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By OLUSEYE OJO
The Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA), Dr. Wale Okediran, has said his initiative in putting together Ebedi International Writers Residency, has culminated into training of 300 writers from 12 African countries.
He made the disclosure in a chat with Saturday Sun on the sidelines of the public presentation of the 10th compendium- Ebedi Review, of the residency programme for writers and its 14th year of existence, held at Educare Trust Centre, Ibadan.
Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Oyo State, Prince Dotun Oyelade, chaired the programme organised to celebrate African literature in prose, poetry and drama. Also, a former Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development in Osun State, Muyiwa Ige, presented the compendium to the public, with the support of Dr. Tony Marinho, and Sunkanmi Onadeko, the founder and Secretary of Educare Trust Nigeria, respectively.
Okediran, who is the founder of Ebedi International Writers Residency, said: “For 14 years now that we kicked off this initiative, we have had 300 writers from 12 African counties. In every batch, we have always tried to mix the countries.
“In the current batch of writers, one is from Ghana, one from Togo and two from Nigeria. We alternate the male writers and female writers. When male writers are there, we will know they are all male. They can discuss among themselves. They can talk and feel free. And when women are also there, they are also free among themselves.
“We are satisfied with what we have been able to do. But we want to do more in the sense that we would love to improve the residency. The accommodation being used for participants was built about 20 years ago, and we need to touch it up; we need to renovate it.”
Oyelade, who chaired the programme, said of Okediran, a medical doctor-turned writer, that it was “not a surprise that the Ebedi International Writers Residency has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 14 years.”
