Simeon Mpamugoh
Sequel to his emergence as the new President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), following its rescheduled AGM held in Makurdi, Benue State, the new ANA President, on 18th July, 2020, Camillus Ukah has hit the ground running.
The Association of Nigerian Authors will be presenting a panel discussion on “In Search of a Better World: The Role of the Writer” on Saturday, August, 2020.
To be moderated by Dr. Obari Gomba and Mr Tunde Omitogun, the panelists will include Prof. Remi Raji, a Nigerian poet; Christine Yohannes, poet, an Ethiopian writer, poet and journalist; Alice Yousef, translator and poet from Palestine; and Uche Umezurike, a Nigerian writer based in Canada.
The event, which takes place 3 pm — 5 pm on Zoom, next Saturday, will be kickstarted by Camillus Ukah and Prof. Femi Osofisan (Chairman Advisory Council, ANA) with opening statements.
Participation for the intellectual event is open to all, but registration should be done in advance for the meeting.
The new ANA President told Daily Sun, “The major commitment of my EXCO is promoting literature in the Nigerian space by creating awareness to the subject’s important role in intellectual capital development and, hence, national development.
“ At the end of my tenure, I will like to be counted as a servant leader who did his best to consolidate the giant strides of the previous administrations.”
Meanwhile, the President and National Executive Committee, as well as members of the Ghana Association of Writers (GAN), have congratulated the new ANA President.
Mr. Francis Gbormittah, President, GAW, said in a statement, that the relations between GAW and ANA were recently rekindled by the former ANA President, Mr. Denja Abdullahi.
“It is fitting that our two associations continue to consolidate the strong mutual bonds forged by the pioneering members, a number of whom became world famous writers soon after our countries gained their political independence from the same colonial master.
“It is hoped that even during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can collaborate on mutually beneficial programmes,” he said, while looking “forward to further deepening these fraternal bonds between our two associations in the expectation that they would lead to greater collaborations between Nigerian and Ghanaian novelists, poets and playwrights in the years to come.”
Other members of the national executive members elected at the Emergency General Meeting (EGM) convoked by the association’s National Advisory Council, in line with the provision of the ANA Constitution after the botched elections at the 38th Convention of the Association in November 2019 in Enugu, said the new association’s public relations officers, Wole Adedoyin and Umar Yogiza, are Maik Ortserga, General Secretary; Farida Mohammed, Vice-President; Freeman Okosun, Asst. Secretary; Stella Touremi, Treasurer; Chimankpa Ogbueri, Financial Secretary; Matthew Taiwo, Auditor. Others include Bentex Torlafia, Legal Adviser; Charles Iornumbe, ex-Officio 1; Odono Matthew, ex-Officio 2.
According to Adedoyin and Yogiza, other major decisions and resolutions reached at the EGM, chaired by Prof Jerry Agada, a former President of the association and a member of the National Advisory Council were:
“That the Constitution of the Association of Nigerian Authors gives the Congress the power to discipline violators. Thus, the Congress outrightly declared the meeting held on 7th March, 2020, in Abuja by a coterie of ANA chapters chairmen and the purported election of Mr. Ahmed Maiwada and his group at that meeting as illegal, null and void.
“As such, Mr. Maiwada and the members of his group have been expelled from the association alongside ANA State/Chapter Executive and members found wanting by aiding and abetting the fraudulent election held during the period in question.”
The Benue meeting also resolved that “the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and KMVL, concerning the association’s property in Mapape, Abuja, be suspended forthwith.
“KMVL was thereby requested to hand over the existing property to the ANA National Executive Council led by Mr. Camillus Ukah and to provide a comprehensive account of its stewardship on the said property.
“That the ANA National Executive Council, led by Mr. Camillus Ukah, has been mandated by congress to set up an independent probe panel on the use or abuse of the Association’s property in Mapape, Abuja, and to employ every legal instrument to safeguard the said property.”
Given the rancours that preceded the aborted Enugu election and last November and its aftermath, Camillus Uka has promised to run an open door and inclusive administration. He further solicited the unwavering support of all ANA members across the country to enable the new EXCO to succeed.