Benjamin Njoku
15 May 2008
Lagos — "MOST of us writing from the North are rarely accorded recognition as our counterparts in the other parts of the country." said a female Hausa-Fulani writer."
It is probably because some of us prefer to write in our indigenous language and rarely communicate in English to gain larger audience," another female writer from the region added with almost a sense of resentment.
Indeed, it was like a renaissance of sort last week when writers from across the nineteen states of the northern region converged on Minna, Niger State capital, to redefine what they described as the "valuable place of creative writing" as it affects the northern part of the country.
Overtime, however, creative writing, as far as the northern region is concerned, has not only been less-celebrated, but also lacks such vibrance and creative authenticity to make it take its place in the world literary discourse.
But, last week's convening of a three-day literary retreat, under the theme: "Sustaining Creative Writing in Northern Nigeria" was also for the purpose of charting a new direction for creative writing in the region. The summit provided a platform for the discussion of the peculiar problems of writing and education in the Northern of the country.
All through the three-day gathering, held between Sunday, May 4 through Wednesday, May 7, 2008, it was a discourse session of Northern literature at its peak.
Minna, a city encamped by jutted hills and valleys, assumed, albeit temporarily, the status of the literary capital of the northern region as members of the writing tribe, academics led by the famous writer, Abubakar Gimba, and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Niger State on Research and Documentation, Alhaji Yahaya Dangana, who coordinated the hosting of the event held in the state.
The truth remains that since 1991 national convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), when Minna played host to such an impressive galaxy of creative writers, scholars, critics, literary journalists and academics, nothing of the like of this well celebrated summit has ever taken place in that state or anywhere else in the Northern region.
The unconfirmed claim that northern Nigerian writing has laid comatose will now demand a second look. If anything at all, the influx of both old and young writers of northern extraction to the summit demonstrated, in no small measure, the extent to which they have longed for a new literary beginning in the area.
While the conference lasted, it was a 3-day of brainstorming on the future of creative writing in the north. All the delegates in attendance expressed, both in words and action, their unalloyed commitment to the cause of redefining the place of literature in the region. For many unknown Hausa-Fulani female writers, it was a new dawn for them.
Alhaji Yahaya Dangana, a writer of note and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Niger State on Research and Documentation, who oversaw the organizing of the event, began by narrating the genesis of the conference which, according to him, was conceived by the Niger State chapter of ANA which went to the 2000 annual convention of the body held in Jos, with the sole aim of convening a meeting that would put into action the convocation of the 1st Northern Nigerian Writers Summit.
"The objective was to begin a deliberate strategy of organizing the writers community for greater action in the production and effective distribution of books, enhance the literary craft of writers and accelerate reading culture in the country."
Dangana further narrated, noting, however, that the summit was concretized at the Owerri convention and that was after all the northern states branches of ANA had adopted the draft blueprint of the summit presented to them by ANA Niger, with Governor Muazu Babanigda Aliyu of Niger State giving his approval of the historic forum.
Another writer from the north and former President of ANA, Abubakar Gimba, who spoke after Alhaji Danagana, set the tone for the deliberation when he attempted in his address to classify who a writer from the north should be.
According to him, a writer from the north should be that writer who shares the dreams, visions and aspirations of the North and its peoples with a passion, while he feels with agonizing pains, the afflictions and failures of the region; one who becomes a proud bearer of the torch of glory of the northern achievements.
Gimba, sounding quite nostalgic and sentimental, alluded that, while other writers whose works draw their strength from the north are sympathizers, that a northern Nigerian writer is first a northerner, no matter his ethnic, religious, ideological or political loyalty before he is a writer. "This is, no doubt, a historic gathering, modest in its goals but with profound implications for those of us who have developed some interest in creative writing from these parts of our nation.
And as I contemplated these welcome notes, some intriguing posers raced through my mind, with reference to both the conference title...' who are the Northern Nigerian Writers: Are they writers born in the north? Or are they writers who write about the north, with their themes, characters and environment all Nigerian?
For instance, late Cyprian Ekwensi was born in the north, and wrote using northern Nigerian characters and environment, social, economic and geographical. Was he a norther Nigerian writer or Ben Okri?"
Analyzing further, Gimba believed that neither the late Cyprian Ekwensi nor Ben Okri would be referred to as northern Nigerian writers. The classification, according to him, is far from being discriminatory as he noted, " rather, it is a question of categorization in terms of identification with, and commitment to an environment and culture."
"By this conference, the northern Nigerian writers want to affirm the supremacy of the word. The northern Nigerian writer is a writer like any other, he is a Nigerian writer, an African writer, like the European, American, Asian and other writers. He is, however, a specie of a kind, which has the potential of attaining very high status far and above that which he is currently in, and struggling hard to catch-up on others.
Professor Munzali Jubril, former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), who chaired the opening ceremony held at Gidan Matasa, Minna, made a case for the preservation of indigenous languages, describing as "a sad development", a situation where the major languages of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba have dominated other Nigerian languages in the country. He, therefore, advocated the need for writers, especially those from the minority tribes, to learn to write in their indigenous languages so as to stop our languages from going into extinction.
Other dignitaries who brilliantly spoke at the occasion were the deputy governor of Niger State, Alhaji Musa Ibeto, representing Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, the Secretary to the Niger State government, Dr Muhammed Kuta Yahaya, who read the goodwill message sent to the delegates by the Secretary to the Federal Government, Amb. Babagana Kingibe, ANA National President, Dr. Wale Okediran, and a host of men of letters.
In his address, ANA President, Dr Wale Okediran, saluted the courage of the northern writers, noting that a summit of this nature is necessary to help galvanize all the northern literary stakeholders such as government, agencies, publishers, NGOs and philanthropists into action. This way, according to him, the poor publishing outlets as well as the poor reading culture that confronts the region would be adequately tackled.
"We in the National Executive Council of ANA deeply appreciate the important roles our writers from the northern part of the country have and are still playing towards the existence of a virile and robust National Association of Writers. About three years ago, the Association had a very major convention in Kano, which ushered this current executive into office. Later this year, we are coming back to the north for this year's convention in Gusau, Zamfara State."
"In furtherance of our determination to improve the literary awareness in the north, the National Executive of ANA will, come 2009, God willing, celebrate the life and works of the well known Nigerian author of northern extraction, Abubakar Imam. Also, ANA wants to inaugurate the AREWA Children's Literature authored by writers of northern Nigerian extraction." Okediran highlighted.
Apart from the plenary sessions, where exhaustive presentations on the theme of the conference were made, the highlight of the event was the grand performance of Yahaya Danagana's historic play, "Royal Chamber" at the UK Bello Arts Theatre, Minna, and the public presentation of an Anthology of Poems entitled, "Pyramids: An Anthology of Poems from Northern Nigeria".
There was also an award ceremony, where outstanding writers and supporters of Literature in the north were honoured accordingly. Among the awardees were: Governor Mu'azu Aliyu, Alhaji Usman Aliyu Shehu Shagari, HRH Mallam Muhammad Awwal Ibrahim, Rev. Fr. J.D.O. Connel, Hajiya Aisha B. Lemu, and Dr Usman Bugaje who were given Honourary Awards for their Promotion of Literature in the North.
Arewa Award for Literary Excellence were give to Alhaji Ibrahim Tahir, Mallam Labo Yari, Abubakar Gimba, Professor Zaynab Alkali, Professor Olu Obafemi, Dr. Jerry Agada and Yahaya Dangana. Others were Helon Habila, Kasimu Yero, Ibrahim Sheme, Hajiya Bilkisu Funtua, Hajiya Balaraba Ramat Yakub and Hajiya Hafstu AbdulWahid.
Post humus awards were equally given to Nana Asmau Usman Fodio, Sir Abubalar Tafawa Balewa, Abubakar Imam, Mamman Jiya Vasta, Sa'adu Zungur, Cyprian Ekwensi and Muhammed Sule.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
