While the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) held its 36th annual convention in Makurdi, Benue State, what was obvious was the fall in literary standards, reports Edozie Udeze.
Even though the 36th international annual convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has come and gone, the heat the three day event generated will take time to peter-out. Held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, the convention basically opened people’s eyes to the dwindling standards of Nigerian Literature. Even though literary works and ideas are daily being churned out, the standard of literature in forms of grammatical presentation, styles and thematic concepts still fall below the average. This is why one can easily say that there are books everywhere, yet there are none to read.
The seemingly unfortunate situation of literary quality was very noticeable in the works that were submitted for the prizes this year. This was why in his final report concerning the awards and the comments of the judges, Denja Abdullahi, the ANA president said, “you can see that the quality of entries this year are very low. There’s indeed quality decline in Nigerian literature. Indeed, this year is the worst”, Abdullahi who won the election for the second time, bemoaned. It was actually based on this fact that it became somewhat difficult to get the best works as winners at the convention. What went wrong, then? What was responsible for this obvious decline? As it is now, most writers, owing to the apathy of publishers want to go it alone. They write, they edit and then send the manuscripts straight to printers. In this way, there is the absence of the normal chain and processes of book publication.
In other words, self publishing is killing standards, thereby encouraging and elevating mediocrity and low quality. When a writer becomes his own referee, his own team manager, team captain and so on, all he gets is headache and kwashiorkor. When the food is finally cooked, it is either half-done or badly cooked. It is the sort of food that gives bellyache or constipation. That exactly is the condition under which most literary works are produced in the society these days.
Now, apart from poor patronage, where most people have chosen not to buy or read books, the Nigerian writer is also constituting himself into a nuisance of sorts. He is invariably encouraging nonchalant readers to be more obstinate by keeping farther away from books. At all ANA events as it is usually the tradition, there are many book stands. There are many interested people milling around looking at books. But do they buy? Do they really consider most of the books good enough for their attention? This is where the problem lies. Then what needs to be done? Even in the face of self-publishing, writers should try to get professional editors to help read their works. This way, standards will be maintained and the interest of the reader continuously stimulated and sustained.
It can no longer be a moment where everyone pretends to be a writer. No. Writing is a serious calling; a business that requires higher calling and unbridled commitment. This is what the Abdullahi-led team has been able to decipher. Now, it is time to show more commitment towards literature so that the standards established by the founding fathers will not be obliterated. Every father prays that his son becomes better than he is, so also every son wishes that he surpasses his father’s strides. If that is the case, why then is it that modern-day Nigerian writings are deteriorating and letting literature decline.
Proceedings
In his welcome address, Abdullahi commended the Benue State governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom for his avowed interest in literature. Between 1988 and 2017, Benue State has hosted ANA thrice. This is commendable given the fact that many states have not even hosted for once. Especially now that the economy is in tatters, the efforts of the Ortom-led administration in showing unalloyed interest in the affairs of the writers’ body is too good to be wished away.
To make it concrete, many prominent Benue writers and elites were in attendance. They came to give credence to the gathering and also encourage younger writers to be of good cheer. This was the reason in his opening address, Professor Idris Amali, the chairman of the organizing committee reiterated the fact that Benue is always alive to literary issues. He said, “the governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom, whose love and passion for education has had him accept the challenge of taking the hosting right and supporting the entire project”, needs to be highly commended. His good works, according to Amali was what attracted the writers’ clan of Nigeria to the state. To him, Ortom still considers education the bedrock of the state. “As a body we are mandated to promote writing and reading, not only in Benue but in the whole country”, Amali said, amidst hilarious acclaims by the gathering whose love for books also became euphoric.
In his speech, the state governor who was represented by Professor Dennis Ityavyar, State Commissioner for Education, said, “We want everyone in Benue State to be educated. Here we love education and therefore place high premium on it. Even the first lady Mrs. Eunice Ortom also loves books and goes all out to encourage education. This is why she sent me to tell you that she is part of ANA. She even goes about to encourage millions to go to school”, he said, as writers clapped and hailed.
He went further to challenge writers to write to effect the needed changes in the society. The commissioner was however optimistic that “ideas should chart ways forward for Nigeria. Ideas rule the world. Changes lie in good ideas that emanate from good and sound writings. This will also add values that will certainly propel progress. This is why we are cooperating with ANA to achieve a better and sound society”, he presented.
The governor however, challenged writers to produce books that can impact on the society. “For this reason and more, we intend to handover schools to missions and other private owners. Our intention is clear; we hope to make education not only affordable but encourage more private participation”, Governor Ortom asserted. To him, once this exercise is concluded, the state will stand out as one of the best in Nigeria.
In his keynote speech, Professor Saleh Abdu of Federal University, Kashere, reminded ANA members that they must localize most of their works to suit the numerous societal demands of the moment. In the lecture titled, Canons, Prizes and Boundaries – African Writers and African Writings in world literature, he told fellow writers to consider writing as a cultural practice meant for positive developments, ideas that are germane for governments to sit up. He reminded them of the need to go back to Professor Chinua Achebe’s speech in 1981 when ANA was formed. In that speech he told writers to stick together as one body to challenge the misdeeds in the society. Today that is what ANA should strive to do to effect a progressive society for the good of all.
In all the 36th convention witnessed the participation of writers from Niger Republic who came to identify with their Nigerian counterparts. Last year also some writers from Ghana were prominent. The whole idea so far is to have constant cross-fertilization of ideas to help develop the West African region in terms of literary outputs and sorts.
