Sunday, December 13, 2020

Wole Soyinka's New Novel "Chronicles of The Happiest People on Earth" Launched in Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja

“There is a greater dependency on religion because the nation is desperate. When a nation is desperate, it turns to the supernatural.

“Religion has always been with us. These days, however, you can’t walk one yard without stumbling on religion. Religion is today one of the fastest-growing businesses in the nation,” 

- Prof. Wole Soyinka, the first black Nobel laureate in Literature at the book launch of his third novel, "Chronicles of The Happiest People on Earth" on Monday, December 7, 2020, at Terra Kulture on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

His earlier novels were The Interpreters, 1964  and Season of Anomy, 1972.


Accomplished Nigerian actor and writer, Richard Mofe-Damijo  and Somtom Asibelibua, who read in English, French and Spanish were among the guests who read excerpts from the sociopolitical novel published by Bookcraft Africa .

The dignitaries at the event included Honourable Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi Chibuike Amaechi, Federal Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN (represented by the CEO, Temple Management Company, Mr. Idris Olorunnibe), the US Consulate’s Public Affairs Officer Stephen Ibelli, Prof. Ebun Clark (the wife of the recently transited playwright and poet, Prof. John Pepper Clark), the environmental activist  and art patron, Dr. Newton Jibunoh, TheNEWS’ Executive Editor, Mr. Kunle Ajibade, The Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation Newspapers, Mr. Sam Oritsetimeyin Omatseye and Dr. Wiebe Boer, @WiebeB_Africa, the CEO of @allonenergy.

It was also launched in Ibadan on Wednesday, December 9 and yesterday in Abuja.


Excepts from the novel:

Adjusting to a new culture was his main concern, but not an insurmountable culture shock. Badagry, after all, albeit closely intertwined with Lagos, was still Badagry. Pitan-Payne was on hand, though keeping a frenetic pace to wind up his affairs and proceed to his UN assignment on schedule. The engineer seemed to thrive on interlocking calendars, and in any case, he now had Menka to pick up the loose ends for him in his absence….

The timing could not have been more thoughtfully ordained. The unexpected and the planned seemed to dovetail neatly, like the finely adjusted sprockets or his mechanical prototypes. And while Lagos/Badagry lacked the excitement of receiving sudden cartloads of human debris from Boko Haram’s latest efforts to out-Allah Allah in their own image, one could count on gratuitous equivalents from multiple directions. Such as the near daily explosion of a petroleum tanker on the expressway or city centre. Or a roofless lorry bulging with cattle and humans tipping over on a bridge and dropping several feet onto an obliging rock outcrop in the midst of the river.  Sometimes, more parsimoniously, a victim of military amour propre – in uniform or mufti, it made no difference. That class seemed to believe in safety in numbers, and all it took was that even a low-ranking sergeant should take offence at another motorist, who perhaps refused to give way to his car, a mere ‘bloody civilian’, never mind that the latter had the right of way. An on-the-spot educational measure was mandated. Guns bristling, his accompanying detail, trained to obey even the command of a mere twitch of the lip, leapt out of their escort vehicle, dragged out the hapless driver, unbuckled their studded belts, whipped him senseless, threw him in the car boot or on the floor of the escort van and took him to their barracks for further instruction. However, the wretch sometimes created a problem by suffocating en route – which left society to develop structures for neutralizing such inconvenience.


The contradicting, ironic sequence occurred to Menka only for the first time – yes, come to think of it, the military hardly ever recorded a fatality – once or twice, maybe even three times in a month — yes, the accident of excess did happen, but mostly such terminal disposal was left to the police, whose favourite execution site was a road block, legal or moonlighting. Perhaps a recalcitrant commuter, or passenger bus driver had refused to collaborate in providing a bribe on demand, or insulted the rank of the demanding officer with a derisive sum.  And it did not have to be the original offender but some too-know grammar spouting public defender who had intervened on behalf of the potential source of extortion. The outcome was predictable – victim or good Samaritan advocate instantly joined the statistics of the fallen from ‘accidental discharge’. The expression was still current, but often it was anything but. Accidents had become infrequent and unfashionable. Oftener to be expected was that the frustrated, froth-lipped police pointed the gun, calmly, deliberately, at the head of the unbelieving statistic and,  pulled the trigger. Again, the inconvenience of body disposal.


But then, the community of victims themselves – what a specialized breed of the species! The roles, it constantly appeared, had become gleefully, compulsively interchangeable. Allowing him only a few days to ‘catch your breath and get your bearings’, Pitan-Payne lost no time in taking Menka to inspect the land designated for the Gumchi Rehabilitation Centre, for victims of Boko Haram, ISWAP and other redeemers – nothing like striking while the iron was hot! On their way, the familiar sight of crowd agitation – how would the day justify itself without some kind of street eruption somewhere, wherever! Trapped in the chug-stop-chug of traffic, the favourite commuter distraction was to attempt to guess what was the cause, and even place bets on propositions. That morning, Menka’s first in nearly a year down south did not disappoint. But for the milling blockage by intervening viewers, they could have claimed the privilege of ringside seats. Compensating for that obstructed viewing however was the sight of men and women trotting gaily, anticipation all over their faces, towards the surrounded spot of attraction. From  every direction they came, some vaulting over car bonnets, squishing their legs against the fenders, squeezing through earlier arrived  bodies or simply scrabbling for discovered vantage viewing points. They climbed on parked vehicles and the raised concrete median. Commuter buses slowed down and stopped, keke napep — the motor-cycle taxis — pulled aside, drivers and passengers alike rubber necking on both sides of, or in the direction of a wide gutter that sank into a culvert. The lights changed to green and Pitan-Payne drove on, their last shared image a pair of muscular arms raised above the bobbing heads, clutching an outsize stone, slamming that object downwards into the gutter. Very likely a snake, Pitan suggested. With the rainy season, quite a few sneaked through the marshes into culverts and slithered their way into parking lots and even offices.


https://bookshop.org/shop/weread  💋✌🏼️💕

Saturday, December 12, 2020

WeREAD, Because We Love To READ

WeREAD, Because We Love To READ

In spite of the challenges of 2020 with the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic and the consequential economic shortcomings, I still succeeded to complete two books and launched 

WeREAD powered by Bookshop, https://bookshop.org/shop/Weread

WeREAD is for the revival of the reading culture in Nigeria and the rest of Africa for the appreciation of literature with special focus on books by African authors.

The next level is to produce the WeREAD app for all users of GSM phones to access the platform. The app will include an interactive social networking feature for users to talk about books, booklists, book awards, rate books and trade books in book auctions where collector's editions of rare books can be sold to the highest bidders. We will also produce various branded products for WeREAD, such as WeREAD school, shopping and travel bags; facecaps; T-shirts and WeREAD Cafés strategically located on campuses of selected tertiary institutions and shopping malls. 




Friday, December 11, 2020

NOLLYWOOD is the National Treasure of Nigeria

NOLLYWOOD is the National Treasure of Nigeria

Nollywood is our precious National Treasure. But majority of Nigerians, including the majority of the practitioners in Nollywood don't have this realisation that everyone of the icons in Nollywood is a national treasure; the filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, cinematographers and the other indispensable professionals who have made Nollywood an international phenomenon in filmmaking and in the literary culture of motion picture.

The realisation of the importance and significance of Nollywood is the primary purpose of publishing the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series, the first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry which has become a vital part of the knowledge base of Nollywood and the history of filmmaking in Nigeria. 

Nollywood is the focus of scholarly researches on African studies, film studies, haute couture and the literary culture of the literature of Nollywood screenplays in numerous universities in different parts of the world.  The  sociocultural, socioeconomic and sociopolitical developments in Nollywood  have only been fully realised by film students and scholars and they are increasing the knowledge economy of Nollywood which is more important to nation building than the short term benefits of the film and TV productions, cinemas and OTT platforms combined.  

The realisation of Nollywood as a very important national treasure of Nigeria will increase the local and global appreciation of the Nigerian film industry and the greatness of Nigeria in the world.


- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima 

Publisher/Editor, 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima





Have You Watched the Best African Movies in 2020?

 

Thursday, December 10, 2020

The Penguin Big Book Quiz of the Year

The Penguin Big Book Quiz of the Year

Are you 2020's ultimate bookworm? Join us live at 7pm on 15th December to play along and test your wits against other literature lovers in the first-ever Penguin Big Book Quiz. 

With special guests including Stephen Fry, Bernardine Evaristo and Caitlin Moran, all you need to do is sign up to receive your free ticket  



Gift Guide for Book Lovers

Gifts Ideas

Still looking for holiday gifts? Look no further—a book is always a perfect gift, and we know just the right ones!

As always, we encourage you to check with your favorite local bookstore how best to support them this holiday season, whether it be curbside pickup, ordering via their website, or on Bookshop.

The Bookshop team

P.S. If ordering a holiday gift via Bookshop, we strongly encourage you to choose PRIORITY SHIPPING at checkout and no later than next Wednesday, the 16th. Or get them a gift card!

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Photo of Chinua Achebe and Hansjürgen Pohland on the Location of "Bullfrog in the Sun" in Ibadan

Famous Nigerian novelist and essayist Chinua Achebe (16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) with Jason Hansjürgen Pohland (December 4, 1934 in Berlin - May 17, 2014) and a Nigerian soldier on the location of "Bullfrog in the Sun" in Ibadan in 1970. Directed by Jason Pohland and produced by Francis Oladele, the Father of Nigerian Cinema.

"Bullfrog in the Sun" is the film adaptation of two of the classic novels of Chinua Achebe; "Things Fall Apart" and "No Longer At Ease".

This photograph and others are included in the third edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series which the delay in the publication has given me  the advantage of only including the best content .

The Art Director remains Juvelin Aripal and printers are still in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. And I am still the Publisher/Editor of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series, the first book series on the Nigerian film industry. 

Researching and processing the materials for the publication have been totally financed by me without any financial support from anyone else or organisation.  It is worth it, because even the great German filmmaker, Jason Pohland appreciated it as we corresponded before he passed on, on the beach at Mandelieu-la-Napoule whilst attending the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 . I treasure his emails, because they are important collector's items in the history of motion picture and literature.

The following is his first email to me:
From: <JasonPohland@aol.com>
Date: Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Subject: Re: THINGS FALL APART
To: publisher@nigeriansreport.com
Cc: JasonPohland@aol.com

Dear Michael Chima,
yes,  My name is Hansjuergen , but also called JASON POHLAND.

I directed this movie.
But I myself are looking for a print of the movie.

Where is Francis OLADELE now?

If you find one, please inform  me, so we can secure the material.

Also if you find posters etc.
Good to have contact with you.

Best JASON
www.POHLAND-JASON.com

I also have his notes on the production of the film.

 

The African Trilogy: Things Fall Apart; Arrow of God; No Longer at Ease (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)


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The Nigeria Prize for Literature Has Not Improved the Literary Culture of Nigeria

The Nigeria Prize for Literature is the biggest prize in African literature worth US$100,000 to the winner. It is fully sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited, that founded it in 2004 for outstanding literary works  by Nigerian authors in Nigeria. 

The prize rotates among four genres; fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature: repeating the cycle every four years.

I was opportuned to be with the inaugural members of the organising committee during their meeting in 2004, at the Federal Palace Hotel & Casino on Victoria Island, Lagos. I went there to meet with the famous Nigerian novelist, Eddie Iroh and Ms. Siene Allwell-Brown, the famous broadcaster at the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) who was now, the General Manager for External Affairs of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Limited. The Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo was there. His beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Banjo came second to me when I won the first prize in a national essay competition sponsored by the Pop Magazine for children and teens in 1976.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature is laudable for improving the welfare of the winners. But it has not improved the literary culture of Nigeria. It has failed to achieve what other coveted literary prizes have achieved in America, Europe, Asia and Australia where winning a major prize for literature makes the winner a bestselling author by boosting the celebrity status, increasing the popularity and increasing the demand for the winning author and the winning book like the Pulitzer Prize in America and the Booker Prize in the UK. The news will make local and international headlines and will increase the public appreciation and sales of the books among readers. But contrary to our expectations, majority of literate people in Nigeria don't even know the titles of the winning books of the Nigeria Prize for Literature. If you doubt me, do a public opinion on radio and TV on the streets of Lagos, Abuja and other cities in the country, and you will see how clueless and ignorant majority of Nigerians are about the so called most prestigious literary prize in Africa and the winning books.

What makes it prestigious? The prestige of the worth of the cash prize of US$100, 000 or the intellectual esteem of the winning authors?

The sponsor of the Nigeria Prize for Literature and their public relations company have failed to use the prize for the appreciation of the reading culture which is most vital to the improvement of the literary culture of Nigeria where majority of Nigerians don't read books, except for the  recommended text books for pupils and students. Majority of Nigerians stop reading after graduation and after their professional examinations.

Just handing out US$100, 000 to the author of the book selected as best entry in the national competition is not enough to improve the lives of Nigerian authors and improve the literary culture of Nigeria without making sure that Nigerians read their books and celebrate their literary achievements as examplary role models worthy of emulation in the inspiration for outstanding success in human development and the  advancement of modern civilisation in Nigeria.

Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka sitting with Adeleke Adeyemi and his wife Wosilat Adeyemi at the event of The Nigeria Prize for Literature award ceremony on February 6, 2012, at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. 

The Federal Ministry of Education and ministries of education in the 36 states and Abuja should be involved in the appreciation of the Nigeria Prize for Literature to make recommendations for the winning books to be included in the selections for reading booklists of primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions. For example, I recommended that Adeleke Adeyemi's Children's story book, "The Missing Clock", that won the Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2011 should be on the reading list for primary schools in Nigeria and in particularly in Ekiti state, the state of origin of the author. And the Federal Ministry of Education should purchase as many copies as possible for distribution to all the public schools in the country. The prize winning authors should have interviews on radio and TV and the governors of their states should celebrate them. 

There should be reading and book signing tours for the winning authors to selected schools and tertiary institutions; to clubs like the Ikoyi Club, Metropolitan Club, Capital Club, Ikeja Country Club and other locations that will increase the appreciation and cultivation of literary culture in the Nigerian society.


- By  Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Founder/CEO, WEREAD💕💋

https://bookshop.org/shop/Weread.

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series

247 Nigeriia) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima







Sunday, December 6, 2020

Video Interview: We Defeated Boko Haram in 2014 - Mercenary Force

 


Interview of leader of mercenary group that fought Boko Haram to a standstill in 2014.


Former President Barack Obama advised incoming President Muhammadu Buhari to terminate the contract. The American government wanted former President Goodluck Jonathan out of office.