RBC Reviews Achebe's "There Was a Country"

"I believe quite frankly this country is at war..."  Wole Soyinka's words at the unveiling of Port Harcourt as UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 during the 5th Garden City Literary Festival,  re-echoed at the Rainbow Book Club’s January Reading of Chinua Achebe’s  There Was a Country. The reading which held Friday 25th January at the poolside of Le Meridien, Ogeyi Place, Port Harcourt, was explosive! While Professor. Soyinka made his comments with reference to the killings of the ‘Aluu Four’ last year, the sentiments at the reading were from 1967-1970, the years of the Nigerian Civil War. 

Chinua Achebe goes to great length to put the war into geographical and political context; quoting numerous sources and narrating the events in simple language, thus making his account accessible to a wide audience. This however was all but lost on the book club members who were more concerned with the content than the delivery of it. Some members felt that while Chinua Achebe is entitled to give his personal account of the war, his memoir coming forty two years later, was a bit late, opening old wounds and possibly inciting new ethnic hostilities. On the other hand, were those who felt that his book was timely, as one member questioned, ‘Has the war ended?’ He was referring to the killings done by Boko Haram. Indeed this group felt that the book was precautionary  and that our leaders need to be students of history to prevent it from repeating its self.

An ex-Biafran soldier, with scars from the war front amused us with his war tales and kicked the hornet’s nest when he asserted that Ojukwu started the Biafran war. While, in his book, Achebe is careful not to lay the blame squarely on Ojukwu’s shoulders, the ex-soldier--still referring to himself as a Biafran--gave his  eye-witness account, oblivious to the din his statements were causing. His was a sobering tale of suffering, famine and death.    

‘War is not simple,’ said Mrs. Judy Nwanodi, whose stay in Nigeria pre-dates Independence. Aunty Judy--as she is fondly called relocated to Nigeria from England with her husband in 1958--encouraged members to read as many accounts of the war as they could, because one person’s account could not adequately capture its numerous  complexities. She told of how her husband, who was actively involved in the creation of the old Rivers State, had all his law books burnt by the Biafrans and on one occasion, along with others, he was imprisoned  for his own safety. 

The youth, who though were not witnesses to the events in question, were surprisingly well informed on the subject. Debating the issue of meritocracy over the government quota system, the house was once again sharply divided among those who felt that meritocracy was the only way Nigeria would move forward, adding also that meritocracy would remove tribal domination. The opposing side said that it was the responsibility of government to address the social, political and economic inequalities that exist in the country, and that until these are addressed, the quota system remained a necessary evil.

Thus ended an eventful day, with more questions. 

Iheoma Nwachukwu: On PH World Book Capital Bid

The Adventure of Port Harcourt’s Bid to Become World Book Capital City

By Iheoma Nwachukwu

Peter Pan and Port Harcourt have one thing in common—Lewis Harcourt, for whom the city is named. In 1912, the year the city was christened, Lewis Harcourt, serving in H.H. Asquith’s cabinet, authorized the placement of the Peter Pan statue in London’s Kensington Gardens. He might as well have authorized the placement of the statue in Port Harcourt (or the placement of the Muse in Port Harcourt), because the qualities of adventure, diversity, and eternal youth that Peter Pan personalizes, that the Peter Pan story embodies, are attributes that have drawn migrants, and writers, to Port Harcourt for all of its hundred years.

Peter Pan

Port Harcourt’s bid to become the 2014 World Book Capital City then comes as little surprise for a city that shares a historical bond with probably the most popular, most exciting, most adapted character in children’s literature.

The World Book Capital City title, which began in 2001, is presented by UNESCO to a city with the best programme that promotes books and reading, and shows the most convincing dedication of all players in its local book industry.

The title runs from April 23 (UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day) to April 22 of the following year. Madrid won the incipient award; Yerevan in Armenia currently holds the 2012 award. Oxford (United Kingdom) and Pula (Croatia) are just two of the other cities Port Harcourt has to defeat for the 2014 title.

Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers state and Nigeria’s oil capital, seems the obvious choice for the 2014 title given the quality, variety, broad international scope, and commitment of all actors in the local book industry, evident in its World Book Capital City programme. First, the theme for the bid—Books: Window to Our World of Possibilities—evokes a potent image of the book, knowledge, as the lens through which we interpret and influence our world.

The Port Harcourt World Book Capital City programme proposes to begin with the performance of an inspiring theme song, performed by a popular Nigerian artiste, and written by a lucky youth whose work is chosen from a nationwide pool. Another slated activity is a national symposium which will assemble stakeholders in the book chain industry to discuss the future literacy and literary culture in Nigeria, and the importance of literature in unlocking the potentials of the country’s youth. The Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, an avid reader who holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in English Literature, will lead this discussion.

Nigeria’s President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, will also be invited to read an excerpt from a classic Nigerian novel to children. The President recently led a national reading campaign named ‘Bring Back the Book,’ and his involvement will surely encourage more young people to read and write. Also expected to read to children at chosen locations across the city of Port Harcourt are authors, poets, and celebrities from film, music, sports, as well as the business communities.

Perhaps the greatest boon to Port-Harcourt’s bid is the Garden City Literary Festival, held yearly in Port Harcourt since 2008 by the Rainbow Book Club. The festival, which has seen attendance by writers like Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiong’O, and Ama Ata Aidoo, holds author readings, fiction and poetry workshops for emerging writers, writing, drama and arts workshops for children, book fairs, and many other activities over a five-day period. Thus, the World Book Capital City programme will gain from the experience of the administrators of the literary festival, since the Rainbow Book Club, which runs the festival, manages Port Harcourt’s bid, too.

Nigeria’s literary heritage is not in doubt; it has gifted the world legendary writers like Wole Soyinka, the first person of African descent to win the Nobel Prize for Literature; Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, the most widely read book by an African; and other world-renowned writers such as Ken Saro-Wiwa, J. P. Clarke, Ben Okri, and Elechi Amadi.

Port Harcourt’s win will not only cast a fresh eye on Nigeria’s past achievements, but will also catalyze the intense literary scene (many successful young Nigerian writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who runs a yearly workshop, and Port Harcourt-born Igoni Barrett, already inspire lots of Nigerians) and give Nigerian literature a helpful jab in the arm. In its own right, Port Harcourt has a rich literary pedigree, and has provided roof and Muse to writers for decades. For example, it is home to numerous authors, including the iconic novelist Elechi Amadi, the brilliant poet Gabriel Okara, as well as celebrated historians like Robin Horton and E. J. Alagoa. Also, Old Port Harcourt Town was a vibrant cultural centre in the 1970s, and provided entertainment and education through plays directed by the likes of Comish Ekiye with a distinguished cast that included actors Doye Agama, Barbara Soki, and Aso Douglas. Some of the famous early educational institutes in Nigeria such as the Okrika Grammar School, and the Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls Secondary School, also actively promoted literature in Port Harcourt.

The promotion of literature among the youth is one obvious impact of any literary programme, especially one overseen by UNESCO. The Garden City literary Festival is proof of this kind of impact. Dana Donubari, who attended one of the festival workshops in 2009, was inspired to publish a collection of poems titled Tears for Ogoni. Port Harcourt, which until recently experienced violent activity from militant youth demanding a fair share of Nigeria’s oil wealth, has the potential to change the lives of even more youth as a World Book Capital City—perhaps reach an ex-militant and inspire this youth to tell his story.

There is so much potential here, and UNESCO must know this, too. Port Harcourt looks ready to become World Book Capital City. This would be something of an adventure, a win that has potential to draw the adventure-boy himself, Peter Pan, to the fascinating coastal city of Port Harcourt. As well as draw the gaze of the entire globe.

The world can hardly wait.

Iheoma Nwachukwu is a creative writer. He has received fellowships from the Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists, Bard College, New York, and the Michener Center for Writers, University of Texas, Austin.

Sylva Ifedigbo: On the PH World Book Capital Bid

Books Are a Window to Our World of Possibilities: A Look at the Port Harcourt Bid for UNESCO World Book Capital City

By Sylva Nze Ifedigbo

Home to renowned writers such as Elechi Amadi, Gabriel Okara and Kaine Agary, Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s oil-rich city and capital of Rivers State, has announced its bid to be named the UNESCO World Book Capital City in 2014, a bid which will see it emerge as the first city in Sub-Saharan Africa to hold the enviable title.

Every year UNESCO convenes delegates from the International Publishers Association, the International Booksellers Federation, and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions to grant the title of UNESCO World Book Capital to one city. This city holds the title for one designated year, from 23 April (UNESCO World Book Day) until 22 April of the following year and undertakes to organize a series of enriching, educative and entertaining events around books, literature and reading. The title of World Book Capital is given to the city with the best programme dedicated to books and reading.

The Port Harcourt bid for this title—which is spearheaded by the Rainbow Book Club, organizers of the annual Garden City Literary Festival, in conjunction with the Rivers State Government—sees Port Harcourt pitched against cities like Oxford in the United Kingdom, Vilnius in Lithuania, Pula in Croatia and Yaoundé in Cameroon, the only other city from Africa. The title, which was launched in 2001 and is currently held by Ljubljana in Slovenia, has been held at various times in the past by Madrid, Alexandria, New Delhi, Montreal, Antwerp, Turin, Bogotá, Amsterdam, and Beirut, with Bangkok already announced as the chosen city for 2013.

The bid by Port Harcourt comes at a time when Nigeria is experiencing a literary revival with the rise of writers such as Sefi Atta (Winner of the Noma Award, 2009), Kaine Agary (NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2008) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (winner of the Orange Prize, 2007), Commonwealth Book Prize winners like Helon Habila, Uwem Akpan and Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Caine Prize Winner E.C Osondu, and a host of others who are blazing the trail globally.

Closely related to this is the increased focus on literary activities in the country. This commendable trend is highlighted by programmes such as the President Jonathan-initiated “Bring Back the Book” project, the Farafina annual creative writing workshop, and the Garden City Literary Festival. Also worthy of note is the institution of competitive literary prizes and awards such as the Caine Prize, the Wole Soyinka Prize, and the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature which at $100,000 stands as the most lucrative literary award in Africa.

The city of Port Harcourt, significant for its mix of cultures and its status as the hub of the oil-rich Niger Delta region, has come of age as a haven of culture and is fast making a name for itself as a major player on the global literary stage. Port Harcourt is also home to the annual Garden City Literary Festival. This festival is organized by Rainbow Book Club and has been described by Thisday Newspapers as “arguably the biggest event of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.” The festival in its five years of existence has attracted such literary heavyweights as Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ghana’s Ama Ata Aidoo and Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, J. P. Clark and Sefi Atta. Other guests of honour at the GCLF include dignitaries such as former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, as well as revered civil liberties activist Reverend Jesse Jackson.

It is to such earnest efforts in promoting literature that the award of the UNESCO World Book Capital title is sure to make the most impact. The status will contribute in no small way to maintaining the focus on literary activities in Nigeria. Furthermore, should its bid be successful, Port Harcourt will no doubt have a golden opportunity to build on the legacy of its literary history and culture to expand its role and influence on the continent.

One big plus for Port Harcourt’s bid is the endorsement and spirited support it enjoys from the government of Rivers State led by Rt. Honourable Rotimi Amaechi. The governor, a literary enthusiast, has committed to supporting a dynamic team composed of literary figures and leaders from the private sector, coordinated by the Rainbow Book Club, to drive the activities for the 2014 bid. This team includes such names as Noble Pepple, Ndidi Nwuneli, Anthony Epelle and A. Igoni Barrett, and it is chaired by Koko Kalango, founder of the Rainbow Book Club and Director of the Garden City Literary Festival.

As part of the bid process this committee has chosen the theme of “Books: Window to our World of Possibilities” to drive the 2014 activities in Port Harcourt. A rich itinerary of events is also planned to run through the World Book Capital year in Port Harcourt, including the opening of the multi-purpose Garden City Library Complex, drama performances, celebrity book reading sessions, a national symposium, and a host of other projects.

It is interesting to note that the 2014 bid by Port Harcourt coincides with the centenary celebration of Nigeria as we mark 100 years since the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates by the British colonial government. It will be a befitting gift for the entire country if Port Harcourt were to become the World Book Capital at this time. Besides being a valid acknowledgement of the country’s rich literary heritage, it will also be a worthy template for emulation by other African countries in the promotion of reading, literature and the arts in general.

It is exciting that Port Harcourt is in contention for the World Book Capital and one must applaud the vision and forthrightness of the Rainbow Book Club and the Rivers State Government. As a major city in the literature-rich country of Nigeria, Port Harcourt will present unique opportunities for enhancing the idea of the “book” in the 21st century and its role as a window to a world of opportunities. This is one commendable effort that surely needs all the support it can get.

Sylva Nze Ifedigbo is a creative writer and communications practitioner who lives in Lagos, Nigeria.

The African Writers Series is Seeking Manuscripts

The African Writers Series is a wide-ranging series offering stories, poetry, biographical writings and essays from across Africa. It includes work from nearly 40 writers from 19 different countries, including classic titles from renowned African authors such as Chinua Achebe, Bessie Head and Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Go here if you would like to submit your work to the series.

Chinua Achebe in Discussion with K. Anthony Appiah

Chimamanda Adichie at Calabash Lit Fest in Jamaica

Photo by Andre Bagoo

The Calabash International Literary Festival returned after a one-year break to offer a full feast of readings, conversations and discussions about writing, and music from May 25 to 27 at its customary location, Jakes in Treasure Beach, Jamaica. Although located in a remote village, the festival, which scheduled a mix of local and international talent, is the most popular event of its kind in Jamaica, pulling an attendance of thousands over the three days. The organisers—led by film producer Justine Henzell and poet and lecturer Kwame Dawes—had as the theme “Jubilation”, in recognition of Jamaica's 50th anniversary of political independence.

The opening evening, Friday, slated Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and New York City native, Victor Lavalle, under the banner “Two the Hard Way”. Although the organisers usually stay away from naming headliners, Ms Adichie was the pulling card for the hundreds who made her presentation their main event. Adichie's two novels, Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, are well known to recreational readers in Jamaica, so her audience was excited to see her and they showed her love from the moment she touched the stage. She, in turn, seemed to sense the good vibe and executed a flawless delivery.

Her appearance in her trademark cosmopolitan styling went down well with the crowd which was made up mostly of professionals, academics, corporate executives and practitioners in the creative industries.

Photo by Andre Bagoo

Not all writers are captivating readers, but Ms Adichie had the full package. Adichie selected to read material about her own life and family in Nigeria and her natural voice has warm tones which carry her own words calmly, with conviction and with beauty. Perhaps unknown to her, she is a package that is already known to us—and beloved by us—the flowering of the daughter of a leading academic, exposed from a young age to good writing, informed discussions about ideas, and also passionately patriotic about her country.

Adichie’s first reading was recollections of the university campus house where she was raised, and which had been previously lived in by Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe—one of her writing influences. She presents the home as a quiet place for reflections, dreams and a place to return to and feel rooted in. It is also where she started her first writing projects.

Achebe is the African writer that most Jamaican readers would know. He spoke a few years ago at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and many at the festival would have attended that event. For those in the audience who had the memory of his reading informing their senses as they listened to her, the dual experience would have seemed satisfying and meaningful.

May is a rainy month in Jamaica, even in the water-parched region of Treasure Beach, but it did not rain this year. Somehow, mosquitos find a way to survive and they bit into Adichie as she started her second selection. A volunteer lady-in-waiting, clad in unadorned white linen, wafted out of the audience and generously misted Adichie with repellent. She graciously acknowledged the pampering and flowed into the second reading.

Recollecting her Uncle Mai was a much more intimate reading. Adichie opened up on her personal experience of losing a loved one—a beloved uncle who died recently from a chronic disease. As writer, Adichie expertly handled bearing witness to the ongoing deterioration of someone who was close to her; and the inevitable committal of the body. Her words were clear, calm, accepting of what the family had to face, especially with his decision to limit his options for treatment.

Adichie became known to many in Jamaica through a speech that she delivered with thoughts on The Danger of a Single Story. That video went viral because of how she delivered that oft-lamented petulance that stories outside of the interest of major media outlets are not told. One listener said it was "revolutionary" because she was able to use her platform of fame to further the message with a clear, calm and beautiful delivery. Adichie packed those characteristics into her reading in Treasure Beach and at some time in the future she will know that Jamaicans reward that respect of audience with long memories of affection.

—Gwyneth Harold is a writer in Jamaica. Her book for young adults Bad Girls in School was published by Harcourt and is a part of the Caribbean Writers Series. She is currently working on another novel.