The Launch of KAPP And Conversations With A Film Director
The presentations of the candidates selected for the final of the Kayode Aderinokun Poetry Prize,posters reading Ake,Isara,Ibadan,the gift of the members of AWAB and the discussion with the director of the film The Man Died thrilled in many ways visitors to the festival.For instance, the candidates that participated in the final of the Kayode Aderinokun Poetry Prize made poetry enthusiasts to ask questions as to the use of heavy and light vocal articulations, how to classify the recitations as they were linked to the daily challenges of Nigerians.
A Birthday Gift From AWAB And The Confessions of A Nobel Laureate
The first banner titled Ake the years of Childhood took readers into the village of the author,the features of Egba culture and an insight into the revolts of Egba women against colonial tax.Ibadan was retained as a material of 13 chapters that will serve as a definitive guide on the ideology of the founder of the former Unity Party of Nigeria and his differences with the first Prime Minister of Nigeria.While the last banner You Must Set Forth At Dawn remained a narrative on his defence of democracy,Ken Saro Wiwa,attempts to discredit him, his first contact with the government of General Abubakar Abdul Salami and this appreciation of his status as a public intellectual in the form of a gift in braille language from the officials of AWAB was another emotional moment during this edition of 2024.
Conversations With The Director of The Film The Man Died
Film enthusiasts had a memorable afternoon listening to Femi Odugbemi,the producer of the film The Man Died talking about the production process of the film,his first meeting with his talent,his style of working,doing due diligence on his guests and the pleasures of doing this project on one of the titans of African literature.The CEO of Zuri24 Media also hinted that public feedbacks were highly positive,enjoined the public to go and watch the film and disclosed that a projection of the film at the Unilag was on the watch of his publicity team.
How LABAF Celebrated The 90th Birthday of A Literary Titan in 2024
When public relations consultants and in-house communication executives talk about the sponsorship of literary festivals.The question on why LABAF or the Lagos Book & Art Festsival is popular is usually the subject of meticulous analysis.In most cases,account executives in the realm of sponsorship advance arguments like the venue of the festival,as a prime tourist attraction,the bold design of the festival posters,the diversity of the programmes and the squad of ebullient volunteers that enabled the literary festival to attain in a quarter of a century the status of an international literary event.
Titles selected for the festival
This title of the celebrant Chronicles of the Land of he Happiest People on Earth offered forays into the list of other themes of the festival.Such as geopolitics,writing and readers who liked The prize,the epic quest for oil,money and power by Daniel Vergin,the seminal essay on petroleum exploration will appreciate the attention given to The Fiction Called Nigeria,the struggle for democracy by Adewale Maja-Pearce,The End of the World,Mapping the collapse of globalisation by Peter Zeiham,as well as Antjie Krog,the author of Change of Tongue and Begging To Be Black.
A reconstitution of solitary confinement
This birthday edition in honour of Prof.Wole Soyinka also presented an exhibition of cartoons,photos and press clips that recounted the circumstances that led to the choice of the title The Man Died.A prison cell reconstitution or a cage with a table,a lamp and a prisoner(or model)in penitentiary attire of the 1970s registerd this crucial message in the itinerary of the literary titan.Backed with a line-up of professionals from the Pan African University Press,Bookcraft Africa,Purple Shelves Publishing and Rainbow Publisher that recently released,Wole Soyinka, Activist and Nobel Laureate as another birthday gift in honour of one of the titans of African literature.
Festival part two |Festival part two|Festivals part three|Readers
Akwa Ibom State : Is simply A Flurry of Festivals And The Uyo Book Club
Akwa Ibom State Is Not Only Ibom Air
To Nigerian political observers the defection of Governor Emo Eno to the ruling APC was a major news item in the course of the first half of the year 2025.Whereas, travel professionals consider Akwa Ibom State as synonymous to Ibom Air,the airliner striving for the status of the first regional carrier in West Africa and the importance of the forthcoming international conference hall in the marketing of Akwa Ibom as a travel destination.To sport enthusiasts,the state is that of the Akwa Ibom international stadium and to people within the cultural circle,the reference is always to the popularity of the Uyo Book Club and the flurry of festivals in the State.
The Flurry of Festivals
To professionals in the cultural sector,the State of Governor Emo Eno is at the same time,that of the venue of the Annang festival,an annual event that showcases the arts,crafts,music and the folkloric treasures of the State.Cultural professionals also add that the Annang festival is on the same footing with the Children's Art & Culture Summit.Within Akwa Ibom publishing and literary circles,there is even a wag affirming that the Boldoz Book & Arts Festival was created to break literary strereotypes,to encourage local initiatives and to connect with discriminating Akwa Ibom readers.
10 Years of Uyo Book Club
Tour guides add that the Book Club has evolved from a tiny outfit to one of the most important literary forums in the country and has bestowed upon the venue of the Club,the status of a popular travel facility due to the visit of prestigious authors in the sessions of the Club.The Uyo Book Club created by Dr Udeme Nana and some forward looking literary figures in 2015 has affiliations with the Raffia City Book Club,the Eket Book Club and hosted the 2nd National Conference of the NBRP.The Club supported the 145 hours of reading aloud competition that enabled John Obot to be listed in the Guinness World Records in 2022 and recently signed a sponsorship agreement with Media Fuse Denstu Nigeria,the global advertising agency reputed for exploring new ways to engage with audience.
Niger State:The State of Sparkling Literary Symbols
To a section of Nigerians,Niger State is linked to the narratives of friends and family members,who worked on the construction site of the Kainji dam in the 1960s.To many teenagers,it is via their Geography lessons,where they treat topics related to agriculture, human resources and the physical features of Niger State.While to the general public,it is the state of two former presidents,splendid historical attractions,arts and crafts produced by artisans,whose skill acquisition process is from one generation of craftsmen to the other,the Mokwa flood and the unsuccessful bid of Minna as UNESCO City of Literature in 2025.
Blending Literary History With Cultural Diplomacy
It is not only travel professionals that are fond of the literary heritage of Niger State.The State policy makers like to toot the literary advancements of the State by spotlighting the state in the personal development of the great names in Nigerian literary history such as the first president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the author of My Odyssey,the stints of Chinua Achebe,Cyprian Ekwensi and insert into this list of eminent persons,the name of Sir Ben Okri,knighted by King Charles III for services to Literature in 2023. Without neglecting the State network of educational institutions,libraries,bookshops,publishers and literary campaigners.
Literary Advocacy At Full Throttle
The work of the literary advocates of Niger State has five distinct traits.The first feature is the institutional framework via the Hill Top Creative Arts Foundation due to the efforts of the big,the famous and the drive of literary activists as outlined in the roadmap established by Alhaji Bala Abdulahi Kwatu and Mallam BM Dzukogi,the convener of the first edition of the Northern Writers Summit.Personalities that are eager to form the next generation of creative professionals,redeem humanity through arts,build friendship and a sustainable future.HIAFEST or the Hadiza Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festival is the second feature of the work of these literary policy makers as this event runs for four days with poetry,short story writing,song,drama and cultural dance.
To the above features we must add the recent launch of a writing residency that the first two participants described as highly encouraging.And in the world of today,where there is that systematic desire to make us believe that the print is dead,the launch of MAAR, a literary print review that offers press clips opportunities for new and unestablished writers consolidated the literary status of the city of Minna in Niger State.
Abeokuta:A Literary Destination With A Touch of Heritage
The city of Abeokuta in the capital of Ogun State comes to mind.When people talk about the features of Egba civilisation,the territorial configuration of colonial rule,the exportation of cotton from Abeokuta,via Lagos to Britain and the creation of the first literary franchise in Nigeria.Worldwide,the admiration of Bishop Ajayi Crowther within the Church Missionary Society is enormous,and this deference is similar to what suffragists feel when they talk about the activism of Mrs Fumilayo Ransome Kuti.Historians even attribute the presence of Abeokuta as part of the former western province of Nigeria to the ground work of Rev.J.B.Wood,who revealed to Governor Moloney of Lagos,the strategy of Egba rulers to enter into agreement with the French and how the Ijebu Ode expedition in 1892 coerced Egba rulers into negotiation with Britain and made the territory a component of present day Nigeria.
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Ake The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka:A Vignette of Egba Civilisation
However,three features bestowed upon Abeokuta, a special place in the literary classification of Nigerian cities.The first feature is the unrivalled glimpse of Egba civilisation titled Ake the years of childhood by virtue of its paced narrative,candour and quirks that are typical of the author of The Man Died.The second issue is related to the organisation of the first edition of Ake Book & Arts Festival here in 2013 and the transfer of the festival to Lagos. While the third issue is the partnership between the festival organisers and the Kaduna Book & Arts Festival, to make Ake festival a literary franchise.
The First Literary Franchise in Nigeria
An agreement that added a national angle to the festival agenda.If we take into consideration that the register of former participants is composed of public intellectuals like Nurrudin Farah,Kunle Ajibade,Veronique Tadjo,Alain Mabanckou,Abdul Razak-Gurnah and many others to make this line-up similar to browsing the pages of the International Literary Marketplace.To this list we include the flamboyant Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library. That is quite different in terms of mission statement but perfectly within the literary circuit of the city of Abeokuta due to its research facilities,exhibition venue,museum,presidential records office,created by a former president with the purpose of promoting democracy and research services to presidential historians and the general public.
Destination |Lagos-part two |Book Fair | Readers | Uyo
