In this interview with AWAAL GATA, Dr. WALE Okediran, the Secretary General of the Pan-African Writers Association (PAWA), talks aboutwriting in Nigeria, Africa, and his life.
As ANA, the largest writers’ body in Africa celebrates its 40th year of existence and as one of its past presidents, how hard has the journey of uniting and leading the largest minds on the continent been?
The Journey has both been exciting and challenging. It will interest you to know that I was never interested in contesting for the ANA Presidency. I thought that I had had enough with ANA after serving as the Oyo State Chairman, the National Treasurer and General Secretary of the Association. However, in 2005, while still a Member of the House Of Representatives in Abuja, two very active ANA Members, DenjaAbdullahi and Baba Dzukogi came to my house in Abuja to plead with me to take up the position of the ANA Presidency. Despite my pleas of being a Member Of the House of Representatives, the duo persisted and that was how I contested and won.
Immediately, I came into office, I instituted some programs for the benefit of writers. As a former beneficiary of some writing workshops, I was convinced that writers would benefit from periodic refresher courses. I therefore organised a series of creative writing workshops and seminars in different literary genres.
The most notable literary workshop was the one on children’s literature sponsored by Alhaji AtikuAbubakar. The event which took place at the American University, Yola, had ANA members travelling by air from their various destinations to Yola.
Other memorable events were the celebrations of the 25 years of Wole Soyinka’s Nobel Prize at the University of Ife as well as that of Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”.
In addition, ANA also marked some important literary events to celebrate veteran authors such as Abubakar Imam and BayoFaleti. These activities were in addition to the development of the ANA land in Abuja, the Association’s annual conferences as well as activities by the various ANA chapters in the country.
It was an exciting time and despite the occasional squabbles among some State Chapters, we were able to sustain an active and peaceful association.
Even out of office, I still work very closely with the association in various roles which the succeeding ANA officials involve me. I recall facilitating the hosting of two ANA annual conferences by the then Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko in Akure in addition to the sponsorship of some literary conferences.
A few years ago, I was able to secure an annual grant from a very good friend of mine, Mr Yusuf Ali (SAN) for a nationwide Literary Awareness Project. The Project which is in its 4th year of operation. It involves ANA state chapters taking literary activities to the various secondary schools in their respective states.
You are a past President, the founder of Ebedi International Writers Residency, Iseyin and now the Secretary General of Pan-African Writers Association (PAWA); what areas do you think rapid adjustments are needed in African writing in order for it to regain its potency in the global stage and for literature to bring about the positive changes the wallowing society needs?
PAWA, founded in November 1989, is a cultural institution born in the larger crucible of Pan-Africanism that is an umbrella body of writers’ associations on the African continent and the Diaspora. The mission of PAWA, unanimously accepted at its inaugural congress in November 1989, in Accra, Ghana, is “to strengthen the cultural and economic bonds between the people on the African continent against the background of the continent’s acknowledged diverse but rich cultural, political and economic heritage.”
The constituent congress of PAWA was held at the Kwame Nkrumah Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana, from November 7 to 11, 1989 under the theme: “African Unity: A Liberation of the Mind”. Representatives from more than 36 countries formally signed the Declaration and Constitution that led to the establishment of the association. PAWA now comprises the 52 national writers associations on the African continent.
In 1992 the secretariat, which is located in Accra’s Roman Ridge neighbourhood, was granted full diplomatic status by the government of Ghana. PAWA is to coordinate the activities of all the national writers’ associations in Africa by linking them with each other and using literature to promote the spirit of pan-Africanism on the continent.
One of the ways to improve literature on the continent is the urgent need to encourage our young writers through workshops, residencies and the provision of literary journals. It is also important for Writers to belong to groups and associations through which they can interact with each other, exchange ideas and stimulate each other.
PAWA is currently organising some of the above-mentioned activities despite the challenges of inadequate funding and the scourge of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Through virtual literary activities, PAWA has been able to organise some literary events such as workshops, seminars and book fairs. We have also commenced an empowerment project for female writers through which they are supported with some grants.
You are one of the most active writers in Nigeria today. You have written more than 14 novels, travelogues, essays and so on. You are a politician, a fellow of the General Medical Practitioners of Nigeria and the Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, a fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, a Deputy Secretary-General (Africa) Union of writers from Africa, Asia and Latin America and now PAWA’s General Secretary; how do you manage all these energy-sapping tasks operating from one location?
I thank God for all the talents he has deposited in me. I sometimes feel overwhelmed with all the energy bursting out of me. Somebody once described me as a Salon car fitted with an aircraft’s engine. I consider myself a medical doctor by training, but a writer by calling. I was also a sportsman, having attended the Ife University Medical School, on a university sports scholarship where I played hockey for my university and Oyo state. In addition to my medical degrees, I also have a diploma in writing from the London School of Writing. I have published 15 novels till date – 11 adult novels and 4 children’s books including 5 biographies of some notable Nigerians. Just like the famous Russian writer, Anton Chekhov, who was also a medical doctor, I am married to three wives: medicine, literature and politics.
A few years ago when I went to read to some secondary school girls in Kano, one of the girls asked me to name which of my three careers I loved best. It was a difficult question then and even now because I believe that the three professions feed each other. While my medical profession provided the inspirations for my stories and used to pay the bills when my writing was still in its infancy, politics provided me with the linkages and also some inspirations (My award-winning book, “Tenants Of The House” was inspired by my stay as a Member of the House of Representatives) which are very necessary for the publicity and marketing of my books.
Even in the advanced countries, many writers don’t write full time. They have to combine their writings with other activities such as teaching, business among other things. It is even worse in Africa with its poor economy and infrastructure. It is in realization of this that PAWA recently inaugurated an empowerment project for African female writers. This way, we believe that when writers can concentrate on their writings when they don’t have too much money worries.
You once said, the advantage of writers from a non-humanities background is that they bring experiences from another field into writing, therefore, confirming there is a silent war between writers from humanities background and writers from non-humanities. How did you manage this silent war as president of ANA?
Even though non-humanities writers bring experiences from another field into writing, there is really no ‘silent war’ between the ‘humanities’ writers and the ‘non humanities’ writers. On the contrary, there is a warm camaraderie between the two. For example, I was well received into the fold of writers when I joined the ANA several years ago. That a medical doctor could rise to the exalted position of the National President of ANA after being a National Treasurer and General Secretary, says a lot to the joy of belonging to a wonderful cult of scribblers.
Africa looked up to Nigeria for great literature even before the formation of ANA. Are things still the same?
In fairness to Nigeria, the country has continued to lead Africa in literary activities even at International level. In addition, ANA has been one of the very few writers’ associations in Africa that has maintained a consistent and active existence. Apart from the Nobel Prize in Literature won by Prof Wole Soyinka, Nigerian writers have continued to win many international prestigious literary prizes and awards. In addition, one of the very active writers’ residencies in Africa, the Ebedi International Writers Residency is located in Iseyin, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Unfortunately, since our literary scene cannot be divorced from the economic, political and social vagaries that have been the problems of Nigeria over the years, the country’s literary progress has also been affected by some of the challenges faced by the country in other sectors. Also, some of the legislations that could have created a better literary scene in the country were stifled by some members of the political class who were aversed to intellectual pursuits.
These days, writers find it hard getting sincere outlets to publish their works through regular or conventional means and have to resort to self-publishing, promotion and distribution; what do you think is the way forward?
Publishing is a business and because of that, publishers are only interested in publishing books which they believe will be profitable. This is why it is very important for our writers to work hard on the quality of their writings so that their works can be found acceptable by publishers. In the same vein, publishers should also try and encourage writers especially the upcoming ones by giving them some publishing opportunities.
Even though self-publishing should not be the main publishing route, every effort must be made by those who engage in self-publishing to insist on thorough editing and proofing reading of the manuscripts they are working on. Apart from proper editing, it is also very important for self-published books to be well produced
Writers Organizations such as ANA and PAWA could also set up Publishing Houses for the benefits of their members if they can afford the project.
These days, the film industry is getting the global ovation that literature once boasted of. Your novel, “Tenants of the House”, was adapted into film. How can neglected Nigerian writers benefit from this vibrant industry?
The film industry is managed by experts ranging from script writers to producers, directors, finance experts to marketers and distributors. In view of this, it is important for writers who want their works to be adapted into films to solicit the services of any of these experts if they wish to successfully break into the business.
Since filmmaking is a very expensive venture, the writer needs to properly understand the financial implications of the project before diving into it. In addition, the writer has to decide whether or not to take a bank loan for the project or raise personal funds. From my own personal experience, the most important thing a writer needs to get his or her work adapted into a film is to have a good story. Once this is done, the remaining process will be handled by the professionals in the film business.
Most young writers these days in Africa compromise standards and originality of their art; they write in borrowed culture and tongues. What could be the cause of this trend?
With the advent of the internet, social media and airline travels, the world has become a global village with the result that our youth now consume a lot of foreign materials. The effect therefore is that their language, writings, songs and even wearing apparels have been largely influenced by foreign culture. Unfortunately, our own culture is gradually being pushed into the background due to neglect, corruption and peer pressure.
We need to urgently revive our culture and also reduce the amount of foreign marterial that our youths are imbibing. This can be done by the provision of incentives for writing in our African languages as well as the teaching of the same in our schools and Universities.
Is the role of writers changing? After ANA Enugu International Convention the association entered what others named ‘ANA crises period’. Before and after the court case, how did the association’s elders manage to keep the crises from escalating?
The ANA crisis is an unfortunate development. As person who has invested a lot of time, money and goodwill in the association, I am really saddened by the crisis. Despite this, I am still hopeful that the problem will soon be over. Some of us are working daily in the background to make this possible and God willing, it will be so.
