By Henry Akubuiro
From Thursday, June 23 to Saturday, June 25, 2022, the University of Ibadan will host the General Assembly of the Pan African Writers Association. Themed “Literature Since Makerere 1962: The African Writers’ Pan-African Agenda for Peace, Security and Cultural Development”, it is coming 60 years after the landmark Conference of African Writers of English Expression held at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, which drew the cream of the African literary community.
The second pan-African literary confab will feature writers, scholars and diplomats from over 40 African countries, and it’s jointly organised by the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA), Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) and Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).
Dr. Wale Okediran, the PAWA Secretary-General, in a statement, on behalf of the organisers, informed that the confab would examine the progress of African Literature since the Makerere Conference, as well as “consider the role of African Writers in a Pan African Agenda for Cultural Development, Peace and Security against the backdrop of a continent in the grips of insurgencies, wars and coups.”
Professor Bernth Lindfors, an expert in African literature, and award-winning Egyptian journalist and poet, Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, are billed to present keynote addresses, with lead paper presentations from other eminent academics and writers, including Prof Femi Osofisan, Virginia Phiri, a Zimbabwean, and Professor Sarah Agbor, a Cameroonian. Their presentations will be followed by discussions.
Among others, the conference will feature other activities, such as book exhibition, excursion, a Festival of Life (with writers reading their works) and an Awards/Dinner Night.
Speaking to Daily Sun on the eve of the conference, one of the conveners, Camillus Ukah, who doubles as the ANA President, said the maiden 1962 conference “was an important milestone at a time when a new wave of writing and creative excellence reshaped our literary culture. It deserves to be commemorated, because it gave new impetus to our narratives. You cannot discuss modern writing in Africa without understanding the motivations, discourses, and debates that marked that epochal gathering.”
Ukah noted that the 60th anniversary of that landmark conference in Uganda was worth celebrating: “African Literature is both a testimony and a celebration. The immense body of letters that we have created, since that famous meeting in Uganda, has not gone unnoticed in the world. The significance of our creativity calls for excitement. I am happy that the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) has thought it wise to partner with the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and other stakeholders on this project. We have committed to gladly work with all stakeholders to make the event successful.”
On the way forward for African literature, the ANA President said: “Departures and continuities are constant. Most writers are perceptive enough to know that every burst of newness can also carry residues of the past and bring astonishing insight to the continuum that time makes of humanity. We cannot impose restrictions on the creativity of our writers. The creative impulse must remain unfettered.”