AFTER the aforementioned ANA Bendel’s hosting of ANA National, the rememberer, this raconteur and stirrer, could motivate himself to give attention as he never did before to concentrate severely on his scholastic and creative dreams. He visualised himself pounding the pavements of his scholarly and creative beingness searching for the spectacularly spectacular and intimitably inimitable.
He devoured works of distinguished Nigerian critics and professors such as the late Kolawole Ogungbesan, his teacher at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Romanus Egudu who hired him from Ahmadu Bello University to University of Benin, and Dan S. Izevbaye of University of Ibadan, who was his Ph.D thesis external examiner and the chair of his viva.
There were other great minds, Nigerian and non-Nigerian, very high scholars of inestimable value, but Kolawole Ogungbesan, Romanus Egudu and Dan Izevbaye often jumped into and onto my scholarly mind’s welfare. (More will be said in this regard when on another occasion my mind and memory’s train would allow me to board it for the far ride to my home, my orbit of motivation).
As for the creatives, our Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and JP Clark never left my memory. But Johann von Goethe, the German eighteenth century writer entered and vacated and entered my memory intermittently. These lines from his “Lose the Day Loitering” need to be recalled: “Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute;
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it!
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated;
BEGIN, and then the work will be completed.
The literature of life’s beingness gripped me. I was constantly reminded of my destination. And the late John Agetua, the popular Chinua Achebe pamphleteer, that is, the famous literary or critical pamphlet author of Chinua Achebe’s novels, specifically, invited me for a literary event.
The literary event was part of a week-long literary programme at the Institute of Continuing Education, Benin City, where he taught literature, and was the Head of the Literature and Languages section. He wanted me to explore Achebe’s novels in any manner I chose, but from the perspective that would benefit especially the Advanced Level students and junior teachers.
I was to affirm (or reaffirm) that Achebe’s novels “are about human beings [who] are profoundly social beings influenced by and influencing other human beings.” I have re-framed here what I thought – or what I am presuming – to be an invigorating exploration of one or two of Achebe’s novels that the august audience would find compellingly compelling. The impactful deliverer delivered what he had to deliver.
When he was ready to leave after his very well received delivery that was followed by numerous questions from his listeners whom he gave well-articulated and lively answers, Mr. John Agetua broached the real subject that inspired him to bring the rememberer to the Institute of Continuing Education. His thesis was simple and straight to the point. There was the need to establish an un-ad hoc ANA Bendel. The time was right and ripe for it. Every successful hosting of ANA National by our aforementioned ad hoc ANA Bendel had fascinatingly motivated a good number of our people, our fellow Bendelites, and non-Bendelites, to be properly and impressively interested in literature and in writing.
Our lads and chaps who had enormous potential needed to be brought together in a gathering to share regularly the joy and knowledge of literature and writing. My mind and memory flashed back to my Ahmadu Bello University years…. Let the worthy raconteur skip the insights gleaned from ABU, Zaria. The late Chinua Achebe (and other Nigerian novelists’) pamphleteer and this glitterer’s flights of thoughts captured their respective imaginations – in startling and convincing ways.
The glitterer prodded the intriguing pamphleteer. A Mr Adodo, an undergraduate University of Benin, Theatre Arts student and playwright, had gone to him with excitement to persuade me and Festus Iyayi, Odun Balogun and Tunde Fatunde to facilitate a formal meeting or gathering of ANA Bendel that would bring together people and insights from disparate fields and backgrounds together.
I remembered Goethe and wondered whether we, four ad hoc musketeers of ANA Bendel, three of whom, as our readers already know, are now being-less, in accordance with their respective destined destinies, would “Lose the Day Loitering.”
To accept or not to accept John Agetua’s proposition was a tough choice in view of my tight schedule. At the end of the day, however, with passion and eloquence, we accepted each one’s propositions. The details, genuinely fascinating, are being with-held and skipped here. Three weeks or so after our pact we had our first official meeting at ICE which I suggested as the official venue of all our meetings because of its central location.
This immense advantage would be of a particular benefit to the would-be generality of members. So it was. And the main campus of the University of Benin, which was John Agetua’s preference, lost what I called its undeniably powerful popularity – its UPP! But all the subsequent thoughts and decisions, we took in the course of our official meetings, were bountifully Uniben-inspired-and-formulated thoughts and decisions – up to when ANA Bendel was inaugurated and beyond its inauguration.
Memories of memories! Lead, ship, sweep the rememberer to the finish line; to the wharf; to the harbour; to the shore still not near no matter how hard he is stroking shore-ward.
To be continued next week.
Afejuku can be reached via 08055213059.
