Chigozie Obioma (born 1986) is a Nigerian writer who wrote the novels The Fishermen (2015)[2] and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019),[3] both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize in their respective years of publication.

[11] Obioma cites his seminal influences as The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola, for its breadth of imagination; Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, for its enduring grace and heart; The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, both for the power of their prose; and Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe, for its firmness in Igbo culture and philosophy.

[31] Obioma states that, in addition to being a tribute to his siblings, the novel aims to "build a portrait of Nigeria at a very seminal moment in its history (the annulled presidential elections of 1993), and by so doing deconstruct and illuminate the ideological potholes that still impede the nation's progress even today.

[33] The idea for the novel came when he reflected on his father's joy at the growing bond between his two eldest brothers who, as children, had maintained a strong rivalry that would sometimes culminate in fistfights.

[35] Drawing on Obioma's own experiences studying abroad in northern Cyprus, An Orchestra of Minorities tells the story of a Nigerian poultry farmer who, determined to make money to prove himself worthy of the woman he loves, travels to northern Cyprus, where he is confronted by racism and scammed by corrupt middlemen.

[36][37] Obioma was particularly inspired by his friend Jay, who was found dead at the bottom of a lift shaft in Cyprus after having his tuition funds embezzled by fixers.

The reader is left with a feeling of pain for the lives wantonly destroyed, for mothers and fathers bereft of sons and daughters, for a country still healing more than 50 years later.

The Road to the Country is a literary quest, the hope being that fictional invention will be more convincing than any history book, a vital part of the attempt to keep the past as living memory.

[43] He has also published several essays: "The Audacity of Prose" in The Millions;[44] "Teeth Marks: The Translator's Dilemma" in Poets & Writers;[45] "Finding The Light Under The Bushel: How One Writer Came To Love Books" in The New York Times; and "The Ghosts of My Student Years in Northern Cyprus," "Lagos is expected to double in size in 15 years: how will my city possibly cope?