The theme was Reconstructing civilization through books. Put together by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Lagos State Chapter, it was part of the just concluded Nigerian International Book Fair which took place at the National Theatre, Lagos. Authors from far and near, with the presence of publishers and some book agents and booksellers who were in attendance. The discussion helped to fine-tune and harmonize the synergy between books and civilization. Edozie Udeze reports.

THE greatest beauty about the Nigerian International Book Fair that happens May every year, is the opportunity it offers people in the book business to meet. And meeting is just one of the binding factors in the matter. The book fair which has turned 25 years, this year has an aura that is very irresistible. That aura is when authors meet. It is when one meets writers he has not seen in years. Then they converge, they talk books. Talking books is a big deal, buying books, sharing books, bantering over books for hours all help to reignite and reinvigorate the joy of the occasion, the joy of being writers.

In the main, the Nigerian book fair, now ranked among one of the best in the world has come to be a serious rallying point. So, last week when authors met at the National Theatre, Lagos, for the usual authors groove, to use the moment to ginger members on, the topic for discussion was simply: Reconstructing civilization through books. Yes, books open people's eyes to the events that shape the globe. In choosing the theme for discussion, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Lagos State Chapter, consulted profusely with ANA national to arrive at a theme that beats at the heart of the matter.

ANA is usually keen about the authors hub/groove. This year was kickstarted by ANA president, Dr. Dipo Usman Akanbi. Akanbi is a scientist, but his deep interest in books, in creative writing often overshadows his love for Agronomy. And so he carried members along in his stimulating opening speech. He recalled with deep and candid recourse why Achebe and others took the pain to form ANA. This was in 1981. He also recalled without mincing words, the leadership cadre of ANA from its inception till date.

Akanbi is a man of vivid and guided memory. He told members to write to deepen knowledge. He charged them to sit up, to see the happenings in the society as their source of inspiration to write.

"First, I thank ANA, Lagos, for being the pioneer of this sort of outing", he said, nodding towards Dr. Bosun Taofeek, chairman of ANA, Lagos. As he spoke, he poured encomiums on the organizers of the book fair. Yet he said once more, "Let us thank Professor Olu Obafemi, a former president of ANA, for his zeal about ANA. He is here with us. We also welcome Uche Anioke as we pay big tributes to those who made ANA tick right from its formation.

"I was in form two when ANA was formed. Today I am glad I am part of the people that continue to fly the flag. What informs who we are is creativity. We are wired to create stories, to write to reshape the society. Is this not a way of reconstructing civilization where books take the upperhand?

"When we write", the president fired on, "we make the literary circle alive. The pen is our power, it is our source of reinventing the society. Once we write, we have people that read what we have written. We in ANA are known for writing and nothing more. Yes, it is a partnership to bring all of us together, Repronigs, also included".

He praised the resilience of ANA in conformity with the huge development at the headquarters at Mpape, Abuja. It is the Mamman Vatsa Writers Village, where writing ferments, and the foremost centre in Nigeria, the best in Africa. With over 80 rooms hotels, ANA has come to use its meager resources to shame cynics, to become a giant.

In his welcome remarks, Taofeek dwelt on the relevance of the topic for discussion. He also extended his goodwill to ANA, Lagos, for being a pioneer in many strides. "ANA, Lagos, does not joke with a programme like this. We thank members for their enthusiasm, unalloyed support and commitment towards our programmes". He recalled some of the programmes ANA has done in Lagos to boost the moral and rating of the writers guild. Taofeek himself is an award winning writer, poet, dramatist, name it. He has taken ANA to its greatest height within years of assuming chairmanship. Today both local and ANA national agree that Lagos serves as a literary hub in the southwest of Nigeria.

In the process of the event, poet and author, Stanley Danjuma, read and performed from his collection on Oshodi. In it all, the beauties and ugliness of Oshodi surfaced. Written in spicy broken English, Danjuma dotted on Oshodi. He lionized and also denigrated it as a beehive, as a den of all that is bad and strange and incongruous. Yes, Agberos of Oshodi, so titled to situate a meeting point for the good and the ugly. "If you wan come to oshodi/to hang around and see action/to know de things wey dey happen/make you no do like JJC".

With its lyrics running like the thunder of storm, Danjuma enwrapped the hall with humour. The ideas of writing with the appropriate titles and headlines to make your book sell was handled by an Indian book merchant. His name is Juzar Badami. Badami advised authors to give sellable titles to their books. "It is the first thing that attracts a reader. Also the cover design should be attractive to readers", he said.

School children also performed from their own collection of poems. They also dazzled. Nora Sanya who moderated the discourse session was meticulous. She took discussants on windy but rich roads to civilization via books. The discussants were Oladele Adejobi, Abiodun Babatunde, Amarachukwu Chimeke, and Olusola Awelewa. The questions were carefully crafted on the incursion of books into civilization. How does book engage civilization? How does man use books to reconstruct civilization? How possible? In the past, books written by foremost writers and creative people were mainly influenced by folklores, stories handed from generation to generation.

Authors then handled the ingredients of the stories to navigate the conscience of readers. It was civilization at work indeed. But what is the role of publishers in this matter? Babatunde, a publisher, heaped the blame on the high cost of printing materials. "All we need to publish are imported", he said. "Therefore foreign exchange is also an issue. This is why the cost of printing is very high. Again, we usually advise writers on the type of books to write to make money" he said.

With this, other discussants equally opened up. Awelewa was of the opinion that civilization takes time to take hold of a people. Creative and innovative books help. Yet, people write based on their own experiences which can in many ways help to harness progress and so on. But Chimeke who opened up quickly asserted that books are used to rebuild societies. "We had books that brought good meanings of what people stood for in the past", she said. "Most of the books were influenced by folktales and so on".

Adejobi quipped: "The quality of some of the books at Alaba market are low. How do we account for that? Sometimes some pages are muddled up or are missing entirely". When a suggestion was made to print low quality books for students to buy, someone disagreed. "That will debase standard", the house concurred. Chimeke insisted that books must be made attractive to children – "good designs, good layout, good presentation and so on, so that they would love to read".

Even then the local language is proper for the kids to learn to read and write. It helps to open their wisdom on time and they can learn street wisdom faster. Yet in all this, literature still does its job as the conscience of the society. It helps to reshape the society and put people in their proper order. Asked if ANA is doing its job well, Akanbi explained that ANA is not a government agency. "We are meant to write and we write, ceaselessly", he said. "All we do, we do so to reshape minds, strengthen ethos and redirect our people. That is literature for you", he said.

Concerning the affordability of books by buyers, whether students or workers, Sam Omatseye of The Nation newspapers, himself an author, said it is a matter of priority. "If a student can afford to burn thousands of data on her phone daily to do irrelevant things, she can also budget enough money to buy books. Knowledge is power, it is energy given and students or whoever should always bear that in mind. When you save towards what you cherish, you can then afford the price", he insisted, giving many instances.

Other writers in the house included Obari Gomba, Vice president of ANA, Dagga Tolar, a former chairman of ANA, Lagos. All the Excos of ANA Lagos and people from far and Repronigs were all in attendance. It was indeed a big outing and a huge show by ANA.