A conversation with Jos literary activist Onotu David Onimisi (II)

Getting children to read early on is vital because it builds up the mind of the child. The things we learn as children hardly go away. They stick in our mind, so it is important what we feed our children, what they see and what they learn. Most of the thinkers and writers today will […]

Getting children to read early on is vital because it builds up the mind of the child. The things we learn as children hardly go away. They stick in our mind, so it is important what we feed our children, what they see and what they learn. Most of the thinkers and writers today will tell you they learned to read very early, or they listened to a lot of stories and read a lot of books. Giving a child a book is giving a child a world full of possibilities. So children are our target. The older you get the less time you may have for literary or creative activities. But if you get hooked on it very early, you will take that as part of your life. It is very important to instill these values in our children.
I read endlessly when I was a kid. Very early I became familiar with Nigerian authors such as Cyprian Ekwensi, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and Ben Okri. I also read a lot of international writers from Byron, Edgar Allen Poe, Samuel Taylor Coleridge to Matthew Arnold, Jean Paul Sartre and recently J.M. Coetzee, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read a lot of poetry. These works influenced my thinking. They say writers are the pillars of society. Their ideas go a long way in shaping our cultures. Reading and writing go hand in hand. When you read a lot of authors, you naturally will want to express what you feel. It’s not about the fame or the money, it’s about the contentment and self development that we achieve when we follow our passions and our dreams.  When we teach children to read early on, they will be better capable of expressing their ideas. That is one of the values in creating young readers clubs.
Books will always be in fashion. The internet only complements the publishers. All over the world, literature is something that has been used to shape the cultures of people. The arts, literature, drama, poetry, and dance, mold society. It is still very relevant. For there to be development, there need to be people who think, people who put their ideas down. Literature is a way to preserve and document our history. It is a tool where we can inform and educate. And it will always be there because it lasts long. There will be people who always prefer to hold a book than read on the screen. They want to feel a book. For those kind of people, our library is open.
The library project in Jos, and what Jos-ANA and what ANA is doing at the national level needs a lot of support. The educational system is not running as effectively as it used to when I was very little or back in the 70s when we heard stories of how the universities were good. Right now it is watered down. Applicants can’t get admission into university, and even if they do, they can’t get to study the course they applied for. Either it is given to them, or somehow they just want to be in school. The value of school is wearing away. They just want the certificate. We are appealing to people who are in authority to actually look into it and encourage people to go to school. We must commend the governor of Imo state for what he is doing, free education. There are negative stories, but we try to focus on the positive ones. I believe he is an encouragement to other state governors, to follow in that light. There are a lot of people who would love to access education but they can’t. The opportunity he has given has made it easier. So we would really appreciate if officials in government would support what we are doing. I’d also like to thank Yusuf Ali for the three million naira grant he gave ANA which facilitated the reading competition in 14 states of the federation. Jos-ANA is doing a lot. We just need a bit more publicity, awareness and support.
I am also involved in voluntary community development work. I volunteer with Village Care initiative. I also work with Global Theatre for nonviolence and conflict resolution. We try to use all forms of art, from drama, dance, paintings, carving, to choreography, literature, and spoken word poetry to talk about peace.
I grew up in the 90s, and I went to St. Murumba college, Jos, where I got involved in literary activities like debates, press club, and so on. We went from one school to another for interschool competitions on literary issues. Every school was competing to be the best. And when we read books, we would write summaries and talk about what new things we have learned. Presently, maybe due to the crisis in Jos and all the political issues, most people say Jos is a divided town because there are still these suspicions, there are doubts, everybody’s questioning the motives of other people.
I could walk into a mosque when I was younger, and my Muslim friends could come to services in church. But right now it is unthinkable. People wouldn’t believe it if you tell them you want to do the same. When ANA organized an interschool competition, some schools would feel uncomfortable coming to a particular location. Getting a neutral ground where everyone would feel accepted, welcome, and secure is very important. These are some of the challenges we are facing and it is affecting the educational system seriously. We are still trying to build trust. Jos-ANA in partnership with Global Theatre for Non-Violence and Al-Iman foundation is starting a spelling bee competition. The daughter of the chief imam of the central mosque is involved. We are working with her to see how we can use education to bring about peaceful co-existance, to bring together students of Islamic schools and students of Christian schools together in educational activities. It’s just like an underground method to unify people. That is still in the pipeline, though we have started kicking it off. We are looking for support and partnerships and people who are interested so that we can push it all the way. Naturally we expected challenges, the doubts, the suspicion, people want to know who are you, Jos ANA? We want to rebuild this relationship so that it will foster education and creativity.
Jos has been in the limelight for crisis and violence. But we are trying to change the story. We’re trying to say that it is not all violence in Jos. Jos is a city of songs. There is endless beauty here, and great people are here, so let’s stop the negativity. Many of the biggest Nigerian musicians are from Jos:  M.I., Ice Prince, and so on. So Jos is inspiring. Jos didn’t used to be violent. Jos was peaceful, and Jos was the home of creativity. We are trying to bring back those values. Though I have been molested once or twice by security agents, regarding documentation and reporting of certain events, I am undeterred and believe that Jos and Plateau State can be acknowledged for peace and creative development by inspiring the young minds.