Crown Troupe of Africa performs at the event
Nigerian writers got the accolades they have rightly earned over the years at the eighth Macmillan Literary Night held on Thursday, November 18 at Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos.
Octogenarian, Chinua Achebe; Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka; dramatist, Femi Osofisan; poet, Niyi Osundare and deceased writers, Amos Tutuola and Cyprian Ekwensi, amongst others, were lauded for their contributions to Nigerian literature.
The event themed ‘Penning Our March to the Golden Year: A Celebration of Nigerian Literature in the Last 50 Years', was attended by many lovers of the written word. The task of introducing some of them, especially the chair, Tunde Babawale, Director General, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation, and the special guest of honour, Babatunde Raji Fashola, the Governor of Lagos State, fell on Nigeria's first female permanent secretary, Francesca Emmanuel.
The vice chair of Macmillan's literary committee, who executed the task with a touch of class, apologised for the late commencement of the programme. She capped her excellent presentation by reading an excerpt from Peter Enahoro's ‘How to be a Nigerian'.
Worthy ambassadors
Her husband and chair, Macmillan Nigeria Publishers, Bode Emmanuel, welcomed guests thereafter. He noted that the night provided an opportunity to boost creativity, writing and reading. He said Nigerian literature is representative of a country on the move as "it constantly draws from the country's realities in the best tradition of protest art." Emanuel added that it was inevitable that writers would speak out against the excesses of the Nigerian society after a bloody civil war and ill managed oil boom.
The publisher described the emergence of first generation writers including Achebe, Soyinka, Ekwensi, J.P. Clark and others as a "landmark" because they succeeded in giving "African literature focus and direction, and propagated African values to the outside world." He noted that rather than abating, issues that first generation writers condemned in their works multiplied, thus leading to the taking up the gauntlet by second generation writers. Labo Yari, Femi Osofisan, Abubakar Gimba, Festus Iyayi and Odia Ofeimun, Emanuel said, have at various times condemned corruption and other ills in the society. He added that contemporary writers including Ben Okri and Helon Habila have toed the same path.
Emmanuel further noted that apart from the Civil War being the cause of poet Christopher Okigbo's death and the imprisonment of Soyinka, it has been a major issue to Nigerian writers, providing a creative outlet for many of them. Elechi Amadi's ‘Sunset in Biafra'; Soyinka's ‘The Man Died'; Chukwuemeka Ike's ‘Sunset at Dawn'; Ken Saro-Wiwa's ‘Soza Boy' and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's ‘Half of a Yellow Sun', he noted, are examples of the country's rich civil war literature.
The publisher however expressed happiness that in spite of ills afflicting Nigeria and its literature, the writers have achieved a lot on the international scene. He mentioned the translations Achebe's ‘Things Fall Apart' has undergone and Soyinka's Nobel Prize for Literature as examples. He further praised writers for succeeding in exporting our culture to other parts of the world. "Nigeria stands tall in international politics because of the arts and writers... Nigeria stands redeemed through the works of writers," he said. Emanuel also restated Macmillan's dedication to quality publishing.
Laudable project
Emcee, poet and polemicist, Odia Ofeimun, keyed in to Emmanuel's last statement by noting that the company did something he had always wanted this year: releasing four new books. ‘A Childhood Journey' by Mary Oto Lijadu; J.C. Agunwamba's ‘The Poacher's Daughter'; ‘Too Close to the Rocks' by Jide Oguntoye and Onyechi Mbamali's ‘Your Man Abednego'.
Fashola, who was represented by Babajide Sanwo-0lu, the Commissioner for Establishment and Training, commiserated with Macmillan on the demise of educationist Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa, vice chair, board of the company. He disclosed that he was impressed by the company's effort to sustain and project Nigerian literature through the literary night initiated. "This is a laudable effort to promote reading," he noted. The Governor reiterated the importance of education to development and urged people to buy and read at least a book a month.
Presentations
Rather than have the chair's remarks, Ofeimun tweaked the schedule to take the presentations, which involved four major Nollywood artists reading excerpts from some works. Norbert Young, Ihria Enakimio, Tina Mba and Ireti Doyle all read while the Crown Troupe of Africa performed. The group's opening glee was a refreshing piece different from their usual offering. It earned them generous applause from the audience. Their second and last presentation, a dance drama titled ‘Our Story' and Wole Soyinka's ‘I Love This Lagos' were also appreciated.
The quartet of Young, Enakimio, Mba and Doyle, also did a commendable job, adopting the mannerisms of their characters. Young perfectly adopted the accent of a Yoruba man while reading Amos Tutuola's ‘The Palmwine Drinkard' while Enakimio did same with Frank Aig-Imoukhuede's pidgin poem, ‘One Man, One Wife'. The two ladies were not exempted in convincingly portraying their characters. Folk group, Nefertiti, accompanied the artists on some excerpts. The quartet did Ken Saro-Wiwa's lengthy, risqué and irreverent pidgin poem, ‘Dis Nigeria Sef' together to end the session.
Critical tool
It was only then that Babawale gave his speech. The CBAAC boss said he was honoured to have been asked to chair the event and described it as a "night of fulfilment, education and sober reflection on the state of our country." He commended Macmillan for doing a great job over the years and reiterated the place of the arts in the society. Babawale said one of the greatest mistakes Nigeria has made in the last two decades is giving preference to science and technology to the detriment of the arts. "Literature provides a critical tool with which you can analyse the society and you need a critical mind to develop. Government must be told in clear terms that we must do everything to support Literature," he said while pledging CBAAC's continuous support to Macmillan.
Babawale, who pulled no punches despite being in the employ of government, also condemned the country's decaying infrastructure. "Ladies and gentlemen, must this continue? No. Go home and start reading."
Source: 234next.com
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Octogenarian, Chinua Achebe; Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka; dramatist, Femi Osofisan; poet, Niyi Osundare and deceased writers, Amos Tutuola and Cyprian Ekwensi, amongst others, were lauded for their contributions to Nigerian literature.
The event themed ‘Penning Our March to the Golden Year: A Celebration of Nigerian Literature in the Last 50 Years', was attended by many lovers of the written word. The task of introducing some of them, especially the chair, Tunde Babawale, Director General, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation, and the special guest of honour, Babatunde Raji Fashola, the Governor of Lagos State, fell on Nigeria's first female permanent secretary, Francesca Emmanuel.
The vice chair of Macmillan's literary committee, who executed the task with a touch of class, apologised for the late commencement of the programme. She capped her excellent presentation by reading an excerpt from Peter Enahoro's ‘How to be a Nigerian'.
Worthy ambassadors
Her husband and chair, Macmillan Nigeria Publishers, Bode Emmanuel, welcomed guests thereafter. He noted that the night provided an opportunity to boost creativity, writing and reading. He said Nigerian literature is representative of a country on the move as "it constantly draws from the country's realities in the best tradition of protest art." Emanuel added that it was inevitable that writers would speak out against the excesses of the Nigerian society after a bloody civil war and ill managed oil boom.
The publisher described the emergence of first generation writers including Achebe, Soyinka, Ekwensi, J.P. Clark and others as a "landmark" because they succeeded in giving "African literature focus and direction, and propagated African values to the outside world." He noted that rather than abating, issues that first generation writers condemned in their works multiplied, thus leading to the taking up the gauntlet by second generation writers. Labo Yari, Femi Osofisan, Abubakar Gimba, Festus Iyayi and Odia Ofeimun, Emanuel said, have at various times condemned corruption and other ills in the society. He added that contemporary writers including Ben Okri and Helon Habila have toed the same path.
Emmanuel further noted that apart from the Civil War being the cause of poet Christopher Okigbo's death and the imprisonment of Soyinka, it has been a major issue to Nigerian writers, providing a creative outlet for many of them. Elechi Amadi's ‘Sunset in Biafra'; Soyinka's ‘The Man Died'; Chukwuemeka Ike's ‘Sunset at Dawn'; Ken Saro-Wiwa's ‘Soza Boy' and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's ‘Half of a Yellow Sun', he noted, are examples of the country's rich civil war literature.
The publisher however expressed happiness that in spite of ills afflicting Nigeria and its literature, the writers have achieved a lot on the international scene. He mentioned the translations Achebe's ‘Things Fall Apart' has undergone and Soyinka's Nobel Prize for Literature as examples. He further praised writers for succeeding in exporting our culture to other parts of the world. "Nigeria stands tall in international politics because of the arts and writers... Nigeria stands redeemed through the works of writers," he said. Emanuel also restated Macmillan's dedication to quality publishing.
Laudable project
Emcee, poet and polemicist, Odia Ofeimun, keyed in to Emmanuel's last statement by noting that the company did something he had always wanted this year: releasing four new books. ‘A Childhood Journey' by Mary Oto Lijadu; J.C. Agunwamba's ‘The Poacher's Daughter'; ‘Too Close to the Rocks' by Jide Oguntoye and Onyechi Mbamali's ‘Your Man Abednego'.
Fashola, who was represented by Babajide Sanwo-0lu, the Commissioner for Establishment and Training, commiserated with Macmillan on the demise of educationist Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa, vice chair, board of the company. He disclosed that he was impressed by the company's effort to sustain and project Nigerian literature through the literary night initiated. "This is a laudable effort to promote reading," he noted. The Governor reiterated the importance of education to development and urged people to buy and read at least a book a month.
Presentations
Rather than have the chair's remarks, Ofeimun tweaked the schedule to take the presentations, which involved four major Nollywood artists reading excerpts from some works. Norbert Young, Ihria Enakimio, Tina Mba and Ireti Doyle all read while the Crown Troupe of Africa performed. The group's opening glee was a refreshing piece different from their usual offering. It earned them generous applause from the audience. Their second and last presentation, a dance drama titled ‘Our Story' and Wole Soyinka's ‘I Love This Lagos' were also appreciated.
The quartet of Young, Enakimio, Mba and Doyle, also did a commendable job, adopting the mannerisms of their characters. Young perfectly adopted the accent of a Yoruba man while reading Amos Tutuola's ‘The Palmwine Drinkard' while Enakimio did same with Frank Aig-Imoukhuede's pidgin poem, ‘One Man, One Wife'. The two ladies were not exempted in convincingly portraying their characters. Folk group, Nefertiti, accompanied the artists on some excerpts. The quartet did Ken Saro-Wiwa's lengthy, risqué and irreverent pidgin poem, ‘Dis Nigeria Sef' together to end the session.
Critical tool
It was only then that Babawale gave his speech. The CBAAC boss said he was honoured to have been asked to chair the event and described it as a "night of fulfilment, education and sober reflection on the state of our country." He commended Macmillan for doing a great job over the years and reiterated the place of the arts in the society. Babawale said one of the greatest mistakes Nigeria has made in the last two decades is giving preference to science and technology to the detriment of the arts. "Literature provides a critical tool with which you can analyse the society and you need a critical mind to develop. Government must be told in clear terms that we must do everything to support Literature," he said while pledging CBAAC's continuous support to Macmillan.
Babawale, who pulled no punches despite being in the employ of government, also condemned the country's decaying infrastructure. "Ladies and gentlemen, must this continue? No. Go home and start reading."
Source: 234next.com
