A COMMUNIQUE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN AUTHORS (ANA) RELEASED AFTER THE 9th MEETING OF NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL WITH CHAIRMEN / SECRETARIES HELD AT KNOWLEDGE PLATFORM, MUSTAPHA AKANBI FOUNDATION, ILORIN, KWARA STATE, ON SATURDAY 13TH MARCH, 2021
The mood of the meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) with chapter chairmen/secretaries was indeed exultant given the new ionic bond that has developed between the NEC and the branches of ANA- the product of a collective and successful battle to regain the soul of the association after the 2019 Enugu imbroglio. There is now a clear unmistakable vision of ANA NEC on the path of development by progressive addition to the giant strides of the past administrations.
Particularly there is an infectious wave of zeal to use the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of ANA this year to reaffirm the association’s mission of nurturing creativity through literature by a massive effort at quality creative literature development. The meeting recognizes the danger of lack of deep rooted vision and shallow moral commitment to the ethical imperatives of an intellectual body like ANA and understands the urgent need to revive the golden age of Nigerian writing, that age when writers worked together in unity, defending one another as in the case of Mamman Vatsa and Ken Saro Wiwa when writers like Achebe, J P Clark and Soyinka led others to intercede on their behalf while they were in the grip of Military dictators.
Following the 9thmeeting of the National EXCO with Chairmen / Secretaries, held on Saturday, 13th March, 2021, the meeting declares as follows:
1. That henceforth ANA members should embark on a systematic development and cultivation of the mind in their writings by moving away from the image of writers as land speculators to be more active movers of literature and the book industry in Nigeria. This is necessary for the realization of the power of literature to effectively promote unity and a better world.
2. That the Nigerian Writers Series will be re-energized as a fitting replacement to the extinct African Writers Series. To this effect an editor to the series will be appointed.
3. That two important committees will immediately be set up. The first to review the Association’s constitution and check the loopholes within the document while the second is to carry out membership audit and bring out a register of authentic ANA members.
4. That the Association will make spirited efforts in requesting the Federal Government to grant posthumous pardon to General Mamman Vatsa of blessed memory.
5. That the EXCO will go all out to celebrate forty years of the Association’s existence in ten cities across the land, and work towards depositing forty thousand books, a thousand books for each year of celebration, in selected schools in the ten cities.
6. That in line with the celebration of ANA at forty, various local organizing committees will be set up by branches across the ten cities billed for the celebration and other cities that have shown interest.
7. That the Association of Nigerian Authors will hold the grand finale of the forty years celebration at the Mamman Vatsa writers village, Mpape, Abuja.
8. That caretaker committees should be set up in branches of ANA that have continued to work out of tune with the duly elected National Executive Council that has been recognized by the Board of Trustees, the Advisory Council, the court of law, Pan African Writers Association(PAWA), prominent sponsors and partners likeYusuf Ali (SAN), AE/FUNAI, National Library, Nigerian Copyright Commission as well as other notable organizations at home and abroad.
9. That with the progress reports presented by state chapters at the meeting, the resolve of the EXCO to deepen the country’s tradition of creativity, expand the culture of excellence, and defend the rights of its members is no longer an issue of debate. The reports are a revelation that the Association is alive and not ready to die soon.
10. That the positive utilization of the Yusuf Ali Grant by the Association is what has propelled the senior advocate to do more over the past eight years and that the association will continue in the same spirit without default.
11. That ANA member’s nation-wide should continue to support and keep faith with the National Executive Council and all its programmes, as they will not be disappointed.
12. That no member, branch/chapter of the Association should participate in any unauthorized meeting by those who scramble disgracefully to get attention by dropping people’s names without their consent in relation to such meetings. Any doubts about genuine programmes of the association can readily be cleared by the General Secretary/National Secretariat at the Mamman Vatsa’s Writers Village, Mpape, Abuja.
Conclusion:
The association is truly resilient. It has withstood the latest tempest of bad weather and is making very remarkable progress. The National Executive Council is determined more than ever to work hard to maintain the position of ANA (the largest continental writers’ body) as clear leader and pathfinder in the continent.
Once again members are encouraged to keep faith with the association by participating actively in the association’s programmes.
Signed
Camillus Ukah
ANA President
Maik Orsterga
ANA General Secretary
Weldone, this is a welcome development from the desk of ANA
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