Literature
Chief Servant receiving letter of appreciation (in which the Writers' Village is named after him) from Gimba
Children performing at the ocassion
- Chief Servant Celebrates Birthday In Literary Style
Dr. Mu?azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has distinguished himself from the other governors not just in terms of his preference for the appellation of ?Chief Servant? instead of the official and prestigious ?Executive Governor?. He has become a governor...
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Public presentation of the book Praxis of Political Concepts and Clichés in Nigeria?s Fourth Republic (Essays in Honour of Dr Mu?azu Babangida Aliyu, last Thursday in Abuja turned out to be a unifying platform for three former heads of state hitherto...
- Ana Salutes The Pioneer Of Hausa Literature
The 9th of July, 2009, could be described as ?The Abubakar Imam Day?. For it was the day in which the fond memories of the pioneer of Hausa Literature were ignited by the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, with an international colloquium in his honour....
- Gimba's Works In Perspective (report)
Some writers never get the recognition they deserve during their life times, they are discovered and celebrated only after they are dead and gone, while others bask in the glory of their literary exploits from the very beginning of their writing career....
- Northern Nigeria Writers' Summit Makes First Outing (report)
The Northern Nigeria Writers? Summit instituted by the Northern chapters of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, has made its first outing. And what a grand outing it was! Not only was it well attended, the activities marking the event were so well...
Literature
Niger holds the First National Literary Colloquium in grand style
The fact that Niger State is fast becoming the headquarters of Nigerian literature was re-confirmed last week with the state government?s hosting of the First Mu?azu Babangida Aliyu, MBA, National Literary Colloquium. The event, which marked the 56th birthday of the Executive Governor of the state, popularly known as the Chief Servant, took place last Saturday at Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, Minna, under the Chairmanship of Professor Abubakar Rasheed, Vice Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano. It was held under the theme ?Building Intellectual Power to Fix Nigeria? and the Guest Speaker was Odia Ofeimun, social critic, writer and journalist.
Highlights of the occasion were musical and poetry performances, paper presentation, discussions on the paper and literary parley.
The grand event began with the national anthem beautifully rendered by the students of Government Secondary School, Minna. This was followed by the first segment of the performances with renditions by Great Kids Musical Perfomers, poetry performance by Saddiq Dzukogi, Jimoh Olawale and cultural display by the stundents of Government Girls Secondary School, Minna.
After the scintillating performances, a welcome address was presented by the initiator and host of the event, Professor Muhammad Kuta Yahaya, Chief of Staff, Niger State. In the address, Professor Kuta explained that the event was aimed at giving Nigerians the platform to share ideas on social regeneration. Stressing the fact that no meaningful development could take place without a proper intellectual foundation, he said the Chief Servant has resolved to promote literature in order to ensure an enduring development.
In the same vein, the chairman of the occasion, Professor Rasheed, observed that intellectual power is the main driving force of most developed countries, and commended the Chief Servant for his vision and foresight.
The second segment of the performances featured musical presentation titled ?Talban Minna, We Love You? by Amad O, poetry performance by Professor Karen King Aribisala and a dazzling dance by a Nupe cultural group.
This was followed by the presentation of appreciation letter to the Chief Servant by Alhaji Abubakar on behalf of the Niger State Chapter of ANA for his donation of 23 hectare of land to the association to build writers? resort. There was a brief citation on the Chief Servant, read by the Master of Ceremony, Benjamin Ubiri, and then the main item of the event ? paper presentation on the theme of the event by the Guest Speaker, Odia Ofeimun.
Speaking on the topic, Building Intellectual Power to Fix Nigeria, Ofeimun observed that the literary achievements recorded since Dr. Mu?azu Babangida Aliyu assumed office as the Executive Governor of Niger State in 2007 surpasses the achievements attained by any state in Nigeria. The free education policy of the state government, he said, was a step in the right direction worthy of emulation by other state governments.
Odia also spoke extensively on the national language question, stressing that conscious effort must be made to develop the Nigerian indigenous language if meaningful development is to be achieved. He said language is instrumental to the people?s way of thinking and acting and that unless the people?s mentality is domesticated through reading and writing in indigenous languages they will continued to think and act like the Whiteman in circumstances that require local solutions. Nigerians must do away with colonial mentality because, according to him, the world is at the stage it was in the colonial era and ?we must be on guard and fashion out the best indigenous way of defining our political and socio-economic entity.?
These point were subsequently summised by the discussants ? Dr. Salihu Bappa, of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Dr. Vicky Sylvester and Dr. E. E. Sule of the University of Abuja.
The session was rounded off with speech by the Chief Servant, in which he expressed appreciation for the impressive attendance.
The literary parley segment, which began from 4.15 pm, featured six sessions. The first session, comprising three panelists; Ahmed Maiwada, Jumoke Verissimo, Dr. E. E. Sule and Akeem Lasisi, and moderated by Alkasim Abdulkadir, focused on the definition of poetry. The second session centred on the arts for art?s sake proposition, the third session discussed the future of writing in indigenous language in Nigeria.
The other three sessions featured the art of literary criticism, the fate of drama in modern literature and publishing in the digital age, respectively.
The event came to an end around 10 pm with a mouth-watering dinner.
- Chief Servant Celebrates Birthday In Literary Style
Dr. Mu?azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has distinguished himself from the other governors not just in terms of his preference for the appellation of ?Chief Servant? instead of the official and prestigious ?Executive Governor?. He has become a governor...
- Praxis Brings Ibb, Obj, Buhari Together
Public presentation of the book Praxis of Political Concepts and Clichés in Nigeria?s Fourth Republic (Essays in Honour of Dr Mu?azu Babangida Aliyu, last Thursday in Abuja turned out to be a unifying platform for three former heads of state hitherto...
- Ana Salutes The Pioneer Of Hausa Literature
The 9th of July, 2009, could be described as ?The Abubakar Imam Day?. For it was the day in which the fond memories of the pioneer of Hausa Literature were ignited by the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, with an international colloquium in his honour....
- Gimba's Works In Perspective (report)
Some writers never get the recognition they deserve during their life times, they are discovered and celebrated only after they are dead and gone, while others bask in the glory of their literary exploits from the very beginning of their writing career....
- Northern Nigeria Writers' Summit Makes First Outing (report)
The Northern Nigeria Writers? Summit instituted by the Northern chapters of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, has made its first outing. And what a grand outing it was! Not only was it well attended, the activities marking the event were so well...