Dr. Chika Ose-Agbo, ANA chairman, Nasarawa State.

Culture advocate and lecturer at the Department of English and Literary Studies at the Federal University of Lafia, FULAFIA, Dr Chika Ose-Agbo is a poet, novelist and anthologist. She is also the chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Nasarawa State chapter. She tells NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI about the challenges of the creative writing enterprise in the State and the effort to solve some of these problems.

What has been your observation since you took over as the Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors in Nasarawa State?

When I was elected chairman three years ago, the first thing I noticed was, shall I say, low interest in reading especially among the young people. In spite of that, we have people who are willing to write. What they just need is encouragement and motivation to do that. So, for me, in the Nasarawa State creative landscape, the problem we have is a lack of support from the parents, guardians, the schools and the government.

So, you can say there is a lack of collaboration between these vital organs of society?

Yes. There is a gap between those who write and what the people who read could get.

What have you done in the last three years to try to bridge this gap, to eke out some support from these institutions of the society?

In the last three years, ANA Nasarawa State has done well. In my first year, we embarked on a one-child-one-book-per-week project. That campaign was for every child to read at least a book in a week for the year. We donated 2000 books to secondary schools in Lafia, Akwanga and Keffi. And then we have also established reading clubs in more than 20 schools across the State and we have also collaborated with principals of those schools to ensure that those clubs are running. This year, we established three. We have been going around the schools where we established these clubs. There are also some schools that we have gone to, that do not have book clubs there yet. We have also built into our programme, what we call a school reading campaign. So, every quarter, we go to a school public or private to read. And when we go there, we try to encourage both the teachers and the students to read.

Do you leverage the opportunity you have as the closest State to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory from this side of the country, where there are NGOs that promote writing and reading, to achieve what you want to achieve?

Yes. First and foremost, we have been able to partner with ANA at the national level. Some of the books we shared were donations from the national body and they were donations from members. We have also been able to collaborate with Poets-In-Nigeria in their school programme. We have been able to partner with some individuals within the State to sponsor prizes for reading and writing.

Was there a shock when you took office and discovered that reading and writing culture was so low? Were you surprised?

I wasn’t. But the shock was the attitude of those who you think should know better. That was the shocking part of it. It took us more than two years to get to people who are now sponsoring some of our programmes.

And this is where one of Nigeria’s most prominent writers, Zainab Alkali spent a lot of time.

Yes, she had been in Keffi for a very long time. And it may interest you to know that one of our patrons is also a Zainab, Zainab Ahmed.

So, we should expect to have more female writers from here.

Yes, and she has been very supportive.

Now, let’s talk about the National Convention of the ANA coming up in a matter of days. How far have you gone with the preparations?

It may interest you to know that Nasarawa has one of the highest number of persons among the states registered to go for the convention. We are ready and we are hoping to stand out.

The theme of this year’s convention, “The Nigerian Writer and the Creative Economy,” what should writers expect to take home from that?

It is a very fine topic. We expect that when we go there, our eyes will be opened to areas where we can commercialize our craft. From what is going on now with digitization, and all the attention that is being paid to the creative industry, there are areas that before now, we didn’t know we could make money from as writers. But doors are opening and knowledge, they say, is power. The more we know, the more we can explore what we have. So, I am hoping that after this convention, we will make a headway.

Before now, writers were economically irrelevant except they achieved fame from overseas. But that is changing?

That is beginning to change. Because people are putting in more awards. This NLNG award for Literature is big. And it has been consistent. Members of ANA have been winning back-to-back. I am hopeful that with this, we can find areas where we can collaborate with industry players to extend our skills. People are selling scripts. When you write a script, you find somebody who buys it and turns it into a movie or something and you get paid.

That brings us to the connection to copyright infringement and all of that. How has the Association been able to battle these challenges?

We are getting more aware now. Writers are getting into agreements with publishers now. And with our collaboration with the Copyright Commission and WIPO, writers are becoming aware and we know when our rights are infringed upon. And we are beginning to know how to safeguard our rights.

You are the Chairman of a chapter in a place that might be described as volatile. How does the writer become an advocate for change in Northcentral, so that crises such as those that affect this place can be curtailed?

Let me talk about writers in Nasarawa State and more in the country in general. Mostly, we try to create awareness when we write about them. We let people see what is going on. Sometimes, it is blown out of shape but know that something is not going well. We also try to let our readers know that this is what is happening, this is that or that.  The theme for our State convention was around a writer as a champion for good leadership. So, what we do is to let those who can read know what is going on. [Samaila]Umaisha in his Glass House and Lost in the Wild, captures the socioeconomic situation in the northcentral region

Is there any collaboration with other organs like the religious, socio-political and cultural leadership – people who have the influence and could whip people into line?

Some of our members are also in government and are religious leaders in their own right. So, we reach out to them and see how we can partner with them. Someone we reached out to, asked us to help them establish the association of Christian authors so that they too will belong since it’s writing they too want to create awareness and bring sanity to the population.

You have mentioned a few writers who have gone on to establish some reputation for themselves. Now, let’s look at the organs that enhance writing. The writer relates to the publishers, marketers etc. what’s the availability of these facilities in Nasarawa State? 

Last week, I went to meet a publisher in Lafia here, they are not publishers but printers. I was discussing with him the possibility of upgrading. For us to print anything that is of standard and can pass any international test, you have to take it to Ibadan. I help my members produce their work. We don’t have any publishers here. We have some in Abuja.

That takes us to the issue of self-publishing. What happens to quality where self-publishing is prevalent?

It all falls back to who is writing and the intent upon which you are writing.  If you are just writing to remain local, you can self-publish anyhow, anywhere. But for your work to meet the standard, whether you are being self-published or not, once you finish, that manuscript must pass through an editor or another person to look at it. That is what I help them to do. Once they bring manuscripts, I give them to people whose job it is to examine manuscripts. When they certify it fit for publishing, we push it to the people who will edit. And if you don’t want to pay for the service, they tell you to ‘do and bring to us.’ So, we try to guide them properly so that this thing will come out by the standard.

Do you have a system where, those who cannot afford the option you stated above, can benefit from a peer-review system?

Yes. But the problem with that is that the person will do it on his own time. And you know that is no time. But when I say, ‘Do this for me, I know I may not pay you well but I am paying for this service, because the author is a member of our Association” The person will do it and get a stipend, not pay but just something to motivate you to do that. So, that is our way of encouraging others.

There are thirteen local government areas in Nasarawa State. What is the numerical strength of writers in Nasarawa State?

In Awe, we have three young writers. In Obi, we have more than six. In Keana, we also have. Some of them have left here. So, you find them everywhere. Nasarawa is very fertile in terms of intellectual strength and we write well. We have, not just people who are writing, we have performance poets and they are doing us proud.

If you are witnessing an exodus of writers from here, it means they are going to where the facilities are available to them.

Yes. Yes,

But there is a nearness that should be what I call a fusion of Nasarawa and Abuja, it is possible that people can come from Abuja and work with writers here.

Yes, when they come from Abuja, from Makurdi and work here, they can’t remain here. They also have to go and shine and do other things. That is what is happening.

I think it is George Orwell who is quoted to have said something about writing being a disease that writers bring upon themselves. First, it is thankless, then the troubles of racking the brain and then the self-imposed solitude that is needed to produce something for others to enjoy. In the end, in Nasarawa, how much is that appreciated, particularly among the political class?

I may not say it is a disease. Art is passion, something you love to do. Do you understand? But in Nasarawa State, a lot needs to be done when it comes to the elite. They are up there and they seem to have forgotten how they got there. So, I think that we need to close that divide. Let them help so that others can also reach where they are.  Reading has a tremendous impact. Number, it impacts the individual. It exposes you to climes and climates that ordinarily you’d never go there and it brushes you up. And then, when you read, you know better, you can contribute meaningfully. And for young people, reading keeps them in check. When I was younger, my father would buy books for me, and I wouldn’t go out. I didn’t think I was missing anything. And he made me write summaries of the book, just to make sure that I read them. I’m sure that that is why I love to write now.

But young people tell you these days that they are interacting with the world via social media.

The distraction is tremendous. When you read with your phone, you require extra discipline to concentrate. So, even if they say they are reading on the internet, they need to stay away from it, they need to set themselves apart to be able to concentrate.

I was going to ask about what some people have argued but not for the internet, a generation of Nigerians would have been cut off from the world because of the prohibitive cost of standard reading materials.

It is two ways.  If the individual can manage the time and this facility that can either make or Mar. for instance, with your laptop or phone, you can download books you don’t have access to. But now, with a book on your phone, if you open one page, you have friends sending messages and you end up not reading it but you have it on your device. The reason is distraction. So, even with the internet, you will also need discipline to be able to make proper use of what technology has made available.

Are we looking forward to any collaborations with writers who might have had one thing or another to do with Nasarawa but who now live in the diaspora, especially as the national; convention is coming up?

Yes.

What should my readers expect after the convention?

By the time we come back, we will be better equipped to reach out to those who can help us to commercialise our work. Secondly, I’m sure we will have more people who will be interested in giving back to society as a way of support. Maybe more prizes for writers and all that. And, I am sure, that by the time we come, people will have more books to unveil. We are working on that. ANA Nasarawa is very productive.