Rivers ’ll Be Ideal Host For World Book Capital’

Executive Summary

In 2014, it will be a hundred years since the creation of Nigeria by the British colonial authorities. Nigeria has blossomed into a vibrant country with a rich heritage of literary traditions that have helped to shape it into a beacon among African nations. She has given the world the first person of African descent to win the Nobel Prize for literature, Wole Soyinka; the author of Africa’s most popular novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe; and younger world-renowned writers such as Ben Okri, winner of the Booker Prize in 1991 and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, winner of the Orange Prize in 2007.

The city of Port Harcourt, significant for its multicultural inhabitants and its status as the hub of the oil-rich Niger Delta region, has come of age as a haven of culture and is fast making a name for itself as a major player in the global literary stage. Port Harcourt is home to the annual Garden City Literary Festival, which has been described by Thisday newspapers as ‘… arguably the biggest event of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.’ The GCLF has been able to attract literary greats such as Kenya’s Ngugi was Thiong’o, Ghana’s Ama Atta Aidoo and Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, J. P. Clark and Sefi Atta. Guests of honours to the festival have included former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, as well as Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Port Harcourt is committed to becoming the first city in sub-Saharan Africa to serve as the World Book Capital. It would build on the legacy of its literary history and culture to expand its role and influence by attracting stakeholders in the publishing industry from across the continent to promote books and reading, meeting pressing development needs in Africa, in line with the United Nations Millennium Development Goal, Port Harcourt, as World Book Capital, would transform not just the Niger Delta region and Nigeria but also the rest of Africa. This is because of Nigeria’s strategic place in Africa as its most populous country as well as its economic, political and social leadership role on the continent. This bid proposes a rich variety of events to run through the World Book Capital year. It will include the scaling and strengthening of existing events in the city, as well as launching strategic activities that would ensure popular reach, accelerate the rate of literary promotion in the city and catalyze writers from across the region , the country and the continent. Again, we have an important ally in the governor of Rivers State, the Rt. Honourable Rotimi Amaechi, a literary enthusiast, who has committed to supporting a dynamic team, composed of literature experts and leaders from the private sector, civil society organisations, galvanized by the Rainbow Book Club, to drive the activities for 2014. This team will work collaboratively to enable effective management and governance of the activities for the year with special attention to transparency and accountability. In addition, the Committee will develop tools for measuring and evaluating the impact of the programmes and ensuring sustainability of all the programmes beyond 2014.

‘Books: Window to our World of Possibilities,’ will serve as the theme that will drive the 2014 activities in Port Harcourt. This captures the simple but powerful concept that the act of reading books provides knowledge and exposure, allowing the reader to be transported to new worlds, introduced to new concepts and ideas and invariably transformed. Enlightened, individuals are then empowered to protect their democracy, promote social justice and contribute towards the development and advancement of their communities and societies.

Welcome To Port Harcourt

Fondly referred to as the Garden City, Harcourt was created in 1912 as a shipping hub. It gained influence following the discovery of oil in nearby Oloibiri, and is currently the nerve centre of the Niger Delta region, which is home to 98 per cent of Nigeria’s oil reserves.

Beyond its economic importance, Port Harcourt has served as a haven for authors and is the home of renowned writes such as Ken Saro-Wiwa, Elechi Amadi, Gabriel Okara, Ola Rotimi and Kaine Agary. The annual Garden City Literary Festival and Garden City Book Fair has attracted the participation of literary greats such as Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and J. P. Clark, Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ghana’s Ama Atta Aidoo and, best of all, the people of Port Harcourt have embraced literature with an exciting annual calendar of book signings, author readings, literary circles and programmes for young people.

Location And Origins

Port Harcourt is the capital of Rivers State in Southern Nigeria. It was named after Lewis Harcourt, a British Colonial Secretary, and the city has served two significant historical roles – as a centre point for British military operations in World War I and as an outpost for transporting coal from Nigeria to Europe and further a field. After Nigeria gained independence, Port Harcourt became the most prosperous city in the Eastern area of Nigeria because of the exportation of oil from its shores.

A Symbol of The Struggle for Sustainable Development

Over the past forty years, Port Harcourt has emerged to symbolize the struggle for equitable and sustainable development. It played a key role in the political unrest of the Niger Delta, a region that has historically been characterised by significant inequalities. In spite of the fact that the bulk of Nigeria’s oil exports originate from the area, it has suffered from decades of underdevelopment and water and air pollution resulting from rampant oil spills and continued gas flaring, which has destroyed the local environment and decimated the livelihoods of rural dwellers – resulting in high unemployment among the youth.

This situation led to the emergence of activists, the vast majority of whom were young Nigerians, striving for a share of the country’s oil wealth. Peaceful at first, their demands for equitable development eventually turned violent, with attacks on the infrastructure of the leading oil companies in the region.

In recent years, however, there has been a major breakthrough. Through the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Amnesty Programme, thousands of militant youths have surrendered their weapons in exchange for amnesty, rehabilitation and training in vocational skills. In addition, under the visionary leadership of the current governor of Rivers State, the Right Honourable Rotimi Amaechi, peace and stability have returned to Port Harcourt. Today, Port Harcourt is a bustling metropolis and is home to multinationals, international nonprofits, vibrant markets, universities, hotels and a very active arts and culture scene.

Port Harcourt As World Book Capital 2014

Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State in Nigeria, West Africa, will serve as an ideal host for the 2014 World Book Capital for several reasons:

– Nigeria’s great literary tradition which has enriched global book culture, and can serve as a driving force for a new literary ‘renaissance’ in Africa. Nigeria has given the world some great writers such as Wole Soyinka, the first person of African descent to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, Chinua Achebe, author of the most widely read book by an African, Things Fall apart, and other world-renowned writers such as Ken Saro-Wiwa, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ben Okri and Elechi Amadi. Port Harcourt, as the World Book Capital, will not only highlight the past achievements of this region but will also enrich the current learning climate towards an event greater era of literature.

– Nigeria has a population of about 155 million people. With approximately 800 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa, this means 1 out of 5 Africans is a Nigerian. In addition, 70% of Nigeria’s population are under the age of 35. As a result, by serving as the host for the World Book Capital, with a focus on youth, Port Harcourt shall demonstrate what is possible in the African context. This positive step towards meeting a pressing development need amongst the world’s illiterate population would have a ripple effect in other areas like the HIV/Aids awareness, in line with the United Nations Millennium Develoment Goal. More specifically, it will galvanize stakeholders to address the wide array of challenges that confront the African book and reading culture which include low school enrolment, high levels of literacy and limited availability of books. We believe that once the young people of Nigeria are empowered through reading, they can act as an army of change agents not only in Nigeria, but across the African continent.

– Port Harcourt has a long history in literary traditions and has served as a haven for writers for decades. Port Harcourt in the 70s had a vibrant cultural centre in the Old Port Harcourt Town that provided entertainment and education through plays directed by the likes of Comish Ekiye with an illustrious cast that included actors such as Doye Agama, Barbara Soki and Aso Douglas. Some of the early renowned educational institutes in Nigeria such as the Okrika Grammar School and the Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls Secondary School were very active in promoting literature in the city. Today, Port Harcourt hosts the annual Garden City Literary Festival, along with other literary events over the course of the year and is home to diverse groups of authorities, including the novelist Elechi amadi and poet Gabriel Okara, as well as renowned historians such as Robin Horton and E. J. Alagoa. Also of note is the fact that Port Harcourt represents the rich duality of Nigerian and African literary cultures; the legacy of colonialism and its impact on language, culture and society and the heritage of triumph in the struggle for equity, peace and justice.

– With a focus on children and the youth, a wide variety of programmes are planned that would run through the World Book Capital City 2014-2015 year. The year would kick off with a week-long run of activities in which the President of Nigeria would be in attendance, to create awareness. This would be followed by a calendar of weekly and monthly events. Also, important dates in the annual calendar would be used to draw attention to the World Book Capital progamme. Key on this calendar would be the annual Garden City Literary Festival, which would then be in its 7th year. The proposed events have been arranged to draw in participation from various sectors of society including the popular music, film and sports sector, as well as civil society and grassroots organizations, schools, the public and the private sector.

– Consultations across various stakeholders including writers and publishers associations,  government agencies and literary enthusiasts have garnered significant support for the hosting of the World Book Capital in Port Harcourt. In addition, the governor of Rivers State, himself a literary enthusiast, has constituted a dynamic team, which includes private sector and civil society organizations, galvanized by Rainbow Book Club, who will drive the activities for 2014. This team will generate financial support that will enable it effectively cover all the costs associated with the programmes for 2014.

World Book Capital Activities For 2014

Opening Events

The year-long celebration will kick-off on April 23, 2014 with a week of activities to include:

– Theme Song Competition: children and young people will be asked to write and submit songs from which one will be chosen as the theme song of theyear. This song will be performed by popular Nigerian artists at the opening ceremony.

– The opening of the multi-purpose Garden City Library Complex: the facility, which would contain a bookshop selling books at discount prices, a library, and a theatre, is planned as a literary hub for the city.

A  national symposium on the topic ‘Books: Windows to the World’: this forum will bring together stakeholders in hte book chain industry to discuss the future of reading, literacy and literary culture in Nigeria. the Rivers State Governor will lead stakeholders in this discussion on the importance of literacy and literature in unlocking the potential of the natipon’s youth.

– A Book Reading and Youth Discussion Group: Nigeria’s President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, will be invited to read and excerpt from a classic Nigerian novel to children. The President recently led a national reading campaign tagged ‘Bring Back the Book’, and his involvement will encouragement more young people to read and write.

– Along Came the Book’: an exciting drama performance that will trace the history of books and the reading culture in Nigeria. This colourful show will feature live performances of praise singing, storytelling, traditional poetry, drances, and other forms of arts. It will show the evolution to the modern counterpart of ‘the spoken word’ which is celebrated first in African-American and other contemporary literary culture. This will transform into the era of the physical book and culminate in the digital book.

– Celebrities Love to Read’: at strategic locations across the city of Port Harcourt, authors and poets, celebrities from popular industry such as film, music, sports, ass well as the business communities will read to children in schools and libraries, with the aim of igniting a passion for books and reading. Also, because of their celebrity status, these participants will attract some media attention, thus generating good publicity for the World Book Capital.

To be continued