It is the pleasure of the rememberer to announce now that the series will be concluded today and even though the pleasure to continue the art of his creation or createdness might birth theories that might proliferate further thoughts from various dimensions, ways, and practices. What he has done should be seen or should be accepted as a sign that the inquiring and circumspective spirit should be allowed to thrive in peculiar or special faculties of the mind and memory that the glimpser, gleaner, glitterer and raconteur-rememberer brings forth to the act of createdness that never concludes or ends its being-ness.
Based on what he has done so far, this writing being has demonstrated – or has tried to demonstrate – rightly or wrongly, that he is a poetic raconteur-rememberer, a rhetorical raconteur, a historical raconteur who has desired to please the various categories or classes and academic or intellectual or professional groups and orientations that comprise his audience.
Art and memory and memory and art live upon dicussions and conversations with one another.
Chinua Achebe was very impressed with our organisation and our taste – our taste with particular reference to the luncheon in his honour; Saidi Centre’s elegant restaurant and its comfortable and delightful ambience matched the food and drinks served ANA’s Founder and First President and all guests of ANA Bendel. The perfectly welcoming ambience of Uniben’s Akin Deko Auditorium, the aforesaid venue of the ANA Bendel inauguration and launching made an exceptionally great impression on him, Ossie Enekwe, Femi Osofisan and our heftily hefty audience.
The huge money our chief launcher gave ANA Bendel in addition to what the Bendel State government gave to the newly inaugurated Branch added spectacular glamour and magic to the two-in-one event.
ANA Bendel thrived and thrived after the dream of inauguration-and-launching which was contained in our collective unconscious as well as in an artistic manner that spoke through our respective literary minds as conceivers and planners of the dream that we realizably realised. A kind of literary revolution entered Benin and Bendel State.
More than several writers and critics and would-be writers and critically-minded fellows became members of ANA Bendel. And we original founders of ANA Bendel changed our modus operandi. The late Frank Uche Mowa, Benjamin Egede, Asomwan Sunnie Adagbonyin, the late Sam Ukala (all from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma), the late Richard Masagbor, Diri Teilanyo, Godwin Uyi Ojo, Benson Omonode, Mike Ejiodu, and the late Agbo Eze (all from the Department of English and Literature, University of Benin), the late Isi Omoifo, a journalist, Nnimmo Bassey, an architect and a former member of staff of the Estate Department of the University, who became a frontline environmentalist and May Ifeoma Nwoye, the only female among us who was a member of Bursary staff of Uniben became worthy members of ANA Bendel at different times.
There are other members the memory of my memory cannot capture at the moment of writing. (Nnimmo Bassey who carves elegant poetry in the mode of activism, that is, poetry that has found a unique role in the realm of activism and May Ifeoma Nwoye, who writes short stories and novels that capture succinctly the circumstances of our times, and resonate with the depths of human emotion reflecting the complexities of our shared human experience were at different times General Secretary and Vice Chairperson respectively of ANA National. Nnimmo Bassey – if my memory is serving well my inventive spirit now – designed the popular ANA logo that captures ANA’s terrain and bearings).
The other named ANA Bendel members in varying degrees are weavers of words in the different literary modes. The late Sam Ukala in particular garnered different ANA prizes in different genres that prompted literary happiness in every member of ANA Bendel.
Which audience should the writer write for? Should the writer posit local audiences or national audiences? Or should the writer assume a “universal contemporary audience” in the manner of Philip Sidney of the Elizabethan Age, for instance? These and various issues and subjects pertaining to writing and how the artist expresses his feelings and thoughts we were determined to dwell on in our regular meetings outside our speaking to our respective creations. We also were determined to invite writers and scholars from outside Bendel State from time to time to grace our meetings as literary guests to share ideas from their conscious minds in line with “a literary tradition that speaks through us all.” We were very ambitious.
In line with our determination and ambition we decided to invite Olu Obafemi of University of Ilorin, Adebayo Williams of Obafemi Awolowo University, Francis Egbokhare of University of Ibadan and the late David Ker of Ahmadu Bello Uinversity to begin our dream. But the plan fell through. The rememberer must skip the details of why these literary gems within major critical orientations could not be invited to add spices at different times to our humanistic meetings. We also tried to attract the great late JP Clark to ANA Bendel for a talk, a lecture to us but the attempt itself proved to be unfeasible. A distinguished professor I approached and requested to make it possible for the very charming Romantic poet and autobiographer to visit us was very carefully polite when he told me that JP Clark would not oblige our request because the artist of great rhetorical appeal had never at any time “openly identified with ANA”.
There is something crucial that the audience of this column should know at this point. The memory of the raconteur-rememberer deliberately delayed its announcement until now. A financial map of how to spend the money the launching fetched ANA Bendel was to be drawn. I simply suggested that a new Executive that would be voted into office should be allowed and encouraged to create its own financial map. I advised that the dramatis personae of the Odun Balogun Exco should not deduct their accrued expenses from the money. The new Exco should begin from the position of solid financial strength. John Agetua succeeded Odun Balogun as the second chairman of ANA Bendel after I offered myself to serve ANA Bendel outside the Exco. John Agetua used the money to do the best he could for ANA Bendel. Throughout his tenure I trained my gaze upon my art – creatively and critically. My journalism equally benefitted from my trained gaze.
Now let “ANA Bendel on my mind” end without ending itself.
Art and memory and memory and art live upon discussions and conversations with one another – as the following readers remind me:
Professor Sunny Awheafeada
This is a literary history unfolding. I hope someday the history of ANA will be written and the narrative you offer here will be a substantial part of that history. I doubt if there is any attempt at writing a book or thesis on ANA yet. Thank you, Sir, for sustaining the memory that will engender knowledge.
Mr Bob Majiri
Absolutely refreshing a read, and wonder upon wonders why this is not already a book!
Professor Mabel Evwierhoma.
The remembrances that you penned down are good for archival purposes and reflect the cordiality and respect between town and gown, or even the triple index of academia and the writers within and without policymakers and industry/entrepreneurs, including some of the writers that cut across them. Does the mutual respect still exist between ANA and its publics? The solid foundation of ANA continues to speak loudly. Good enough, there are still witnesses to these beginnings to confirm your remembering. May solid paths found for ANA lead to very great successes for those now treading on them.
Professor Owojecho Omoha
Memory has come full-cycle in its artistry garb, taking literature’s abundance with life and personality psychology. Were it not personality psychology, literature leaves no traces of going forth and backwards in this memory lanes. “Bendel ANA on mind” is the core of imagination in arts. Its nakedness nakedly takes on literary personalities to rebuild lost histories, turning history to art and art to history in memory field.
As you rightly conclude, there is the twinness in them all.
Our wordsmith, sometimes leave our senses to trace the last pen-marks of your thoughts: the end is here. Some story is better not concluded! How does a story end when its end foresees endlessness: Chinua Achebe, Alele Williams, Engineer Afejuku, John Iniengher, Ikoyo Eweto, Mike Negbenebor, K.B. Omatseye, and the many recollected that our Earth has written “gone” coming full-cycle, and alive, again in “Bendel on my mind.” Some story is better told endlessly.
Afejuku can be reached via 08055213059.
