. What do you think has helped achieve these different phases and do you think a part is buried for another?
I am more than anything else a writer. Writing is the primary form of most creative endeavours. Music, films, books, and almost all forms of visual arts begin with writing, right? Now why did I become a writer? Storytelling. I can conceive a good story and I have the talent to write it down. With these tools at my disposal, I found out that doing other things became easy for me. Prose, content writing, screenwriting, and to a fair extent, law, all have writing/storytelling as the common denominator. I’m flexible enough to change form when appropriate.
Doing all of those, what does success mean to you, Victor?
Success to me is fulfilling all my personal goals and making a mark with them. For me, this would mean getting all the stories in my head out in whatever form necessary, being recognised for them, and ultimately, being remembered for this.
Should we expect something from you soon, apart from fathering?
Yes nau. I’m currently working with three other writers on a show coming to Netflix sometime next year. It’s a serialised sequel to a popular film. A short film written by me based on a short story of the same name would begin shooting in November. It’s titled “Nostalgia Saloon.” I’ll publish the short story on my Substack before the film comes out. Lastly and most importantly, my debut feature film will begin shooting early next year. It was acquired by BluHouse Studios and will be directed by an extremely talented person I won’t be naming now. It’s a big-budget production—I’m talking several hundreds of millions. So yeah it’s the biggest thing I’m looking forward to.
Well done, Victor. Looking forward to them all
Thank you.
That reminds me, what is the best thing about being married?
The best thing about being married is the sense of stability it brings. Emotional and psychological stability is underrated. Plus being married gives you a valid excuse to refuse to hang out with the guys. I’ll take that.
What has been your proudest moment as a father?
I haven’t been a father for very long but my proudest moment gotta be the first time I saw my child. Words cannot explain the feeling.
That must have felt special
I can’t describe it.
What’s a typical day in your life like?
I’m something of a full-time daddy nowadays. Usually, the first thing I do when I wake up is to join my wife to bathe the baby. Afterwards, I have my bath and settle in front of my PC. I get some work done while getting distracted by my phone and when I’m famished enough, me and the wife start to argue about what to have as breakfast (She for don already drink ogi by this time). When it’s past 12, I finally get to have “breakfast”. After eating, I try to play a game or watch a comfort TV show. By late afternoon, we start debating about dinner. Listen, the hardest part of marriage for me is deciding what we’ll eat. When the decision is made, I’ll do the market runs (if needed). While dinner cooks, I’ll return to work. Note that throughout all of this, I’m joining my wife to serve the baby in whatever capacity she demands. Which means, I get to run errands up and down the stairs a thousand times a day. That’s why I don’t bother with the gym. After dinner, I return to my game, watch football if there’s a match, or stream a show. I retire to the room by 11 and listen to music till I fall asleep.
If you’re asked to delete three things from your life, what would they be?
Sugar, painkillers and procrastination.
What can we catch Victor Daniel doing when no one is watching?
Dancing with my baby while staring at her to discover new ways she looks like me. I recently found out she could raise her brows too.
Thank you for being Doing Life With…, Victor
Thank you for having me.
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Many thanks to Victor Daniel for having this conversation with us and answering all our questions – and swiftly too, we must add.
Do you love this content, have any feedback for us or want to be a BellaNaija Features contributor? We’d love to read from you. Shoot us an email: [email protected]. Join us on Saturday for the next episode!
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