Professor Jerry Agada is a renowned author, former Minister of State, Education and elder statesman.
In this interview with DANIEL AGBO, in Makurdi, the Chairman Benue state Civil Service Commission, bares his mind on his book, “the Whirlwind” recently presented to the public and other contemporary national issues.
Sir, you recently did public presentation of the book titled “THE WHIRLWIND”.
What informed your decision to give that little to the book? Yes, recently, I presented The Whirlwind and if you see the blurb of the book you will discover that I gave a very brief account of what the book is all about.
It’s a political anecdote (short stories on political happenings).
So, if you read the book you will realise that all the political storm blowing today are foretold in all chapters of the book and that shows the futuristic nature of my writings.
For instances, if you look at my other books that I have written right from 1996, when my first publication came out titled “THE MAGIC YEAR”, in fact, if you open the book, it reveals what is currently happening in the nation’s political space, Benue State or elsewhere but mind you that I wrote the book as far back as 1996.
One of the publications in 1996 was THE SECRET DEAL and there is a chapter in it titled ”Honourable Chairman”.
Prophetic That time I have not even served as Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Local Government and Chief Affairs, Benue State, so as to say that I capitalized on my experience with the chairmen of the local governments to influence my writing.
That is how good writing should be judged and once it conveys what is current, it becomes prophetic.
An example of good writing is ‘The ‘‘Animal Farm’’ by George Orwell and another publication by the same George Orwell is 1984 written long ago.
If you read these books you will realize that they reflect what is happening in our country today.
So when you look at all these you can judge somebody’s ability in writing, (the ability to capture situations and then make it real).
WHIRLWIND Therefore, I think that informed what has happened in my recent publication because it is all about the political situation in our country.
If you look at the chapter I wrote on ‘defections’ you will think that I stood in the National Assembly writing about the current defections but I wrote it long ago.
The book, THE WHIRLWIND was not intended to create WHIRLWIND in our political space rather it is just that I have looked at things, analysed and put them into writings.
What makes me happy about the presentation is that this book came out before the current political development if not some people will say that don’t you know Agada, he viewed what is currently happening and quickly put pen to paper but I have written it out of my own ingenuity to assess situations and say things that are likely to happen this way and they are happening that way.
Which chapter would you say is so touching in the WHIRLWIND? I wish I have time to read all the chapters for you but each chapter has to do with current happenings.
Take for instance chapter 7 – Fulani Herdsman and the last cow.
When I wrote it no Fulani issue has been heard but if you read it you will say that no wonder the Fulanis have so much been around.
Another chapter is the Gubernatorial Primary Election, RunOff Election and Plethora of Injunctions in my book I talked about a particular politician who was joining the number twenty-eight political party within three months.
This is currently happening in our political space in Nigeria.
The WHIRLWIND among your other published books are prophetic in nature.
Why do you choose this path? You know my type of writing is called creative writing.
We have different types of writings, some people do subject writings i.e when you want to write on Biology for instance, you don’t just sit down on your own and write it, you have to do research work, review other people’s work and combine what they have said about a particular topic in Biology before you make it up with your own.
In other words, it is a conglomeration of ideas from different people but that is not what I do as a creative writer.
Creative writing is the one you sit on your own, you develop, create, look at a word, concretize the word, shape and panel beat it to suit what you want and relate it to current situations.
That is what I do in my creative writing and when it is out people say this Agada is prophetic in his books.
No, it is because of the commitment that I have put into it as a writer.
I am not a young writer, i am an old man and therefore I have to do a thorough work that somebody would say that it is a writing from someone who knows his onions.
What do you have to tell upcoming writers? What I would tell upcoming writers is to devote their time to proper writing especially those who do creative writing.
They should have the discipline to read other people’s works.
You cannot say you are a good writer without reading other people’s works.
So my advice to them is to read widely, read good books and let them not be carried away by the quest to win Literary Prizes.
I therefore urge them to write by living their normal life in writing and if it wins fine and if it doesn’t then you should be happy that you have made your contribution.
Many upcoming writers find it difficult to engage in in-depth research work, what is responsible for that? That is what I said earlier that one must develop the necessary discipline and skills.
Mind you everybody is a writer and everybody has a story to tell, the reason why a person has not written and published his or her book is because the person has not nurtured the discipline to write.
As an elder statesman, are you comfortable the way and manner politics is being played across the country? Well, the answer to that is that I will refer you to my recent publication – The WHIRLWIND, by the time you read The WHIRLWIND right from chapter one to the end you will discover whether the author is actually comfortable with the way things are happening.
It’s a bit satiric.
In a statement, a commentator Benjamin Ubiri said Agada in The WHIRLWIND puts everyone – politicians, jobbers, our traditional and political leaders, electoral officers, judges and entire people on trial.
His verdict is terseguilty as pronounce.
In other words, if you read the book, I don’t like the way things are happening.
It’s just that there is nothing one can do about it but my happiness is that I am making my own contribution through my writings – for one to adjust.
You said you are not happy, which area do you think the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari needs to improve upon? The point is that under Buhari I think we are operating Democracy.
For me let things be seen to be done in a democratic way.
I will give you a typical example: look at the current debate over Press Council Bill at the National Assembly while there are many important things for NASS members to legislate upon so that we could have good roads, hospital, electricity, security and so on.
They are not rather debating on how the Press should do things for the better.
To me these are things that are unnecessary to our democracy.
I think we have gone beyond that type of thing like we had during the then decree 4 of 1983.
So by bringing that type of thing, I think it seems to me you are bringing back the same decree 4 of the old.
Therefore, instead of progressing we are retrogressing and to me these are the sort of things I don’t like amongst many other things.
Take for instance our yearly budget is being debated upon from the beginning of the year till the end and middle of next year Nigerians will be struggling with the passage of our budget and it’s a recurrent decimal as it happens every year.
So, I was thinking that with the coming of this administration under president Buhari those things were going to be put away so that we start doing things the way it’s supposed to be done but is it not the same thing? These are the specific examples of things I feel are not the best and of course taking the situation to my place in Benue State for instance, look at the way we suffered in the hands of the herdsmen.
If you look at the people in positions of authority in Nigeria today and the way that they make statements about that situation, these are not statements that can bring peace instead they are aggravating the situation.
Look at the one made by the National Chairman of APC Adams Oshiomhole that Governor Ortom is commercializing the issue of killings.
How can you say a thing like that? That is hate speech, yet they are the people preaching against hate speech.
Once it is coming from their own corner it is sweet speech but when a speech goes contrary to what they want, it becomes hate speech.
That kind of thing I don’t like it.
Recently your principal Governor Samuel Ortom defected to PDP, what do you have to say about his defection? Well, I think my principal, Governor Ortom is intelligent enough, he is knowledgeable enough and he has that political sagacity to be able to take decision and I think the decision he has taken is of good interest to himself and to the people of Benue State which he is leading.
So to me there is nothing wrong with his action after all there is no permanency in any state you find yourself in politics.
There is always room for changes here and there.
So I think the decision of my principal is in the right direction.
You are holding a sensitive position in his administration; will you go with him or stay back? Let me give you a proverb, by my people of Orokam in Benue State which says that the monkey is always going along with its tail.
In other words, the monkey cannot travel a distance and the tail is waiting for it somewhere else.
Therefore the monkey goes to any destination with its tail.
Like you said he appointed me to my present sensitive position and mind you that most of us were even in PDP before the change that happened and brought him to APC.
We like his ideas and that is why we joined him but now as our leader he is telling us that he has seen more clearly and has decided to go back to his old home which is PDP, do you think that I that had followed as the tail of the monkey will say that no let the monkey go so that the tail will wait somewhere? The tail has to go with the monkey.
That explains my position and automatically I have defected and the same thing with my people.
In fact, I have arranged series of meetings with my people to explain my reason why we have to go with my principal and I have told you that my people look at me as the one providing a leading lamp just as our principal is providing the leading lamp in the state.
