Enugu State came alive with literary activities when hundreds of writers, under the auspices of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), stormed its capital for its International Convention. The need for the establishment of structures to foster the writers’ craft steered the discourse at the opening ceremony, reports EVELYN OSAGIE
HAVE you recently visited the National Library complex in Abuja? I was there a couple of months ago on business,” began Prof E.E. Sule, keynote speaker at the 38th Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) International Convention.
“Located in the Central Business District among the high-rise buildings glorifying the city, indeed, it is a stone-throw from NNPC Towers, a symbol of Nigeria’s oil wealth. In the splendor of the central district, the library is distinguished by its state of squalor.”
For the professor of African Literature and Cultural Studies, the state of the library is one of “the signs of a failed modernity’’. In his address themed, “Nationalism and the Poetics of Integration”, Sule said: “Unless we complete the project of Nigerian modernity by building not only an elegant and virile National Library, but also a national narrative to demolish the constituted violence imposed on us, to turnaround the condition of our society, we may end up not having a country”.
According to him, writers cannot forge a national direction if they lack home-based or home-grown structures with which to develop ideological consciousness. “Conventional publishing, editorial facilities, residencies, grants and fellowships are structures severely lacking in Nigeria, and their absences should provoke a declaration of a state of emergency by writers’ bodies, such as ANA. I do not see how a nation can build a strong literary heritage without the structures. It is possible,” he said.
A call for cultural revolution
Sule called for “a cultural revolution to lead to a political revolution”, saying literature has the power to engineer change. While advising that writers should retrace their steps, he observed that literary writing should provide a critical insight o Nigerians in the course of rehabilitating the idea of the nation-state, which is indeed the prerequisite of national integration
He said: “We must begin a new phase of cultural revolution to lead to a political revolution. Our modernity is, must be, anchored on a revolution…it is therefore expedient for writers to have a sense of purpose, a kind of collective ideological consciousness. A writer ought to have an artistic manifesto. While not discounting diasporic voices, writers living and writing in Nigeria are the ones we can count on to achieve a poetics of integration, to attain cultural revolution.”
One-minute silent
ANA National President, Denja Abdullahi, called for a more proactive involvement and support by government to foster the development of the book industry and the lot of writers, stating that the organisation is open to partnerships. Recounting his administration’s achievements, he called for one-minute silence in honour of late writers – Ikeogu Ike, Prof Pius Adesanmi and Dr Gabriel Okara. “The 38th convention of the association, historic for being a sort of homecoming to the Association, established in 1981 around this precinct by the patriarch of modern African literature, Chinua Achebe and others. This particular convention is auspicious for me and my team and therefore calls for reflection and a look back at how far we have come with the promises we made when we sought and were given the mandate to lead in 2015,” he said.
The convention’s opening ceremony, which brought together over 400 writers from across the country, was headlined by Prof Zainab Akali, Odia Ofeimun, Prof Ernest Emeyonu, Nigeria Copyrights Commission (NCC) Director-General, Mr John Asein, among other dignitaries.
Akali, Agbada, Remi, get ANA fellow award
Three new fellows were induct at the opening ceremony of thisyear’s convention, which include celebrated woman writer, Prof Zaynab Alkali; enowned professor and prolific author, Prof J. O. J. Nwachukwu Agbada and former President of ANA, Prof Remi Raji.
The writers were received the investiture for their contributions to the development of Nigerian literature.
Presenting the award to Akali, a member of ANA Board of Trustees, Prof Ernest Emenyonu, said: “Alkali is a renowned novelist and writer whose first novel, “Still Born” has become a classic nationally and internationally. She is also a veteran University administrator and teacher.”
“The investiture of the writers was in recognition of their contribution to the development of the Nigerian literature/book indusry and her commitment to the craft of writing”, Abdullahi said.
For Akali, who is on the board of the National Library, “Writers must rise to their responsibilities, “first as healers of sick society, mobilisers of a collective consciences, moderators of excessive behaviours, tamers of unruly conducts, but above all, as agents of love.”
Akali advised writers to rise to their responsibilities, “first as healers of sick society, mobilisers of a collective consciences, moderators of excessive behaviours, tamers of unruly conducts, but above all, as agents of love”.
She said: “Unfortunately, many Nigerian writers are undergoing inertia and abandoning their birthright – the right to make relevant contributions to the growth of the nation. We have relinquished our responsibility as the custodian of peoples’ conscience. Our voices are muffled, and wherever we raise them, they carry no missiles of correction.
“This award says a writer must never give up, never be afraid of joining the others in performing the job he is created for. For whatever talent is given to a writer is not his to squander, no matter the circumstances, for he is only a conduit or, at best a messenger.”
NCC partners ANA to fight piracy
In view of the myriads of security challenges threatening the unity of the nation, NCC DG observed that art and culture remain major pillars in nation building and social integration and their roles cannot be over-emphasised. The timing of this convention is consequently deemed most auspicious.
He stated that the commission will partner ANA to protect the copyrights of Nigerian writers and fight piracy in the country. “The Commission reaffirms its commitment to addressing issues of plagiarism, author/publisher dealings and all forms of piracy. As the Commission renews its pact with ANA, it is our hope that we can join hands to strengthen the copyright system and make it a tool for the sustainable growth of the book industry. While wishing participants a fruitful convention, the Commission enjoins all authors to be more copyright conscious as owners and users.
“Copyright piracy denies authors and publishers the fruits of their intellectual labour and investment and this cannot be allowed to continue if the book industry is to thrive and help sustain the educational sector in Nigeria,” he said.
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