By Damiete Braide
Philips Akwari, a documentary photographer, and Chinazo Anya, a lawyer were the cynosure of all eyes recently when they
launched Abiriba: A Photographic Narrative of a Rich Cultural Heritage,
388-page book containing photographs and illustrations of festivals and landmarks in Abribra, Abia State.
Prof Anya O.Anya, in his address, said “the book covers the rich history of the Abriba people in Abia State” and “it has a unique representation of a people with a vibrant culture,” adding that the book was a pointer to a modest effort to redirect the people’s attention to their culture. He said, “If we are serious with our culture, we can build on the back of the ceremonies that go on every Christmas season. There is no reason why we cannot upgrade our culture through these various festivals in Abiriba and have a week in December where people can travel from all over the world and come and see some of the things captured in this book.
“If they do it, our place can become a tourist centre. I hope we will not only admire the pictures; we will think through the challenges that it poses to us.”
The book reviewer, Mr U.K Ekeh, Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc, in his review, disclosed the book combined Akwari’s mastery of photography with Chinaza’s excellence with words.
“When you read the narrative/illustration, you know they are the works of the master of words.
I commend them for coming together to write the book, and they have proved a point that partnership works. This is a confirmation that indeed when you pick a good partner, you end up doing better work,” he said.
Ekeh said, through the work, the reader would agree the focus on an entire community was unprecedented, “I have seen books on Lagos or Abuja but have not seen a work based on the community. This book has made it a lot easier for us to tell our story. The book has succeeded in exposing the law of unintended consequences in exposing the faults that we need to contend with in Abiriba. It tells you the state of decaying infrastructure of community assets. It is a call to action —yes, people can build, but let us maintain our community assets.
“The traditions and culture of the people that are captured very profoundly by Akwari and illustrated very aptly by Chinaza tells the reader that there are opportunities for money making. If we organise events, festivals or trips in a structured form, that will generate revenue for the community.”
He said, “We should appreciate the works done by these two authors. Every family should endeavour to buy copies of the book so that they can tell the story to their children. I encourage the authors to write more editions of the book with better quality, more pictures and illustrations.”
In his remarks, Kalu Onuma, a lawyer, said the authors had made them proud and “the books should go far and wide for people to read. The book is going to be a reference point for people who want to know about Abriba people.”
Another guest, Chidinma Anya, disclosed that the book would enable those who hadn’t gone home in a while to have an idea of some of the festivals in Abiriba. “The book has told so much about our community.
Chidi Anya disclosed Abiriba is a community that has existed long before us and what has been documented is a great feat. We are grateful to the authors for the documentation process, and there is a lot of inquisitiveness about the Abriba people and this book will assist people to know more about Abriba people,” he said.
Chinaza promised that the second edition would be better than the maiden edition. He noted, “Though it wasn’t easy writing the book, my co-author, Philips, travelled to Abiriba at different times to take photographs. When we started initially, we didn’t know what to do, but people kept encouraging us and, today, this is the product of our handwork.”
Philips added, “I want to thank everyone who has made it here for the book launch. When we started the project, it was very challenging, but we were able to overcome the challenges to produce the book.”