Nigerians have been called upon to be vigilant to ensure that the 2023 elections produce results that actually reflect the will of the Nigerian electorate.
This was the key item in a ten-point communiqué issued at the end of an international conference in honour of late renowned author, Elechi Amadi, in Port Harcourt, Sept-22-23 2022.
Tagged ANA/RSU International Conference on Creative Writing: Celebrating Elechi Amadi, the conference charged all institutions, departments of government and non-state actors responsible for the promotion and institutionalisation of democracy in the country to work assiduously to ensure free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria in 2023.
The conference, organised by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Rivers State branch, and the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, also demanded the democratisation of education in Nigeria, specifically calling for the abolition of prohibitive examination fees for WAEC, JAMB and UTME examinations, according to the communiqué signed jointly by Anaele Ihuoma, LOC Chairman, Dr Ndubuisi Ogbuagu, Head, Department of English and Literary Studies, RSU/LOC Co-Chairman, and Chief Adi Wali, Chairman ANA Rivers State.
The Communique further called on the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) “to immediately enter into honest dialogue (not dialogue of the deaf), to meet the legitimate needs of the striking teachers and to accord education the budgetary priority it deserves in the overall developmental scheme of Nigeria”.
The Communiqué weighed in on the problems besetting the publishing industry in Nigeria and called for fiscal incentives to bolster the sector. It reads further: “We call for a review of policies that impact the book industry and, in particular, we ask for tax and other incentives for the local production of newsprint/printing paper, as well as tariff waivers for the importation of same, pending production that satisfies local demand.”
The conference decried what it termed the “Federal Government’s insensitivity to the problem of book production and distribution in Nigeria”, citing the prohibitive cost of moving books from one location to another. “We therefore urge the government to support the efforts of Nigerian writers to distribute their works through instituting a supportive tariff regime for book distribution. We do not see why the federal post office system should charge the same amount for a kilo of books and a kilo of say, cigarettes, being moved from Lagos to Abuja, especially for a country that wants to promote reading culture. The same thinking should also apply with regard to Nigerian books aiming at the global market” the conference stated:
On the security situation in Nigeria, the conference stated: We condemn acts of violence, terrorism and criminality in any part of the country and call on those who sponsor and/or abet such acts to immediately desist from their nefarious activities.”
The communiqué commended the Vice-Chancellor of the Rivers State University, Professor Nlerum S. Okogbule, and the management team of the University for their able leadership in steering the affairs of the institution and in bringing the Rivers State University to global limelight. It also called on the Rivers State University to establish a Centre of Excellence named after Elechi Amadi to immortalise the renowned author.
The conference drew participants from several parts of the country while eminent writers and book industry personalities sent in goodwill messages from across the globe. The theme of the conference was ELECHI AMADI, LITERATURE AND THE NIGERIAN SOCIO-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT.
Text follows:
.Communiqué issued at the end of the maiden ANA/RSU INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CREATIVE WRITING: Celebrating Elechi Amadi
Introduction
The International Conference on Creative Writing: Celebrating Elechi Amadi, convened at the instance of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Rivers State Branch, and the Rivers State University, took place from September 22nd through 23rd 2022, at Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. This maiden edition of the conference was in honour of Captain Elechi Amadi, one of Nigeria’s most renowned writers. The international conference drew participants from several parts of the country while eminent writers and book industry personalities sent in goodwill messages. The theme of the conference was ELECHI AMADI, LITERATURE AND THE NIGERIAN SOCIO-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT.
At the end of the conference the following Communiqué was issued:
The Local Environment
- We commend the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Rivers State Branch and the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, for their wisdom and foresight instituting the conference and honouring the memory of Elechi Amadi, and we welcome conferences of this sort and any other events designed to honour the memory of Elechi Amadi, one of Africa’s leading writers.
- We hope that similar conferences can be organised in future to honour other writer in Rivers State and Nigeria, whether living or demised, young or established .
- We commend the Vice Chancellor and the management team of the Rivers State University for the able leadership in steering the affairs of the Rivers State University and in bring the institution to global limelight.
National Issues
- We call on the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to immediately enter into honest dialogue (not dialogue of the deaf), to meet the legitimate needs of the striking teachers and to accord education the budgetary priority it deserves in the overall developmental scheme of Nigeria.
- We demand democratisation of education in Nigeria through the implementation of policies such as the abolition of prohibitive examination fees for WAEC, JAMB and UTME examinations.
- We call for a review of policies that impact the book industry and, in particular, we ask for tax and other incentives for the local production of newsprint/printing paper, as well as a tariff waiver for the importation of same pending production that satisfies local demand.
- We note with sadness, Federal Government’s insensitivity to the problem of book production and distribution in Nigeria, as exemplified by the prohibitive cost of moving books from one location to another. We therefore urge the government to support the efforts of Nigerian writers to distribute their works through instituting a supportive tariff for book distribution. We do not see why the federal post office system should charge the same amount for a kilo of books and a kilo of say, cigarettes being moved from Lagos to Abuja, especially for a country that wants to promote reading culture. The same thinking should also apply with regard to Nigerian books aiming at the global market.
- We call on all institutions, departments of government and non-state actors responsible for the promotion and institutionalisation of democracy in the country to work assiduously to ensure free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria in 2023.
- We call for vigilance and commitment on the part of the electorate to ensure that election results as announced reflect the wishes of the electorate.
- We condemn acts of violence, terrorism and criminality in any part of the country and call on those who sponsor and/or abet such acts to immediately desist from their nefarious activities.
Dated, this 29th Day of September 2022
Signed
Anaele Ihuoma ……………………. Dr Ndubuisi Ogbuagu ………. Chief Adi Wali …………
Chairman, LOC …………….. ………………..Chairman, ANA, Rivers State
HoD, English & Lit Studies, RSU Co-Chairman, LOC
