By Ayo Kehinde
The Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos came alive on Sunday for the 14th Committee for Relevant Art, CORA-Nigeria Prize for Literature Book Party for 11 writers long listed for the 2023 edition of the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature, NPL, endowed by the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas, NLNG. The company inaugurated the prize for literature in 2004 with a $50,000 prize.
This year’s genre in literature is drama with 11 long listed authors drawn from 143 plays submitted for the 2023 edition of the prize.
The long listed authors are: Professor Bode Sowande with THE SPELLBINDER, a psychological play about cleansing of our general mental instability with forgiveness at the root of the resolution of the problem; Professor Obari Gomba with GRIT, a play that provides deeper insight into the destructive impact of soul-less politics which brings out the beast in man; Professor Chris Anyokwu with THE BOAT PEOPLE, a play about the socio-cultural relevance dealing with experiences referred to as “Japa,”- forced emigration from a disadvantaged country to a perceived developed country in search of greener pastures and Victor Dugga with GIDAN JUJU, a narrative about kingship and succession.
Others are Ade Adeniji with DANCE OF THE SACRED FEET, a play about upholding the sanctity of cultural tradition and yet making a space to accommodate change and diversity for peace and progress; Cheta Igbokwe with HOMECOMING, which provides insight into the tragic experiences and the psychological life of the people; Abuchi Modilim with THE BRIGADIERS OF A MAD TRIBE, a discourse of the politics of the marriage between science and voodoo; Abideen Abolaji Ojomu with THE OJUELEGBA CROSSROADS, a metaphor of a society in dire need of purging.
Three others who complete the longlist are Olubunmi Familoni with WHEN BIG MASQUERADES DANCE NAKED, a play about the dimension of systemic corruption and criminal alliance in tradition and contemporary politics; Olatunbosun Taofeek with WHERE PATIENCE IS ZERO, an engagement on the international politics of disease and economy during COVID-19; and Henry Akubuiro with YAMTARAWALA, THE WARRIOR KING, a historical play full of drama and ritual about a 16th century king in Kanem- Bornu empire.
Addressing the audience composed of the NNLG people led by General Manager, External Relations, Andy Odeh, the CORA group led by its matron, Ajayi Taiwo-Lycett, the long listed authors and their families and friends and many writers and publishers, CORA spokesperson, Jahman Anikulapo said the event featured the “best writers on contemporary issues on the planet,” and praised the NNLG for endowing the prize consistently for the past 19 years as a way of sharing profit to allow Nigerian readers in particular and the world generally read good works of literature.
Shortly before the authors mounted the stage to talk about their plays, Ropo Owenla, also of CORA, informed the audience that the event was part of the group’s periodic extension services to deepen audience participation in the works of the authors and Francis Nwuche, actor and film producer, Bridget Nkem, Hadiza and Iwenla took turns to read excerpts from the 11 plays.
Taking their turns one after the other, the authors gave account of the motivation for their works and their expectations for the prize.
According to Professor Sowande, “the challenge of mental health in Nigeria is monumental, there are a lot of mental health issues in Nigerian politics. I define mental health challenges as the inability to communicate your humanity and feeling locked in and locked out. In the play, you have a lot of the characters who are challenged and need the therapy that would break through the psyche of the individual for healing. How do we deal with mental health challenges in Nigeria? All I can say is that it is like an onion with many layers but it can be done.”
For Professor Gomba,“ I wanted to write a play about politics and how to create an interface between family and politics.” Gomba, who is a nominee for the fifth time since 2020, said he expects the prize with cautious optimism because, “the value of the prize is bigger than the verdict of the jury.”
Taofeek said up till now no valid answer has been provided by medical science and world leaders for the carrier of COVID-19 virus and fears that another virus may be in the offing. That is how the title of his play PATIENT ZERO came about.
Dugga who said tradition is at a crossroads with the coming of modern technological development wants, “modern processes to be put in place to preserve the vibrant heritage of our community.”
Akubuiro said he was following in the footsteps of playwrights like Ola Rotimi who fictionalized Oba Overanmwen of Benin empire and William Shakespeare who wrote Julius Caesar, to portray the virtues of resilience, courage and the challenge that comes with managing success.
The “Japa” syndrome that has seen many youths vote with their feet from the perceived rotten African society with dare consequences for emigrants patronizing rickety boats across the seas can only be reversed, “when African leaders begin to fix their economies and make life habitable for their people,” said Professor Anyokwu.
Ojomu said in a world that sees everything black as representing bad, Africans must “ hold their values paramount in defining themselves and unite.”
Using the masquerade as a metaphor, a map of ancestral spirit, to represent the governing elite who are often inaccessible to the people and the struggle of the people to define their life by trying to unmask the masquerade is depicted in Familoni’s play according to him.
Igbokwe said he was motivated by the problem of recognition while waiting at the Murtala International Airport, Lagos to receive a sister who was coming home after staying abroad for 11 years.
To round up the charmed evening, NNLG GM, Odeh said when the prize started in 2004, quality of proof reading, writing and editing was at their lowest ebb but through the years, “we are proud that works of excellence by Nigerian authors as shown by the quality of the works has vastly improved,” stating that NNLG would continue to promote the prize as part of, “our core values of excellence.”
Lycett praised the authors for devoting time and effort for creativity in the midst of want and lack. She urged them to sustain the genre in plays and drama because “our people do not read and we need to reach them through highlighting development issues. You have to galvanize and politicise our people through dialogue to change their world”
