Rough road to the writers’ confab The Association of Nigerian Authors manages to scale some hurdles to host its 2014 convention in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, CHUX OHAI writes Members of the Association of Nigerian Authors emerged from the 33rd International Convention of the body, held in the University of Ibadan last weekend, heaving sighs of relief. To many of the writers in attendance and absentees who had earlier given up on the hosting of the event, after an initial postponement, the convention will linger in their collective memory as an unprecedented miracle. For the first time since the establishment of ANA, the convention, as most of the writers would find out, almost did not hold due to circumstances beyond the control of the national executive council of the association led by Prof. Remi Raji-Oyelade. An indication that this year’s event was heading toward a disaster emerged after a statement appeared on the website of the writers’ body, announcing the postponement of the convention. Signed by Raji, the statement read in part, “The Executive Council of the Association of Nigerian Authors has, in the course of the last seven months, extended all cooperation to the Rivers State chapter of the Association towards actualising its bid. We have made all efforts to press the state chapter on the need to secure funding in good time and to put up the structures necessary to discharge the responsibility of their successful bid. In spite of other indications, we continued to receive assurances from the Rivers State chapter that all efforts were being made. “We regret to inform you that the Rivers State chapter has failed to meet two deadlines set by the National Executive Council on their preparedness to host the convention. A third deadline extension, specially requested, expired today, October 20, 2014. Therefore, the National Executive has no other option than to postpone the 33rd National Convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors. Clearly, it is not feasible to hold the convention on the earlier advertised dates. Yet, determined to find a way out of the embarrassing situation, ANA had sought financial assistance from the Presidency and eventually got it. The result of that is the two-day convention that also passes as the poorest ever witnessed, in terms of attendance. Unable to conceal his embarrassment, in his opening address to the gathering, Raji-Oyelade wished that ANA did not have to depend on its ties with other people outside the association to make the convention possible. The ANA President said, “All conventions have their histories. This convention will go down in history in terms of the ups and downs that we experienced. That we are here is a miracle. Our story has been chequered in disappointments. And we have had to depend on our own ingenuity and on our ties with other people. We had to make sure that this convention was held. I did not want to go down in history as the only President of ANA that did not have a convention. That is bad history and I was not prepared to be a part of it.” Expressing his gratitude to the Presidency for its intervention, Raji-Oyelade vowed to ensure that the writers’ body did not find itself in a similar ‘messy’ situation in the nearest future. “This will be the last time that we have to depend on the ingenuity of other people. Before the end of my tenure, I want to leave a legacy that will require us to give our best to ANA as writers and not take from it. After this, our conventions will go truly international. ANA stopped being an international organisation many years ago,” he said. Apart from cooking up a plan to ensure that the body regains its lost glory, he promised to change the modality for the bidding of hosting rights for the convention. One of the highpoints of the event was a keynote lecture themed, Literature, Languages and Diversities: How Nigeria has Fared since 1914, delivered by Prof. J.OJ Nwachukwu-Agbada of the Abia State University. Commenting on the development of Nigerian literature from 1914 till present day, Nwachukwu-Agbada declared that though writers had made tremendous progress, the absence of dependable publishing outlets constituted an obstacle to literary production in the country. “Publishing continues to be left for a few daring publishers who receive no encouragement in any way from the governments,” he said, adding that while Nollywood attracted attention from the government; book publishing received no impetus. The keynote speaker also lamented the seemingly unbridled thirst for literary prizes and awards among Nigerian writers at home and in the Disapora, as well as the birth of publishing outlets that exist only to promote “writings that stand to win accolades”. Other activities at the convention included a book chat around the newly created Nigeria Writers Series, which is ANA’s direct intervention in the ailing publishing industry in the country; the screening of Yeepa! – a film adaptation of Prof. Femi Osofisan’s play, Who is afraid of Tai Solarin? by Tunde Kelani; and excursions to the African Heritage Library, in Adeyipo Village and the University of Ibadan Zoological Gardens. At the business session of the convention, there was a mild debate over the continued suspension of the General Secretary of the association, Mature Okoduwa. While a former chairman of the Lagos ANA, Chike Ofili, argued that the national executive council lacked the constitutional right to suspend Okoduwa, Raji-Oyekade insisted that the latter would remain punished until he complied with a previous directive to tender a letter of apology. The winners of the 2014 ANA prizes were announced during the awards presentation and dinner at the Gloryview Hotel in Ibadan. They include Prof. May Nwoye, a former vice president of ANA, whose book titled Oil Cemetery won the ANA/Chevron Prize for Environmental Writing; Soji Cole (ANA/Esiaba Irobi Prize for Playwriting); Immanuel James (ANA Prize for Prose) and Tunji Ajibade (ANA Prize for Drama). The highly competitive ANA Prize for Poetry was jointly won by Ebi Yeibo and Su’eddie Vershima-Agema with The Fourth Masquerade and Home equals home: Tales of an exile, respectively. Copyright PUNCH.All rights reserved. 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Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 00:43:39 +0000
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