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
