'Our mission is to make ANA relevant to national life,' says Agada
The newly elected president of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Dr. Jerry Agada, has promised to give the association a deserving status through his four point focus, which include proper identification of members, making ANA more relevant at the national level as well as strengthening the financial base of the association. In a recent interview with BRIDGET CHIEDU ONOCHIE, he cautioned writers on the need to be law abiding and responsible citizens rather than engage in unconstructive criticisms.
Plans for ANA
MY plan for ANA is contained in the manifesto, which I gave before our convention. There, I indicated a four-point focus because I don't want to talk about four point agenda. One of the focal points is membership. I intend to streamline issues relating to membership that from this time onwards, members can be more properly identified than the situation, where anybody, who has a sheet of paper and pen calls himself a member of ANA. Yes, if you want to call yourself a writer, you can do so but at least; you do not belong to the fold of ANA. So, I intend to emphasise on proper identification of ANA members so that at both chapter and national levels, members can be easily identified.
The second point of focus is in the area of the association's land and the issue of our secretariat. Up till now, we do not have a secretariat and we have a piece of land in Abuja, which has been a subject of controversy for one reason or the other. Incidentally, I have been a member of ANA executive for the past two or three terms and as such, I am aware of the issue relating to our land and the secretariat and one of my plans this time is that all issues relating to that will be brought to conclusion during my tenure.
The other point of focus is trying to bring ANA to national life; I mean that the impact of the association should be much more felt at the national level than it is felt at the moment. Perhaps, there are some reasons I don't know but I usually give example with the recent face off between ASUU and the Federal Government. I was feeling that ANA could have been more forceful in making appeal to the stakeholders involved in the matter for the purpose of resolving it. So, when I talk of bringing ANA to national life, I mean that our activities should be reckoned with by the public in such a way that the association will be rated among similar associations within the society. I think that our impact should also be felt at that level so that people will be aware of what we do.
Another area is in finance and administration; I feel we should brainstorm for the purpose of ensuring that ANA has a steady source of funding for our activities rather than the present arrangement where, anytime we have some functions to perform, we go cap in hand, making appeals for people to come and assist us. I am thinking that we can as well, design our own way of sourcing funds that we can fall back to in time of need. This is not to say that we cannot partner with people but we know there is a level at which we can do that. Alongside that is getting more writers, especially the young and upcoming ones published. This time, there is a lot of paucity in terms of publishing houses and that is why you see young writers with manuscript to be published but to get them published becomes a problem. Not only that, more often, writers of these days engage in what we call subsidy or alternative publishing, a situation, where you are expected to pay a lot of money to the publisher before you are published so that when you are published, the responsibility of marketing or distribution becomes entirely yours. That is why you hear that many people have written books but we do not see their books in bookshops or places like that. The bible says that no one lights a lamp and hide it under the table, it must be put on the lamp shed for every eye to see, so also it is that no writer writes for the purpose of keeping it to himself, it has to be taken to the market for people to see it and read.
These are the four main area that I want to focus our activities on, but of course we know that both the executive members and some of our colleagues, who have areas of what they can do for ANA will be seating together and collate ideas together to see how we can galvanize them for the purpose of carrying ANA to the desired heights.
Elevating the association
I intend to do that by letting people know what we can do. It is not about getting ANA to start agitating here and there on national issues but at least, our impacts could be felt in actions we take on matters that have general application. Recently, the office of the adviser to the President on NEPAD published a list of NGOs that would partner with them for the purpose of certain activities. Over 50 NGOs were short-listed but ANA was not there, then you begin to question, if among all these, ANA was not there, then, where are we going to appear. So, we took it up with them and they said they did not know about us but we insisted we wanted to register our feelings about it and we did and put it in writing. It is expected that sooner than later when another event comes up, ANA will be contacted, that is one of the ways of making our association relevant at the national level.
Using your position to correct government's apathy towards literature
I have already been doing that and I am going to do more. Mind you that when I was the Minister of State, education, I was the chairman of National Action Committee on Read Campaign, which aimed at sensitising Nigerians about reading and how to improve reading habit. As a minister, I was the chairman of that campaign, which was flagged off and carried in the 36 states of the federation and FCT and I can tell you that the campaign was everywhere, even at the Federal Executive Council and I was doing that as the Vice President of ANA. Now that I am the president, don't you think that the sky will be my limit in my ability to continuing such campaign?
I always tell people that we are partners in progress with the government, some have been feeling that as a writer, you must be antagonistic to the government, if government is going this way, you go that way and that is why immediately after our election in Minna, some people started commenting that ANA has been sold to the government. I laughed because we all are part of the government. For instance, if the law says, this is one way and you know that the government makes the law and you go the other way, you are breaking the law and you must pay for it. As a writer, you should be more law abiding than any other person because you are like a watchdog of the society and as such, you should know what should be done and what shouldn't. You also let government know that certain things are good and certain things are not good. In other words, you should feel free to criticize the government as long as that criticism is objective, that is the essence of being a writer but some of our colleagues feel that once you are a writer, if you know that two plus two is four, you argue that it is five. Therefore, I am saying that as far as ANA under my leadership is concerned, we will be up and doing in what we are supposed to do, try to make government know the good side of the society and the bad and not just trying to engage in unconstructive criticism.
Getting Nigerian children back at their books
We are continuing with issues relating to reading and you can only do it by maintaining the tempo of the campaign, you cannot say, you are tired because if you do, there will be more problems, we will continue with the campaign to ensure that reading habit is improved in Nigeria because that adage that if you want to hide anything from a Nigerian, you hide it inside a book should stop. What ANA is doing under my leadership and with the Read Campaign is to reverse that adage so that it can be said that if you want to hide anything from the Nigerian, don't put it inside a book. The structures are on ground and we have continued to reach out to schools. The campaign is also to let people know that when we talk of reading, we are not just talking about classroom reading, when you talk about reading; most Nigerians think it is all about reading to pass examinations. It is the one that can give you pleasure, whether you an in a moving vehicle or you are driving, that is the campaign we are doing and it is all over the place.
It was surprising when the governor of Niger State came to see us at the convention and charged his commissioner in the presence of everybody to ensure that all schools in the state establish reading and writing club.
Corporate organisations contribution to literary growth
The question is 'ask and you shall receive', may be we have not done much in terms of asking them. I think that is the total package of collaboration that I mentioned in my campaign - that we should make them know what we expect of them. Of course, some of them are already doing it by way of instituting ANA prizes but we think that more is still expected but the blame is still with us as members because we have not done the asking to the level it is supposed to be done and that is what we intend to do during my tenure.
Nigeria Literature Prize
I want you to understand that Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company is an organisation of its own, and ANA is also an association of its own. In other words, our area of convergence is the institution of prize in literature, which is entirely their initiative. ANA did not partner with them in anyway to do any of these things and therefore we have no right to sanction because they are doing what is entirely their own. I was there at the last award where at the end of it all, they said no one merited the prize. Already, they had told us that over 100 people entered for the competition out of which nine were short-listed So, it was expected that no matter how bad they were, they could pick one, they did not tell people at what level they were going to give the prize, the whole thing about it was subjective but even if the nine people were perfect and they come out to tell you that none is good, what will you do than to agree with them.
Any plan for a synergy between the two bodies?
We have tried that but it has not worked yet, they are doing what they are doing and we are doing what we are doing but our own way of looking at the issue is that all roads lead to Rome. If you are contributing to the literary level through whichever means, to me, it is okay. We are all contributing to the literary level in Nigeria which for us, is what we want but we are looking forward to a situation where that kind of synergy is formed so that a proper arrangement can come out but as I told you, they are autonomous body and if they so wish, no problem but if they say, do your own, we cannot force them. That is why when they came out to say there was no winner this year, we didn't border, we continued with our ANA convention and gave our own prizes to deserving winners.
Lessons for the younger ones
The lesSon is that everybody is a writer and it is good to write, the only thing is that if you have not cultivated the habit of getting up to jot your thinking, you will feel you cannot write. You can write because everybody has a story to tell. The only thing is to develop the discipline of being able to write when the inspiration comes. The fact is that inspiration goes to everybody; you cannot say that there is class of people that are entitled to inspiration, the only thing is to discipline yourself to be able to give response to the inspiration when it comes. Another lesson is that it is always good to read. Reading has no limit, you cannot say you are an expert or that you have become so qualified or so read in that field that you cannot continue reading. Even the best medical experts continue to read, if you don't read, the knowledge you already have will continue to diminish until you become out of date.
Role of parents
Such a parent will not say, 'well, I have talked to my child and he is not interested' and you fold your hands. No, you have to continue talking to him. As long as there is life, there is hope. That is why I tell teachers that they cannot say a student is so stupid and arrogant or stubborn and as such, such student should be abandoned. Why do we have school if not to continue coaching and teaching people? So, continue, as long as that person is a student of that school, there is hope that he will change one day. As parents, continue, let it also not be a question of do as I say and not as I do, parents too should develop the habit of reading so that when the children see you, they will know that there is no alternative to reading. So, enduring, perseverance and the need to create atmosphere for reading are expected of both parents and teachers.
