| PAWA's Newsletter (January to March 2025) |
| This Is a Newsletter of PAWA Activities For the First Quarter of 2025 |
| | | PAWA CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT JOHN MAHAMA |
| The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) with headquarters in Accra, Ghana has sent a congratulatory message to the newly elected Ghanaian President, HE John Dramani Mahama.
In a letter dated January 22 2025 and signed by the PAWA President, Hon John Rusimbi and the Secretary General, Dr Wale Okediran, the continental literary body stated that President Mahama's victory is a reaffirmation of the strong belief in his tried and tested leadership by the Ghanaian people.
While cherishing the already established strong bond of cooperation between PAWA and the Republic of Ghana, the Writers body reiterated its commitment to a continuation of the same warm relationship with the new President and his team. PAWA therefore wished President Mahama a successful and blessed tenure.
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| | | THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL HAS APPOINTED ABDOURAHAMANE DIALLO OF NIGER REPUBLIC AS THE UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO |
| 06 January 2025 The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Abdourahamane Diallo of Niger Republic as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Congo, with the host Government’s approval, on 5 January 2025. Mr. Diallo brings more than 20 years of experience in the field of development to his post.
Prior to becoming Resident Coordinator in Congo, he served in a number of positions in UNESCO, most recently as Representative of UNESCO to Nigeria, leading UNESCO’s response in the fields of education, sciences, culture and communication. He also served as Head of Office and Representative of UNESCO in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo (2009-2013), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (2014-2018) and Accra, Ghana (2018-2023).
Mr. Diallo began his career with UNESCO in their Paris headquarters as a member of Niger’s permanent delegation to UNESCO. In 2002 he became a programme specialist in the Africa department, responsible for monitoring cooperation with the African Union and the various sub-regional and regional African organizations.
In 2006, he headed the department’s Section for Regional Organizations and Post-Conflict Situations, focusing on addressing the specific needs of African countries in crisis and post-conflict settings and the cooperation with the AU and African Regional Economic Communities.
Mr. Diallo holds a degree in Industrial Computer Engineering from the Hautes Etudes Industrielles in Lilles, France and a Master of Business Administration in International Business Engineering from the Institut Superieur de Gestion in Paris.
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| | | We are pleased to reveal the cover of the Nigerian edition of Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie! This bold cover – featuring silver stars, a lone house and a tree against a bed of night – captures the evocative beauty and power that soar throughout the language of the book.
A “luxuriously layered new novel” (The Telegraph) by the best-selling and award-winning author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists, Dream Count is the story of four women and their loves, longings, and desires. Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling, transcendent novel that takes up the very nature of love itself. Is true happiness ever attainable or is it just a fleeting state? And how honest must we be with ourselves in order to love, and to be loved?
Dream Count pulses with emotional urgency and poignant and unflinching observations on the human heart. It confirms Adichie’s status as one of the most exciting and dynamic writers on the literary landscape. Pre-orders for hardback and paperback are now available on our website and Roving Heights.
Bookstores that want to participate in the pre-order listing can send an email to ord...@narrativelandscape.com.
#narrativelandscapepress #dreamcountbook #chimamandangoziadichie #preorderdreamcount
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| | | CALL FOR SUBMISSION POEMS AND ESSAYS FOR John Pombe Magufuli |
| In keeping with a time-honored tradition of celebrating great Pan Africanists, revolutionaries, and visionaries of all walks of life, The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) Hereby Calls for Poetry and Essay submissions from African Writers At Home And In The Diaspora to honor one of Africa's finest sons, John Pombe Magufuli, the former President of Tanzania.
We lost him almost 4 years ago today; but his vision lives on. We can't afford to bury his vision with him. Poetry Submissions; Free Verse or in Stanzaic form of approximately 20-30 Lines Maximum Essays not more than 1,500-1800 words. Submissions should be in word document, Times New Roman, font size 12-point, with name of the poet, phone/ WhatsApp number and email address.
Submissions can be in English or French, and should be in Microsoft Word, typed in Times New Roman, 12- point font size and double-line spacing with Subject line JPM 2025 and sent to; The Editor, Professor Bill F. Ndi, via email address; wn...@tuskegee.edu with a copy to pawa...@gmail.com
Deadline for submission is 15th February 2025 Published writers will be entitled to one copy of the anthology each.
Dr Wale Okediran PAWA Secretary General pawa...@gmail.com
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| | | The Creative space goes beyond music and movies; let’s set the boarder lines right and invest rightly to impact the economy positively. |
| | | | IN CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY FOR AFRICAN AND AFRODESCENDANT CULTURE |
| The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA), WAFORD and UNESCO Cordially Invite You To A Webinar.
Theme: Resilience And Technological Innovation Within African And Afrodescendant Communities. Date: Saturday, January 25 2025
PANELISTS 1. Prof Bill F. Ndi Tuskegee University, USA 2. Maria G N Biswalo Tanzania 3. Prof Laid Zaghlami Algiers University3, Algeria 4. Chenai Dunduru Zimbabwe 5. Prof Remi Raji University of Ibadan, Nigeria MODERATOR Dr Wale Okediran Secretary General, PAWA
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| | FROM MANDELA'S SUNRISE, TO THE WHITE HOUSE ON THE FOOTNOTE OF EBEDI HILL |
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By Aliyu Umar Muhammad
Resident, Ebedi International Writers Residency, Iseyin, Nigeria. There's always a serenity belonging to a community that values what you do. As BM Dzukogi will say, “you must belong to that particular community that knows what you are doing.”
A journey unfolds through the hasty, nauseous and unstable consciousness of leaving the state for Ebedi Writers Residency Iseyin, Oyo state. For the first time in my writing career, a welcoming joy envelopes my instincts from afar. I've never been to Oyo before, not even in a dream. A lot I've heard from friends who were fellows of the program.
Whenever God wants you to be somewhere, He surely gives you an invisible card, driving you to paths you never knew before. It's good to be kind and of good morals. A man, old enough to be my father, whom we both respect each other saw me in a hasty state in company with my friend, Bilal. “Mallam Aliyu, Ina zuwa haka?” I responded with an apology first knowing I should have informed some people I always meet that I'll be traveling.
The man always monitors my presence and absence in Mandela. Mosque was always my place of comfort once I'm out of home and not going out to the field. He immediately called a friend of his, connected us and that was how the unexpected late morning journey unraveled a lot of stories. Some were jovial, others were plain discomfort.
10 hours longing made me start meditating on many things to write about. Of human errs, lack of patience, my wild thoughts of cars always getting too close to hit one another. I'm not sure if i will one day, ride a car on long , rougher highways. And to the cross border of Jebba, one day I'll write about you, “Does our state border need to look insecure and unsafe for drivers before crossing in and out?” I'm yet to know more about this self interrogatory part as a writer and passionate citizen of Niger, I'm sure this is a projectile essay, someday in the future, I'll write about you.
I didn't arrive at Iseyin before starting to learn some of the ethics and cultural ideology of Yoruba people. Baba will always say, “Children nowadays don't like to greet people. They feel it's an excuse sometimes, to pass before an elderly person or group of people and not say anything.
But here in Yoruba land, you must learn to greet everyone you see to avoid being suspicious. “E karo, E ka san, E ka le” were fleeing out of people's mouth all the time as if it were a communal gift. I immediately name it, "Yoruba's ecstasy". Joining the race was easier despite my fluctuating accent, I'm a sharp learner at things I find amazing. Do not say I'm missing a part by not sharing about my fellow residents. Of course, it'll be another essay of its own.
God blessed me with 3 different brothers, 3 different mothers but with the same identity as proud Africans. Daniel Kwaku Attah from Accra, Ghana, Ebri Kowaki from Enugu and Fatai Hammed Opeyemi from Oyo tho, had most of his time traveling to states after studying at the great ‘Iqra’ Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. We share bonds of identity as Africans, struggling with voices to be heard, as black people with undoubted creativity and uniqueness.
We decided to hike up to Ebedi Hill, of which the White House based at it's foot. The stories were much therein. We really suffered the climb and were full of high spirits when we finally got the one part of Iseyin community at our feet. Mr Solomon, the nice officer led the team and we had a wonderful time taking pictures of which I had many enticing shots for my smartphone photography.
Today is Friday and of course, after the subhi prayers, I was going back to the Residency when suddenly a voice rang in my head. “Try snapping the trees on this Hill.” I carefully obeyed and went closer.
A man who held a bucket started talking in Yoruba. I know they're interrogation and quarrels as an elder watching a young adult doing something suspicious. I immediately go to him and luckily, “the E karo” magic suddenly worked. After explaining my purpose to him, he said no problems. I went back and to avoid other gazes, I quickly took my way to the house.
Surprisingly, the man followed me, called me back and apologized that he doesn't know I'm a writer and from White House. I felt ashamed. The question is, how many elderly people can do what this man did?? Apologizing the second time to a boy young enough to be his son? This is Yoruba culture.
I believe if Dr Wale Okediran did not build up a legacy that the community always respected, I wouldn't have gotten this great admiration. White House in the Iseyin community is a golden frame, a strong name lying at the footnote of Ebedi Hill. Thank you all fam, Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation - NGO Abba, Sir @BM Dzukogi, Mr Makama Shekwo'aga friends, family and loved ones, thank you for all your prayers.
To Dr Wale Okediran, may your good name never perish, Amin. To managers and officials of the Residency, we're truly grateful for being our kindest keepers. Thank you, good people 🥰.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19zfAK486U/?mibextid=xfxF2i
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| | | Literature, Leadership, and Legacy: Dr. Wale Okediran & Salma Elnour |
| | | Media Reports on Biography Writing: Promises and Perils |
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1. Biographies humanise icons; you can’t present leaders as gods — Falola Link
2. Literary scholars highlight socio-economic benefits of biography writing Link
3. Why Africans must document lives of leaders, intellectuals, and everyday heroes – Scholars Link
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| | | | | | | 📸 Highlights from the Travel Writing Workshop with Dr. Wale Okediran! |
| | | | FOUR AFRICAN WRITERS FOR EBEDI INTERNATIONAL WRITERS RESIDENCY |
| Four female writers from Sudan and Nigeria have arrived Iseyin, Nigeria for the February/March 2025 Edition of the Ebedi International Writers Residency. The writers are Left to Right in the above picture: Folake Okechukwu (Nigeria) Salma Elnour ( Sudan) Hikma Oni and Omolara Wood both from Nigeria.
In addition to their individual Writing Projects, the Writers will also mentor Secondary school students in Iseyin during their 4 week stay.
The Ebedi International Writers Residency is a private initiative for the free use of Writers in need of a conducive environment to complete their ongoing works. Since its establishment in 2010, the facility has hosted 350 Writers from 12 African Countries.
The current writers' stay at the Residency was sponsored by the ABOVE WHISPERS FOUNDATION established by the eminent feminist thinker, gender specialist, policy advocate and writer, Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi.
For further enquiries kindly contact; derin...@gmail.com
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| | | | Above picture shows Daniel Kwaku Attah a writer from Ghana at the Train Station in Ibadan, Nigeria on his way back to Accra, Ghana at the end of his residency at the Ebedi International Writers Residency, Iseyin, Nigeria.
Attah with his Nigerian colleagues: Ebri Kowaki, Aliyu Umar Muhammad and Fatai Opeyemi in addition to their individual writing projects, also mentored Secondary school students in Iseyin during their 4 week stay.
The Ebedi International Writers Residency is a private initiative for the free use of writers in need of a conducive environment to complete their ongoing works. Since its establishment in 2010, the facility has hosted 320 Writers from 12 African Countries many of whom have gone on to win international literary prizes for their works produced during the residency.
For further enquiries, kindly send a message to derin...@gmail.com
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| | | Joop, Chief Joop Joop By Kolade Mosuro
He had lived in the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, a wandering spirit of some sorts, as an extraordinary salesman, before he arrived in Nigeria. It was his salesmanship that got him to Nigeria as pioneer head of Evans Publishers in 1966
He got into the book industry from having worked as a clerk with a shipping line in Bahrain. He had ventured to marry a Saudi until the father of the lady found out and ensured he was kicked out of the Gulf. He landed in Tanganyika, now Tanzania, and got a job in a bookshop.
From the bookshop, he moved into sales with Oxford University Press in Zambia. He had not settled into the job long enough when he made an outlandish proposal to his boss who was stationed in Kenya. He wanted a particular house bought for his use when he couldn’t easily find a preferred house to rent. His alarmed boss denied him. Joop was unrelenting. He offered in bargain to double his sales target. If that be it, a deal was struck; he had the house, and at the end of the year, Joop had tripled his sales target. Payment on the house was cleared in two years. For this feat and his sales record, his star spread to Europe.
When Oxford University Press recalled him to Europe to be a part of a global marketing force, he didn’t want the cold or the drudgery of Oxford life, Joop demurred. Evans Publishers, reading the situation, seized on the chance and he was head hunted by Mr C.T. Quin Young, Overseas Director of Evans Publisher and a former Director of Education in Eastern Nigeria. He made him an offer to start their Nigerian office. Joop jumped at it. He arrived in Nigeria on October 31, 1966 and never looked back.
Joop arrived in Nigeria with his family, a brief and a letter. He and his family were initially housed at Premier Hotel, which was the topmost hotel in Ibadan at that time, and a waterhole in the evening for the expatriates in town. From that waterhole, Joop soon raked all the stories in town and in years to follow, he had all the stories that mattered in the country. Joop’s network in the country was massive.
The letter that he carried was addressed to a tall, dark and lanky Nigerian. A complete gentleman. Joop’s boss had met this man in Edinburgh and he had left an imperishable impression on him. ‘Stick to him and you will hardly go wrong’, his boss advised. The man in reference was Mr Ayo Banjo, who became Prof Ayo Banjo, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Emeritus Professor of English. The associational recommendation could not have been better or more fortuitous for Joop for an incursion into the intelligentsia of Nigeria. There was plenty of occupation ahead for Joop and his association with Banjo favored him. Banjo remained a director of all the publishing businesses that Joop built to his very end.
The brief that he carried was to gain some respectable market share in Nigeria. With Evans Publishers, Joop struck gold. One of its authors, Herbert James Larcombe, wrote a masterly series in Arithmetic which was used in every nook and cranny of Nigeria as Larcombe Arithmetic series. In his flush of triumph, Joop canvassed the country selling books, seeking out new authors and making fame for himself and making friendship along the way. Very soon, Evans Publishers, a relatively small publishing company in the UK, was in the league of the big publishing guns: Oxford University Press, Longman Publishers, Macmillan and Heinemann Publishers in Nigeria. Joop had excelled beyond his brief.
Evans Publishers was doing well and they made the same mistake Oxford University Press made in inviting Joop to take up a senior appointment in the UK. Joop turned in his resignation. Nigerian soil, water, sun, hospitality and opportunities were too alluring. Joop knew Nigeria to know where the opportunities were and where the money resided. Under Chief Olu Akinkugbe’s sponsorship, Spectrum Books was born with Joop as Managing Director and Olu Akinkugbe as Chairman.
With Spectrum, Joop was now doing something refreshing. He could scent books not as dictated by the UK, but purely as relevant to Nigeria. He published beyond school books. He felt there were so many voices unheard, a book in everyone, and he soon found fodder in the politicians and soldiers. It was a good chemistry. Joop introduced razzmatazz into book presentations or launching. It was an avenue for the politicians or the powers that be to gather to backslap, flaunt money and power. Money was gathered, a few books were sold, much less were read.
Suddenly under Joop, Spectrum had rapidly climbed the ladder and was spewing out bestsellers. It was also a crucible for growing creative and versatile young publishers. And in a short time, Spectrum fell in the league of major publishers in Nigeria. Today, some of the dominant indigenous publishers in Nigeria grew under the tutelage of Joop.
While Spectrum flourished, a parallel publishing outfit was allegedly floated when enticing World Bank Book Project came knocking. Head high, Chief Olu Akinkugbe exited and Joop’s Safari Books Ltd was born into the open.
In 2014, the Nigerian Book Industry received a shocking directive from the Nigerian Customs that a 35%-50% tariff was going to be slapped on imported books. What! We were having enough challenges selling books and a tariff of that magnitude was going to kill education. Books are sacrosanct in the transmission of ideas, memories, narratives and civilization. It is for that reason that the UNESCO accords it a global zero duty tariff to facilitate universal human development. This Customs tariff of 35% was awfully wrong and retrogressive. We were going to fight it. Joop and I picked up the gauntlet going to see Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Finance under whose Ministry the Nigerian Customs was, going round the country with a few others canvassing against the tariff. We missed seeing the Minister of Education and former Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau, while we were in Abuja. Luckily, we got wind that he would be in Abeokuta as guest of honour at the annual conference of the Nigerian Library Association.
We made for Abeokuta at dawn on the day of the event, uninvited. When the ushers accosted us, we simply said that we were guests of the Minister and we were led straight to the VIP seats on the front row. No one would have noticed that we were gate-crashers but Joop was restless, always craving for attention and continually waving the programme booklet in his hand to get the attention of the Minister, who was on the high table. Joop was a nuisance. At that point, we were noticed and we were both kicked out of the hall. We were no librarians neither were we guests of anybody. I fumed at a lost opportunity because we would just have waited and seen the Minister at the end of the event.
The trouble is that Joop had a knack for making himself conspicuous. If you left an empty seat on the high table at a public function, Joop had no qualms about walking straight to the stage and taking the offer. If he did this, he wore a visage wondering why others thought what he did was against decorum. I was pained by the miss of that golden chance to see the Minister. A wasted trip.
Then Joop said he had an idea. He suggested that we should go and wait for the Minister in the Presidential lodge in the Governor’s residential compound where he would likely be staying. When we got to the Ogun State Presidential Lodge, there was a heavy police presence at the gate. It didn’t matter. We invented some stories and they let us through. They even graciously pointed us to the specific lodge where the Minister was staying. We got there to find people waiting outside the house for the Minister. Joop unhesitantly walked to the living room with me behind him. We took our seats before we were accosted. Again, we gave them a good storyline that the Minister had asked us to wait for him in his living room. Satisfied, they soon returned with drinks and snacks for us. Two out-laws were feted and I almost choked.
Finally, the Minister returned from the conference. As he alighted from his car, we could hear him say loud that he didn’t want to see anyone until he had performed his prayers. As he walked into his living room, he walked straight into our ambush. We had a ten minutes meeting with him with me making the pitch. He was in agreement that the 35% tariff was wrong. He would join us in fighting it.
Stepping out of the living room, I could breathe a sigh of relief and joy of accomplishment. Now famished, I asked Joop if he knew of any restaurant in Abeokuta that we could go to for lunch. He rolled his head and could not come up with one. Suddenly, he said, ‘Kolade, let’s go to Obasanjo’s house. He will have food!’. Just like that, to go to Obasanjo’s house in Abeokuta without invitation or an appointment! ‘Come on, let’s go.’ I followed Joop.
When we got to President Obasanjo’s residence, a polite gentleman carrying a very mean gun asked who we were. ‘Joop, Chief Joop’, Joop said. I gave my name as Kolade. The man went to the sentry to pass on the intercom to the residence that, ‘Joop, Chief Joop Joop and Dr Christopher Kolade would like to see Baba’. “Oh, my God, Kolade”, I said to myself and not Dr. Christopher Kolade. For all the troubles of the day, impersonation had been added to it.
Soon, the gates of President Obasanjo’s residence were flung open and we made our way in. We were tucked into a small ante-room because there was a crowd in a big living room waiting to see him. I prepared myself for a long wait until five minutes later when the door knob turned and President Obasanjo emerged. As we greeted the President, Joop did not mince words or hide our feelings; he said, we were hungry. Obasanjo led us to table and I used the opportunity to solicit his support on our mission to rescind the Custom tariff on books. He too saw some sense in our mission and promised to help.
A few weeks later, we pleasantly received the letter and directive from the Minister of Finance rescinding the 35% tariff on books. It was a victory for books, helped by Joop’s gargantuan reach across the nation. One of Joop’s greatest pride was carrying a Nigerian passport. The country in turn rewarded him with an OON, Order of the Niger, a national merit award, for his services to the publishing industry. I will never forget the joyful smile, pure childlike, he carried all day when the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, conferred a Chieftaincy title on him. At 94, he would have been wise and realistic enough to know that death could come calling. He chose to die in Nigeria because this was home. He loved Nigeria and Nigeria was good to him. He found Nigeria ever so sweet and warm.
I had called him twice the weekend before he passed, unanswered. On Monday, 10 February, 2025, his assistant and care-giver returned my call to let me know he was very poorly. A few hours later, Joop breathed his last.
Joop Berkhout is gone, one of the closing leaves of the great and colourful publishers that transversed our nation. Joop may not have been lettered, but he was a literary luminary. He placed in our hands the voices of Nigeria, particularly the movers and shakers. He will be sorely missed. Dr Kolade Mosuro is a Publisher and Bookseller.
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| | INSURGENCY, ROMANCE AND RUMOURS OF FOREIGN CONSPIRACY |
| A Review of Wale Okediran's MADAGALI By Dr Abubakar Othman
MADAGALI is a fictional story about Lance Corporal Bukar Salisu, a young energetic soldier who was sent to Madagali, a town in North-Eastern Nigeria, to lead a team of soldiers fighting the Boko Haram insurgents. In the course of the mission he ends up falling in love with the daughter of one of the repentant commanders of the Boko Haram sect.
Told through a kaleidoscope of characters, scenes and incidents, MADAGALI x-rays the politics, intrigues, international conspiracies and the challenges facing the Nigerian military in the fight against insurgency, banditry and terrorism that threatens the country.
From the war front in Madagali the story veers off to Kano in North-Western Nigeria, where L/C Salisu and five of his other wounded colleagues are taken to the National Orthopedic hospital for treatment. It is at the hospital that we are to learn in details the circumstances surrounding the Madagali ambush from the conversation between Lt. Col. Bala Hamus (Brigade Commander) and Lt. Tunde Okoka (Platoon Commander) who came to visit L/C Salisu and his colleagues at the hospital. It becomes apparent from the conversation that the military has a divided loyalty and some of the soldiers are actually moles who supply the insurgents with information and logistics.
The narrative style later changes in focus as the author shifts attention from the war front to the conspiracies and complicity of some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the International aid agencies feasting on the Boko Haram crisis in the North-East.
As the Salisu put it; “Part of the fallout of our interrogation of the Boko Haram POW was the overwhelming evidence of how the humanitarian agencies were pampering the insurgents in a classical case of “feeding the enemy’. MADAGALI, though a fictional narrative was born out of rigorous research. Okediran narrates his story with the expertise of a military historian, offering professional details and tactics of war, factual statistics of death and casualties, ranging from the classical Vietnam war, through the unending Sri Lankan War, down to the Nigerian civil war and the current Boko Haram war in North-Eastern Nigeria.
Leveraging on the flexibility of polyphonic narrative style, the author employs different methods to advance the plot of the novel. In his attempt to radicalize the young soldiers to rise against the corruption in the military, he adopts the intellectual approach by using lecturers in the military academy to conscientize the young soldiers. The protest letter written to the President about the challenges in the military is a fall out from the radical thinking they learnt in the military academy. Another fall out is from the emergency meeting with the Chief of Defense Staff where all grievances of the soldiers are addressed, prominent among the issues being the need for overseas training for junior officers in the military.
The young officers return to Nigeria with adequate knowledge and strategies of fighting guerilla war and all kinds of insurgencies. They also find a well equipped and well funded military which gives them the desired motivation. MADAGALI is not entirely about the horrors of war; it is also about love in times of war. As if to say love conquers all pains and fears, the author injects in L/C Salisu the love tonic to extenuate the pains of war. “I was restless throughout that day after I got confirmation from my sister that Jewel was on her way to see me in Nigeria… I was happy that my girlfriend and “future wife” would be around to visit me''.
This is Jewel, the Liberian girl L/C Salisu’s mother offers him as a “wife” when he visited his mother who is now back in her country, Liberia, after his father’s death. But this is not the conflicting love affair. The real love affair that is to complicate matters for the Lance Corporal is that of Safiya, daughter of the repentant Boko Haram leader, Aminu.
The author gave an account of how they met thus: ‘After Aminu’s arrest and debriefing, the middle-aged insurgent had relayed to his daughter how I had saved his life when he was first captured. Somehow, the daughter wanted to thank me for saving her father, she tracked me through some aid workers. That was the beginning of a complex and complicated ethico-moral love relationship between a patriotic and disciplined soldier fighting doggedly to end the Boko Haram war, and a beautiful, resourceful and intelligent daughter of a repentant Boko Haram Commander.
The love theme presents a significant nexus between the Nigerian military, the Boko Haram insurgents and the international aid organizations with Safiya serving as the nexus. A cordial relationship develops gradually between the two in spite of their political affiliations. According to Lt Corporal Salisu: “Due to my closeness to Safiya, I was to learn as much as possible from her about Boko Haram and the international aid groups which she worked for.”
Safiya thus becomes the author’s mouthpiece to divulge classified facts and information critical to the fight against the insurgency. To ensure the free flow of the romantic relationship between her and Salisu, Safiya reminds him that, “Some of the best weddings had taken place in war time. That of the former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon and his wife, Victoria is a good example''.
Although MADAGALI may be a work of fiction but it is also an essential resource material on the problems of insecurity, insurgency and the menace of some international aid organizations working in Nigeria. In addition, MADAGALI pays a fundamental attention to the pathetic nature of Nigeria's prolonged fight against the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents, and it follows a complex dilemma of love. *******
Dr Abubakar Othman (Late) holds a PhD in Literary Psychoanalysis and teaches African poetry and Creative Writing at the University of Maiduguri. His published works include The Palm of Time (2000, Malthouse), The Passions of Cupid (2013 Kraftbooks), and Blood Streams in the Desert (2013 Kraftbooks).
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| | | PAWA'S BOOK OF THE WEEK (Week 44, Fourth Edition) |
| A MOUTH FULL OF SALT by Reem Gaafar, a writer, physician and film maker from Sudan is set in a small farming village in North Sudan which was woken up one morning to the news that a little boy had drowned.
Soon after, the animals die of a mysterious illness and the date gardens catch fire and burn to the ground. The villagers whisper of a sorceress who dwells at the foot of the mountains.
Meanwhile in Khartoum, a single mother makes her way in a world that wants to keep girls and women back. As civil war swells, the political intrudes into the personal and her position in the capital becomes untenable. She must return to the village. A MOUTH FULL OF SALT uncovers a country on the brink of seismic change as its women decide for themselves which traditions are fit for purpose – and which prophecies it’s time to rewrite.
The book which won the 2023 Island Prize is available on Amazon.com
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| | | A WORKSHOP ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR AFRICAN WRITERS |
| PAN AFRICAN WRITERS ASSOCIATION (PAWA) Presented A WORKSHOP ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR AFRICAN WRITERS
THEME: Harnessing AI To Amplify African Narratives The Workshop will be in 4 sessions of 1 hour each. First session: February 19 2025
FACILITATOR: Monica Cheru, Zim Now Managing Partner Harare, Zimbabwe
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| | | The African Languages Week |
| As part of activities to mark the African Languages Week, the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) in collaboration with UNESCO and the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) organized a Panel Discussion on February 24 2025
THEME: Harnessing African Languages For Digital Inclusion, Transformation And Reparations
PANELISTS 1. Dr Marwa Nabil 2. Kola Tubosun 3. Nana S Achampong 4. Beatrice Lamwaka 5. Scoon Boakye Appiah
MODERATOR. Hon John Rusimbi (PAWA President) WELCOME ADDRESS: Mr Edmond Moukala N'Gouemo, UNESCO Representative to Ghana
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| | | Fugard died on Saturday March 8, 2025, according to a report by News24. |
| | | | PAWA'S BOOK OF THE WEEK (Week 48, Fourth Edition) |
| In her thirteenth year, Kirabo confronts a piercing question: who is my mother? Kirabo has been raised by women in the small Ugandan village of Nattetta―her grandmother, her best friend, and her many aunts―but the absence of her mother follows her like a shadow.
Seeking answers from Nsuuta, the local witch, Kirabo learns about the woman who birthed her, who she discovers is alive but not ready to meet her.
Nsuuta also helps Kirabo understand the emergence of a mysterious second self, a headstrong and confusing force inside her―this, says Nsuuta, is a streak of the “first woman”: an independent, original state that has been all but lost to women.
Kirabo’s journey to reconcile these feelings, is rich in the folklore of Uganda and an arresting exploration of what it means to be a modern girl in a world that seems determined to silence women.
The book by the award winning Ugandan author, Jennifer Nansugba Makumbi is available on Amazon.com
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| | | PAWA'S BOOK OF THE WEEK ( Week 49, Fourt Edition) |
| MY MOTHER, MY TEACHER is a poignant memoir by Bahia Mahmud Awah a writer from Western Sahara.
Separated from his family in the aftermath of the failed decolonization process in Western Sahara, Bahia Mahmud Awah was sustained by recollections of his mother. In this memoir, he describes her sacrifices, her optimism, and her deep love.
His family's experiences exemplify the larger story of loss and displacement in the region even as his story shows how shared memories can nourish community and culture across generations, even in exile.
Incorporating poetry in Hassaniya, the traditional Saharawi language, the work highlights the role of language in shaping identity and resisting colonialism.
The book is available on Amazon.com
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| | | PAWA SALUTES PROF LADE WOSORNU @ 88 |
| The Pan African Writers Association ( PAWA) has sent a congratulatory message to Prof Lade Wosornu on his 88th birthday, today, March 24 2025. Ladé Wosornu, a retired Professor of Surgery is a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and a poet, essayist and newspaper columnist. He has had a distinguished professional and academic career in surgery, practicing in Ghana, Zambia and Saudi Arabia. In addition, Wosornu is a celebrated Ghanaian poet known for his thought-provoking poetry collections some of which are compulsory texts for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations. In his message, PAWA's Secretary General, Dr Wale Okediran acknowledged Prof Wosornu's untiring efforts in the promotion of African Literature in indigenous languages. While congratulating Prof Wosornu, PAWA wishes him many more productive and impactful years ahead. |
| | | The “Unveiling and Review of Dr.O.P.Asem”: the Webinar platform |
| The good thing about “The unveiling of ‘*Dr. O. P. Asem” as an event to commemorate the 2025 edition of the World Theatre Day is that it is meant to be global—beyond borders—and thus, a webinar platform was available to connect online audience with the physical session. All of our guests outside Accra and Ghana were able to join the event through this webinar platform on Thursday 27th March 2025
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| | | | Gemspread Publishing in partnership with the African University of Communication and Business (AUCB) and the Pan-African Writers Association (PAWA) presents
Ma Kẹkẹ Short Story Contest X The Ama Ata Aidoo Award
Africa is blessed with numerous creative writing talents who need accessible platforms with a wide reach to share their gifts with the world. This contest and award have been instituted as such a platform to celebrate emerging voices on the continent. Flex your talent. Share your story. And this could be your open door to authorship. Follow this link for more information
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| | | Prof. Lade Wosornu’s Book “The Casebook of Dr. O. P. Asem” Launche |
| As a distinguished surgeon, poet, essayist, and educator, his career embodies the principles of STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), demonstrating the innovative potential that emerges when diverse disciplines intersect.”
Click to read |
| | | Women's History Week Celebration |
| The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) Writers of African Origin In Diaspora (WAFORD) and Tuskegee University Celebrated Women's History Week on Saturday March 29, 2025 |
| | Is working online really worth it? For Parents and Guardians |
| Prof Akinbodewa A Ondo City, Nigeria February 28, 2025
If you are a parent, guardian or employer of labour, you probably would have heard some young people (19-24 years) giving you attitude about getting real-time work. Some, at the slightest whiff of discipline "drop your job for you" and find their way out. You hear of stuff like, "I need my space", "I can survive online", "I can't waste my time in the office waiting for monthly pay" etc.
Aside the fact that getting a job with government office is hard to come by (which is not fair, actually), some Gen Zs give an impression that they'd rather work online and make good money than show up in the office even if they are begged to have it.
They cut a figure of success online and one is quick to assume that "they are alright" and, really making it online especially when you see their nicely chosen business names, fine logos, e-flyers, ads etc on their social media handles. This is made worse when they see some so-called "influencers" flaunting their wealth online.
But do you, as a parent/guardian know that a large number of these starry-eyed, imaginative, budding youths are not really doing well on their online jobs? Do you really know that they need to be mentored despite their external facade? That you can't actually afford to leave them alone? Please, watch over them especially if you are a parent. Nurture them. Most time, the exciting, lively and bubbly persona you see online is just a show to put people off from seeing their real, true state.
MANY OF THEM ARE NOT REALLY DOING WELL ONLINE based on the following available hard facts.
1. Freelancing & Gig Work: About 50% of Gen Z and Millennials (18-34 years old) have participated in freelance work, according to surveys from platforms like Upwork and Fiverr . However, only a smaller proportion makes substantial income. Talented youths should be guided to get regular jobs or learn a self sustaining trade while they master the process of making good money as freelancers on part-time basis. Once they've become gurus, they may then choose to go full-time.
2. Content Creation (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram): Less than 5-10% of creators earn a sustainable income, with most making small amounts or nothing. That's an abysmal number! However, with good mentoring (parents can help register them with gurus), they can earn more. For example, even though a significant 46% of creators earn less than $1,000 per year, 12% of full-time creators earn $50,000 or more annually. The number of successful content creators can actually improve with good parental guidance. Parents don't have to be content creators but Gen Zs need to trust the native intelligence of their experienced parents and guardians rather than view them as dinosaurs.
3. E-commerce & Dropshipping: Around 10-15% of young people have tried selling online, but only a fraction succeed long-term.
4. Crypto, Investing, and Trading: Many try it, but only a small percentage (often less than 5%) make consistent profits. This is really not surprising but many youths don't know. However, the older generation, from experience know.
5. Other points to note: (i) Globally, an estimated 10-20% of youth are making at least "some money" online, but only around 5% are earning enough to consider it a primary income source.
This article is not set about to deride those who claim to make money online. Not at all. It is basically put out there to help parents and guardians understand their roles in ensuring their children and wards really make a success of it whenever they say they are working online.
Parents and guardians should also help gen Zs adapt to the realities of life: hardwork, respect for the experienced folks who know how to make money from real life work, respect for time, patience, perseverance, readiness to learn, value for vertical and horizontal relationship etc.
Yes, the youths of today "seem to know" what they are doing but the hard truth is that only a tiny fraction of them are really, really making it online. Perhaps a blend of the two worlds is all they need to strike a healthy balance and, I believe that for them to achieve good success and improve the numbers, parents and guardians need to seriously engage their children who claim to work and depend on online jobs. Cheers.
References 1. Forbes.com 2. Harworth J. 57+ Freelance Statistics, Trends and Insights (2024) 3. Twenty Creator Economy Statistics That Will Blow You Away in 2023, Influencer Marketing Hub |
| | | Henry Chakava: A Pioneer of Indigenous Publishing in Kenya and Africa |
| | | | | 77 years ago, on 28th february 1948, Ghana's drive to independence from Brirish colonial rule was sparked with the shooting of 3 ex-service men at the christianborg castle crossroads. In commemorating this pivotal event, we introduce our commemorative package features; ■28th crossroads animated movie ■original movie score, and ■wall papers all STREAMING ON KOLIKO+ App, powered by Parables Download now and have a happy celebrative week Hit the link below to download the app(free) and watch Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koliko App Store: https://apps.apple.com/gh/app/koliko/id6450822299 |
| | | Book cover: Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah (Penguin, 2025) |
| Mphuthumi Ntabeni writes a regular book column for LitNet. Title: Theft Author: Abdulrazak Gurnah Publisher: Penguin Random House (2025) ISBN: 9781324094562
Theft is the first novel Abdulrazak Gurnah has released since winning the Nobel Prize for literature in 2021. Epic in a true sense of the word, it follows the intertwining lives of three Tanzanians, Badar, Karim and Fauzia, and their coming of age in the fast-changing world of Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania.
Gurnah, who now lives in Canterbury, England, is a professor of English at the University of Kent. Born in Zanzibar, he has lived in the UK for a long time, but most of his books are set in Tanzania.
Gurnah’s favourite theme – that of a young man sold by family members into what we may term domestic slavery – returns in Theft. His previously successful novel with this theme is Paradise, in which we follow the story of Yusuf, born in the fictional town of Kawa in Tanzania at the turn of the 20th century. Yusuf’s father is a hotelier and is indebted to a rich and powerful Arab merchant named Aziz. Yusuf is pawned in exchange for the cancellation of his father’s debt. He must work as an unpaid servant for the merchant to pay it off.
He joins Aziz’s caravan, travelling into the interior to the lands west of Lake Tanganyika, and meeting hostility from local tribes, wild animals and treacherous terrain. As the caravan returns to East Africa, World War I begins and Yusuf encounters the German army as they sweep across Tanzania, forcibly conscripting African men as soldiers.
The intertwining of African and Western history is one of my favourite things in Gurnah’s writings. It compels us to look at history in a holistic manner that doesn’t privilege one point of view over others. By so doing, not only does it expose our commonalities, but it also renders the effects of history universal.
In Theft, Gurnah moves slightly away from the genre of historical novel into social realism. The book is set between the ’60s and the ’90s, the period fast becoming Gurnah’s favourite years for ruminating about Tanzanian history. You feel his sense of nostalgia and wonder about what could have been in a personal and national sense. In Theft, Badar, who grew up with a surrogate family, is returned to work for his relatives when he starts causing trouble, due to his hormonal pubescent changes. His surrogate sister accuses him of eyeing her when she is washing. She is a mean character who condescendingly calls Badar “Mkojozi” (Bedwetter), because he used to wet his sleeping mat when he was younger. ....... In Theft, Gurnah moves slightly away from the genre of historical novel into social realism. The book is set between the ’60s and the ’90s, the period fast becoming Gurnah’s favourite years for ruminating about Tanzanian history. ........ Badar has the luck of an orphan. He has never known his real parents. His mother died of the pandemic (cholera) when Badar was younger. No one in the family knows what happened to his father. One day, he took to the harbour as a stowaway to God knows where. He was never heard of again. The household Badar is sent to work for, in Dar es Salaam, treats him like a hired help, concealing their biological relationship to him. He learns to cook, bake and clean the house. He most enjoys the company of Juma, their gardener, who teaches traditional wisdom, all along hinting to his real identity.
Though treated well, he is soon enough accused of theft. It turns out that his real father is related to the house owner, Haji, and stole money from his father, Uncle Othman, who resents Badar because of this. As his luck would have it, Badar strikes up a protective friendship with the son of the house, Karim, who has come to stay in the house while attending varsity. Karim takes Badar under his wing when he is about to be thrown onto the streets as punishment for his theft. We shall come back to the story after we have learned more about Karim.
The book is written very well, competently tackling issues of the feminine struggle with patriarchal African culture. It begins with Raya, a young woman from the little rural village of Unguja, being married off to an older man, Bakari Abbas. In a relentless struggle against the cruelty of her husband, Raya eventually pretends to visit her home, never to return to her matrimonial house. She chooses the humiliation and social stigma of returning to her parents’ home with her three-year-old boy, Karim. Gurnah writes female characters very well, and vividly delineates the extant impact of patriarchy. He makes feminist theories tangible in the simple and real experiences of African women.
Karim is the main protagonist of the book, but the early struggles of his mother, Raya, lay life-changing foundations for the path of his life. In the second section of the book, we follow Karim’s life, first living with his grandparents when his mother abandons him to marry the pharmacist Haji in Dar es Salaam. Karim moves in with his half-brother when his grandparents die, and stays there until he goes to varsity in Dar. This is where and how he meets Badar.
In Bongo City (Dar), Karim rekindles his relationship with his mother and gets on very well with her husband, Haji, the pharmacist. After he graduates, he marries Fauzia, whose life we also have been following from her village. Theft is a beautifully expansive novel. Overriding her fears of transmitting her mild epilepsy condition, Fauzia eventually falls pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. Their marriage is challenged by the rigours of married life, postpartum depression and taking care of a very demanding newborn. This situation, too, is used by the author to interrogate the state of modern marriage, another one of his favourite topics that is more developed in the novel Admiring silence.
This is still my favourite book from Gurnah’s oeuvre; an unnamed Zanzibari man flees his island in the ’60s, settles in England, becomes a teacher, enters into an interracial relationship and jointly raises a recalcitrant teenage daughter. Autofictional? After 20 years, without having ever visited his Tanzanian homeland, the narrator travels back to Zanzibar to reflect on his past and finds a place that is no longer home. Everywhere, he feels overwhelmed and out of his depth. There is a hint of him starting an affair with a talkative lady he sits next to on the plane back to the UK.
Gurnah’s nostalgia for Tanzanian cuisine and culture is displayed very efficiently in the household of Raya, Karim’s mother. She is a kind and doting mother. The novel, in general, is culturally informative – traditional and neoteric at the same time, when it comes to the delicious cuisine of Zanzibar, the spice island. With his unresolved hatred transference issues toward Badar due to the disappointments left behind by Badar’s father, Uncle Othman is the one who successfully campaigns with his son to fire Badar. Karim saves Badar by inviting him to move to his own house. ........ Theft is a well-calibrated book of mannerisms, character development and finding your place in the world – an ordinary family saga that is refreshingly free of African horror/tragedy pornography. ....... Badar eventually gets a job working at a hotel. Is it too modest even to admit that the soft spot he has for Karim’s wife is a crush? Karim, who has been discontent, suffering from “unappeased longings” since his wife gave birth to their daughter, incurs a fatal complication by entangling himself with a young, white European guest, Jerry, staying at the hotel where Badar works. And with that we are cleverly introduced to another theft scenario.
This metaphorically places us in the mess of colonial and racial theft. Those who have ears shall hear and learn that marriage is choosing to stay, as you learn to cope with things you did not know about the person you are living with.
Theft is a well-calibrated book of mannerisms, character development and finding your place in the world – an ordinary family saga that is refreshingly free of African horror/tragedy pornography.
It is written in simple, easy to read language that is not simplistic. It often astounds with original and fresh descriptions and definitions of things. Consider this small passage of a woman (Fauzia) waking up to the sudden realisation of her broken marriage: Some things seem predictable after they have happened, when before they might have seemed unlikely. He was gone, and it was as if she had known he would be. He was gone, and when he came back, if he came back, she would not be there. She did not want to speak to anyone, not yet. She sat on the sofa, the sun streaming in through the window behind her, considering how to proceed, contemplating what she could retrieve from the wreckage of her life. In her own heart, she had started to suspect that love was ailing some time ago, but she had not known that it would come to this so swiftly. (117) |
| | | Join us for the closing conference of Dr. Wale Okediran’s residency at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) — an inspiring evening at the crossroads of literature, medicine, and politics. Titled “Story, Science & Society: The Tripod of Literature, Medicine & Politics,” this talk draws from Dr. Okediran’s unique journey as a medical doctor and acclaimed novelist. Through this residency, Dr. Okediran has explored how storytelling can serve as a powerful tool to humanize healthcare, deepen civic understanding, and build empathy in medical education. In this final session, he will share insights from his project, highlights from his international engagements, and reflections on his interdisciplinary experience at IAS. The event will also spotlight student voices from the Travel Writing Workshop, a residency initiative that invited participants to narrate their lived experience. A preview of the upcoming student anthology will be presented. 📅 Thursday, April 3rd 🕕 18h30 📍 Salle Laâyoune – SHBM, UM6P |
| | | | We're still open for submissions. Mpilo Publishing continues to foster the mandate of self-publishing life-changing books that heal, inform and empower. If you have a story, whether in a form of a memoir (a window to a part of your life), a biography (a life-story of someone else), or an autobiography (your life-story), send us your manuscript to ad...@mpilopublishing.co.za. |
| | | | | Why AI Can't Take Over Creative Writing |
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| PAWA AND THE AFRICA CENTRE TO COLLABORATE |
| The Pan African Writers Association ( PAWA) and The Africa Centre, London, UK have agreed to collaborate in Literary activities under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) sector. The agreement was part of the outcome of a recent meeting in London between the Secretary General of PAWA, Dr Wale Okediran and the Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Centre, Mr Olu Alake ( Left in the above picture) The Africa Centre which was founded in 1964 has over the years been involved in many Cultural and Literary activities similar to PAWA'S activities. |
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