What inspired African Writers Forum (AWF)?
I have toyed with this idea for a while. I believe the associations I have belonged to and served for several decades have not gone far enough in these areas. Yes, I had a chance to further these ideas as General Secretary for two years, but that was not enough time to touch on these, including the other roles I had to play, not to talk of the funding.
How long did it take you to put it together?
I assure you that it has taken us quite some time. You have to find a Board of Trustees who believes in your vision, an interim exco that believes in your ability to deliver and then comes the finance! If I had my way, this group would have been here half-a-decade ago or a little less.
As a publisher and exco member of ANA, how do you intend to manage all roles; won’t there be a conflict of interest?
As a publisher, and going by the kind of publishing I do at Hybun, there is much time on my hands and that is why ANA enjoyed so much of my attention for so many years, and I enjoyed giving it that time. Today, however, things are different in ANA. There is a new ‘pharaoh’ who does not know Joseph! Besides, I am only an ex-officio member, an advisory position. I stay back and listen and then advise as I know from experience. The General Secretary and his team do the work.
You are the president, your wife the secretary, is it a family-inspired organisation?
I expected this question! I think it was Bazuaye, who once coached the famous New Nigerian Bank of Benin, and later one of the national teams that brought in his son to play for and was accused of nepotism. He said he would pick a thousand of his relatives if they were the best ‘he could find at the time’; (or so). No, it is not a family thing. Just those I can find at this time who share the same dreams. If you noticed, this is an interim team. As time go on, one or two may drop and new ones take their place.
With other writers’ associations such as ANA and Abuja Literary Society (ALS) already in existence, what new thing is your organisation coming to add?
I have the greatest love and respect for ANA and its officers, ALS is doing much for poetry, but I assure you, there is so much more that have been left undone through the years that we have come to do. Even after us, there will still be so much more left for other organisations to come and do for Nigerian and African literature. We need do so much to begin to try to catch up with the rest of the world, in spite of our strides so far, which in all modesty, I lay claim to have done a little bit to help along. Thanks to Professor Olu Obafemi, Professor Femi Osofisan, Dr Wale Okediran and of course many others, including Mallam Denja Abdulahi.
Linguists are of the view that most Nigerian languages are gradually gravitating towards extinction. What do you think?
I do believe in this! Wholeheartedly. If you recall, as a National EXCO member of ANA, we did do a couple of programs in this direction. It is our idea in AWF to continue and save what we can of our languages that are endangered. In this regard, we have ideas of colaborating with the Moses Tsenongu’s of Nigeria.
Since one of your objectives is to promote literature in local languages, given the multi-lingual status of d country, how do you intend to ensure all groups are carried along?
No! We do not intend to do the impossible! We cannot carry all groups along. We said earlier in this interview that we will do what we can and leave the rest for those already on ground before us and those coming after to take up from where we stop.
Most literary associations name funding as a major bottleneck, do you have any secret modality in place with which to use to over this challenge?
No hunter goes hunting without his strategy in mind! We do realise from over three decades in the book industry what the problem areas are and we have our strategy to deal with them. All we can tell you at this time is that we do not believe in impossibilities! Ask the Presidents we worked with in ANA, and they will tell you so!
