ANA ABUJA: WE ALL HAVE STORIES I am not particularly happy with the turn of events after ANA Abuja election. And I am writing this because there are those of us who have in time past been victims of this kind of academic browbeating and so-called statesman high-handedness, which I think if not rectified will kill the ANA dream we all bear of this association. I will speak my mind based on what I recently read, by Ahmed Maiwada on the ANA facebook page. I am personally happy that he expressed some those views and they are going to prompt views that, to me, SHOULD LEAD US TO A SECOND LOOK AT OUR CONSTITUTION if it is necessary. I will start briefly with my story in ANA. I joined ANA formally in 2009. Three years after I graduated from the University. Sadly in the university I was under the tutelage of some of the executives and sages of ANA, under whom I was a budding writer, and to whom many of my manuscripts early manuscripts were submitted and lost in their hands. They never encouraged us. They never told us students under them that they had anything to do with an Association called ANA. We were hitting our heads from pillar to post looking for a way. Not until years later when we met in conventions we knew they were ANA members. They knew the way, they were executives in ANA actually, but they did not care about the next generation who would take over after they tired. It was not until 2008, when through a friend I met Isiaka Aliagan and Usman Akanbi in Ilorin that my mentoring started. It was also then I learnt that what used to be called ANA in Kwara had ceased to be because internal fighting, which ended with those who believed ANA was their property giving leadership to an incompetent professor who cared nothing about the association, and he laid the final wreath on its soul. Upon meeting those gentle souls, Isiaka Aliagan and Usman Akanbi, who gave me and two and half others instructions, which we followed through, and with Denja Abdullahi as the National General Secretary in Abuja, this allowed us to revive ANA Kwara. And almost all of us who were in that re-born ANA Kwara were students or fresh graduates. Unpublished. I mean all of us were unpublished. And as I am writing this piece, that revived ANA Kwara is still strong and makes their presence felt in ANA conventions till date, among other benefits accruing to ANA for having a state branch on ground in Kwara. Who today is talking about the fact that those young boys and girls I led who revived ANA Kwara were unpublished and so unqualified, and had revived the ANA killed by veterans? Who talks about how I was going on literary evangelism and follow up that brought people like Dr. Mrs Etche into ANA, an old woman who had tired of writing without appreciation or recognition, or fellowship of writers? Our story was instructive of what happens to ANA, and needs urgently addressed. The concept of Phariseeism in ANA, of men who do not want to CROSS TO CANAAN LAND, and are bent on STOPPING THE SIMPLE PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO. They are our so-called elder statesmen and stakeholders. In the Universities they come from, only they attend our conventions every year, despite the fact that they teach Nigerian literature to students who aspire to write. In their states of residence, nobody can point at them and say, this man inspired me to find creativity in the literary arts. Nobody in ANA today can say I came to ANA when I met this man or woman. They are ANA and ANA is them. Whenever anything threatens this singular fact, their fangs rise up. And of course they are hard recognizing new writings. And every new voice is a thrash, and here them talk about it. Their qualification for our STATESMANSHIP is their presence in our conventions, and one or two novels that were written in the 80s. Chikena. And they exist in all states chapters. In fact, some of them killed their state branches ANA, and became ANA themselves only that they still retained their surnames. Some of them had better opportunities than BM Dzukogi and his Niger horde, but today they envy Niger and could go to any length to disparage them, forgetting that Niger’s reputation was a product of dedicated mentorship that has given the world the likes AlKazeem Abdulkadri’s, Awwal Evuti’s and Gimba Kakanda’s of the other day. Why was there stagnation in their own states, they never see the reason in themselves. I joined ANA Abuja from Minna convention. I went to Minna from Ilorin and left Minna to Abuja, and subsequently lived there three years. My impression of ANA Abuja at Minna convention was a thriving chapter with so many members. I looked forward to this fellowship. But in Abuja what I met was a shadow of the original. Those people who trooped to Minna were our USUAL STATEMEN. They go to convention to rest and enjoy themselves with other writers. From the convention they drove to their homes till next year. ANA Abuja was then led by a young man I later understood the depts of his humility, Seyi Adigun. Seyi’s case was very peculiar. He was an entrepreneurial Medical Doctor, involved with a tasking job that takes him in and out of Abuja often, and also as I got to know later he was involved in the politics of his state as well. Not easy for him, as I understood it. So Seyi needed men in Abuja who would help him fill in the gaps; after all nobody was paying him. But these statesmen where never there for him. Theirs is only criticism of Seyi at his back. It was Seyi and some person who approached me to fill in the gaps of ANA Abuja PRO position that was vacant after the election. I accepted this assignment with my usual zeal for ANA I had come to love. And soon it afforded me to know some people in ANA Abuja for who they are. And they too knew me for who I am. Among by bad sides is my inadequacies with political window dressing and rude ways of telling sad truths that often hurt even me too. I know. But I see in them, men who take ANA as furniture in their sitting room. They come to claim ownership when and how they like. The state chapter has readings, they don’t go; there is courtesy visit, they don’t attend; there is emergency, they are not found. In fact, they are found in other literary events in Abuja other than ANA’s, and when you ask them, they say ANA is boring, ANA is dead. Come and let us ‘revive’ ANA, they are not interested. So it is sad that while I know my problem, they do not know theirs. What should be a load of guilt on their back is a quilt of honour on their caps. It was this attitude that sent me out of Seyi Adigu’ administration late, when after all my labour people who were assigned and were supposed to work with me but chose to sleep in their homes would come to swipe at how poorly I had performed on the job we were to do together. I had never seen such a pathetic mindset. It was to me the height of Phariseeism, and it has high point in ANA Abuja. ANA Abuja was a joke in the literary circle just for this. Those who had the temerity to ‘shit’ on us in those days told us as a matter of fact that we were ‘irrelevant’ and yet over-valuing ourselves. I for one knew they were right. When in ANA events it was always few people. Denja and family, Jerry and family, and one or other two people. It was an era of lawlessness. ANA Abuja read for every dick and harry who knew somebody who would harry us to dedicate a reading. Jerry or I would use our money to do small publicity. If those people ever came it was to slap our face on the low turnout, and they walked away to return when next they chose. They were not interested in us, they only used ANA platform. They go to conventions anyway. But they do not pay dues. ANA should be run with money picked on the streets. And the day they showed face, because their friends were reading, they come to charge us for our incompetence at this or that. And harass on accountability over the money we picked on the streets. And it was that situation that prevailed when the election that ushered Oribabhor to office was held. Having previously resigned my position, I did not even go there. And I said, whoever emerged the excos I would offer my full support as a member. I would not leave ANA to any other literary group. But let them do it, and let them guide us. I would be a good follower, as a member of ANA. But then Oribabhor came to my office, and it was a day I would not forget. He spoke passionately about where he wanted to take ANA Abuja and why he wanted me back to the position I left, which at the election was not filled. And I told Oribabhor, that sadly some of the people mentioned in this new exco, were the ones for whose sake I would not work with you. I mean people who walk to ANA to collect positions for the sake of it, and not with a dedicated zeal to work for the association. When you have such people in your team, two people end up doing the work of ten-man team. And when it cookies crumble, they are the first to point accusing fingers at others’ incompetence. But he assured me. And Denja called me up on the same issue. Today, I thank God for accepting eventually. Because history cannot pass this last ANA exco, for its performance in lifting ANA Abuja back to number one literary group in the city. And we read in full hall, and authors bring their books and most times have sell out. New members come and happily join, students are mentored. And the future looks positive indeed. I was only a Publicity Secretary—that did not end his tenure—on that team. But all I told Oribabhor happened. The indiscipline of those who should be elders, and the consistent vacancy of positions that were filled at the election. Oribbahor had to use a lot of initiatives to get hands on deck to work with us and achieve the little we did. By the time I was leaving for studies, ANA were still being driven by these members who were ‘basically’ new in the Association. Sometimes, I am grateful for the mind I have possessed. I don’t like to judge people without hearing their opinions. And for this reason, there were certain individuals I called personally, and asked why they were not attending ANA Abuja events. Some of them who know themselves told me they had families that needed them. Some said they had been very busy, and this and that. But those people, I saw them in the ANA elections pictures on facebook puffing winds from their nostrils. Definitely they too were men who wanted to reclaim their ANA from ‘the wayfarers’ like us. At the election, they abandoned their ‘wonderful families’ to come and pursue usurpers. And I also saw in the pictures faces who had last been to ANA two years ago. Surely, those ones came to join in the rescue mission. And anybody who had seen the impact ANA Abuja made in the last two years would allow ‘old prophets’ to come reverse the hands of the cloth ticking forward. This is the height of selfishness. To the likes of Salamatu, Halima, Louisa, Friday, Joan Oji, Ojukwu, and these people who, yes, new but have literarily carried ANA on their shoulders in the last two years. You woke up on the day of election to question their status. Where were you when they were in the sun and rain over these two years working their ass off for the progress the association has made? And those of them hired to come and chase away the so-called ANA usurpers, do they really have shame? Do they have thinking cap to allow themselves to be so used? Why not ask the simple question; in the last two years I was away who had held forth that this house which I thought dead came back alive? My God, why are we like this? Because I think that we all have the sincere stake to make ANA the best literary group in Abuja, and should be seen to be going about it the best way. I want to be particular here. Maiwada pointed out that Salamatu should not vote or be voted for. Of course, he suddenly realized that Salamatu is a butterfly that calls herself a bird. And forgot that that young lady was job hunting in Abuja for two years, and used whatever personal fund from family and friends to run around and see our ANA going forward. She attended meeting, she was in events, and she ran errands. And every association wanting to move forward encourages such people. Even me, with all I can claim, I do not think I could match the commitment of that young lady. And if we had made progress in the last 2 years it was also partly down to the commitment of someone like her, who was willing to go to anywhere and do anything without complains. I remember vividly Salamatu and I running around Abuja secondary schools inviting them to ANA Abuja/Yusuf Alli Quiz Competition, and her tagging in my office several hours waiting for us to move, and coming around to drop or pick books, write reports, and what not, that sometimes I began to pity her. Every reading she comes early to arrange the hall and sit there and ensures events went well. And when I left for studies took over the publicity desk till the end of the tenure. And somebody can use access to the National President to stop Salamatu from vying for election, because she has not printed few crude copies of badly written poetry in Area 11, to qualify for membership? Two years of dedicated service is not enough. It is shame, and ANA must look into the system that recognizes paper above dedication and patriotism. And it dawns on me why Denja has to stand his ground, because he has conscience. Denja understood that the letter of law does not move anything forward. He was part of them who supported my illegal team in Ilorin. And produced some of us who are happy to be in ANA today. If you are Denja, for all he gives into ANA daily of his life, he will sit and watch charlatans come and reserve the sweat and dedication of two years by these wonderful young people rising within the ranks? I was not in the said ANA election, and cannot comment on the nitty-gritty. The man who has been declared the winner happened to be one person I know too well. It was his type who were doing “Oga” for us. But since he joined us, he has always shown profound dedication towards advancing the course of literature and ANA in Abuja. He comes, and he sometimes his invites friends. This is what it means to advance what one believes in. So, if not for the love I share for ANA Abuja. If not; I would have said why not leave them to it. Two years ago, they were not scrambling for a carcass they left behind. At least there is virile ANA to battle for now. And that is the soul of the battle; to come and glory where other men had sown. Let everybody be thinking about this. I rest my case for now.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 17:57:45 +0000
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