By
BM Dzukogi
MONOGRAPH 002
First published in 2012
CONTENTS
- Preamble
- Paradigm of Actions
- What are the options available for the Government?
- Where do we Start from?: Pamphleteering and Chap Books
- What Nigerian Writers have said of Governor Babangida Aliyu
Preamble
Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu is certain to be remembered for his great enthusiasm in matters of the literary, education and his unrepentant affinity to the Nigerian Writers. The great engagement he has had with them wasn’t an happenstance but a deliberate policy initiative that stems out of the recognition of what intellectual power can do to an individual in forging creative platforms of enduring development in a community. This is the reason he has concentrated on a gradual build-up since 2008 to the launch and eventual unveiling of Niger State as the emerging intellectual capital of Nigeria, deeply rooted in idea production and promotion via various forms of artistic expression and documentation.
Why has Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu dedicated himself towards recreating the literary society in Nigeria?
Paradigm of Actions
First, a literate group is one of the broadminded, critical approaches, quality inducement, and societal appropriation to concrete citizenry. Its spheres are regularly marked by open perspectives and wide channels of action from the alternatives generated from informed knowledge. Where this is met with creative eye, products do not only become innovatively enticing, aesthetically alluring but a venture that is novel, refreshingly provoking and developmentally embracing with an aura that glowingly pervades the environment. Thus, development becomes wholesome.
In a docile environment, no matter the brilliance of a character, growth, development and output become limited and unattractive. Therefore, the zest with which the administration of Dr. Aliyu seeks to charge the atmosphere through intellectualism, mental athleticism, cognitive buoyancy and creative writing as a veritable driving force of the state, is what greater societies did to reach higher spectacles and unimaginable technological craftsmanship. The opposite does not only shock human comprehension but perpetually leave Africa as a pathetic, unserious conglomeration of humans that seem not to be interested in human growth, happiness and prosperity. This is because nothing of human adventure arising from cognitive expedition, experimentation and excursion into the higher pedestal of thought-phenomenon distinguishes man from lower animals. Just a little! So, having a character as Dr Aliyu banishing the ordinariness of the community by bringing up programmes that provoke human curiosity is a welcome development.
Similarly, entrenching a virile democratic culture is enhanced only when citizens are active participants through voluntary desire to analyse and synthesize with government programmes, question the many steps of governance and programmes, put to task the details of a policy by advancing strategies and methods they consider superior based on research and academic investigations where a defect is noticed, by people who are well educated, who are well aware of their rights, who are willing to make positive use of the privileges granted by democratic institutions like the legislature and the judiciary to seek justice no matter how minute the offence is. This appropriate a community into a society of our dream.
What are the options available for the Government?
Therefore, to have thought of making Niger State the intellectual capital of Nigeria is a worthwhile policy of the state government that needs everyone’s embrace. And because creative writing has the potential to cause massive explosion in inducing the desire for quality thought, the state government’s reliance on the proliferation of books at various segments of the state becomes the magic potion of development here, as it is elsewhere. If homes and communities become cultured in reading and penning their ideas and turning the ordinary to extraordinary, life becomes meaningful and spiced with beauty, harmony, peace as originally crafted by nature, full of life.
In his bid to stimulate the psyche of Nigerians in Niger State, the Chief Servant carefully designed a systematic engagement with Nigerian writers to prickle the consciousness of youths and the society towards reawakening. In being intellectually sound, adventures which will provoke unlimited development initiatives do not rely on government for activation. It must be noted that ideas once dreamed, through a flash of inspiration or intuition, their maturation is a long-time process. And because people have since lost confidence in governance, the effort to stimulate creative-cognition for development appears to be a venture that will be fruitful. Great men insist on what is good for the citizenry because they have seen what others are grappling to understand. The child in school is usually the best option! So, when the Governor appeared as the first Chief Executive of Niger State to attend the ANNUAL SCHOOLS CARNIVAL OF ARTS AND FESTIVAL OF SONGS (ASCAFS) created by ANA Niger, it was basically to ignite a salient journey towards making the state an intellectual capital. And that a documentary of that outing by the Chief Servant was produced, was not accidental but the spirit of documentation that was to go with every step of government that will be deliberately left behind as a reference point for the continuation of planning and re-planning cum execution of projects and programmes as contained in the state’s Development Action Plan and Vision 3:2020 document that seeks to make Niger State one of the most developed three economies in Nigeria. His attendance was in February, 2008, seven months after assumption of office.
Annual Schools Carnival of Arts and Festival of Songs is a creative platform for secondary schools students established by the Association of Nigerian Authors, Niger State in 1995. The students use various forms of creative expression to show their talents. Shortly after the grand attendance at ASCAFS, the Governor followed it up with a grant of Three million naira to the Association of Nigerian Authors, Niger State to go round the 25 local governments to promote reading culture in what was known as READ-TO-THE-CHILD CAMPAIGN in 2008. The acceptance of this second item of the intellectual journey of the state was unprecedented as the euphoria it drew was evidently thunderous. For the first time, children in our localities came in contact with story books of both foreign and Nigerian authors. The exercise became so concrete and dramatic when writers from the state followed the train round the three senatorial zones to read from their books that were being distributed to create a lasting memory in the children. It did. The second phase in the programme continues in 2012 through the Chief Servant’s People Connect programme due for commencement anytime.
The build-up to making Niger State the intellectual capital of Nigeria was boosted when the state government published 7 titles of children’s stories by authors resident in the state. The choice of children’s story books was a systematic inclination to children’s genre as a re-generational strategy in which the children will carry the baton of the noble course of turning the eyes of Nigerlites to appreciate the treasure in education and association with book. In doing this, the child becomes a potent intellectual seed that will overgrow the land with good thoughts tomorrow. Simultaneously, the state government accepted the Teen Authorship Scheme of the Association of Nigerian Authors where students of primary and secondary school are able to generate a creative piece of theirs and gets published by the Governor’s Office. The initiative to bring forth new writers from the scratch is purposely to entrench the philosophy of intellectualism through the child who owns tomorrow. This agenda is beginning to take a positive effect on the state as the majority of writers resident in the state are young people of between 11 years. Hauwa Hussaini and Fatima Daniyan are worthy examples here and 25yrs. What is needed for this category of writers in the state is the establishment of a Teen Authorship Development Agency (TADA). Institutions are what cause massive changes of how and when a society could attain development glory and prosperity.
The establishment of publications and documentation unit by the government has further institutionalised matters of book development in the state. Indeed, the idea to document government activities is a novel one, in that, planning, history of a people is primary to development. The document, a government leaves behind, is a reservoir for the continued planning and development of the state for successive governments. Appointing writers to manage the unit is even the most novel of intentions to leave behind footprints that will lead to development. This depicts the commitment of government to maximise the gains and acceleration of making the state an intellectual nucleus for Nigeria. Over hundred and fifty titles of assorted government publications have been done in the Governor’s Office alone. Similarly, over fifty titles have been published or sponsored for individuals who sought for assistance at various times. Countless number of titles have been published by MDAs in the state, too.
The strategy of Dr. Aliyu is to develop in parallel, programmes and institutional platforms that will truly make Niger State the Intellectual Capital of Nigeria. He chose the extra-ordinary platform – the Nigerian Writer – to prosecute his dream. While educational institutions serve as the traditional channels for acquiring knowledge and skill, the making of a community as an intellectual hub does not come directly from the classroom but through getting citizens acculturated and obsessed with books; books about invention, biographies, science, environment, culture, technology, creation, stories, poems, songs, entertainment are what create in the citizens enduring habits of thirst for knowledge and satiation that makes them ripe for inventiveness.
In May, 2008, the sum of N8 million was disbursed to ANA Niger to organise the 1st Northern Nigeria Writers’ Summit. The objective of the summit was to provide a platform for brainstorming by writers, educationists, academics and governments to fashion out a path for literacy and book development strategies that will entrench book culture in our lives, especially children in order to boost literacy level in Northern Nigeria. The broad objectives of the summit were to bring together writers, academic and intellectuals periodically to fashion out ways and means of enhancing literary and educational development of the North, to resurrect reading programmes, school literary competitions, publishing and marketing of works of teen authors, to collaborate with, and seek the support of state governments, to harness, package and disseminate northern indigenous cultural elements like proverbs, myths, legends, folktales etc in form of books, prints and electronic media, to effectively integrate non-English writing Northern writers into the mainstream of Nigerian literary tradition as well as world bodies of writers to develop and enhance the literary quality of our public libraries through donations for books by members and advocating for regular stocking of libraries by the northern Governors.
The Government of Niger State also donated the sum of N10 million to ANA Niger to organise 2009 International Convention of Nigerian Authors in Minna (2009), as well as made a donation of N1 million to the national body of ANA towards hosting of the Abubakar Imam Colloquium in Kaduna (2009). The Chief Servant was the only Governor in the North who contributed to the event. All these were deliberate steps of making the state embrace a culture of book development. Unfortunately, the local government councils have not embraced this noble quest of the Chief Servant by introducing similar programmes (book development) in their localities. They have largely remained watchers. A simple project like the establishment of Ward Development Libraries (WDL) which will not cost half a million to put up has been a difficult task for the Chairmen of Local Governments in the state, let alone publishing a teen author with the sum of N250,000 even if one in a year. The Local Government Chairmen ought to know that developing one author in their locality is a limitless treasure for the community. Whatever Governor Aliyu sets out to do in making Niger State the intellectual capital of Nigeria, no matter the size, would be limited if the local governments sit back and fold their arms.
To completely make Niger State the intellectual capital of Nigeria, a tripartite build-up of a compatible system of galvanising the community to embrace book must be instituted – publishing of young writers, library development at homes and neighbourhoods cum schools and classroom shelves, and encouragement of private citizens to establish bookshops. Dr Aliyu has begun developing one area -publishing young writers who are expected to grow into excellent authors and thinkers of tomorrow. It will be worthwhile to be the first state to adopt President Goodluck Jonathan’s Bring-Back-The-Book project as a wholesome and proactive package for the acceleration of reading culture in the state.
To further institutionalise intellectualism, creativity and setting a concrete platform for its flourishing, the government of Dr Aliyu promptly donated a 23-hectre of land in 2009 for the establishment of an Intellectual Writers’ Village to the Association of Nigerian Authors, which they named after him in appreciation of his unquantifiable contributions to the development of creative writing in Nigeria. Once the writers’ village is fully developed, national and international artists, scholars and intellectuals will find a formidable sanctuary for the production of masterpieces that will advance mankind, in Minna, the capital of Niger State.
The Chief Servant has continuously used book related activities as his form of celebrating birthdays. Starting from 2010, he stopped the usual fanfare that goes with celebrating birthdays in Nigeria to use the book in furtherance of his insatiable quest for knowledge and the drive to make Niger a knowledge-based state where people can feel free to create ideas and products, generate excellent services towards the realisation of the objectives of vision 3:2020. In November, 2010, he unveiled 10 titles (government and private books) as a mark of encouraging his citizens to cuddle the book for successful living. The exercise, apart from the novelty of its import, succeeded in sending a strong message about the importance of book as internal medium for refurbishing the mind for beautiful expenditure of intellect for growth and development. Excellent services are engendered by excellent acquisition of knowledge that results in the brevity of manipulation of skills and products.
Indeed, book builds comportment and ease of carriage in the individual whose encounters in books has left in him variety of experiences that bear on his behaviour at each point in time of his existence. Having left that honourable message of how to celebrate birthdays, some Nigerlites quickly embraced the idea by using book related activities in celebration instead of loudness and wastages that go with such type of events in the past. In this, is a great lesson for the child that his successes in life depend on the amount of knowledge, decorum and humility he applies.
As with great men of vision, one little success leads to greater experimentation and striving. Thus, 2011 saw the governor’s birthday turn a national book day, where eminent writers and scholars converged in Minna to share ideas, exchange books and discourse that would transform society from docility and passivity to activism in knowledge production for its enhancement. Tagged the 1st MBA National Literary Colloquium, the event gathered diverse Nigerians at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre to promote dialogue, knowledge and nationhood.
The objective of the colloquium was succinctly captured in the words of the initiator, Professor Muhammad Kuta Yahaya:
“We are organising this colloquium in furtherance of the Chief Servant’s belief that idea generation leads to the greatness of the society. Until issues are discussed we may not know what to do or may be doing it wrongly. This is what the MBA National Literary Colloquium is all about; giving Nigerians a platform to share ideas on societal re-generation and national development”.
And this was the very reason why, participants were drawn from academia, writers’ organisations, politicians, schools and the general public. You had eminent guest from the UNN, Unilag, ABU Zaria, UniAbuja, BUK, Kaduna State University, IBBU Lapai and others.
The 1st MBA Colloquium kicked off as scheduled with performances from GSS Minna, GGSS old Airport, Bosso Secondary School, Minna, Talba Kids, as well as renditions from established writers and performers such as Sage Hassan, Professor Karen King Aribisala, Akeem Lasisi, Greg Mbajiorgu, Saddiq Dzukogi and Wale Abdool. In welcoming the participants, Professor Kuta said:
“It is my singular privilege to say that Niger State welcomes you all at any time and that you could be rest assured that the ink and inspiration of your pens cannot dry in the plains of what constitute Niger State, the Valley of Poets and Writers. It pleases me earnestly also to mention that the Chief Servant of Niger State has over the years settled for a culture of book development in his resolve to build a lasting castle of legacy for the augmentation of state policies and programmes. Literature, in whatever way perceived, remains the fulcrum of every society. There can be no people without literature, because literature assembles the best of minds. Literature has been the answer, a solution to a society at crossroad”.
The event lived to its bidding when the chairman of the occasion, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano further drew on the significance of intellectuals meeting politicians in position of power with school children in attendance:
“Niger State is very lucky to have a leader who knows how to lead, Niger State is lucky to have a leader who is pious and post-pious, a leader who is committed to transforming not only the physical but the literary and intellectual landscape of the state. In today’s globalised world, building intellectual power is the surest way of ushering in genuine development. We are all aware that most developed countries today are whose countries, where intellectual power rather than natural resources is the main commodity. In other words, the future of societies will rely more on the empire of the mind rather than oil, gas or other mineral resources. We all know that the richest countries in the world derived their wealth not so much from the natural resources, but from the intellectual power of its society, what is commonly called the empire of the mind. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, here it lays the significance of today event. The Chief Servant has scored another first in Nigeria. He has shown the way for others to follow ‘Building Intellectual Power to Fix Nigeria’ is a theme that will be explored by all development seeking Nigerians”.
When the event began, Odia Ofeimun left nobody in doubt as to the fire-full speaker he was. He held the audience hostage to the depth and meaning of his knowledge. Odia has remained incapable of dull moments anytime he stood before an audience. The title of his paper ‘Building Intellectuals to Fix Nigeria’, was largely about the localisation of knowledge for a global part-playing. This was not after he had told the audience what the Chief Servant had done for ANA that no other state governments have done in the history of the association:
“And I can say without fear of contradiction that since the emergence of the Chief Servant as the head of the affairs of the state, no branch of ANA across the country has met infrastructural presumptions of a branch as much as Niger State has done”.
Odia further commended the government of Dr Babangida Aliyu on the idea of creating platforms for discourses:
“The first time I came to the state, I was intrigued not only by his own commitment to intellectual purpose but his willingness to flaunt intellectualism as a future of the government that he is made to run. In most communities in Nigeria, educated people are almost induced to lower their face of being educated, because they want to fill into the aura that masses put on all things that are there, by which I mean, very many educated people pretend that they are not as educated as they are, in order to be part of the masses. If you are a change agent, who is genuinely interested in transforming your society, your first duty, if you are truly educated is to present yourself in a light that ensures all those who have not acquired what you have will emulate it. When I discovered that his deputy also have the same inclination, it occurred to me that the idea of building intellectual power needed to be re-written along lines that will help all of us to re-dream Nigeria”. Odia’s final delivery of a poem for the Chief Servant was met with a thunderous ovation.
In his contribution, Abubakar Gimba, thanked the Chief Servant for his support to ANA and his personal intervention when he was ill. He then announced the naming of the writers’ village in Minna after Dr. Aliyu. Other dinstinguished academics and writers like, Professor Abubakar Tanimu, Dr. Salihu Bappa, Dr. E. E. Sule and Dr. Vicky of UniAbuja who served as the discussants made their contributions. The first session of the colloquium came to an end at about 3pm.
The second session took place on various aspects of literature. It was a parley that saw writers brainstorm on the values of poetry, the place of criticism, drama and prose fiction. Greg Mbajiorgu, Ahmed Maiwada, Ismaila Bala Garba, Isyaku B. Ibrahim, Kamar Hamza, Maryam Okediran, Akeem Lasisi, Zaharadeen Kallah, Sulay Nsubong, Richard Ali, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Diego Okenyodo, AbdulJabar Omale, Ezekiel Fajenyo, Jumoke Verrisimo, all made significant contributions to the treatment of themes put up for discussion.
The controversy that slipped from E.E. Sule that there are no poets in Nigeria after Okara was promptly knocked down by Maiwada to the acknowledgement of a vigorous generation of writers in attendance. The colloquium closed with the award of certificates by the Chief of Staff in the evening.
On the whole, the colloquium which will go on the 2nd edition in 2012 met the requirements of an international literary engagement that was the first of its kind in Nigeria. It was a carefully planned event targeted at meeting the demands of Vision 3:2020 in the three most developed economies by the 2020.
Madam Chief Servant, the wife of Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has also stepped forward in making Niger State the emerging Intellectual Capital of Nigeria by sponsoring activities that encourage literary productions in Niger State and Nigeria. Like her husband, she is using formidable literary organisations to enrich the intellectual competence of the child.
In 2009, she promoted reading in schools through the Women Writers Association of Nigeria. Books were bought and distributed around schools in Niger State. This is aside from regular interventions given to women writers in the state. Recently, she gave a grant of N1 million to the National Authors to commence the pilot scheme of the National Teen Authorship Scheme in the state of Kogi, Abia, Taraba, Osun and Katsina. This nationalistic gesture to the Nigerian Child is in the spirit of the Niger State Government who recently approved the sum of N10 million to the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA National) to establish the Nigerian Writers Series, a project similar to the defunct African Writers Series. It is important to note that in an era where states, local governments, and ethnic groups are promoting private and primitive interests that are drawing back Nigeria, there is an interesting phenomenon of nationalism unfolded by the Niger state Governor in the arts and culture, citizenship in the state, civil service, political appointments and educational opportunities for the Nigerian child living in the state. In an era where self is gaining ascendancy in our national and communal life, there has to be a character who will rise above others in eschewing primordial sentiment for a worthwhile communion towards common good of the country.
Other capacity initiatives facilitated by the Niger State Government for the women writers’ organisation are: creative writing, capacity building for secondary schools in Niger State, a collaborative initiative of Dr Peter Sarki led MOE and WRITA, started in March, 2010. The second edition also held in 2011, where apart from the regular grant of the MOE, Dr Mahmood Muhammad, the Permanent Secretary made the initial 2011 take grant of N50,000 in March, 2011. Life is not about bogus occurrences, it is about the coupling up of little details of what man does on earth. This means that the totality of the greatness of society is the tally of the little contributions of many actors in it. This also conveniently explains the degeneration of a society which usually comes about because of the individual bad that men do in their little corners of the community. Therefore, making a society a literate one that entrenches intellectualism and knowledge is a function of the individual who must stand voluntarily to commence building little structure about the propagation of what is good for the society without waiting for government or even the next person.
In June, 2012, the administration of Dr Aliyu gave the sum of N1.5 million for the Women Writers’ Association of Nigeria, Niger State to organise the first Niger State Spelling Competition. This also happened through the active support of Dr Peter Sarki who also donated the sum of N150,000. In Dr Sarki’s continuous commitment to women writing even when no longer in the Ministry of Education suggest strongly what others of his status should engage in at their ward, local government or community levels. It doesn’t have to be at the state capital.
Where do we Start from: Pamphleteering and Chapbooks?
First, citizens must take interest in writing generally. I’m Writing here does not necessarily mean novel, poetry or play writing. There are several genres or forms of writing that every home or individual can undertake, which will add knowledge to the community. These are: collected love letters, personal letters, collected important and unimportant notes making about events in life and community or any other aspects of living, essays on any matter like marriage ceremonies in a community, festivals, burial, naming, people, places, customs, beliefs, art and craft, building, animals, bird, plants, trees, mountains, rivers, numerals, vocation, trade or anything of your interest. In fact, this is the most important and easiest of documentation. An essay on any of the above subject does not have to run into hundreds of pages. It could be small as 20 pages. A simple well thought-out and documented sentence is enough for humanity. Voluminous book is not the target of book development but just a good thought in a verse could help redeem humanity elsewhere. So, pamphleteering is also a formidable form of writing. In fact, flyer system of writing is as valid as a book. It even travels faster than a book. An individual can undertake to do a piece on olden and new forms of marriage ceremonies in Nupe land and distribute or sell at occasions. This will contribute largely to the intellectual development of the state.
Biographies are also important in the evolution of society. People must document their ways from the scratch to the time of penning them. This is called autobiography. Biographies of autobiographies do not have to come from elites or those who think they are important in the community; this is a serious misconception. Who says it is only governors, presidents or ministers that have done worthy things in the community? What about the life of an important teacher, craftsman, blacksmiths, farmer, shoemaker, imam, pastor? These people are worth recording their lives as much as those of any other high society person. In fact, the life of a notorious drug addict or thief in the community should be recorded for tomorrow’s use. We must all become one form of a writer or another. A society that does not record each passing minute of her life didn’t exist at all. This is what the policy of intellectual capital is all about. Let each soul write about what interest him/her for the benefit of others. In this business of massive writing, productions are the main focus. Period! The goal is not to be Abubakar Gimba or Yahaya Dangana or Chabe or Soyinka; the goal is for citizens to take the obligation of writing down events of their lives and the community for development. It is also about the most potent medium for appropriating the society in the most fashionable way we want it. This is what the government of Niger State is urging the citizens to commence doing in large scale. Your effort will be complemented through a policy of publishing that is being put in place to facilitate the printing of the written text, all of which will be unfolded soon.
What Nigerian Writers have said of Governor Babangida Aliyu
“The generosity of the Niger State Governor in throwing his weight behind the Northern Nigeria Writers Summit makes a good listening to the ear. If other governors can borrow a leaf from him, the latent quills in this part of the world will stir the creative tabular into everlasting chefs”.
-Henry Akubuiro
Literary Editor
Sunday Sun Newspapers
“The Chief Servant of Niger State’s relationship with writers portends a great future for Nigerians nay, African literature”
-Hyacinth Obumseh
Assistant National Secretary
Association of Nigerian Authors
“Governor Aliyu is continuing in a long agenda-setting trail of Nigerlites leading the north: Abubakar Imam, Abubakar Gimba, Yahaya Dangana, BM Dzukogi, Mohammed Haruna. He should know that each of these great personalities contributed with their own colours. He must not relent in lending his all-important colours as a politician with foresight. His name shall be appended, no doubt, if he lives true to his promises”.
-Diego Okenyodo
Former National PRO, North
Association of Nigerian Authors
“If in less than a year, the Chief Servant of Niger State has done what we see on ground, then we are hopeful that in a couple of years to come, he will transform central Nigeria to a Harlem of literary renaissance”.
-E. E. Sule
Poet and Critic
Nasarawa State University, Keffi
“For writers, heroes are more fictional than real. Heroes exist only in their imaginations; unfortunately, in our society, heroes are hard to find. But – I dare say, Dr M. A. Babangida is a hero – OUR HERO. A litany of literary support attested to this. Too many to mention, they have culminated in this unprecedented 1st Northern Nigerian Writers’ Summit”.
-Shagabo Daniel Bala
Former Vice Chairman
ANA Niger
“Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has brought intellectual colour into the art of governance in Niger State. So, I am not surprise to hear of the unprecedented support he is giving to writers in Niger State. Let him continue and even do more to make Niger a model for other states in Northern Nigeria”.
-Denja Abdullahi
National Secretary
Association of Nigerian Authors
“It is heart-warming to note that there still exist great-minded chief executives like the governor of Niger State, Alhaji Mu’azu Babangida. His contributions to the renaissance of literary works in the state are no doubt an attestation of this fact. I hope other executives will seek to emulate the worthy examples of the Talban Minna by contributing to the development of literature in Northern Nigeria as well. This will no doubt help to create a new generation of Abubakar Imams, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and so on”.
-Usman Akanbi
Association of Nigerian Authors
Kwara Branch
“Finally, we get a proof (especially in ANA Niger), that politics is not sorely about loud, magnificent but empty words. With the initial take-off grant of N2 million by the Chief Servant of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, (Talban Minna), for the 1st Northern Nigeria Writers’ Summit, and a promise to publish members of ANA Niger, writers from this corner of the world, can take a breath of fresh air, confident that we have only witnessed the first stride in a long purposeful and profitable journey together”.
-Pmabi Ayuba
Former Secretary
ANA Niger
“Talban Minna has no doubt shot Niger State into an unprecedented limelight, his support to the Northern Nigeria Summit of writers is a further attestation of the Chief Servant’s quest for societal growth and the quest for Niger State and Nigeria’s advancement amongst comity of nations. Nigerian writers couldn’t have wished for a worthier patron”.
-Alkasim Abdulkadir
National PRO, North
Association of Nigerian Authors
“The Association of Nigerian Authors received with joy and gratitude, Governor Babangida’s recent highly impressive package for the Niger State ANA Chapter. The package which is unprecedented in the annals of Government/NGO relationship will go a long way in improving the poor reading culture in the country”.
-Hon. Dr. Wale Okediran
National President
Association of Nigerian Authors
