By Harande Balarabe
When it was announced that one of the advertised headliners for the October 27 Guest Writer Session was unavoidably absent, the look of disappointment showed clearly on the faces of most attendees. They had arrived the Fountain Hall at Nanet Suites, with a lot of anticipation only to be told that Chief Timipre Sylva had to attend an urgent meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
But within seconds of the presentation by Julius Bokoru, his media aide, the hearty applause restored the positive vibes in the hall. It underscored not only the presenter’s skill but also the quality of the content.
The presentation was for a new segment of the monthly programme. Titled “Take Five”, the idea is for high profile personalities to talk of at most five books that have positively impacted their lives. The debutante chose to focus on three books.
The presentation on behalf of the former Bayelsa governor rated The Man Died by Wole Soyinka, Weep Not, Child by Ngugi Wa Thiongo (James Ngugi), and This Is Our Chance by James Ene Henshaw as the most influential books in his life. The bottom line being that these books triggered the social consciousnesses that eventually led him into politics.
The Man Died evolved from the notes Wole Soyinka ingeniously kept when he was incarcerated without trail by the Nigerian government for 27 months during the Nigerian Civil War (1966- 1970). A compelling narrative, one of its major themes is the criticism of complacency, especially in a climate of tyranny. First published in 1972 by Rex Collins, the 309 page book has established itself as a classic of prison literature.
In 1964, a debut novel titled Weep Not, Child appeared on the fledgling African-Literature-In-English scene. Based on the 1952-1960 Emergency in Kenya during Colonial rule, the narrative explores the interactions between the natives and the British colonists, capturing the effects of the Mau Mau uprising. It was penned by James Ngugi( he would later change his name to Ngugi wa Thiongo) who at that time was a Makerere University undergraduate in the Department of English.
James Ene Henshaw, a medical practitioner from Calabar (now the capital of Cross Rive State), published a collection of three plays in 1956 under the Hodder and Stoughton imprint. This Is Our Chance ( made up of “Medicine For Love” , “A Man of Character” and the title play) has established itself as a secondary school drama resource in most English-speaking African countries. The themes of culture conflict and corruption run through these plays.
Coincidentally,Mr Bokoru had at some point acted in the Henshaw play, This Is Our Chance and naturally seized the opportunity to reel off some lines of one of the characters that he could recall. During the Q and A Session, it was stated that Chief Sylva had been highly supportive of literature and arts practitioners during his tenure through the provision of grants to enable them deepen their skills and funding related activities.
Chief Slyva who studied English Language / Linguistics at the University of Port Harcourt, apparently had done some at creative writing and feels guilty that he did not take those initial efforts seriously, a situation he hopes he can rectify as soon as possible, building on the inspiration of the Guest Writer Session.
Jide Badmus read a couple of poems from his cheekily titled new poetry collection, Scriptures and the love poems were an instant hit with the audience. Here is an excerpt from “Fortress”:
You are beautiful, delicate but not fragile;
An emotional fortress
Built to give love and security.
I say it again.
You are a vineyard!
Your bossom is blessed;
Your mouth ,a rich deposit.
Be mindful who you allow
A sip of your wine and warm milk. (P.25-6)
This is his second collection of poems, his debut There Is A Storm In My Head was published last year and Badmus appears to be on a creative roll. This was also his second appearance on the Guest Writer Session of the Abuja Writers Forum.
The Port Harcourt-based Winnie Edmund Kanu, shared from her debut work of fiction, a novella titled Untainted, which keenly explores the relationship between a single-mother (Eve) and her fifteen year-old son (Max). Ms Kanu explained the inspiration behind the story, as well as the challenges she had before the manuscript could see the light of day.
Guitarist Tokunbo Edward weaved a tapestry of his unique neo-soul songs in-between the various segments to sustain the tempo, and the audience had a hilarious time during the raffle-draw for books with a lot of banters from the moderator.
The next edition of the Guest Writer Session holds on November 24, 2018 at Nanet Suites. The event which started ten years ago, has become a consistent feature of the literary landsape.
*Harande Balarabe is the pseudonym of a literary creative resident in Abuja.
