Memories of “Minna `91” writers’ convention
The enthusiasm and interest that greeted Niger`s bid to host was premised on two major facts. One is members` general interest in the activities of the branch, coupled with the way it has carved a niche for itself in the organisation of events in the history of the Association. The state branch, full of young […]
The enthusiasm and interest that greeted Niger`s bid to host was premised on two major facts. One is members` general interest in the activities of the branch, coupled with the way it has carved a niche for itself in the organisation of events in the history of the Association. The state branch, full of young and promising writers, has a history of arresting the interest of other member states with its unique, enticing and motivating works and performances. Equally, the support of the State Government has always been second to none. It has been one of the few branches that have detached themselves from the apron strings of academic institutions since inception.
The 1991 convention, which Niger ANA hosted, became the branch’s launch-pad into the world of best organisers of events in recent years. The branch was barely two years old when it won the bid to host the convention. During this period, Minna had the real opportunity of playing host to most of Nigeria’s internationally acclaimed writers. This year’s convention, like that of 1991, is another election one. It is, therefore, an irony of fate that Minna conventions are for elections. It is also on record that in 1991, Niger, which was the host state produced three members of the executive council. These were: Abubakar Gimba (Vice-President), Yahaya S. Dangana (National Publicity Secretary) and Bilkisu Adamu (Ex-Officio). Dangana`s was continuity.
Personally, that convention was an opportunity for me to also meet, for the first time, writers like Kole Omotoso of the Just Before Dawn fame, Ken Saro-Wiwa, creator of Basi and Company, May Ellen-Ezekiel of MEE, Bode Sowande of Our Man, The President, Mabel Segun of The Law As An Ass, Flora Nwapa of Efuru and Idu . The list include Idris Amali, Charry Ada Onwu, Olu Obafemi, Femi Fatoba, Labo Yari, Salihu Bappa, Zaynab Alkali, Wale Okediran, Jare Ajayi, Wunmi Raji, Toyin Adewale, Odia Ofeimun, G.G Darah, Harry Garuba, and a host of them who are today serving as sources of inspiration to the younger generation of Nigerian writers. Meeting somebody like the bearded Kole Omotoso for the first time gave me a feeling that writers can be funny at times. Was it his manner of dressing or his general appearance with a traveller’s bag hung on his shoulders, telling of somebody who undertook a long journey? He was always with the bag, which I suspected was full of books.
On meeting him, he immediately introduced himself to me. Much later, I showed him to my friend, B.M. Dzukogi whom I dragged to the venue of the convention to “come and see our Association’s programme.” “You see that man? He is Kole Omotoso”, I said. “Okay! You mean he wrote that popular book?” Dzukogi asked astonishingly before he continued, “you are the shoes.” We both laughed. The black, bent, dusty and haggard shoes worn by the former President of the Association was always an issue for us to laugh at each time we saw him. He was such a funny man full of life.
B.M. Dzukogi and I have been childhood friends and college classmates who have been of like-minds each time it comes to learning the English language, discussing current affairs, socialisation and even literary activities. We debate issues a lot as if the next minute we would not be on speaking terms again. My discovery of the writing prowess in him coincided with the convention in Minna. It therefore became easier for me to persuade him to join the Association. But then it took him almost three years to finally make up his mind. And when he did that, the zeal with which he went about its activities was like an inferno. I think the reason for his disinterest in ANA activities at the time was due to his wild interest in playing soccer. So good was he, with his height and the precision of Kanu Nwankwo, that he was nicknamed Danger-Man.
In 1994,Yahaya Dangana, Godwin Bawa, B.M. Dzukogi, Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmed, Olu Osunde, Ezekiel Fajenyo and me, alongside others, resuscitated the branch, which had comatose shortly after the convention. That was also the year Dzukogi and I undertook a suicide mission to Benin for convention, taking off from Minna via Suleja town without enough money. Not even taxi fare within Benin. We had relied on Yahaya Dangana who earlier asked us to meet him in Suleja. On arriving, we did not see him, so we decided to proceed to Benin on the assumption that we would meet him there, which we did. Anyway, that is a story for another day.
At the venue of the 1991 convention, which was the U.K Bello Arts Theatre, Minna, sat the National President, Ken Saro-Wiwa with his trademark tobacco pipe tucked between his lips. He sat among other dignitaries on the high table. “So, this is the writer of the popular television show, Basi and Company, which was a household name in the eighties”, I managed to say to myself. At a corner was Abubakar Gimba, sitting quietly and watching events as they unfolded. He was later to become the Association’s Vice President during the elections. More so, he later quietly hosted the new EXCO to a dinner in his house, which I was not opportuned to attend. May Ellen-Ezekiel, the gap-tooth lady with a penchant for humour in her column in the now rested Concord Newspapers and later Classique magazine could not hide her feelings for the then newly constructed arts theatre when she said, “You guys have a nice place for works of arts. May I have it for show-bizz one day?” She joked again. My closeness with her was at Shiroro Hotel where the then State Chairman and the National Publicity Secretary, Yahaya Dangana, asked me to assist the guests in seeing that they were properly accommodated.
My role was like that of an usher, hence the opportunity for me to be on one-on-one with most of the participants. I was barely a year into the Association, which I joined in the early part of 1990. That was when the the State branch was just about a year, having been launched on the 26th of August, 1989 at Shiroro Hotel. Late Ahmed Abdulraheem, the vocal and articulate Head of the English Department of the State College of Education, while delivering his paper at a symposium a day before the launching at Education Resource Centre, Minna, was very right when he told the gathering that whatever anyone wanted in Niger State in terms of creativity, one would get it. According to him, the state was the home of creativity, especially in the promotion of arts and culture that had nothing to do with colonialists.
For Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, who was chairman of the occasion at the launching and incidentally the State Commissioner for Information and Culture, the human brain is more than the computer and must not be allowed to waste.” About ninety-nine percent of what is in our head have not been put down”. He argued further that if that does not happen we would not develop to the computer age. It is worthy of note that both men were at the convention and spoke extensively. Late Abdulraheem did not only stop at speaking, he contested for a post and eventually lost.
The role I played that time was akin to the one our teen authors are playing today. As a young and energetic writer, interest and enthusiasm in the Association pushed one to play whatever role one was assigned. Among my peers at the home-front that time were Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmed, Godwin Bawa and Eddie Ayo Ojo who was then a youth corps member serving with Newsline newspaper in the state. While Godwin had already been drafted into the EXCO as Welfare Officer, Abdullahi and myself remained at the back seat. Ojo`s interest in ANA at that time was not much, as he preferred running around to make ends meet. It was later in Lagos that the madness caught up with him. During the Dangana-led EXCO in the state, Welfare Officer was reduced to mere purchasing and serving of soft drinks. Poor Godwin. He was happy that he was ahead of us. The composition of the state EXCO which melted mysteriously after the convention, if I get the list right, include: Yahaya S. Dangana (Chairman), Jerry Galadima (Vice Chairman), Ezekiel B. Fajenyo (Secretary), Bilkisu Adamu (Treasurer),Winifred Zhiri (Financial-Secretary), and of course Godwin Bawa (Welfare Officer).
The 1991 Convention was really a jamboree of sort for Nigerian writers as adequate preparations were made to see that the convention was a success. The business sessions were quite interesting as ideas were exchanged in cool and relaxed atmosphere, without chaos, coupled with the tight security around the venue. Although the excursion was as if there was none, the award dinner was superb. I must confess here that the only award dinner that has beaten that of Minna 1991 was Kano 2005. The proximity of the convention venue to Minna Central Market added colour to the event as most participants stole their ways to make purchases. To date, I have not seen any state branch that matches Niger’s careful, painstaking and articulate manner of event management. This is what Dangana has single-handedly taken to the national level. His hands could be seen in the successes recorded during the Commonwealth Games, COJA, the National Sports Festival held in Kaduna, KADA and the FIFA events. Even critics are always quick in acknowledging the fact that Niger ANA is articulate, which we appreciate and have been trying to maintain.
The untiring contributions and support from the State Government in recent times is an added advantage which has thus far catapulted the image of the branch beyond imagination. The “Chief Servant”, Dr Mu`azu Babangida Aliyu has been the only State Governor whose interest and enthusiasm for arts cannot be contested. He has borrowed a leaf from Colonel Lawan Gwadabe who was generous to the Nigerian Author`s cause as the state Governor during the convention. Dr Aliyu showed it in Kaduna during Abubakar Imam colloquium by the state government’s only generous donation. Something even the host governor could not do. The way and manner some Northern Governors are treating intellectual activities is something that calls for concern. They only pay lip service to the promotion of arts and literature.
As the Chairman of Northern Governors` Forum, the Chief Servant has been showing the way for his colleagues to follow, but they have not been forthcoming. His is a typical example of a good leader. This feat is already being translated into the Association of Nigerian Authors` 28th International Annual Convention, tagged Minna 2009, come October 29th to 31st.
Akote, Chairman, ANA, Niger.