Mallam Denja Abullahi is the President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). In this interview with IBRAHIM RAMALAN, the ANA’s president who is barely a year-old as the writers Sheriff, speaks on his journey so far, what he has achieved in relation to his campaign manifesto as well as what he hopes to be remembered for after serving in writer’s umbrella.
The ANA’s 35th convention is slated to hold in Abuja and history shows that holding conventions in Abuja usually ends in a mess. What then could you say are some of the modalities put in place against any eventuality so that when push comes to shove, you and your LOC would have something to fall back on?
I will not agree with you that holding conventions in Abuja always end up in a fiasco.Abuja has played host to ANA Convention three times in the past. The first was in 1985 hosted by the first poet laureate of Abuja himself, Late Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, who was then the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
It was at that Convention that Vatsa bequeathed to ANA the land in Mpape, which is presently undergoing development. Sadly, some days after that Convention, Vatsa was picked up on the allegation that he was part of a coup plot against the IBB regime. Abuja played host to ANA Convention again in 1997 where the late Alhaji Abubakar Gimba was elected President. Abuja was on hand again to host the convention in 2011 and that was the convention that was a fiasco in terms of organization; but that same convention produced a new executive that led the Association strongly for four good years and put an end to some organizational impunity that the Association had been dragged into over the years. The Abuja 2011 convention failed organizationally because there was no serious plan towards it, coupled with practically non-existent resources. It is a fact that doing a convention in Abuja is herculean cost-wise and in terms of logistics but this time around we began planning much more early and we are being very pragmatic, systemic and prudent. We have several back up plans already laid out which definitely will ensure we do not have a repeat of 2011. We have some resources already at hand and we are mobilizing for more so we can execute our plans. We will insist on adherence to rules and procedures by members to ensure nothing prevents us from having a very memorable outing at our 35th Anniversary convention.
Very soon you will be one year in office as the President of ANA. What so far could you boast of as some of your achievements?
I announced at the point of contest that my tenure as ANA President will be all about service, which is what I and my team have been giving. I also promised that I will concentrate on pragmatic deliverables. So far, I have kept to my promise by building on what I met on the ground and introducing some innovations. My executive hit the ground running, as they say. I introduced strategic planning into the administrative thinking of the Association. Before I came on board, I knew it was time for the Association to re-examine itself and chart new paths for a thorough systemic overhaul. That cannot be achieved without a strategic plan. So we constituted a committee which in July delivered an all embracing strategic planning workshop that has led to the preparation of a strategic blueprint, which when presented at the forthcoming convention and subsequently implemented between 2017-2022, will lead to an independent, virile, modern, dynamic and more impactful Association. Another innovation of my executive is the audio visual documentary project which is on-going and will be completed for screening at the forthcoming convention. It is our modest effort to rescue the history and achievements of this Association from willful dismissal by those who do not know us too well and it will also assist us in staking our claim as a much focused Association anywhere and at anytime. We were also the first to put in place the ANA National Advisory Council to broaden the consultative base of the Association in the decision making process. Even some routine programmes we met on ground are being given new impetus and direction such as the ANA/Yususf Ali nationwide literary awareness campaign, the National Teen Authorship Scheme and the Nigerian Writers Series Project. We are also in the process of accelerating the development of the ANA land in Mpape and we have reconstituted the ANA land development committee to see to that. There are several steps and measures which we have taken silently which will surely put our Association in good light when they begin to manifest.
Considering the number of promises you put forward in your manifesto, how far have you gone into fulfilling them, and is there any promise that you think may not be feasible within the time frame of your administration?
My manifesto entitled “The Pragmatic Deliverables” has been adopted by the National Executive Council as its guiding document and I particularly refer to it constantly so as not to suffer any misalignment in achieving our avowed objectives. It may interest you to note that in the 9 months or so of being in office I have fulfilled or nearly fulfilled 5 out of the 14 promises made in that document. Some of the promises and objectives in that document are tied to one another and by the time you deal with 2 major problems or issues facing the Association you may have solved several other ones. It will be highly immodest and impractical for my team to think we can solve every problem or achieve all what we set out to do within our given time, but we are going to give every single thing our best shot. Why we embarked on strategic planning is to make it easier for us to tackle issues with speed and precision and to assist those who will come after us to move on to new things.
Previous ANA Presidents spent most of their administrations fire-fighting skirmishes or settling disputes in various branches of the association and between varied writer interest groups. Thus far, your administration seems to be enjoying a relative equanimity and goodwill from the writers. How has that paved the way for you to function smoothly?
I keep repeating it that our mandate is a popular one given after a demonstrated commitment to the advancement of the Association for close to two decades. I have been part of the fire-fighting via settling and mediating in conflicts you talked about in various chapters of the Association in the past. I have even stood as a representative party to the Association’s conflicts with other groups in the past. So I have a fair share of knowledge of what causes conflict in the Association and how to avoid them. I have simply deployed what I know to nip conflicts in the bud before they come up and I have also made my team to know that there will be no personalization when it comes to the collective interests of the group. One way of avoiding conflict is to give everyone his due and if conflict then arises, justice and fairness must be strictly adhered to without sacrificing the overriding collective and communal good. Yes, there have been skirmishes here and there which we have quashed before they are heard and a particular chapter as I speak is in court over internal matters that have been given all sorts of unimaginable extensions. In a few days to come we are going to empanel some members of our national advisory council to go there to mediate and resolve the conflict for good. My team is too busy to dissipate scarce energy on conflict resolution and we will continue to do our best to maintain peace in an atmosphere of fraternal cooperation.
Has ANA got a database of its members yet? If no, when are you planning to institute same? Because these days, attention must be made to the growing body of Nigerian writers and writings outside Nigeria and I think that is the only formal way of organizing writers’ representation within and outside the country.
We do not have a database and it has always been a major problem to us in determining who is actually a member of the Association or not or who is financially up to date or not. The lack of this database is even more noticeable during the Association’s elections as all sorts of unqualified persons try to smuggle themselves into the procedures. The Association has always relied on the vigilance and tenacity of bonafide and concerned members to stem this regular attempt at subversion by non-members and “unqualified members” so to speak. My team has realized we cannot continue with this stone age method of administering our affairs in this digital age and that is why we are presently far gone with an ICT solution company in building a digital database for the Association. We have in April this year given all our chapters forms to distribute to members to capture all their essential information which will then be inputted into a digital database. The digital database will be presented to members at the AGM during the forthcoming convention and from 2017, the database will be fully operational and will be tied to all the major activities of the Association such as collection of membership dues, determining electoral register at elective conventions, monitoring of members, planning for all projects and programmes, etc.
Tell us about your own writing. You are a winner of 2015 SONTA Master Playwright Prize. Is your writing being affected in any positive way by your involvements in cultural administration?
What I do as a creative writer is an open knowledge. I write mainly poetry and plays and I can tell you that culture is one huge resource for creativity anywhere. Writing itself is often a cultural activity, so my being in cultural administration has undoubtedly rubbed off positively on my writings.
As the President of ANA and a serving director in one of the government agencies, how is it like running the two offices at the same time?
I can tell you it has been very hectic but people have also been saying that I do indeed have a lot of energy. I must say it goes beyond just mere energy. Commitment, dedication, thinking, perception and ability to relate one thing to another positively and sincerely are needed to drive energy towards wholesome goals. My work in government is in the creative sphere. What I do in government is beyond pushing of files and eternally waiting for some enabling environment to be created by someone somewhere. I create in government as I create in ANA as a writer and that has helped me in doing both jobs without any suffering.
What would you like to achieve and be remembered for as President of ANA, and what have been the main difficulties you are encountering in pursuance of these objectives?
I will like to be remembered as the ANA President who laid the foundation for the modern internal governance of the Association. I will also love to be remembered as the President who moved ANA into financial independence by building for it enduring structures and institutionalizing some of its values. The adhoc, loose and non-committal nature of the administration of affairs of the Association is one difficulty that can defeat every good plan a leader in the Association may have but we are fighting it through creative thinking and action.
Finally, have you any final Presidential word for the country’s writers, young and old, new and established?
We need more of inter-generational inspiration and cooperation to break new grounds and birth new dreams all for the good of our community and country.