Amid this, it was time to thank the members who endeavoured to attend. Ukah put it this way: "I thank you all for the efforts to be here in spite of the general insecurity in the land.  The times are difficult, but to you all, literature must thrive, authorship has to be given priority attention. Therefore, we are here not only to discuss the business of writing but to also see to it that this association is totally devoid of constant rancor and avoidable divisive tendencies."

Ukah went on: "Your dexterity, resilience, defying scarcity of fuel, insecurity, kidnapping, banditry, all, to be here is the hallmark of writers, mostly members of ANA. I am happy the attendance is larger this year. God has been our guiding light ever since." To him ANA affairs are usually a family matter which always needs close-knit ideas to resolve and thrash out.  "This is why we are here to rub minds on how to move forward, forging new ideas that will reignite, reinvigorate the necessary literary firmament".

The association gave itself a pat on the back for surviving years of squabbles. The president declared: "I venture to say that ANA has done well given the times we are in. We have continuously proved our resilience and the public can even testify to it that ANA indeed belongs to a body of resilient writers. At 40, we have come a long way. WE can conveniently say we are proud of our association.  We have come thus far because we believe it is a collective responsibility. This is why we have been working with the state chapters for these laudable achievements we have recorded".

The gathering noted that in all situations, literature has a major role to play not only in national development but in the emancipation of the human mind and resolve. Over time, literature, literary offerings and ideas, have been used to change societies. Ideas properly put in written forms help planners, scientists, opinion molders, leaders with the capacity to think, to push for societal advancement. Most ideas to discover new things, to let the people advance beyond certain limits come from documentation.

Now, more than ever, Nigeria needs literature to grow.  Science and technology depend on creative works to thrive and Nigeria should not be an exception. It is creative minds that generate ideas: ideas that propel a society to a level where it is bigger, better and richer than others. Therefore, works of writers in all spheres are very critical to national development. Ukah averred: "We have to keep doing deep thinking within the depth of our minds. We have to go right deeper into our inner-selves to generate ideas when we write: It can be fiction; it can be faction. It can even be other creative formats that touch on the vibes of the people, on the society generally.

"It is possible also for us to situate our problems via fiction, in poetry forms. Dramas often say it all. We then need to take this challenge very seriously. This is why we also need books for the children, relevant books that can help us to restructure their minds as they grow up. If we make them have early exposure to the proper literary materials, we would have been able to reorder their intellectual foundation".

As writers, it then became imperative for them to first realize how relevant these works are in the society.  When this is done it helps to open up a child's mind to the ideals of scholarship. The role of literature must continue to remain great, to be seen to be incontrovertible and the road to civilization. And in it all, writers must build, equip themselves with formidable forces good enough to chart a way to El-dorado.

The body of writers equally pointed out that the reward for hard work is equal to more work. Therefore, there is no moment of respite for the writer since the writer is the mirror of the society. Let the writer also continuously deepen his muse, foster his creative ideals well abreast of the exigencies of the time. Therefore we have to create our own ideal society in our works.

Thirdly, a committee to scrutinize membership across states has to be set up. This is so in order to ensure proper documentation of who truly becomes ANA member. After that the constitution has to be reviewed in consonance with the situation as it were. It is called a membership verification exercise. Yet, the Mbari Book project set up in Ibadan, Oyo State equally came up for mention. Other issues included the 500 KVA generator provided at the writers village, Abuja. For now, it powers the centre and that makes it an all-year-round El-dorado. To Kwara State, the restoration chapter goes all these accolades for providing the conducive atmosphere to hobnob on literature even when it is obvious the times are lugubrious, harsh and unpredictable.

A visit to ANA benefactor Yusuf Ali (SAN) in his Ilorin office brought to the climax the program of events.  Obviously, Ali was happy to see that his help to ANA has been yielding the desired fruits. Also, the hosting by Dr. Usman Mustapha Akanbi at his Enclave was all the writers needed to feel the kindred spirit, the hallowed loveliness of Ilorin. Then the hotel, the centre of convergence for writers suited all for the purpose it served. For three days the Purple Hills hotel, Fate-tanke, Ilorin, became a beehive of bustling and bubbling just because authors chose it as their place of home away from home.

Even as ANA pledges for more books to be donated for this project, it also extends its hands of fellowship to other well-meaning Nigerians to partner with authors to reawaken the reading culture in the society. As always, let writers continue to write, berating leaders, rediscovering new ideals for growth and development, so that in the nearest time, ideas, deep ideas of advancement would rule the society and the people.