The embattled leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor who held a meeting last Monday September 29, 2014 with the National Executive Council of the association in Abuja ,

It is time to speak loudly about our literary ambassadors who continue to mesmerise us with their work and take the world by storm by showcasing Nigeria so beautifully in their writings and share our food, our dances and our marriages in such living colour. It is time to appreciate them by discussing their journeys, […]

It is time to speak loudly about our literary ambassadors who continue to mesmerise us with their work and take the world by storm by showcasing Nigeria so beautifully in their writings and share our food, our dances and our marriages in such living colour. It is time to appreciate them by discussing their journeys, their milestones and their overwhelming presence in the international space. We are fifty four and it has been a long time coming but we are here now and still growing. We take five of the boldest strides in literature and present them here for your enjoyment.

1) Multiple award winning author who is often referred to as the father of modern African literature, Chinua Achebe: Published his first book in 1958 and did not stop writing until he died last year. A man of many parts, he was a poet, essayist and an author of children’s literature. He has remained in our National literary space even after he passed. His books have been translated into over fifty languages. As we turn fifty four, we cannot fail to mention the author of the phenomenal Things Fall Apart as one of our many literary successes from Nigeria for all time.

2)     Nobel laureate, playwright, Essayist and Nigerian literary export Wole Soyinka: Continues to write, speak and engage. Kongi’s many books are all over the world and we can never forget his many plays including but not limited to the one that gets us all falling apart; The Trials of Brother Jero, hilarious, timeless and worth every word on the page. 

3)     Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Orange prize winner of the collection of Short stories, The Thing Around Your Neck, novelist and essayist. Considered one of the newer generation of Nigerians doing great things with her pen in and outside the country. Chimamanda spends six months of her time in Nigeria, teaching, inspiring and touring.

4)     Helon Habila:  Caine prize winner and Author of Measuring Time. Graduate of University of Jos and a former journalist in Nigeria. Habila who teaches literature in the United States was the first Achebe fellow, spending a year working with the master storyteller Chinua Achebe. Like Chimamanda, he comes home often working with several agencies and companies to give master classes to budding and aspiring writers. Helon, an excellent example of a multi-genre writer who is Nigeria’s gift to the world, is also a poet and an essayist. 

5)     Uwem Akpan is one of Nigeria’s leading writers. A catholic priest, it is difficult to believe that as a man of the cloth he also finds time to write. Affable and pleasant, Uwem was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey for his first book Say You Are One of Them which went on to win several international prizes.

BONUS BOOKS:
Nigeria continues to feature prominently in the literary landscape and has severally appeared in the list of Caine Prize nominees for many years, winning some and occasionally losing some. Last year two of Abuja’s finest writers were shortlisted for the Caine prize, El-Nathan John and Abubakar Ibrahim. Nigeria continues to shine, continues to bring forth young writers all year round but we never forget the older ones Elechi Amadi, Cyprian Ekwensi, Gabriel Okara, Abubakar Imam, Zainab Alkali, J.P Clark. J.P. Clark’s Ibadan, a poem that rocked us all to our foundation and made us all want to go to Ibadan for whatever it is worth still resonates.
Then there are others like Lola Shoneyin who is writing fiction and poetry and managing both quite well, Molara Wood, short story writer, journalist and author of Indigo and Sefi Attah, accountant and international award winning author who lives in the United States. There is really not enough space to talk about how well Nigerian authors are doing world-wide, Ben Okri MBE, Abubakar Gimba, Helen Oyeyemi. The list is endless. Nigeria at 54, no need to celebrate? Ask the writers. We have come a long way.