2011 will go down as the year literature recorded some important highs, although it also had its fair share of unfulfilled promises enough to cause anxiety, writes ANOTE AJELUOROUThe year started on a bright note, when President Goodluck Jonathan launched theBring Back the Book(BBtB) campaign to give a boost to the perceived flagging reading culture in the country. With performances at its most abysmal level among students across board, President Jonathan's initiative was hailed in many quarters as the right step in the right direction.With such eminent literary personalities as Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and the poet Odia Ofeimun endorsing the move, the BBtB was flagged off in a fanfare and televised nationwide. The hope was that for once, Nigeria's highest office was being occupied by a man, who is not only highly educated, but has at last seen the need to revive a key sector in the nation's development index.Books and learning materials were freely distributed to school children, who had graced the presidential launch. Jonathan, sharing the stage with the a grand symbol of Nigeria's literary eminence, Soyinka, had also read an excerpt from Chinua Achebe'sChike and the Riverto the children by way of serving as a role model. By this act, Mr. President had demonstrated to parents that their children's education was not the responsibility of school teachers alone, but theirs as well.The President's action was an ironic twist at a time when most parents are educated as against previous generation, yet pupils find less joy in being studious at school work, a situation that explains the abysmal performances in school results. To sustain the momentum of the campaign, a one-day book conference was curated by the literary activist group, the Committee for Relevant Art, CORA, with support of the BBtB, to map out strategies for entrenching the book culture in the consciousness of the populace, with players from the various sectors of the book industry in attendance.However, till date, the resolutionsdesigned by the eminent gathering of Book experts and enthusiasts have not been translated into concrete action. Also, the proposed foundation for the BBtB, which the President's advisers on the project promised, is yet to be launched.However, to show the President's commitment to spread the project to the grassroots, the campus leg of BBtB was first launched at the Main Auditorium of the University of Benin, Benin City. The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, also launched the project in a grand ceremony for pupils and students in the territory, even if that event resulted in acrimony among writers based in the federal capital city.But this flurry of activities only occurred shortly before the April 2011 Presidential elections, which made many critics suggest that it was probably a gimmick by the presidential handlers to sell his candidacy to a doubting public. Though such suggestion has been strenuously and repeatedly denied in words and acts by the handler's of the project, the fact that eight long months after the festive launch of the project, nothing has been heard about BBtB from its principal initiator, is further fuelling the speculation that had since been afoot as to the real intention of the project.The situation made poet and scholar, Prof. Niyi Odundare, to ask in August why the book needed 'to be brought back', and rhetorically querying, 'who chased the book away in the first instance'. Having since won the election, with no discernable action or reference to BBtB, the fears of the critics would seem to have been proven right. But the coordinators of the project have, though not yet publicly, hinted that they were working behind the scene to establish a firmer foundational structure for the project. This includes formally registering it as an entity independent of the Presidential office. It was learnt, however, that a coordinator from the literary community had also been recruited to serve as a link between the Presidency, the project and its many publics, though that also has not been formally announced.For now, it would seem Jonathan's quest to get Nigerians reading again has been overshadowed by other pressing political developments, especially the spate of bombings and general insecurity in the land.NEVERTHELESS, the usual rhythm of activities in the literary sector has remained unflagging. There have been various book reading and literary events, especially in key cities as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Minna and others. Among these are the births of Book activists groups such as the PulpFaction Book Club, which stages Book'n'Gauge monthly reading at Debonair Bookshop at Sabo, Yaba, Lagos; the Book Jam series then held at Silverbird Cinema complex though defunt. There is also increased Nigerians-initiated Book campaign programmes through the various social media,It was also a year that saw the emergence of JalaaWriters Collective, a group of authors set to challenge the established publishing firms that always reneged on promises due to authors from works. Four of its authors came out with new books. They areRoses and Bulletsby Akachi Ezeigbo, Odili Ujubuonu'sPride of the Spider Clan, Jude Dibia'sBlackbirdand Uche Umez'sThe Runaway Herothat made the shortlist of The Nigeria Prize for Literature this year.CelebrityRead Africa also held its monthly reading at Terra Kulture in Victoria Island, Lagos; it celebrated its first anniversary in the year. The yearly Lagos International Book Fair was held in May, although it was generally adjudged less impressive and impactful than previous outings. Notable novelist and university administrator,Eze (Prof.) Chukwuemeka Ike, who turned 80 in April, was celebrated by a small band of literary enthusiasts led by the Friends of the Arts, an arm of CORA, at the fair held traditionally at the University of Lagos.Jazzhole, a book, coffee, and music shop on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, hosted some authors to a reading. Two are notable this year. South Africa-based novelist, scholar Prof. Kole Omotoso and her daughter, Yewande, readAchebe or Soyinka' A Study in Contrasts andBom Boyrespectively. While the father's book is a critical work on two of Africa's literary greats, the daughter's is her debut, a fictional account of an orphaned and alienated youth in quest of self.Cassava Republic Press also had two outings this year. First was the reissuing and public presentation ofCarlos Moore's 1982 book, Fela: This Bitch of a Life, an expository and biographical (interview) book on the legendary Afrobeat creator, Fela Anikulapo.At the presentation at The Life House in Victoria Island in Lagos, the author read and spoke extensively about the Fela he knew. The other outing was Teju Cole, who read from and spoke about his new work set in New York City,Open City at the newly opened but space-constrained The Cinnamon also in Victoria Iisland, Lagos. Curiously, and symptomatic of the poor calendarisation of literary and cultural programmes in the city of Lagos,on the same day, the poet Ofeimun also read from several of his collections, where he traced his long literary journey since he wrote his famous 'The Poet Lied, when he was just 19 years old, pointing out how Lagos had impacted on his literary sensibility. Unfortunately, the two events, Cole's reading and Odia's performance, had to share the lean literary audience, with none having full attention and advantage of the community.Other notable literary events of the year were the Garden City Literary Festival (GCLF), organised by Port-Harcourt-based Rainbow Book Club, that held in September. This year's GCLF was a success, with so many activities, including master class workshops in all genres of literature. Prof. Achebe gave the lead paper that was read by his son, Dr. Chidi. Profs. Molara Ogundipe, Femi Osofisan, Odia Ofeimun, Ghana's Ama Ata Aidoo, and lots of young writers including Tade Ipadeola, Kaine Agary, Garricks, Ayo Arigbabu and Wole Oguntokun made the festival to bubble.Also, the Coal City Book Convention held its annual outing in Enugu. The Delta Book Club, organisers of the event, adjudged it a success in a year the Dillibe Onyeama-led publishing firm said book business was generally slow. TheOlaudah Equaino Lifetime Achievement Awardwas given to thinker and educationist Monsignor (Prof.) Sir Stan Anihfor his outstanding contribution to literature and humanity.The LNG-sponsored the Nigeria Prize for Literature awarded its prize for children's writing to Mai Nasara for his work,The Missing Clock, a book on children and environmental concerns, especially in the Northern region known for its desert encroachment. Also, entries were called for the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature organised by the Dr. Ogochukwu Promise-led The Lumina Foundation in July. The prize will be awarded early July next year to the most outstanding work of fiction to come out of Africa.PERHAPS, the peak of literary activities this year was the roaring success of Lagos Book and Arts Festival (LABAF 2011). Organised by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), LABAF 2011 was held at Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos. The many packed events ' the book colloquium, the discussion sessions, the expository talks, the drama ' it was an outing that would linger for a long time to come. With its futuristic theme, 'Book in the age of Microchip', LABAF 2011's pre-festival seminar for publishers, staged in conjunction with the Goethe Institut at its (Goethe's) City Hall office in Lagos Island, set agenda for thefuture for the book publishing enterprise. It was resolved by the over 40 participants in the one-day programme that the Book and publishing industry must respond to changing and modern trends in the global arena so Nigeria would not be left behind.The LABAF in its three-day duration covered a wide-range of discourse on Literacy. A total of 26 books were discussed in the none colloquiums staged during the festival, and more than 12 authors joined in the conversation that also had non-literary writers in the panels including oil executives like Bayo Ogundipe, former director at Chevron Nigeria, Bayo Akinpelu and corporate moguls such as Chief Keith Richard, the Managing Director of Promasidorcompany.Remarkably, the festival directed by Ayo Arigbabu also drew international attention as two senior officials from the famous Hay Festival in the United Kingdom participated courtesy British Council, Lagos, to explore areas of possible collaboration with the Book festival in the future. There were also dance artistes and choreographers from Germany, Togo, Republic of Benin and Nigeria, who, courtesy of the Goethe Institut, staged a contemporary dance act, just as the same Institut, aside inviting a resource person for the Publishers' Forum from South Africa, screened the film Adopted as part of the festival.There seems a brighter future for the festival from its 14th edition next November. In all, LABAF 2011seems a rousing 20th anniversary party for the organising body, CORA, which, since its founding in June 1991, has remained the most influential and consistent advocate for the arts and culture sector of the economy in the country.However, the last major literary event in the country, the Association of Nigerian Authors' (ANA) International Annual Convention, held in Abuja late last month to mark the body's 30 years of writers coming together to celebrate themselves and their works, turned out an anti-climax. Both the local ANA chapter and the national executive failed to put their houses together to mark the historic event in the manner deserving of three decades. The convention left a sour taste in the mouth of delegates and the writing community. Not even its yearly prizes were awarded. However, it produced a new executive, led by a university don, Prof. Remi Raji-Oyelade, who has promised to steer the writers' body to the path of glory.
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