What ANA President got wrong – Yahaya Dangana

Two years ago you contested the ANA presidency with the current incumbent. How would you assess their performance since then? I thank God for giving me the opportunity to contest at that time. I would not believe I lost but it is just to give room for judgement and sometimes God has a way of […]

Two years ago you contested the ANA presidency with the current incumbent. How would you assess their performance since then?

I thank God for giving me the opportunity to contest at that time. I would not believe I lost but it is just to give room for judgement and sometimes God has a way of doing things. Now everyone has seen what ANA has done, that this tenure has earned much applause because things like contact, organisation and other aspects that are to be fulfilled have not even been touched. Back then, people were thinking because he was an ex-minister, he would use the opportunity. I was not bitter about losing to him then because I also thought he would use his position to better ANA but unfortunately, there is no difference between him and others who were not ministers. People now have opportunities of judging for themselves and see if someone else needs to come in and try his hand. I am assuring you that I have a lot of phone calls and people have talked to me saying how they didn’t realise that things were going to take a different dimension and they are now urging me to come and contest.

Isn’t it a bit surprising that so far you have not made any declaration on this?

Yes. The reason I have not made any declaration is that people have a way of telling you they want you. Now that they have done that – as I am speaking to you here, already people have come and asked me to contest in Abuja and they will make sure they push me to win this time around so I was thinking I don’t need to sing like I did before, elections being what they are. When we put heads people together, I can [then] feel the pulse of the people at that particular time.

Are you inclined to contest?

I hope to see how this goes in the next week after we have consulted people, then I can come out, even on that day. People have won elections on the day, people have won elections within a short time so I don’t feel I have to have a long campaign like I had before which lasted for one and a half years. I don’t have to stress myself over it because I have been tested and people can see what I have done for this country, what I have done for literature, in terms of events, in terms of culture. So I have a very impressive CV people can look at. Even if it is an hour to the election, if they want me there, I will be on the ground physically. If the tempo is right for me, I will step in immediately and contest.

The likes of Prof. Remi Raji has been campaigning for a while, he has pushed out programmes and reached out to a lot of people. Are you not intimidated by that?

No, no, I am not intimidated by that. Remember Remi Raji is coming in for the first time. He has a right to showcase himself to the public, he has a right to sell his CV, he has a right to reach out to people but I have done this before. I have been in ANA since 1985 and I have held a lot of positions there; I was one of the ex-officio members, I was a state chapter chairman, I was one-time publicity secretary. Besides that, we have done a lot of things in Niger State, like the Northern Writers Forum, like this event [The MBA Colloquium]. Most of these things you see happening, by the grace of God I have my hand there one way or the other. Remi Raji has a right to speak to people but for me, I think I have spoken enough for myself. So what is left for me is to hear the response from the people.

Were you surprised when you learnt that Dr. Jerry Agada was recontesting?

No, nobody was surprised because being a human being, everybody wants to defend himself. He is contesting now to defend himself, he is not contesting saying I have done enough come and re-elect me. You can’t push anyone away easily. Maybe he has something to push forward to convince people and it is now left for the people to think if it is going to be the same as it has been.

What do you think he got wrong in the last two years?

Well, what he got wrong in the last two years was in terms of reaching out. You could see in the time of Wale Okediran, everyone said it was like a family affair; no matter how small a chapter was, no matter how small the event they were having, you see Wale everywhere from classes, to poetry reading, to government offices. There is no where Wale did not touch in his tenure. Like what we are doing today, Wale is still part of it even though he is no longer the president. That shows you that at the end of the day most of these things cannot be done without Wale. We started in ANA together back in the 1980s and we have been moving together. People believe now that if I am there and because of the way I have displayed my literary acumen, things would have been different. So I won’t say this is what he [Jerry Agada] has done wrong because that would be like criticizing him but his level of performance has not been up to peoples’ expectations from him and maybe that’s how far he can go.

In what direction are you going to take the association if you jump into the race?

If I come in now, not jump in. If I happen to be given the baton, I will make sure I pilot the association the way I have piloted it when I was an ex-officio member, I will pilot it the way I did when I was a state chapter chairman. Besides that, I am going to come with new innovations.  We have the writers’ village there lying fallow. For instance, in Niger State, because of the way we pilot out affairs, Mr. Governor has given us land of 23 hectares for a writers’ village and because of what he has done for us we decided to name the writers’ village after him.

And what has been done with this land?

Right now as I am talking to you, we have finished the survey, we have finished the planning, we have finished the architectural drawings, we have finished the clearing, we have started layout and we are going into proper development of the place.

Where is the money for all this coming from?

What we plan to do besides the government coming in is that we have spoken to those who are friends of literature in the state and most of the governors in other states, we are going to name a structure after them and they can sponsor the project. If it is five million, he can bring his people and erect the structure or we can go to Kano State and say ok this is your son, Maitama Sule, he has done much for the world, why don’t you erect a structure in his name? We are also bringing in developers who have been bringing proposals for BOT [Build, Operate and Transfer]. I could do more for ANA at the national level and reach out to the whole world. I was there in 1985 when that land [in Abuja] was given to us. I even planted a tree there for recognition. Since 1985 to date, nothing has been done. I am not blaming any past leader but the current one has more responsibility because it has more ways of making headway. I think if I come in I am going to do better.

The problem with ANA has always been finance ever since. How do you intend to go about tackling this problem?

All these things I have told you we have done in the state now, how do you come by it? I was secretary of ceremonies during the cultural festival [NAFEST 2009], I designed it so I have a lot of contacts from there. I was also the consultant for Kada Games and I also have contacts from there. I was also the consultant for the Under 17 World Cup [Nigeria ‘2009]. There is no way I cannot use my outlet for the benefit of ANA. There is nothing I cannot do for ANA.