By Henry Akubuiro
The July edition of ANA Abuja monthly Reading/Writers Dialogue took place at the Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village, Mpampe, recently. It was a gathering of kindred spirits. And sparks flew. On the bill were seasoned scholars and writers like Professor Udenta Udenta (the host), Professor Iyorwuese Hagher (special guest), Sir Ozichukwu Chukwu, Abubakar Adam and Salamatu Sule.
Themed “The Writer as a Double-Edged Sword: Can Build and
Can Destroy,” the chapter chair, Architect Chukwudi Eze, in his address of welcome, said the association had taken time to invite a star-studded cast for the monthly intellectual ritual.
Sir Ozichukwu I’d a distinguished banker described as “an accomplished academic, a literary giant, a quintessential technocrat and an uncommon diplomat.” The guest, Prof Iyorwuese Hagher, has served as Nigerian ambassador to Mexico and Canada, a senator, minister of health and, later, for power and steel, a Nigerian Ambassador to
Mexico and later Canada. “His scholarly works are rich and eclectic, spanning a diverse field. They show an active mind, rigorously engaged with untangling the complex issues of our times to help us move forward. We see examples of this in his books like The Nigeria Leadership Crisis or Beyond Ethnic Grievances, and his many critically acclaimed plays.”
Ezeh reminded the gathering that ANA Abuja “has a well-established footprint in enabling a trans-generational meeting space, where literary discussions are used to positively shape our socio-political and cultural development. This enabling environment also supports emerging authors to get published. We saw an example of this during the June Reading with Her Excellency Erelu Bisi Fayemi as guest author. At that event, the 12 year-old Adelaja twins, who were supported by this chapter, had their story books received by the former Governor of Ekiti State, His Excellency, Kayode Fayemi, and his successor, H.E Biodun Oyebanji.”
A panel comprising award winning authors – Professor Udenta Udenta, Salamatu Sule and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim – joined the guests to discuss the theme of the month. They examined the character of the writer as a double-edged sword, through historical and empirical evidence bordering on whether it was the nature of writings to build and to destroy the social fabric of human society through constructive or destructive criticisms and enablement.
Architect Eze hinted that the focus would encompass the global enlightenment of the African cultural ethos of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, through the provocative and liberating thoughts of Wole Soyinka’s
The Man Died and the writings, which enabled the emergence of Nazism with its horrific policy of genocide, to the emancipating campaigns of America’s Civil Rights movements, demonstrating that the power of the writer to build or destroy was self-evident.
He called on writers to assist in enabling a better and more progressive society for humankind. “By so doing, let us resolve as writers, to build and not to destroy, thus taking the written craft to its rightful position as a force for positive change and growth,” he noted.