Literature

Making the 30th ANA convention memorable

As the International Convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, draws near, the General Secretary of the association, Mr. Hyacinth Obunseh, in this interview with SUMAILA UMAISHA, speaks on the prepaprations so far. He also speaks on the efforts of the present EXCO to re-posotion the association, calling on members to re-elect them at the convention for a second term in order to complete what they started.

NNW: ANA convention is 30th of this month; how far have you gone with preparations?

Hyacinth Obunseh: Indeed the ANA 30th International Annual Convention is on hand. We have continued to work hard with the Local Branch/Organising Committee to make the celebration a memorable one.

What are the activities lined up for the occasion?

We have an extra day added to our usual four days, to make five. We will have our usual cocktail on arrival, opening ceremony, convention drama, site seeing, plenary sessions, dinner/awards ceremony and then for a change we are bringing a musical group from one of our branches to entertain members. One or two other innovations.

How has it been in terms of funding?

Funding as usual has been our headache! You will recall that the convention should have taken place already, but for funding, which necessitated the Abuja branch to request a shift in date to enable them get some more funds. It has been as bad as always, but we are weathering the storm.

Being the 30th convention, in what way is this one going to be special?

One or two ways, as I have said earlier. We have an extra day added, we have a musical band coming, and then one or two other things we will keep to ourselves for now.

It is also election convention, any possibilty that your team will be given a second term?

Well, the voting members will decide that. On our part, we have served and are willing to serve another two years, finish up the things we started or are about to start, like the Writers Village. We have explained the reasons for the ?seeming? inertia. In the end, we have high hopes that the electorate will give us another two years.

There are allegations that the exco?s performance over the two years has not been impressive. What do you say to this?

Well, if one says our first two years in office is not impressive, then it behoves him to be specific. We delivered on our campaign manifesto, except on the ANA land development which we could not have done anything about, seeing that the matter had not been disposed of in the court. As you may well know, judgement will be given on the matter on 29th November. If we are being compared to our predecessors in office, then one would have to look at the financial burden they passed on to us. It was not easy for them either, which is what led to their leaving such financial debt behind.

What problems have you been facing in administering the association?

The same that practically all previous administrations faced! Funding for our projects. There is a general literary arts funding aparthy out there! We have good projects lined up and seeking funds to prosecute, but funds are not forthcoming!

What do you have to say to ANA members regarding your quest for re-election and the convention generally?

Aha! Dear colleagues, in the last two years, my colleagues and I have given of our time and resources to make our dear association better. There are so much we planned to do from the onset, that we have not been able to do yet, due to constraints. After two years, we are in the best position to lead ANA to a better day. Two more years and we would work with the new friends we just made, the old ones that came on board, and the governments (states) we have managed to woo to our side. The world economic recession is not affecting the national body alone, it is also affecting the branches. Take a look at your local branch and you will see that in the last two years, you achieved little, if anything. We want to serve you for another two years and leave with our heads held up high, knowing that we are leaving behind a stronger and better Association.

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