Timipre Sylva’s take on books at Abuja literary event

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 venue of the literary event 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, the former Bayelsa State governor’s media aide, the hearty applause restored the positive vibes at the venue. 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.

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The presentation on behalf of the former 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 Soyinka ingeniously kept when he was incarcerated  without trial by the Nigerian government for 27 months during the 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 colonialists, 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 questions and answers 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.

Poet, 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.

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 15-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.

*Harande Balarabe is the pseudonym of a literary creative resident in Abuja.

Meanwhile, the November 24 Guest Writer Session will feature two writers, Madeline Agoba and  Chiemezie Onwubalili.

Madeline Omonigho Agoba was born in Lagos and had her formative educational years there, including attending Queen’s College, where she became interested in history. She followed this passion for history by offering it as a course at the Edo State University, Ekpoma.

Her love for writing, which is only finding fulfilment now, had also been a childhood interest. Ahmadu Bello is her major debut publication.  The book can be described as ‘faction,’ as it has enabled her combine her love for history and fiction, by fictionally re-creating the life of the late premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, using researched materials. It is the first in a series of books she plans to do on prominent African leaders for young readers.

Mrs Agoba’s current favourite authors are Frank Peretti and Francine Rivers and they have influenced her approach to writing fiction: She notes that Ms Rivers is quite descriptive in her narration.

The debutant author loves writing poems and short stories, and cites cooking as a major hobby as it enables her try out new recipes. She resides with her family in Abuja, where she also works with a major telecommunications company.

The second guest, Chiemezie Onwubalili, grew up in Ichi, Anambra State. He studied Economics at Madonna University. At Madonna, in the serenity of the school environment and the solitude of the classrooms, he discovered the joy of reading.

In March 2016, after some personal crises he began to write, hoping to free himself of his torments, but immediately he understood the arduous task of putting down the chaos in his mind. To improve his writing, he started a blog, My Naira Journey, where he wrote about financial freedom and how to achieve it. But after a year, he stopped writing on the blog after he suffered what he called an attack of pure hypocrisy. ‘How can I be teaching people how to build wealth when I have nothing in my bank account.’