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Tag: Writing

  • Writing, as if life itself depended on it (1)

    Writing, as if life itself depended on it (1)

    Talakawa Liberation Herald 41

    [For Festus Iyayi: radical humanist; writer; neorealist artificer]

    Note: 

    This tribute to Festus Iyayi as writer is excerpted from a much longer essay that I wrote for a collection celebrating his 60th birthday six years ago. In the essay, I paid exclusive attention to Festus Iyayi the writer. In this excerpt, I have stuck to that decision. I do not know whether the collection for which the essay was written was ever published as I was never sent a copy by the Editor, Professor Wumi Raji. Raji did tell me that Festus saw and read the essay. As I mourn his transition with his family and other comrades, it gives me some consolation that he got to read some of the things I say in the tribute concerning how belated the essay was. The title of this tribute is the same one that I gave the longer essay for the collection. There was not the slightest intimation that he would be gone so soon! Thus, I have left intact the present tense of the active verbs that I used throughout the tribute. Festus is not completely gone from us; may his writings be a lasting, imperishable legacy to us and those that shall come after us!

    It is a challenge for me to give a precise, easily comprehensible sense of what I have in mind in the title of this tribute: writing, as if life itself depended on it. Writing is of course one of the greatest cultural inventions of all time. At different times and places human life, especially when conceived in terms of human progress, has received a tremendous boost from powerful or momentous written documents. But unlike verbal speech which is both a primary cultural activity and a social act that almost always entails trans-individual and intersubjective negotiation between two or more persons, writing is a secondary cultural activity; in all its most significant expressions, it is a profoundly lonely activity. For this reason it is not easy to think of any act of writing of which it could be said that life itself depended on it – except perhaps in a figurative sense. Of course more prosaically, life could be said to depend on writing if a particular writer’s psychological or even physical survival in a period of an exceptionally brutal incarceration literally depended on his or her writing. But in neither of these two instances, one figurative and the other literal, am I using this loaded, pregnant phrase – writing as if life itself depended on it – in this tribute to Festus Iyayi. Rather, what I have in mind here is a combination of both the subject matter and the effect of that extraordinary kind of writing in the presence of which the reader is taken (back) to the very roots of being. This is what one confronts most powerfully and unforgettably in perhaps the best among Iyayi’s works, the book of short stories titled Awaiting Court Martial. But this effect of a kind of writing that subliminally expresses what the Italian philosopher, Giorgio Agamben, has famously described as bare life is already present, already an insistent intimation in Iyayi’s works from the very first title, the celebrated novel, Violence. In other words, I am suggesting that Iyayi is a writer in whose best stories one confronts a kind of imaginative, belletristic writing that subliminally takes us back to the roots of Being, close to the edge of what it means to live without the illusions of religious or ideological mantras, or the blinkers people often desperately snatch from the pieties of conventional morality in order to shield themselves from the savage truths of an often cruel and unforgiving existence.

    Sometime in June 2006 at one of the many events organised to celebrate Femi Osofisan’s 60th birthday on the campus of the University of Ibadan, a fierce verbal controversy over the writings of Festus Iyayi took place between me and Pius Omole, then a Senior Lecturer at the University. Now, I should perhaps state that I am quite deliberately identifying Omole by name and institutional affiliation here when tact or simple courteousness demand that I keep his identity unrevealed. I am departing from that protocol of civility because the view of Iyayi’s writings that Omole expressed at that gathering, while very common among the mainstream of conservative or liberal literary critics and scholars in Nigeria, nonetheless enjoys the “protection” of anonymity. In other words, while most conservative and liberal critics privately express this view of Iyayi as a writer and some even express it in their classes, no one has publicly owned up to it.

    Now, it is precisely because I do not wish to perpetuate this anonymity of a view that I consider both lacking in any demonstrable basis in the corpus of Iyayi’s fiction and over-simplifying about the nature of engaged, committed writing in our country that I have put a particular name, a specific, individuated identity to it – that of Pius Omole as publicly stated in a verbal exchange between us. Thus, it is useful to give a profile of this view of Iyayi’s writings from the Right and the Centre of Nigerian literary-critical discourse that led to that vigorous controversy in June 2006, right in the midst of the celebration of Osofisan’s works.

    On one level, this view can be simply and unambiguously stated: Iyayi is a writer of the radical Left with an overriding, urgent social cause; for that reason, the value of his writings rests primarily on the Cause (deliberately capitalised) for and about which he so passionately writes. At face value, this view is factual and perhaps even unexceptionable: Iyayi, as the whole world knows, is indeed an engaged, committed writer and the causes for and about which he writes matter greatly to him. And if his writings have, in one way or another, served to advance greater critical awareness and discussion of those causes, so much the better for Iyayi himself and those on behalf of whom he writes.

    But this is all rather facile and this becomes clear the moment you bring into the discussion those who are either critical of the causes about which Iyayi writes or are indeed dubious about, or even downright hostile to those causes. For as soon as you bring into the discussion this perspective of fragmented or multiple readerships of Iyayi’s writings, then the matter gets very complicated. And this was precisely Pius Omole’s tactic in June 2006: he vigorously insisted that Iyayi’s value as a writer is determined solely by his value for those among the Nigerian reading public that share his social and ideological views. In other words, this implies that while Iyayi’s writings are obviously very important for radical-leftist critics and activists, they don’t hold up well outside the fraternity of the Left. Expressed in other words, this implies that with Iyayi, the imaginative works are little more than an extension into the realm of fictional writing of Iyayi the activist, the passionate and uncompromising Leftist who stands tall and implacable among the country’s radical intelligentsia.

    Of course, I immediately took Omole up on these assertions. I vigorously insisted that similar to what obtains in the works of other progressive, leftist writers like Femi Osofisan, Niyi Osundare and Odia Ofeimun, Iyayi is one radical writer about whose works no scholar or critic could be condescending. I stated that I was making this point emphatically because there are indeed radical Nigerian poets and playwrights the quality of whose writings invite and have indeed received a surfeit of patronising critical commentary, the kind of critical condescension that any self-respecting, sophisticated author would reject. But Iyayi, I insisted, is not a progressive, leftist writer of that kind. Resting my “case” on an exposé on the underlying, though unspoken assumptions of Omole’s assertions, I argued that Iyayi is one of the great radical humanists of postcolonial African literature, a writer whose passionate and eloquent advocacy of the revolutionary transformation of our society did not in any way compromise the quality of his writing, especially with regard to the dominance of realism in its diverse forms and expressions in our literature across the entire ideological spectrum occupied by our major authors.

    Of the underlying assumptions of Omole’s assertions during that verbal joust between us in June 2006, the most crucial is the idea that a work of literature or art cannot simultaneously serve a social cause and be a significant or even outstanding work. But this view, I countered, is refuted by innumerable works of literature and art from diverse cultural traditions of the world, from antiquity to modern times, and from classically realist to bracingly or joyously modernist and postmodernist styles and forms. In different times and places, I argued, works that were produced to protest war, slavery, the oppression of women and the poor, and the tyranny of specific social orders and institutions have been very successful in pursuit of those causes at the same time that they have moved even readers who were not particularly open to the causes advanced by the works.

    The refutation of this fallacious claim about Iyayi as a radical writer is what drives this tribute. This I intend to do through a particularly focused attentiveness to a major shift in fictional form, style and themes that occurred in Iyayi’s writings in the 1990s. This radical shift in his writings has very rarely been noted; for that reason, it has not been subjected to critical inquiry. I am using it as a point of departure for this tribute because, as I hope to demonstrate, it says a lot, heuristically, not only about Iyayi’s own writings but also about committed, radical literature in Nigeria in the postindependence period. I must emphasise here that it is a deliberately symptomatic cognitive mapping of this decisive shift in Iyayi’s writings that I carry out in this tribute because, as I shall be arguing, what at first sight appears to be so particular, so striking in Iyayi as an engaged writer, is indeed highly revealing of broader currents in Nigerian writings of a distinctively radical, leftist orientation. This is the interpretive burden of my central arguments in this essay, this claim that the shift that appears so marked, so distinctive in Iyayi’s writings is in fact symptomatic of a whole shift in radical, engaged writing in Nigeria in the last three decades. Before coming to it, a few words about the belatedness of this essay are perhaps useful.

    Writing now for the first time ever on Iyayi as a writer, I am struck by how odd, how strange it is to me that he who should have been the very first about whom I ought to have written is the last, using that word “last” in its specific connotation of something that comes as the latest in an ongoing series. This is because, simply stated in its most essential aspect, no other Nigerian writer of imaginative works, either of my generation or within the ranks of self-identified progressive authors in our country, has been closer, in theory and praxis, to my own ideological and political views and to my work as an activist than Iyayi. I shall have more to say on this point later in this tribute. For now, let me simply say that I am so amazed at this belated realisation of this silence of mine on Iyayi’s works – which I have admired for a long time and which I so vigorously defended in that verbal exchange with Pius Omole in June 2006 – that I am moved, probably as an act of symbolic reprieve for the oversight, to raise here the shades of that biblical saying in Matthew 20, verse 16: The last shall be the first and the first shall be the last!

    To be continued

    Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • ‘Achebe’s writings gave me confidence’

    ‘Achebe’s writings gave me confidence’

    Five months after his death, the late Prof Chinua Achebe’s influence on many African writers, especially the young ones continues to show at literary platforms. Last Friday, Nigeria’s celebrated international writer and current winner of Chicago Tribune Heartland prize for fiction Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said Achebe’s writings gave her the confidence to go into writing. She said Achebe was very important to her like others such as Flora Nwakpa.

    She spoke at a reception tagged; Literary Evening marking the closing of a 10-day workshop for 22 talented creative writers organised by Farafina Trust and Nigerian Breweries Plc in Lagos.

    Adichie said she initially found it difficult carrying on with the writing of her earlier books, adding that it took her about two-and-a-half years to complete her first book. “In fact, my second book took me five years to complete. You live to prepare to fall and rise again,” she said of how she weathered the many challenges of writing.

    Reacting to why she abandoned medicine for political science and communication, she said it was the best decision of her life.

    Adichie, who claimed she is not into poetry writing, said: “I passed well in science. I left medical sciences because it did not seem right for me. During lectures, I will be writing poems on the back of my note books. Leaving medicine was the best for me. I did not want to study literature after that, so I took to political science and communication.”

    She observed that at the workshop, writers that came with best entries never emerged as the best of the lots, but added that there are enormous potentials in the writers. Eight hundred entries were received for this year’s workshop, out of which 22 were selected.

    Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Nicolas Vervelde said the partnership between Nigerian Breweries and Farafina Trust which began five years ago, was founded on the company’s desire to encourage the development of literary writing skills in Nigeria, as part of “our strategic corporate initiatives towards talent development and youth empowerment.”

    “We expect that the impressive parade of facilitators this year just like in the past years would help give birth to a new generation of writers in the mould of the Chinua Achebes, Wole Soyinkas, Ben Okris and Chimamanda Adichies among others,” he said.

    Vervelde hoped that the writers that have emerged from the workshop would have the potential to become future Nobel Laureates in literature.

    The literary event, which was held at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos was spiced up with poetry performance by Efe Paul, one of the participants and musical performances by KCee, of the Limpopo fame. Certificates of participation were presented by Mr Vervelde and Chimamanda Adichie to al the 22 participants.

    Other writers that facilitated at the workshop included Kenyan writer, Mr. Binyavanga Wainaina; who won the Caine Prize for his short story Discovering Home in 2002, Mr Aslak Sira Myhre; a Norwegian politician and former party leader of Red Electoral Alliance (RV), Dr. Eghosa Imasuen; a Nigerian writer, medical doctor and author of Fine Boys.

  • Entries open for writing contest

    TThe Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation has called for entries to select and publish the best six unpublished stories by writers of children’s literature aged 11-21 years.

    The organisers say the stories should entertain and enlighten, with strong Nigerian/African content, adding that its judges will assess each entry on the depth, originality and quality of the writing and the story’s appeal to its intended audience. “Above all, these stories are to stimulate the imagination of the readers to think and problem-solve in novel ways. All entries must be original, unpublished stories in English. Plays and poems are not eligible. Entrants are not expected to illustrate their stories unless they wish to do so. This will not affect the assessment,” they said.

    Entries, they added, must fall within Junior and Senior categories. For those entering for the junior categories, their unpublished story in English for children between the ages of eight to 12 should be original and up to 3,000 words; while those for the senior categories should be an original unpublished story in English for young adults between the ages of 13 and 17 that is up to 6,000 words.

    The best three stories for each category, according to the orgainsers, will be selected for publication by the foundation’s judges, adding that the usual royalty and publication terms will apply to every story published by the foundation. “The publishers reserve the customary rights regarding all publishing decisions. The copyright of each entry will remain vested in the author, unless otherwise agreed in writing between the entrant and the Foundation.”

    Interested writers are expected to submit typewritten or legibly handwritten, double spaced on numbered pages. Entries submitted online should be in clear and legible fonts. Illegible entries will be disqualified, it was learnt. Entries should include passport photograph, name, residential address, phone number and email address on the title page of the manuscript, with only the full name of entrant on each numbered page of the submission. Entries must be submitted under the entrant’s real name. Pseudonyms are not permitted. And it is not more than one entry per entrant will be accepted.  Six copies of the entry manuscript should be submitted to Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation: 31, Alhaji Tokan Street, Alaka Estate, Surulere, Lagos or P.O Box 7328, GPO, Lagos. And it should be accompanied by evidence of Nigerian citizenship (photocopied/scanned copy of birth certificate, Nigerian passport or Nigerian ID Card).

    The organisers say there is room for online submission, however, entrants should ensure that they attach their entries and e-mail it to: entries@splendidfoundation.com.

    The closing date for all entries is August, 31. Any entry that fails to meet one or more of the conditions above (including the deadline) will be disqualified. For details, visit our website: www.splendidfoundation.com. Members and employees of the Splendid Literature & Culture Foundation are not eligible.

     

  • Making a case for writing

    “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing about.” – Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), US author and politician

    In the world of today where information has become free and communication indispensable, everyone desires to share his ideas in writing. Nobody is pleased to be a spectator and watch as history unfolds under his nose. Each man wants to dictate how history is told. I am no exception.

    I am fed up with being told different stories by different writers. I want to express myself too. I want to write to right wrongs, to curb menaces, to remedy maladies and propagate my own ideas, too. Gone are the days I used to think online write-ups were scribbled by some word-spinning bots. What is my belief now? Of course, I know that it is ordinary people like me who are shaping history. And I have got ideas I can give humanity too.

    Writing is about the best, the most far-reaching and permanent medium to express any opinion. It is rare, if not impossible, to come across somebody who will declare: “I hate writing!” I do wish to know how to assemble words in writing to express my thought and sell my views. But many only wish, a few actually write.

    I cannot claim to be a writing guru. But I dare say writing gives me tremendous joy and that it brings me a load of fortune too. I have won a number of national essay writing contests, so readers can be sure it is something I have a flair for; my very specialty. I have written a couple of opinion pieces published in national dailies and read hundreds of others, so I guess I am really addicted to the craft. My slogan is: “A writer can, with word, move the world if he knows how to write masterpiece.”

    My advice to readers is that writing is an impressive way of selling ideas and contributing one’s quota to burning local, national or global issues. People that do not want themselves rendered irrelevant in public discourses write articles as many as they wish. Hence, one cannot afford but to be counted among the writers in the society, a formidable one at that.

    It is said, and I think rightly, that everyone has an opinion. So, if one has a strong opinion about something, why not let the world know at least through writing?

    Now the question for many aspiring writers is: “How do I write good pieces?” The answer is plain. The best way to learn how to write is by writing. It may seem illogical, but that is the truth. How do you learn to walk? By walking, right? How do you learn to speak if not by speaking?

    Writing also demands commitment, perseverance and self-motivation. If one wants to be a prolific writer, then one need consistency. One way we can achieve that is to write regularly.

    We must summon the courage and start from somewhere. We must not be deterred by “if” or “but”, we just must start and be consistent in order to be a good writer. We must make our ink flow freely because our writings can achieve cure many things in the society.

    Muhammed, 400-Level Law, UNILORIN

     

  • Social media and students’ writing skills

    Social media and students’ writing skills

    SIR: Social media has made information and communication accessible to everyone irrespective of age, time, distance and many more. The world has become a global village with new technological advancement and the free flow of information and media content.

    The advent of social media has impacted on the way students communicate with one another especially in written form. Colloquialism is acceptable in spoken language but never in formal writing. Indeed, the way students communicate has changed completely because of the frequent use of social media like facebook, tweeter, 2go, BBM, Whatsapp, Badoo, and so on.

    However, these modern forms of communication that students use while chatting or interacting in social media is gradually influencing the way students write in the school. We have heard several reports or cases of such abnormal writing skills that have been developed or adopted by students due to their constant interaction in the social media. Terms such as laugh out loud or lot of love are being abbreviated to (lol), BRB to mean, be right back, UW to mean you welcome, U to represent you, letter D to represent the, R to represent are, and many other words and terms like that.

    Lecturers and teachers have reported a dramatic decline in the writing abilities of students. They do not capitalise words or use punctuation marks rightly anymore. Universities, polytechnics, colleges and even secondary schools are complaining about the trend of communication style being used by students via the use of social media.

    The opportunities that are inherent in the use of social media have been strongly abused especially by the students. Most students do not know the appropriate time to use social media. They use it even when their lecturers, teachers are in class lecturing or teaching and sometimes, lecturers would have to seize their phones and enforce punishment on such students.

    Consequently, the need for media literacy education becomes imperatives for children who are approaching adolescent age. This will give the children early and proper understanding of how to broaden their thoughts, skills, knowledge and provide them the opportunity to explore, learn and share his/her views with other people around the world.

    • Habiba Abubakar Yahaya

    IBB University, Lapai, Niger State.

  • ‘Writing develops the mind’

    What motivated your participation in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) essay contest?

    Well, apart from the fact that I am a student, which made me eligible for competition, I was inspired by the topic of the essay which is: Corporate Governance and the Nigerian Capital Market Development. It is in line with my area of interest. So, I took my pen and wrote the essay.

    Can you describe your feelings when you were announced as the winner of the competition?

    Of course, I was overwhelmed with joy. But, it was actually on the award day that the winners were called. The regulation of the essay was strict because the test was in two phases. A the first 20 contenders were called to write another essay, which was strictly supervised by the organisers. The topic was given to us on the day we wrote the essay and the results determined the winners. The cash prize which I won, was N300,000. This was in the form of shares in quoted companies, then a certificate and plaque.

    What were the points that made your essay outstanding?

    I started my essay with explanation of the two key terms in the topic. I explained corporate governance and what it means. I wrote about its principles and importance to the development of the capital market. I also explained some things about the capital market; how it operates and I established a relationship between how corporate governance can bring about the development of the capital market. That was how the essay was organised.

    Your discipline borders on agriculture, how did come about writing?

    One thing about writing is that, it helps to develop the human mind and make people knowledgeable in all fields. If somebody plans to write on a particular thing, he has to conduct a research on that topic. It is in the process that one acquires knowledge. The knowledge can then be applied even to one’s discipline or organisation, regardless of field. So, writing is a process of knowledge acquisition. It can make somebody to add values to his course of study through the application of what has been learnt through writing essays.

    How long have you been writing and how did you hone your writing skills?

    I cannot really say how long but I will say throughout my secondary school days, essay writing was a thing I enjoyed. Also, I developed my writing skill by reading materials, especially those that have to do with economics, entrepreneurship and other areas of interest that I can benefit from. It is the knowledge that I gained from reading these materials that I put into writing when needed.

    What should young people learn from you?

    Anybody that wants to be knowledgeable must be ready to learn in different areas. Widening one’s scope by reading materials from different fields of human endeavour is also important. I encourage the youth to be determined because determination helps in overcoming challenges. Young people should also know that they can achieve anything through the power of God.

    What plans do you have for the future?

    I see myself as an entrepreneur. I want to put into practice all the skills I have learnt over the years with a view to impacting positively on people and the society.

  • AFCON: Writing Super Eagles off

    AFCON: Writing Super Eagles off

    In their effort to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) competition taking place in South Africa, the Super Eagles of Nigeria kept Nigerians so much on edge that when they finally booked a place, everyone shrugged, including their compatriots. It was therefore no surprise that in their not-so-comprehensive defeat of the Ethiopian team, Nigerians gave their lacklustre team grudging plaudits, uneasy about what embarrassment the more technically solid Cote d’Ivoire team could cause us in a few days to come. If this unease is whispered in Nigerians’ living rooms, football commentators from elsewhere are less bashful. One of them, FIFA man and former publisher of African Football magazine, Emmanuel Maradas, spoke so candidly about the Eagles’ shortcomings that it left many proud Nigerians shamefaced and desperate. According to the Vanguard newspaper, Maradas believed the Eagles stood no chance of going anywhere in the on-going soccer fiesta. In the next round, he was quoted to have said specifically, “Cote d’Ivoire will beat Nigeria because you have no chance. You’ll struggle.”

    Hear his unsparing analysis: “Your team is not solid, and it has no star player. It is just an ordinary team. I feel sad to see Nigeria which used to be a powerhouse present a mediocre squad. They have played poorly and only managed to escape the disgrace of being beaten in the first round. I feel sad because this is the same country that had star players like Kanu, Babayaro, Oliseh, Okocha, and the list is endless.” Maradas was so stunned by the decline in Nigerian football that he asked rhetorically what had become of the great footballing country. And that precisely is the most important question of the last few decades.

    Maradas might have been prompted by football to wonder what came over us. But considering the way he asked the weighty question, he seemed to also imply that the problem with Nigeria transcended football or sports generally. Again, hear his distressed complaint: “What is the problem with Nigeria? Are you saying that out of the millions of people in Nigeria, you cannot get up to seven star players? What is the problem with Nigeria? This is a country that I love so much, a country of the greats in African football. Nigeria should not struggle in any group in African football…Eagles have fallen. A country with so much and millions of people cannot raise a dreaded squad; no, it is a shame.”

    It is clear Maradas’ reflections on Nigerian football go beyond football. The way he mourned our decline, and, according to the newspaper, the way he gestured, he seemed to indicate the world expected so much more from Nigeria in all fields. By limiting his comments to football, Maradas was apparently simply being diplomatic. He wanted Nigeria to provide leadership, especially with its endowment and population, but he is deeply mortified it is unable to rise to any level of acclaim. But if it is any comfort to Maradas, he must be told that most Nigerians, minus those in government, also ask the same question: What has become of us? And so far, there has been no consensus on what went wrong. However, there is consensus on the physical manifestations of those things that are wrong with us – the incompetence, the waste, the mediocrity, the nepotism, the lack of passion for the country etc.

    In any case, whatever the outcome of the match between Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday, Mr Maradas’ question will still be valid. For the problems we confront as a nation are so weighty and pernicious that except we confront them boldly and intelligently, the morass will persist, and both the country and its leaders will continue to make an ass of themselves internationally.

  • What should motivate writing?

    What should motivate writing?

    Edozie Udeze reports on an argument that  recently came up: Should writers write for the sake of awards or just write for the love of literature?  

    his is a season of literary awards, not only in Nigeria, but globally.  And Nigerian writers are not letting go; they have formed themselves into groups in their different state chapters to discuss the place of literary awards in the lives of authors.
    Last weekend, the Lagos State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) threw open the debate with the theme:  should writers write for the sake of awards?  It was a poser that encouraged authors to bare their minds on the issue and weigh both sides.
    First to sound the salvo was Daggar Tola, Chairman of Lagos State chapter of ANA, whose stand is that writers should first write for the sake of writing.  If, however, in the process, an award comes, it is all well and good.  “The duty of a concerted writer is to write, believing that he is doing what he loves in order to touch the lives of the people,” he said.
    Daggar’s presentation touched on the vibes of other writers who did not quite toe his line of contention.  For others, awards are parts and parcel of the life of a writer.  A writer can go on to write with the intention of garnering an award.  There is nothing wrong with that, after all those awards are there for him to grab.
    Examples were given about two sets of writers.  The likes of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and their likes did not have awards in mind when they began to write.  However, with time, some of their works began to generate awards for them.  For these set of writers, writing is a vocation, it is a total conviction embedded in their heart of hearts.
    But the second category of writers, write purposely to win awards.  This is more predominant among the younger generation of writers who are lucky that such awards are now many for their asking.
    With more literary awards being instituted in all corners of the world every year, why wouldn’t a writer seize the opportunity to write to win laurels for himself?  The whole essence of this is for him to prove himself, win the award, savour it and use the proceeds to thrive, write more and reap the fruits of his labour.
    Therefore, a common ground was arrived at:  One, those who love awards, first and foremost, should understudy the requirements for such awards and then write to tailor their style towards them.  Two, those who love literature for the sake of literature should go on with what they are doing.  Instances were given about writers in developed world where there are popular literary writers and the core novelists.
    Every week in the United States of America and Britain, newspapers announce best-seller books.  They take time to spell out these two categories – popular and core literature.  It is first to show that each category is not only relevant, but equally acts on its own strength and value.
    So, let writers write in the style they are best suited.  Every writer has his own audience; his own admirers and readers.  As it is in all aspects of life, so it is in the way people take to literary issues.  You stick to what you love and go on with it.
    That is why the likes of James Hardley Chase, Jeffery Archer, Frederick Forsyth and their likes will continue to have followers,  just like the likes of William Shakespeare, Bernard Shaw, Charles Dickens, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka have built their own clan of followers.
    Life is all about varieties and choices and preferences.

  • Writing to right wrong

    Dr. Tunji Braithwaite is a familiar figure on the political terrain. The presidential aspirant of the defunct National Advanced Party (NAP) is versed in the theory and practice of constitutional law. In 2009, he retired from politics after being in it for 30 years. In this interview, he speaks on his book, The Jurisprudence of the Living Oracles, the many injustices he experienced and why the book is a global product.

    The first edition of the book was written in 1986. What prompted writing of the book and the idea of having a second edition.

    Usually academic works have subsequent editions. I expect that even after we would have departed this life, that some scholars will continue subsequent editions. There are few legal books and also medical books that have many editions like that which started like 250 years ago. The Jurisprudence of the Living Oracles is a book that will have subsequent editions. There few legal books and also legal books that have live over 200 years.

    The expectation of the book is for it to live 100 years after I have departed this world because we need to update issues that are treated in the book. The The Jurisprudence of the Living Oracles is a legal book but has multi-leisters disciples. It has Philosophy. It has science. It has religion. It has Astrology. The essence of the book is just to show the origins of all laws. The book traces the constitution of so many countries. The United States, The Great Britain, USSR, before USSR collapsed, Nigeria of course, South Africa in the days of apartheid.

    In my own humble way, I have tried to show that the origin of all works is from the law of God—The ten commandments. The Islamic scripture, The Koran, takes a lot of materials from the Torah.

    The 10 commandments is not only law for Christians. No, No, No. It has Koran, has Torah, Jewish, Buddhism, Hinduism and all sorts of religious tonics, and to show that there is a difference between law and justice.There are basically two school of thought among the Jewish. Some will say that the law should be applied as it is, while others will say law should be applied with rich contempt of element of justice.

    You must have heard judges talking about their hands being tied to do justice. My own idea is that no body’s hands should be tied to do justice. It is all a lame excuse not to do justice. That is what the book is saying . Once a judge is sitting on that bench, he should do his best to give justice in any case brought before him.

    For those who feel that the law should be administered as it is, they have their reason; that they are not suppose to be the law makers. That law makers are found in the legislative assembly. That their own duty is to apply the law made by the legislators, not to make it.

    No, I disagree. Judiciary as the third arm of the government does have the power and the disposition to make laws. So, essentially, it is a book not only for lawyers and judges but virtually for everybody. Lawyers are not the only learned persons.
    Apart from law, what inspires you as a lawyer and politician to write such a book?
    Like I said, philosophy is also a branch of the law. And when you are writing books your motive is to enlarge frontiers of knowledge. It is an ongoing process. That is how man-kind is improved. Take technology for instance, take IT. Knowledge is not static. It is an on-going thing.
    What inspired me to do that basically is that every body knows that I champion the cause of the oppressed. The book itself is dedicated to the oppressed and those fighting for justice all over the world not just in Nigeria. The book is found all over the world. It is found in so many famous universities all over the world.
    I have experienced a lot of injustices in Nigeria, probably arising out of neo-colonialism. For instance the case of the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is treated extensively in the book where a judge made a finding that a lot of atrocities were committed on Fela but he failed to give justice for Fela because this was under the military regime. Part of the purpose of writing the book is to encourage judges and lawyers alike to strive for justice, to redress injustice of the dictators, to curb dictators. That is to use the law to curb dictators.
    The purpose of writing is to encourage lawyers. The first edition was written during the time of dictatorship in Nigeria, apartheid in South Africa, oppression all over the world, in USSR, even in America.
    Precisely, what the book sets out to do is to warn people about it. Funny enough, it is what is happening even now in the Arab spring and if time is not taken it will spread to every place.

    What is the relevance of the book to present political dispensation in Nigeria?
    Like I said earlier, my mantra is championing the cause of the oppressed. That is one of the reasons for writing the book.
    What effort did you put in doing researches to come up with the book?
    There is a lot of research. When you read it you find out that the world has moved from what it was in 1986 to now 2012.
    There is a lot of development. The world is moving. There have been a lot of development. Before we had two super powers – America and USSR. And Europe is now a block that is aligned with United States. Look at the sort of things that are happening the Arab world. Before now, United Nations would not have waded into it. It would have been termed it as domestic matter. Remember what happened in Ruwanda and Balkan. Also Chekoslovakia and Bulgaria. The experience of The Jurisprudence of the Living Oracles is not a Nigerian. It is is global. If you look at what is happening globally. Take the Nigerian civil war for instance, the dynamics of the world crushed the Nigerian civil war. Had it been now, Biafra would have survived.

    Does time of launching the book has any political undertone?
    The book would have been launched few months back. In fact, President Goodluck Jonathan is going to launch the book. The Jurisprudence of the Living Oracles is not a Nigerian book. It is global.
    What is the feedback on the books, especially, the first edition? Looking at the gap between the editions.
    It is because of the feedback in the first edition the brought about writing the second edition.
    How long did it take you to write each of the editions? I mean, the first and second editions.

    Braithwaite: I remember the first edition was after the 1983 election. It took me about two years to research the first edition. The second edition relatively easier because it was updating .It took me just nine months because we had to do research.

    How available is the book especially to pra
    cticing law students.

    The book is available when it is launched for everybody. It is not only for law students or practicing lawyers. Not just for law student, for also science students and religion as well.
    As a well known and respected lawyer and politician. How where you able to create time in your very busy schedule to research and write books with such in-depth?
    T: I don’t have time for socials. And I don’t have time for much leisure. I spend my time thinking ahead. That’s my life.