Ebedi Writers Residency honours Achebe, Gimba, Mabel Segun and Soyinka

The Ebedi International Writers Residency in Iseyin, Oyo State, has found new ways to honours Nigerian literary icons using the facilities at the residency. The Ebedi decided to name the four en suit rooms at the residence in honour of icons like Chinua Achebe, Abubakar Gimba, Mabel Segun and Wole Soyinka and they brought the […]

The Ebedi International Writers Residency in Iseyin, Oyo State, has found new ways to honours Nigerian literary icons using the facilities at the residency. The Ebedi decided to name the four en suit rooms at the residence in honour of icons like Chinua Achebe, Abubakar Gimba, Mabel Segun and Wole Soyinka and they brought the Nobel Laureate to inaugurate the rooms with their new names.
During his visit to the residency recently, Soyinka unveiled the plaques for the rooms and instituted an exchange programme between Ebedi and the Wole Soyinka Residency in his native Abeokuta, which is only the second residency programme established in the country.
As was always the case when Soyinka is in town, the red carpet was rolled out and on hand to receive him were founder of the residency, Dr. Wale Okediran; a member of the Ebedi Board of Directors, Akintayo Abodunrin; the immediate past president of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, Dr. Remi Raji and the Caretaker Chairman of Iseyin Local Government Council, Saheed Alaran.
Soyinka took the opportunity to interact with current residents and fellows of Ebedi and sat down to be entertained with songs and poetry renditions by secondary school students in Iseyin, who had been mentored by the residents. Soyinka encouraged the youngsters to take creative writing seriously as it will take them places.
He also used the opportunity to laud the management of the Ebedi International Programme for sustaining the programme with commendable results. Under the terms of the exchange programme, residents of Ebedi will have the opportunity to complete their residency at the Wole Soyinka Residency in Abeokuta, with the first beneficiaries being the immediate past residents, Nii Addokwei Moffatt ( Ghanaian), Stanley Balogun (Nigerian) and Charles Dzekashu (Cameroonian) who were joined by the manager of the Ebedi Residency,  Kofi Sackey. They spent three days in Abeokuta.
In concluding his visit to Iseyin, Soyinka paid a courtesy call to the Aseyin of Iseyin, His Majesty Abdulganiyu Adekunle Salaudeen Ologunebi Ajinase 1, whom he thanked for his great support for the Residency. In his response, the Aseyin, who happened to be a veterinary doctor and literary enthusiast, thanked the Nobel laureate for the visit and assured him of his continuous support for the Ebedi Residency.
The Ebedi Residency has been running for six years now and has gone into partnership with Lagos-based publishers Literamed to publish outstanding works by residents of the programme as well as with Belgium-based Arts Moves Africa (AMA) to provide return tickets for foreign writers attending the residency. Over 60 writers from Nigeria, Cameroun, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa and Ivory Coast have benefited from the programme which gives writers time and space to write while providing stipends for them.