Tutoring the Next Generation
Nigeria’s leading lights in the literary world gathered under one roof recently to pass on the baton to the next generation of litterateurs. Luckily, Ijaw children mostly from schools in Bayelsa were the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Addeh reports
To many who were fortunate to be present at the Ijaw National Academy, Kaiama, Bayelsa State, venue of the event that brought Nigeria’s best minds together recently, it was a moment of awe, a mix of reverential fear and a feeling of disbelief. They had read their books, both young and old, watched their plays being re-enacted on stage and even seen them on television, but being under the same roof with this waning generation of Nigerian writers, its finest breed yet, was a dream come true for many in the gathering.
It doesn’t happen often, but when it did on July 14, 2017, the coming together of Prof. Wole Soyinka, Prof. John Pepper Clark, Dr. Gabriel Okara, Dr. Odia Ofeimun and one of Nigeria’s finest historians, Prof. Joe Alagoa, to interact with over 1,000 students of Ijaw descent was described as ‘historic’.
For some students in the audience who had the privilege of asking questions that had bothered them about these seemingly ‘mysterious' men for a long time, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would be cherished for a long time to come.
And why not? It is a difficult task bringing such great and accomplished elders to speak on the same podium. Okara, a renowned Niger Delta-born poet, popular for his poem ‘Call of The River Nun and The Voice’, a novel he wrote in 1964, is already 96 years old.
Interestingly also, the session held a day after Soyinka’s 83rd birthday and a cake was promptly cut to mark the auspicious occasion at the venue of the colloquium. To add to the list of sages was, of course Prof. JP Clark, born in 1935 and who is already 82.
Completing the company of ‘wise old men' was Alagoa, who is 84 and then although far younger, Ofeimun, a poet and brilliant polemicist, 67 and author of ‘The Poet Lied’ is by any standards not a young man.
So, it was not just a gathering of brilliant minds, it was one where men with decades of experience in the world of arts came together to light the torch for the next generation.
The British-born Principal of the school, Mr. Charles Johnson, set the tone for the meeting when he told the students that the conversation they were about to have with the men of letters was not ordinary.
“Very often, we can learn an enormous amount from great men. And we are going to hear from lots of great men today,” Johnson told the audience. He continued: “I think there is a real difference between the idea of being clever and the idea of wisdom. The ability to be clever is something you have all got.
“You have all passed quite a hard and competitive examination to get here. You are some of the most able children of the Ijaw tribe. But the difference between being clever and being wise is the application of the cleverness.”
It was then Governor Seriake Dickson’s turn to encourage the youngsters and remind them of the rare opportunity of a lifetime they were about to encounter.
“Listen and learn from the wisdom of these great icons not just of our own country, but world leaders in their own right.
“These great men don’t pay too much attention to mundane things as you can see. You have seen them. They live simply, yet profoundly. Living lives of great impact,” he informed them.
In his speech which was punctuated by resounding intermittent applauses, the governor quickly drew a line between himself and the literary icons, rather modestly, revealing that he intended to go back to school after his second term.
“Today’s event is not for me. I am not one of these giants, but I intend to go back to school after my service and also aspire to be a professor because that was really what I wanted to be; to teach and write and contribute to the body of knowledge, but I am not yet qualified to join them,” Dickson said.
A visibly excited governor added: “When we were your age, we read their works and got inspired. They are here to talk to you and expand your horizons. My charge to you is to ask you to soar as high as your dreams can take you.”
He assured them that many more dignitaries, including former and serving presidents will come to have uplifting interactions with them.
“Many more presidents will be here, and you know in this great state, we also have a former president (Dr. Goodluck Jonathan). He too loves education, I know that. We have discussed it. At the appropriate time they will come and interact with you,” he noted.
The occasion provided the students an opportunity to ask the veterans any question bothering them and find answers to them.
Tagged ‘A Day with the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and Ijaw Literary Icons”, members of the audience, mostly secondary school students were itching to know how many books they needed to write to win a Nobel Prize like Professor Soyinka.
They wanted to know the best time of the day to write an award-winning work of art; they wanted to take Soyinka back to how he felt on winning the Nobel Prize 31 years ago. And as it turned out, the elders were quite ready for the torrents of questions.
But before then, a question was thrown at the octogenarian historian, Alagoa on the right time to write award-winning books.
Do you have any specific (best) time when you feel you should write? , fired one of the anxious students.
“I think every writer should develop a pattern of work,” he began. “For me, waking up very early in the morning before others wake up. That’s about the best time for me to write.
“As a historian, I do tell the stories of our people. But not in as engaging and clear and visible and affecting the different emotions of people like the literary people. There is a magic that they can bring to the story,” he said.
This was quickly countered by Ofeimun who described Alagoa, known for his seminal works ‘A History of the Niger Delta’ and ‘The
Listen and learn from the wisdom of these great icons not just of our own country, but world leaders in their own right. These great men don’t pay too much attention to mundane things as you can see. You have seen them. They live simply, yet profoundly. Living lives of great impact