Dillibe Onyeama announces another literature prize to honour Abubakar Gimba

The co-ordinator of the popular Coal City Book Convention made the disclosure in an interview with Sunday Trust in Enugu.Onyeama said that his publishing firm, Delta Publications, over which he presides, published six of Gimba’s novels beginning with “Witnesses to Tears,” which was on the JAMB syllabus for some period, and reportedly sold up to […]

The co-ordinator of the popular Coal City Book Convention made the disclosure in an interview with Sunday Trust in Enugu.
Onyeama said that his publishing firm, Delta Publications, over which he presides, published six of Gimba’s novels beginning with “Witnesses to Tears,” which was on the JAMB syllabus for some period, and reportedly sold up to 100,000 copies at the time.
“That’s the least we could do to immortalize him.
This man has come and now he’s gone and we must immortalize him. Let people succeed him in their books,” Onyeama said.
He described the late Gimba as “an author in a million” who wrote vibrantly and excellently on his contemporary society and environment, and bemoaned the huge gap his death has created in the Nigeria creative writing sector.
The Eton College, England-trained Onyeama said: “We first published Abubakar Gimba. His novels carried message. He looked at the society and wrote out serious contemporary fiction and he wrote with a message. And the message was educative.”
He advised young writers to emulate not only Gimba’s way of writing, but also his personal conduct as a complete gentle and honest man.
“We would like  those coming after him to give society writings  that carry useful messages – writings  we ‘ve been looking for – the type  people who are going to come and say here is a message for society which is thought-provoking novels that will make you think, reflect and  say, yes, this is what we are looking for,” he said.
To honour him, Mr Onyeama said he has completed plans to institute another prize to honour the author.
“We at Delta have just created the “Abubakar Gimba Literary Award. The prize is N50, 000 and is going to be part of the Coal City Book Convention. We are about to launch it now. So I’m just giving you a preview.  Is been resolved and the guidelines and everything are ready. That’s the least we could do to immortalize him.
This man has come and now he’s gone and we must immortalize him. Let people succeed him in their books. And a winner will be announced either in Transcorp or  the International Conference Centre, Abuja.”
This is the second award to be instituted in the name of the late author as earlier, Dr. Wale, who served as ANA Secretary General while Gimba was president had endowed the Abubakar Gimba Prize for Short Story Collection worth N200, 000 with N100, 000 for the administration of the prize.