SYNW LAUDS DENJA ABDULAHI FOR HIS
ACHIEVEMENTS AS ANA PRESIDENT, LISTS OUTSTANDING PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
EXECUTED BY HIM WHILE IN OFFICE.
The Society of Young Nigerian
Writers (SYNW) has described the immediate past President of the Association of
Nigerian Authors, Alhaji Denja Abdulahi as an achiever and a committed leader
whose literary legacy will be forever celebrated in ANA.
In a statement made available to
newsmen yesterday, Wole Adedoyin said: “We are proud to have benefited
immensely in your positive leadership as the immediate past President of ANA.
Your true love for ANA is undeniable and visible to everyone to see. We are
blessed to have you and will always be with you all the way.”
“We commend your profound
contributions to ANA over four years through various developmental literary
projects executed by you, he added.
Wole, who described Denja Abdulahi
as one of his literary mentors prayed: “May the good Allah protect you as you
trudge on.
Citing remarkable developmental and
members-oriented projects the ANA president had executed since he assumed
office over four years ago, Wole Adedoyin said Denja Abdulahi deserves
accolades.
“I make bold to say that it’s during
Denja’s tenure that ANA Chapters became vibrant and more members of ANA are
given more opportunity to serve at the national level and I thank him most
sincerely for this. We are also aware how his adversaries are spelling his four
years hard earned achievements backward for their selfish ambitions. Wole
stated.
Adedoyin, finally warned ANA members
to stop listening to fabricated lies from Denja’s adversaries as they are
putting up another lies to turn ANA members back against the immediate past
President of ANA.
SCORECARD OF PRAGMATIC
DELIVERABLES- 2015-2019: THE DENJA ABDULLAHI’S ANA PRESIDENCY AT A GLANCE
On
November 14, 2015 at the 34th International Annual Convention of ANA
held in Kaduna, the 2015-2017 National Executive Council was elected with
Mallam Denja Abdullahi as the President and in October 2017, at the 36th
International Annual Convention held in Makurdi, the 2017-2019 National
Executive Council was elected with Mallam Denja Abdullahi again as the
President. The following are the delivery of both National Executive Councils
under the leadership of Denja Abdullahi in the last four years:
2016.
·
Formation of strategic councils, panels
and committees at its inaugural meeting held on the 9th of January,
2015 in Abuja to fast track the delivery of the Association’s objectives. The
council and committees are: The ANA National Advisory Council (first of its
kind in the history of the Association and made up of 3 former presidents and 2
other elders of the Association); ANA Strategic Plan Development Committee; ANA
Land Development Committee and ANA literary Prizes Adjudication Panel.
·
The National Executive Council re-worked
the process of accessing the annual Yusuf Ali grant by ANA Chapters by calling for proposals which
was assessed, leading to the award of grants to 16 successful chapters at the 5th
Meeting of the National Executive
Council with chairmen and
secretaries of chapters which held in Ilorin on the 9th of
April,2016. A monitoring process was put in place, leading to a nationwide
ANA/Yusuf Ali nationwide literary awareness campaign, with a special focus on
tertiary institutions, held by the chapters given the grants.
·
ANA was in the forefront of the fight
for the release from prison, of one of its members, Nenghi Josef Ilagha , who
was imprisoned for a purportedly libelous book he authored against a leading
monarch in Bayelsa State. He was committed to prison in November, 2015 but
freed on 26th of April, 2016, after much pressure from the
Association.
·
The Association of Nigerian Authors
participated in the review of the Nigerian Copyright Bill by making extensive submission
on the draft sent to it by the Nigerian Copyright Commission and which was
properly acknowledged by the Commission as contributing greatly to the improvement
of the draft bill.
·
ANA in the renewed vigour to identify
with its own at specific occasions and cultivate existing friendship with
partners was represented by the President at the Posthumous launching of a book
of its former president Alh Abubakar Gimba in Minna on the 25th of
February,2016 and in the launching of a book by its patron ,Yusuf Ali, in Abuja
on 17th May,2016.
·
ANA on May 13, 2016 held the Authors’
Groove at National International Book Fair in Lagos with one of its trustees,
Prof Kole Omotoso , as Guest Speaker. Prior to that, ANA, represented by the
President and the PRO South, have been playing prominent roles in the Council
and the affairs of the Nigerian International Book Fair Trust.
·
ANA on the 3rd of June, 2016
signed an agreement with Box Office Studios Ltd in Abuja for the production of
an audio visual documentary on the history, activities and achievement of the
Association. The project was completed in December 2016 and a media preview of
the film “ Dancing Mask: The ANA Story” was held at the Abuja International
Film Village in February,2017. The project was executed with grants received
from the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA).The film was nominated for the
Best Documentary Film category at the 14th Abuja International Film
Festival which recently concluded in October,2017.
·
A strategic planning workshop was held
between 7-10 July, 2016 at Kini Country Home, Akwanga, Nasarawa
State , with 17 persons, drawn across the strata of the Association’s
membership participating , which led to the production of a 5 year strategic
plan document(2017-2012) that was presented to the public at the 35th
Anniversary International Convention of the Association which held in Abuja in
October,2016.
·
The President of ANA empanelled a team
led by a former President of ANA and a member of the ANA National Advisory Council,
Dr Wale Okediran, to resolve the 4 year old lingering leadership dispute in ANA
Niger . The team visited the chapter on the 4th of September, 2016
and the matter was successfully resolved with the enthronement of a caretaker
committee to oversee the affairs of the chapter for a year.
·
In furthering the internationalization
objective of the Association’s activities and cooperation among writers’ bodies
across Africa, the President of ANA attended the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW)
book festival which held at PAWA house, Accra –Ghana on the 21st of
September, 2016. A fall out of that visit was the attendance of ANA’s 35th
Anniversary Convention in Abuja in October, 2016 by a delegate from GAW.
·
ANA held the first ever National Teen
Authorship Conference at Logos International Schools, Awo-Ommama, near Owerri,
Imo State from the 27-30 September, 2016. The conference attracted 20 schools
in and around Owerri town and 15 teen mentors- trainees from 15 chapters of ANA
across the country.
·
ANA successfully held a well-attended
and very memorable 35th Anniversary Convention in Abuja from the
27-30 October, 2016 which was hosted by Senator Shehu Sani and attended by the
First Lady of Imo State, Mrs Nnena Rochas Okorocha, among other dignitaries.
·
For the first time in ANA history, apart
from the convention held in Abuja in 1985, ANA members attending the 35th
Anniversary Convention were taken on a tour of the ANA land in Mpape, Abuja.
·
Three distinguished members of the
Association (Dr Wale Okediran, Prof Jerry Agada and Late Capt. Elechi Amadi)
were inducted as fellows of the Association at the 35th Anniversary
Convention. Similar exercise was last carried out at the 2006 Convention in
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
·
ANA was fully represented at the
weeklong celebration of the 70th Birthday of its former president
and member of its National Advisory Council, Prof Femi Osofisan, which held in
the University of Ibadan in 2016.
·
ANA participated actively at both
national and states level in the burial ceremony of the late Capt Elechi Amadi
which held in December,2016.
·
ANA in its drive to partner and network
with fellow arts and culture organizations in the country and beyond towards
worthwhile literary causes, anchored a panel on literary prizes at the Lagos
Book and Arts Festival(LABAF) held by Committee of Relevant Arts(CORA) in
November,2016.
·
The 2015-2017 ANA National Executive
Council in encouraging democratic principles in ANA chapters across the country
supported and monitored the holding of elections into States Chapters’
Executive Councils as at when due in chapters such as Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Abuja, Nasarawa,
Kaduna, Rivers, Kwara, Kogi, Osun, Ekiti, Kano, Zamfara, Abia , Bayelsa, Kebbi, Lagos, Enugu, Imo and Ogun States at various times within the
years under review.
2017
·
The National Executive Council of ANA in
late 2016 and spilling over to February,2017, was able to network with Chevron
Nigeria Plc, the sponsor of the long rested ANA/Chevron Prose Prize on Writings on the Environment ,
for the redemption of the prize money of $2,000 each for the winning entries of
year 2011 and 2014(The Poacher’s Daughter
by Prof Jonah Agunwamba and Oil Cemetery by Prof May Ifeoma Nwoye)
respectively.
·
Rising from its 2nd Inaugural
meeting of 18th February,2017 at Abuja, ANA signed an MOU with
STRADA Development Initiative establishing ANA Programme on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism(ANA-PCVE). The
programme has 6 members of ANA drawn from the 6 Geo-Political Zones of the
country as members. The programme manager is from STRADA.
·
ANA for the year 2017 further
streamlined its literary prizes by removing from its array of advertised prizes
a few prizes whose endowments have since expired or which no longer received
competitive entries.
·
ANA National Executive Council in the
year 2017 partnered with some of its chapters in the staging of special
programmes and events such as the marking of the World Book Day by ANA Bauchi
on 2nd March 2017; inauguration of ANA Kano Executive Council and
courtesy call to the Emir of Kano on March 30 ,2017 ; A Day with Wole Soyinka
by Bayeslsa State Government with ANA Bayelsa on 16th July,2017 and
a courtesy call to the Governor of Edo State with ANA Edo on 14th of
July,2017,at which event books were donated to the Edo State Library Board.
·
The 6th National Executive
Council Meeting with Chairmen and Secretaries of ANA Chapters held on the 4th
of May,2017 in Ilorin, Kwara State to review the annual Yusuf Ali literary
awareness project and other developments in the Association with a view to
aligning the Association’s future activities in line with the Strategic Plan
document of the Association(2017-2022).
·
ANA Donated 100 new titles of books,
sourced from its 2016 and 2017 literary prizes entries, to the Justice Mustapha
Akanbi Foundation Library in Ilorin in May 2017. The Foundation which was made
an honorary member of the Association at the 35th Anniversary
Convention of ANA, has been hosting the ANA National Executive Council Meeting
with Chairmen and Secretaries of Chapters since 2012. Earlier on in
January,2017, ANA donated some books to the Department of English and Literary
Studies, University of Jos, towards refurbishing the University’s burnt Library
under the Beauty from Ashes project of the University.
·
In February 2017, ANA National Executive
Council in conjunction with the ANA land Development Committee instituted a
monthly monitoring scheme of the development on ANA Land in Mpape ,Abuja with
specific developmental timelines agreed with the developer. This culminated in
the Foundation Laying and Tree-planting Ceremony held on the land on the 26 of May,2017 with a
serving Senator, a member of the House of Representatives, members of the ANA
land committee, members of ANA National
Advisory Council and other members in attendance. Work is on-going on the land.
·
ANA in partnership with Poetry In
Nigeria(PIN) held a night of Poetry Performance in the Indigenous languages at
the Nzeh Mada Festival held in Akwanga on the 14th of
April,2017.This is in furtherance of the promise made for partnering with the
Mada Community in bringing in innovation to the Festival events.
·
Reproduction Rights Society of
Nigeria(REPRONIG), a collection society for copyright owners of literary works
paid a courtesy call to ANA on April 2017 in Abuja, led by Chairman of its
board, Prof Olu Obafemi, to lay the foundation of a mutually beneficial
partnership with ANA. ANA President later attended a workshop on copyright
licensing in Tertiary Institutions held by the Society and The Association of
Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities in Abuja between 8-9
August,2017.
·
ANA National in partnership with ANA
Lagos hosted the annual Authors’ Groove at the Nigerian International Book Fair
Held in University of Lagos on the 12 of May,2017 with a special focus on the
National Book Policy. ANA Documentary Film “Dancing Mask: The ANA Story” was
screened at the event.
·
ANA furthered its linkage activities
with foreign literary Associations by cooperating with the Society of Nepali
Writers in English, leading to the translation of the poetry of 8 Nigerian
poets into Nepali language and published in a bilingual Nepali journal in July
2017. Already, works are on-going in producing an anthology of 25 Nigerian
poets in a bilingual Nepali book.
·
ANA facilitated the process leading to
the honouring of one of its trustees, Labo Yari, by the Kaduna State Government
with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening Ceremony of the maiden Kaduna
State Books and Arts Festival(KABAFEST),which held in Kaduna on the 5th
of July,2017.
·
ANA in its strategic identification with
its members, friends and Associates in their times of joys and sorrows was
present at the funeral of the son of its foremost benefactor, Haruna Mamman
Jiya Vatsa, on the 5th Of
July,2017 in Kaduna. The President later led a team of ANA members to pay a
condolence visit to the family at their residence in Kaduna the next day.
Similarly, ANA was at the funeral prayer for the father of its benefactor, Yusuf
Ali, held in May 2017 in Ibadan and was on condolence visit to Dr Wale
Okediran, Former ANA President, who lost his wife in December,2016. ANA had had
cause to release official tributes and obsequies, attend Nights of Tributes on
the passage of prominent writers and literary critics in the years under review
such as Isidore Okpewho, Buchi Emecheta, Senator Muktari Abdulkarim, Osita Ike,
Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo, Charry Ada Onwu, Onuorah Nzekwu, Abiola Irele and Adebayo
Faleti.
·
ANA activated its publishing outfit NWS
Publishers with the appointment of a Managing Editor in the person of Mr
Osarobu Igudia in 2016, leading to the processes that eventuality saw to the
publication of three (3) new children’s literature titles under the Nigerian
Writers Series imprint in August, 2017 that was earmarked to be used to power
the A-Book-A-Child nationwide
project of the Association.
·
ANA in the year 2017 at various times
was in secondary schools in Enugu, Abia, and Bayelsa States to inaugurate the Young Writers Mentoring Scheme in
furtherance of nurturing literary creativity among teenagers and young persons.
·
ANA in Partnership with Federal
University, Ndufu –Alike Ikwo in Ebonyi State was scheduled to hold a one day
symposium on The Expanding Frontiers in Nigeria’s Creative Writing in the 21st
Century on the 21st of August,2017 which was disrupted by the
nationwide ASUU The symposium has been
rescheduled to hold in November 2017 and the
maiden ANA national annual conference on the criticism of emergent
Nigerian Literature will hold in 2018.
·
In the year under review, the National
Executive Council of ANA assisted in the formation of a new chapter in Bauchi State
and revitalized the chapter in Gombe
State.
·
ANA established a partnership in August
2017 with Bold Scholar Research Nigeria Ltd, an ICT solution company to revamp
its website www.ana-nigeria.com; which was remodeled into a dynamic and highly
interactive platform to become the best so far in the history of the
Association.
·
ANA donated 100 copies of its NWS 2
titles to the children of the IDP camp in Kuchingoro, Abuja on 7th
of September 2017 World Literacy Day Celebration.
·
ANA got the consent of the Wife of the
Governor of Imo State, Ugo Nnenna Nkechi
Rochas Okorocha in October,2017 to be the key facilitator and brand driver of
its A-BOOK-A-CHILD Nationwide book distribution project.
·
Members of the ANA National Executive
Council attended the 3rd Northern Nigeria Writers Summit which held
in Katsina State between 3rd-5th October,2017 under the
theme: “Literature and National Integration: The Role of Writers as Bridge
Builders.”
·
ANA in October, 2017 published the book Arrows or Gods? Critical Essays on the
Leadership Question in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God from the proceedings
from the celebrations of Arrow of God at 50 in 2014 by The Achebe Foundation
and ANA.
·
ANA successfully held a well-attended
and very memorable 36th International Annual Convention in Makurdi
hosted by the Benue State Government from the 27-30 October, 2017.
·
Three distinguished members of the
Association (Prof. Sam Ukala,Prof Idris Amali and Prof Akachi Ezeigbo) were
inducted as fellows of the Association at the 36th International
Annual Convention which held in Makurdi,Benue State in October,2017.
·
ANA National Executive Council led by
the President visited Federal University Ndufu-Alikwe Ikwo to meet the Vice
Chancellor over the proposed partnership on criticism conference, attended Prof
Akachi Ezeigbo’s book launch and to inaugurate the Young Writers Mentorship
Scheme within the University from 8-9 November,2017.
·
ANA organized a panel in partnership
with CORA on the dearth of literary criticism in contemporary literary sphere at
the Lagos Book and Arts Festival(LABAF) of the Committee of Relevant Arts(CORA)
in November,2017.Three writers of the Nigerian Writers Series 2 books were also
sponsored by ANA to participate in the Children’s Green festival component anchored by Sola Alamutu.
·
ANA attended the 2017 Gombe Day of
Literature organized by Halimafactor Initiative and sponsored the prizes for
the Junior Category Poetry Awards under its Young Writers Mentorship Scheme.
The event held on the 23rd of November,2017 at Gombe, Gombe State.
·
ANA participated in the drafting of the
MOU between The National Library of Nigeria and The National Library of Norway
on the digitization of literary text written in the Nigerian indigenous
languages in December, 2017.
·
ANA donated 100 volumes of contemporary
literary texts to the Library of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Ondo
State in December,2017.
·
ANA participated in the National
Conference on Quality Education :Access and Rights Management in Nigeria
organized by REPRONIG and Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian
Universities in Lagos on 27 November,2017.
2018
Ø ANA nominated two persons(Khalid Imam of ANA
Kano & Claris Ujams of ANA Abuja) to participate in the Global Book Alliance Regional Meeting
organized by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa(ADEA)
which held in Abidjan, Cote d ‘Ivoire from 22-24 January,2018.
Ø Rising
from its 3rd Inaugural meeting of 20th January,2018 at Abuja,
ANA established two committees:
Constitutional Review Committee and Intellectual Property Protection and
Advancement Committee.
Ø ANA
donated 100 volumes of books to Terkule Aorabee for a reading and writing
workshops in two LGAs in Taraba State.
Ø ANA
‘s documentary film “Dancing Mask” was screened in West African Films Festival
held in February,2018 in Houston, Texas in the U.S.A.
Ø ANA
President attended and presented a paper at the African Union 1st
Pan African Writers’ Conference which held in Accra,Ghana from the 7-9
March,2018.
Ø On
the 1st of March 2018,ANA
effectively moved its National Secretariat in line with constitutional
provision and national executive council approval to the completed red-brick building of the
Association at the Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village in Mpape, Abuja. The
former National secretariat office at
the National Theatre Complex in Iganmu, Lagos was handed over to ANA Lagos to
manage and would continue to serve as the Lagos liaison office for the
Association.
Ø Elections
were held in the following ANA Chapters: Edo, Ebonyi, Benue, Niger, Abuja, Rivers,
Plateau, Katsina and Taraba
Ø ANA
facilitated the participation of 10 indigenous language writers from Nigeria in
the Association for the Development of Education in Africa’s “Énabling Writers:
Bloom Software Training of Trainers Workshop” which held in Abuja from 17-20
April,2018.
Ø ANA
attended the Prof Joe Ushie@60 Conference in Calabar , Cross-River State, Prof
Sam Ukala @ 70 retirement celebration and launching of a festschrift in his
honour in Abraka and the 25th Anniversary ICALEL Conference at the
University of Calabar, all in April,2018.
Ø ANA
held its Capacity Building Workshop for National officers and selected 15 States
Executive Council Members on “Innovations in Contemporary Literary Awareness
Campaigns in Nigeria” which held in Ilorin, Kwara State on the 20th
April,2018.
Ø The
7th Meeting of the National Executive Council Members with State
Chapters’ Chairmen and Secretaries held in Ilorin Kwara, State on the 21St April,2018.
Ø ANA
undertook a media supplement on the ANA/Yusuf Ali literary Awareness Campaign (2012-2018)
in various newspapers and on-line blogs between March-April,2018.
Ø ANA
held the “Authors’ Groove” at the Nigerian International Book Fair at
University of Lagos under the theme “Literary Agency and the Promotion of the
Authors’ Craft and Business,” on the 11th of May,2018.
Ø ANA
held its maiden International Conference/ Creative Workshop in partnership with
Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu –Alike Ikwo with the theme “Expanding
Frontiers: Nigeria’s Creative Writing in the 21st Century,” from the
18-19 June,2018.
Ø ANA
donated 200 volumes of books to the Library of
Alex Ekwueme Federal University ,Ndufu-Alike Ikwo in June,2018.
Ø ANA
participated in the State Funeral given to the Late Secretary-General of the
Pan African Writers’ Association(PAWA),Prof Atukwei Okai which held in Accra
,Ghana on the 14 of September,2018.
Ø ANA
PCVE held a Stakeholders’ Summit on Assessing Nigeria Soft Approach to
Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in partrnership with White Ink
Consult and Gusau Institute on the 18th of October,2018 in Abuja.
Ø ANA
successfully held a well-attended and very memorable 37th
International Convention in Ikeja, Lagos hosted by the Lagos State Chapter of
the Association from the 25-28 October, 2018 and attended by the Wife of the
Governor of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi.
2019.
Ø Rising
from its 4th Inaugural meeting of 26th January,2019 at Abuja, ANA appointed Sole Administrators to revive its ailing
chapters in Anambra, Gombe, Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Ondo, Bauchi and Cross
River States.
Ø From
late January –early February 2019, ANA
President, on the invitation from Gambian Writers Association(GWA)was at
Banjul, The Gambia or a bilateral relationship tour to conduct literary
meetings and workshops for Gambian writers.
Ø In
February, 2019, ANA published a collection of poems For Ikeogu,For Poetry: Tributes in the Memory of Ikeogu Oke, the
winner of the 2017 NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature for poetry who died on the
24th November,2018.
Ø On
30th March 2019, ANA was at the burial of the late poet Ikeogu Oke ,
winner of the NLNG Prize for Literature in 2017 at his hometown Akanu Ohafia in
Abia State.
Ø On
30th March 2019,ANA was represented at the burial of the father of a
one –time chairman of ANA Akwa Ibom ,Prof Joe Ushie at Bendi at Obanliku Local
Government Area of Cross Rivers State.
Ø In
March 2019, ANA received an endowment of its poetry prize with $1,000 from
Senator Shehu Sani.
Ø On
13th April 2019, the 8th
Meeting of the National Executive Council Members with State Chapters’
Chairmen and Secretaries held in Ilorin Kwara, State with 12 chapters given
sub-grant to carry out innovative literary outreach programmes under the
ANA/Yusuf Ali Literary Awareness Project 2019.
Ø On
8th of May 2019, ANA held the Authors’ Groove and Special Writers’
Day under the theme “Pushing the Writer’s Craft and Business in the Age of ICT”
at the 18th Nigerian International Book Fair which held in the University of Lagos
Ø On
30th May 2019, ANA donated 50 volumes of books to the Jigawa Library
Project to aid the organisation’s book donation project to schools in Jigawa
State.
Ø In
June 2019 ANA participated in the Burial of Dr Gabriel Okara in Yenagoa and
Boumondi in Bayelsa State.
Ø From
2-3 July,2019 ANA held its 2nd Expanding Frontiers of Nigerian
Literature International Conference/ Creative Workshop in partnership with Alex
Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu –Alike Ikwo in Ebonyi State with the theme “Nigeria’s
Literary Criticism in an Expanding Space of Creative Writing and Digital
Production in the 21st Century. ”
Ø In
August and in September 2019 ,ANA President was at the State Convention of ANA
Ekiti State Chapter and at the grand finale of ANA Kogi State Chapter ANA/
Yusuf Ali Literary Awareness Campaign respectively in the spirit of supporting
and identification of ANA Chapters across the country.
Ø At
various times in the 3rd quarter of 2019, ANA donated volumes of
books to Federal Government Girls College Bakori Old Girls Association, Kate
Tales Foundation and Ebedi International Writers Residency, Iseyin.
Ø ANA
National Executive Council in 2019 monitored and supervised elections held in
its chapters in Nasarawa, Kogi, Kebbi,Ekiti and Bayelsa in its resolve to
ensure that democracy and good internal governance practices at chapters level
.
Ø Fast-tracking
development and construction activities on the ANA Land in Mpape, Abuja between
2017-2019 where presently the basic structures originally earmarked to be built
on the land are in various stages of completion. This is a land that has
remained without construction since 1985 when it was allocated to the
Association by the then Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Late Major
General Mamman Jiya Vatsa of blessed memory.
No comments:
Post a Comment