African Writers Conference Lights up Abuja

On the 1^st of December, 2018 writers from across Africa gathered in Nigerian’s capital, Abuja for the first African Writers Conference and Awards put together by the African Writers Development Trust (AWDT). It was set on the theme: Re-imagining African Literature: New Voices, New Narrative in the Fight for the Girl Child. It held at the beautiful edifice of the Abuja International Conference Centre.

The host for the day was Kolabomi Adeko, a suave and sleek poet, one of the emerging voices in African literature. The conference kicked off at 10 AM as planned with a welcome address by Halima Usman Chairperson of the Association Nigerian Authors, Abuja chapter.

She spoke in glowing words about the timeliness of the theme and its relevance to our society. Following this, the Chairperson of the conference, Her Excellency, Hadiza Elrufai, the First Lady of Kaduna State,  stressed on the fight for educating the girl child as more important than climate change. She stated this in her opening remarks and further explained that part of the problem why the girl child is left behind is because she’s not given the education she deserves. She stated, “education is what allows social mobility, it gives you the ability to change your situation and this is what the girl child is not given. What do we do as writers to help the girl child? We need to write more stories showing women in positions of authority, so we can give our young girls the role models that they can relate with.”

For her, the girl child is more important because it is doable. She used the Kaduna state government’s free education for girls as an example to buttress this point. She also spoke on the need for functional education.

The tone for the keynote presentation was thus set.

 

Nahida Esmail from Tanzania, who was the keynote speaker, built on the momentum with her captivating narrative on the theme. She began with a fascinating account of her childhood and how she became a female pilot against a barge of opposition just because she was a girl. In her words, “the girl child is a powerful individual and her value does not depend on her ability to be a wife, daughter or mother. She could be successful without being any of these.”  Nahida then proceeded to give a well researched historical rundown on the predicament of the girl child in different civilizations. The concept of who the girl child is was analyzed from cultural and academic perspectives. It was interesting to learn about the Quintilian theory of the art of education and the issues surrounding the rights of girls in different times and cultures across the globe. Giving examples from Ancient Egypt, The Roman Empire, The British Empire, etc, she expounded how Women’s rights were not allowed to fully manifest; they were not allowed to vote, to own businesses or to even divorce. She gave examples of advertisements that demeaned the girl child and women in general in the Victorian era and other eras.

Nahida threw up interesting statistics on gender-based violence especially rape, female genital mutilation and infanticide. “At least 200million women alive in the world have undergone Female Genital Mutilation from age 5. At least 15 million women in the world have been raped, physically and sexually abused…..” She went on to say, “in India this year, because of the dowry system where the girl pays the dowry, the parents that can’t afford it tend to kill the girl child.” She further went on about the happenings and dangers the girl child faces and experiences just because she is a girl. According to statistics which she stated, boys are more likely to be in private schools than girls and girls are more likely to be out of school than boys. Nahida expressed her displeasure on the recent statistics which revealed that; today the girl child is still neglected.

Nahida concluded her presentation with displays about women who have made an impact in various fields but are not well represented in literature. Most noteworthy was Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who despite all her exploits is mostly remembered only as the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria.

How do we solve this issue of marginalisation?

Nahida answered this by saying, “African women need to tell African women stories, we need to speak for ourselves rather be spoken for. We need stories that inspire women to be game changers and heroes of themselves.”

After the presentation by the keynote speaker, there was a panel discussion to reflect on the theme of the conference and the message from Nahida. The panellists to lead the discussion were Sandra Oma Etubiebi from Nigeria and Faith Mutheu from Kenya. Both discussants gave glowing personal testimonies of how they were promoting the education of the girl child. Sandra gave an interesting lesson on girl child education outside of the school system. She stunned the hall when she spoke of how her 9-year old daughter can sew a full dress from material to finish. Faith Mutheu, who is below 20 years of age, stressed the fact that we have to practice what we preach, to change our narratives and actually follow through. Sandra Etubiebi further explained that when we write, we shouldn’t just paint a picture of the pain of the girl child but we should also show the victories and rise of the girl child. Nahida added that training the girl child is also training the boy child because the boy child comes from the girl child.

Please click here to read about the speakers

It is important to note that students and teachers of Zamani College, Kaduna were present at the conference. The students presented poetry pieces at the interlude between the keynote address and the panel discussion. They were a colourful addition to the conference. Just like Her Excellency, Hadiza El-rufai had stated earlier, education must go beyond the school system. The visionary act of the school authorities in Zamani College is greatly acknowledged.

There was a question and answer session after the discussion as well as comments and contributions to the discussion. There was then a short tea break before the participants split into 4 groups.

The group discussions lasted about 50 minutes, each group discussing different topics. The topics were:

1. Why the girl child?
2. How can African writers use their shared values to promote African literature?
3. Culture as a catalyst for developing African literature
4. How to overcome the challenges of writing and publishing in Africa.

Members of the groups were given an opportunity to discuss the various issues under their sub-topics and a representative of each group made a presentation on behalf of the group.

Please click here to visit the official website of the 2019 African Writers Conference

At the end some of the recommendations made were;

• Writers should consider folklore, proverbs, and folktales as sources of rich local content for promoting culture.
• We should be proud of our culture and infuse positive elements of them into our literary works.
• Research and documentation are an important means of developing our literary space.
• The need for better systems to make books easily accessible to a wider range of the population at a cheaper rate.
• We have to be deliberate about the type of education we give our girls.

At the end of the conference which ended some minutes past 4 PM, excitement could be seen on the faces of the participants. Everybody spoken to had great experiences to share about the conference. They spoke about how they had a better understanding of how literature could be used to promote the girl child and expressed optimism that the 2019 African Writers Conference will sustain the literary renaissance. The participants all received a certificate of participation.

 

Away from the conference, winners emerged at the 2018 African Writers Awards held later in the evening of the same day. The event which paraded the finest writers in Africa was a celebration of the beauty of the girl child. The winners at the event were;

1. Children’s Literature – Manu Herbstein  (Ghana) for ‘Roise’
2. Flash Fiction – Maryhilda Ibe (Nigeria) for ‘Fragments.’
3. Poetry – Chiamaka Onu-Okpara (Nigeria) for ‘A Battle Cry to be Read Loudly and Softly.’
4. Short Stories – Benson Mugo (Kenya) for ‘Dawn.’

Special awards were given to some writers of African descent who have contributed immensely towards the growth and development of the African literary space. Those recognised were;

1. Sandra Oma Etubiebi (Nigeria)
   

   Award presentation

2. Wakini Kuria (Kenya)
3. Edith Knight Adhiambo Ochieng (Kenya)
4. Nahida Esmail (Tanzania)
5. Halima Usman (Nigeria)
6. Saka Dbosz Junior (Nigeria)

Artists like Zaguru and Blessing Benson thrilled the guests with spectacular performances.

by
Namse Udosen,
Public Relations Manager,
African Writers Development Trust,
Kaduna,
Nigeria