Tanimu Lagi and Ater Sawa, two writers with a background in Mass Communication will feature in the Easter edition of the Abuja Writers Forum’s (AWF) Guest Writer Session which holds on March 30 at Hamdala Plaza, Plot 23, Jimmy Carter Street, off Protea Hotel, Asokoro, Abuja.
Tanimu Sule Lagi, whose latest novel, The BOFAK Illusion appears on the Parisea imprint, is an indigene of Wamba in Nasarawa State and has a fascination for criminal satire. He studied Mass Communication at the University of Jos and later attended the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Lagos. He had a stint in News reporting with the Platau Radio Television Corporation (PRTVC) in the old Platau State, as a crime correspondent.
In the last ten years, Lagi has been involved in corporate legal practice, having also qualified as a lawyer. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered mediators and conciliators (ICMC) and lives in Jos with his family.
His previous publications include short stories (“The Easy Price of Life”, “Kofi’s Metamorphosis” and “ Broken Hearts Never Mend” ) published in Sunday Standard and a novel, Tsoho’s Manuscript (Spectrum, 2005).
Ater Sawa hails from Garkida in Adamawa State of Nigeria. He attended primary school at the Demonstration Primary School Yola. Even though he loves reading and writing, he never got the opportunity to offer subjects like Literature and History because he acquired his secondary school education at the Federal Technical College Orozo where he studied Agricultural Mechanization.
After secondary school, he got admission to Federal University of Technology Minna for a B. Tech in Estate Management. Partly because of his love for writing, Sawa decided to drop out of the University in his third year and went to pursue a diploma in Journalism at the International Institute of Journalism, Abuja. His parents were mad at him, especially his father who said,
“You mean you abandoned Estate Management just to become a gossip?”
After his diploma programme, he got a direct entry to NTA TV College Jos for a Bachelor’s Degree. But at the end of his first year, his admission and that of a couple of other students were revoked by a screening committee from ABU Zaria (which the college is affiliated to). The committee said his admission was revoked because he did not offer Literature in secondary school.
Thereafter he got admission to study a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication (Print Media major) at Africa Nazarene University Nairobi, graduating with a second class honours (upper division) in 2013.
Sawa has written a number of short stories, among which is Lost in the Wind; which was published in Dugwe (Abuja Writers’ Forum anthology). Another short story, A War Within, was also published by Storymoja Kenya. He has written numerous articles in magazines and newspapers which include Daily Trust, Leadership, and Sunday Express Kenya. His debut book is a novella, The Storm is Over. He is presently working on his second book.
Sawa is also into storytelling and performance poetry. He also does a bit of acting and was a support actor (2012) in a Swahili television comedy Vioja Mahakamani which airs on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).
The introverted Ater Andrawus Sawa who loves traveling, playing volleyball, and table tennis, is also adventurous with meat. He is 30 years old and single.The March 30 edition of the Guest Writer Session starts at 4pm and will feature live music by guitarists Bem Sar and William Owoduni, and a mini art exhibition. The Abuja Writer’s Forum meets three Sundays each month and hosts a reading on every last Saturday at the International Institute of Journalism, Hamdala Plaza, Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja.
