President Goodluck Jonathan has announced that he has directed the ministry of Culture and Tourism to establish a National Hall of Fame in honour of the Nigerian authors.
The President, who spoke on Friday at the opening ceremony of the 33rd International Annual Convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State said that he has also directed the ministry to work with the leadership of ANA to see how government can partner with the private sector to give added fillip to its Literary Prizes to further enhance its prestige.
“I am therefore directing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to establish in our nation’s capital, a National Hall of Fame, in honour of those, who out of their creative genius, had contributed to the growth and development of our country, and the advancement of human civilization.
“I have also directed the Minister of Culture to work with ANA leadership to see how government can partner with the private sector to give added fillip to your ANA Literary Prizes to further enhance their prestige. The prizes over the years have showcased budding talents who are now masters in different literary fields. You have to sustain that enviable tradition.”
Jonathan said that he has always felt a particular closeness to the literary community, as indispensable partners in his government’s quest to build a better society.
President Jonathan recalled that it has been 33 years since the master story teller, Chinua Achebe, called fellow writers to Nsukka to float an association to promote and protect the interest of creative writers in Nigeria
“Our writers have written the country’s name in lights all over the world. Some of the best-known Nigerians are writers; and they have won every international award going, including the Caine Prize for African Writing, the Orange Prize for Women’s Fiction and the most coveted, the Nobel Prize for Literature – won in 1986 by Professor Wole Soyinka.
“The late Professor Chinua Achebe, winner of the prestigious International Booker, gifted the world a book that will last for all time, when he published Things Fall Apart in 1958. It has been translated into over 50 languages, and is regularly voted one of the greatest novels ever written.”
The President said that it was in recognition of Professor Achebe’s monumental contribution to world literature that he was physically present at the literary giant’s funeral in his birthplace of Ogidi, Anambra State, last year.
It was also necessary, he said, to identify with the Nigerian literary community, which had suffered a great loss.
“As a demonstration of our commitment to Achebe’s indestructible legacy, we also supported the International Colloquium on Arrow of God at 50 earlier this year.”
He recalled that a few days ago, the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award, the highest and the most prestigious honour this nation bestows, went to no less a persona than Professor Niyi Osundare, whom he described as the great poet, scholar and survivor of Hurricane Katrina that had continued to paint his country’s name in gold.
He said that the admission of Professor Osundare as the 71st member of the body of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Laureates demonstrates that as a nation, “we promote and celebrate excellence.
“We value you, our writers. You elevate our thinking and worldview, you liven up our days with your creative imaginings, and you provide succour and catharsis in difficult times, such as the one our country is going through at this period. I salute the creative spirit that has propelled our writers to excel in the midst of their peers worldwide.”
President Jonathan noted that writers serve as the nation’s conscience and raise critical questions which promote good governance and accountability.
According to him, such disposition paves the way to a just and equitable society, adding: “many episodes of our history including the civil war have been examined in your works; you give us a perspective on the past while helping to map a way to the future.”
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