THE COMING OF WRITERS’ VILLAGE IN
ABUJA
By Edozie Udeze
It was a moment to remember as
writers and authors gathered at Mpape, Abuja to witness the level of
development at the Writers’ Village in Abuja named after a former Minister, the
late Gen. Mamman Vatsa. The Writers’ Village is the national headquarters of
the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). Edozie Udeze was at the event.
The history of the plots of land
given to the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) at Mpape, Abuja, began in
1985. It was when the late General Mamman Vatsa was the Minister of the
Federal Capital Territory. In his capacity as a minister, a poet, who was
not just a writer, but a member of ANA and an unrepentant lover of literature,
he allotted 60.9 hectares of land to the association. As at that time,
Mpape seemed far away from the hub of Abuja. However, today that is not
longer the case; all eyes have now turned to this juicy land.
Unfortunately, the leadership of ANA
could not immediately develop this land or even show any significant sign that
it was important to them. At a stage therefore the federal government
decided to intervene by taking over half of the land. This was for other
purposes and exigencies. This move then hit ANA below the belt, that they
began in earnest to make plans to develop the land and take total possession.
Last week, there was a briefing and
a tour of the land to see the projects already in top gear to ensure that the
property is duly secured. As at today there are a number of buildings
which occupy just 5 hectares to help safeguard the ANA land. The projects
were begun by Denja Abdullahi, the current president of ANA. Even though
he disclosed that the projects will come in stages in order to completely claim
the land, he noted that soon more buildings will be added thereto.
Now termed the writers’ village
Abuja, Abdullahi made it clear that nobody can today dispute the ownership of
the Mpape project. He said, “sometime in 1985, the then Minister of the
Federal Capital Territory, Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, himself a
passionate poet and nationalist, led the founding fathers and members of the
association to this same precinct to engage in what was tagged the
commissioning of the writers village in Abuja… Therefore he donated or
awarded 60.9 hectares of prime land close to the centre of the city to a
community of writers to which he was a proud member”.
Unfortunately, a week after this
historic event, Vatsa was arrested over a phantom coup plot. Nonetheless,
the journey for ANA continued and a lot have happened to the writers’ body to
encourage them have enough time to possess what is theirs by right.
The tour witnessed a large turnout
of old and younger members of ANA. It was a moment to see first hand
these projects and what each meant and for what purpose. While the site
engineers were there with other workers knocking things together, it was clear
ANA is now ready to complete the writers’ village and move in in no distant
time.
Abdullahi who was obviously excited
to have come thus far in his onerous task to establish a national base for the
writers body took time to explain the thorny road to Eldorado. “Since
1985 it has been a tale of flight away from here, hotly pursued by maximum
rulers. It has been a story of lack of capacity, failed premises,
betrayals, revocation, re-allocation, long-drawn litigations and brazen
trespasses. It will interest you to know that what we have left today
from the original 60.9 hectares is about 36.9 hectares …”.
The first stage of the court battles
were over in 2013. This therefore cleared the air for the present ANA
executives to swing into action. In 2016, they constituted a land
development committee. This was when it was given to KMVL developers to
handle the development of the land. The actual work which has given a
leap of hope on the land commenced in 2017. Finally in 2018, ANA moved
its national headquarters from the National Theatre in Lagos to a temporary
secretariat erected on the land.
As at the moment speculations about
the tampering of the land has not petered out on the lips of some members of
the association while others have been raising doubts as to who and who have
wadded into or even taken some portions of it. Abdullahi cleared the air.
“Part of the land was given to the Police by the Federal government. You
can see the headquarters of Mopol over there. All lands belong to the
federal government and it has the right to revoke its ownership. When it
does that, there’s nothing you can do”.
Surrounded by rock formations,
highlands and some lowly topography, the land is massive. It is located
where it can be easily assessed from every side of Abuja. Away from the
political scene of the city, it overlooks Maitama districts on the left
outskirts of the F.C.T with its inviting scenario and attractive hills and
valleys. The writers’ village Abuja has today received a sizeable
attention to announce its presence.
At the entrance is the sign reading:
Mamman Vatsa writers village, with a meandering road temporarily constructed to
lead to the building sites. There are 50 bedroom massive hotels which
have reached advanced stages of development. The hotels will serve
visitors and lodgers who come into Mpape for different businesses. Each
room has its chalets with all the modern facilities. “It is open to all
to pay and lodge in”, Abdullahi asserted. “It will also serve as a source
of revenue for ANA”, he further stated.
On the other hand, there’s a
conference centre termed the international conference centre to be named after
Professor Chinua Achebe. Achebe was one of the pioneers of ANA in
1981. “It is a befitting centre for him, for his great efforts to give us
a body”. The centre has the capacity for 1,500 people.
It has a
gallery and offices. Indeed the halls are for multipurpose
programmes. “Even churches can rent it for use”, Abdullahi quickly
added. There will be an amphitheatre to be added to the edifice
later. This is to ensure it has all there is to give it a total theatre
outlook.
Also inside the main centre is the
national secretariat which will house the offices of the officials of
ANA. The amphitheatre will be for outdoor performances. There is
the building for the purpose of writers’ residency. “For those who want
to come here to write for a short period of time, it is easier to do so”, the
president clarified, saying, “Dr. Wale Okediran, a former president of ANA has
been doing so in the past ten years. It is not easy but we will do
it”. This writers’ residency contains enough provisions for maximum
comfort. In addition, there will be a swimming pool within the premises”.
Authors reaction
Present at the occasion were
Professors Femi Osofisan, Jerry Agada, Dr. Wale Okediran, Senator Shehu Sani,
Professor Amali, Dr. Udenta Udenta, Col. K. K. Shaw (Rtd), the only surviving
daughter of Vatsa, Alhaja Aisha and others.
After the tour, it was clear that
most of the guests were impressed with the level of construction at the
site. At least it is clear that ANA’s presence is being felt in
Abuja. According to Osofisan, a former president of the writers’ body and
indeed one of its founding fathers, “of course we have to commend Vatsa for
this gesture. I was a close friend of his. And I did warn him of
the impending situation.
Before he was arrested I was with him. I
am sad to meet his family here today, for it reminds me of those days. He
made our coming together today possible, to converge as writers and to do what
we know best. I also thank this present executives of ANA. I was
president before and for many years we tried to get this done. As writers
we are our own worst enemies. We had no money to develop this vast
land. At least today some people in the association pay some dues.
In about five years from now people will come here to make use of the
facilities. They’ll of course be the first to take up the residency
programme”, he said.
Okediran, also a former president
was impressed. “Oh, this is a society where writers know or claim to know
everything. We boost but when it comes to do the actual work, we run
away. The land committee that was initially set up was like the clearing
house. For the next few months, we assure you the level of growth here
will be more encouraging. We are already committed to this development”,
he said.
Amali, the deputy Vice Chancellor of
the Federal University, Nassarawa said “what the eye sees the mouth must
say. I became a member of ANA in 1986 and we never went to government to
beg for money. Today, indeed, ANA has gathered momentum. That is
why we can be here to witness this. The structures are good as all of us
can witness and testify. My appeal, however, is that Nigerian type of politics
should not be allowed to permeate ANA. Those who are contesting, ensure
your politics come out neat and clear. Let us go to Enugu to be
idea-focused”.
For Aisha Vatsa who was excited to
witness the take-off of the writers’ village, “my father taught me that
whatever you do speak from your heart, for this will take you places, it was
good to have a day so fulfilling. And when we do so we then grow
together. We usually show the way because we love brilliant minds, we are
the brilliant minds in Nigeria”, she decided.
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