Eyin'juOdu

A Bio-Sketch Of Arts Writing In Nigeria By Jahman Anikulapo (Delivered as a Keynote at a seminar on Arts Journalism at the Goethe Institut, Lagos; 2003) No one should pretend that the story of arts writing in Nigeria’s popular media has ever been formally articulated. The chequered history has never been written in any form. What exist are faint, sometimes, vague ideas of what had been and what is. Albeit the various recorded comments about the origin of arts writing in the country have been largely a function of the personal interest of the person doing the chronicling. Thus we shall crave the indulgence of this house, if the little story we shall tell today about the origin nay the story of the Nigerian arts writing is largely from very personal perspective. But we could proceed that the story of arts writing in the media is as informal as the way the vocation itself came into being. Those who have said that the vocation of the arts writer was parasitic of then larger body of Jo...

THE NLNG LITERATURE PRIZE CONTROVERSYBefore The Nigerian Prize  BY ODIA OFEIMUN  Unlike Professor Olu Obafemi, President of the Association of Nigerian Authors, I do not take the Word as an egg which cannot be reassembled once it is broken. The truth is that the word, if it is an egg, was already broken. All that we do as writers is to train it in support of life, scooping it, beating it, refining and spicing it, to educate taste, thus making and adding meaning, nutritious meaning, to existence. How well we do this is dependent on how we use imagination — the heart, mind and will, that is part of our being homo sapiens. Those who do not care about the meaning that they make, who therefore think of deconstructing before they have learnt to construct, are the ones who tend to put the world in trouble. They tell the rest of us that we can always leap before we think. They seek to, and because they fail to assemble the egg that is already broken, they see the world as a free-wheeling place...

Three Kobo Book: Of Delayed Dreams Deferred Hopes Those who contend that Nigerian writing might yet experience a renaissance or a rebirth are on the lane of truth. The optimism that the pervasive rot, which had percolated into the literary art from the general national malaise could be dislodged with time, is believable afterall. There are indeed young, fresher views growing in the literary firmament. And the resourcefulness is not just manifesting in dynamism of vision, but also in the deployment of techniques and general craftmanship. Ayo Arigbabu, DejoToye and Dapo Ogundipe, in truth, represent the new tendency for qualitative production in the arts. They are resourceful with their subject, throwing up mature visionary contentions; the language is deep and intense; a thorough understanding of the colours and dynamics of words and expressions; and a good grasp of the craft of writing; the place of sequencing and composition — all of which are the bane of most first new writings...

LNG Literary Prize: The Return Of Truth Unfortunately none of the entries received met the high standard set by the panel of judges for the Nigeria Prize for Literature 2004. None was adjudged free of numerous faults observed because grave damage was done to these submissions through: Self publication with its attendant disabilities emanating from poor packaging. The panel of judges observed that recourse to self-publication short circuits the traditional publishing processes and this gives rise to the numerous stylistic and grammatical flaws just observed. It is further observed that many writers have not acquired the necessary education or undergone proper apprenticeship and training required for the high level performance expected from winning entries at this level. Future competitors are thus urged to take note of these observations. SO, what are the new things that the jury of the LNG prize were saying in their damning reports on the state of Nigerian literature, especially in t...

Religion and The Sanctity of Space of Social Interaction: A Personal Narrative On The Situation In South West Nigeria By Jahman Anikulapo PREAMBLE The title and content of this piece have been inspired by a speech delivered by the South Korean Ms. Irene NG, a former magazine editor, who later became a Member of Parliament, at a workshop for journalists in South Korea in 2002. Ms. Irene, in her speech, Walking The Middle Line, which was basically a narrative of her personal experience as a journalist dealing with matters of inter-groups relationships, uncovered some uncommon roots of conflicts among groups of divergent orientations and ideologies. She suggested ways by which a communications worker or any social worker and, by extension, the larger society could effectively navigate the vast and precarious landmine wrought by differences in belief systems as well as cultural orientations, that fill our current social order. Substantially, Ms. Irene speaks to my experience in variou...