PH, Hub Of Book Universe

Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, witnessed a huge congregation of literary scholars, who besieged the city to celebrate this year’s edition of the Garden City Literary Festival (GCLF). The venue was Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt. The occasion, which began on 15th October, ran through to the 20th. The theme of the celebration was “literature in women.”

GCLF is an annual event that celebrates literature and arts. It is organized by the Rainbow Book Club in collaboration with the Rivers State Government.

This year’s occasion was particularly unique in every sense. Besides marking five years of its continued existence, GCLF also celebrated the unveiling of Port Harcourt as World Book Capital City for 2014, a title conferred on it by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

World Book Capital is a title bestowed by UNESCO to a city in recognition of the quality of its programmes to promote books and reading and the dedication of all players in the book industry.

The first city to earn the title was Madrid, Spain, in 2001. Bangkok in Thailand won it for 2013. Port Harcourt had earlier beaten Oxford to the current title.

The implication of the award is that Port Harcourt has been recognised by the international community as a book hub, with the book industry of the city expected to thrive more.

The award has unarguably, put the Garden City on the global literacy spotlight.

It was day four (18th October) at the festival that brought writers from Nigeria and other parts of the world to celebrate the virtues of literary engagement.

The event of the day was a symposium which began with a welcome address by the Director of GCLF, Mrs. Kalango Koko.

Koko drew the attention of the participants to the special nature of the celebration, which according to her, included the nomination of Port Harcourt as UNESCO World Book Capital 2014. She stated that the decision to meet with writers was to harness their talents for national development. The GCLF director highlighted the importance of reading and described it as ‘light,’ and says: “when there is light, darkness disappears.”

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, who was represented by his Information and Communication Commissioner, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the vision of GCLF was to bring back the book for the restoration of values, cultures and societal transformation.

“Literature restores values and represents the world full of opportunities and numerous responsibilities. I dream because I read. I was raised in a poor neighbourhood of Diobu in Port Harcourt. I was the only child of my parents who went to school and today, I am governor because I read,” Amaechi says.

Also, in his address, the UNESCO representative at the occasion, Mr. Joseph Ngu, congratulated the government and people of Rivers State on the designation of Port Harcourt as World Book Capital City 2014. He said the choice of Port Harcourt was made by an international jury of eminent figures in publishing. He states:

“An international jury of eminent figures in the field of publishing has selected your fair city for this prestigious designation on account of the quality of its programme, in particular its focus on youth and the impact it will have on improving Nigeria’s culture of books, reading, writing and publishing to improve literacy rates,” he said.

Ngu noted that the reputable title would enable Port Harcourt to assume significant role among the global community of authors and publishers. It would also make it the focus of the book universe for an entire year.

“As a result of this prestigious distinction, Port Harcourt will assume a prominent role among the global community of authors, publishers, translators, printers, booksellers, book distributors, Liberians and readers and become a hub of the book universe for an entire year,” Ngu declares.

An emeritus professor of history, University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Ebiegberi Alagoa, commented on the theme of the festival and described it as apt. He said women were special in Niger Delta Culture and should be promoted.

“As I know in Niger Delta, women have been creative in so many different ways. And it is our culture to think of women as something special to the point where they think of God as a’mother’. In Ijaw, God is ‘mother.’ So it is something that is overdue. We should really promote women in this area of culture,” Alagoa stated.

The university don, however, foresaw a challenge for GCLF if all its activities failed to produce writers in the long run.

“I would think that it has failed. But it is an awareness-building thing. So we can’t expect this thing alone to do it. All of us have to do our part. Elechi Amadi already has a workshop, writers workshop. I am urging the University of Port Harcourt to also create a workshop and the government opening up libraries, promoting the book industry. There are so many things that all of us have to do. This book festival has created that awareness and to the point of calling the whole world to Port Harcourt. So it is a big challenge facing all of us,”  the professor concludes.

In his own intervention, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka , admonished youths to take over from the elites and make the nation proud. According to him, Boko Haram and all those who proclaimed war against literacy had declared war, not on the nation, but on humanity itself. He, however, pointed out that despite the horror, “We have continued to be creative.”

 Soyinka states, “Nigeria is at war and the war is between forces of light and darkness, intellect and forces of hatred against humanism.”

The eminent scholar denounced the killings of four university of Port Harcourt students as well as those that occurred at a polytechnic  in Mubi.

He said the recognition by UNESCO was an indication that something good was happening  in Nigeria “in spite of avalanche of negativity.” He described UNESCO honour to Port Harcourt as World Book Capital 2014 as bitter-sweet.

“It is time when Nigeria is being called to reflect. The catastrophe and the butchering of four students of the University of Port Harcourt is a callous, irreverent act that demonstrates the bestiality and torture against fellow human beings. Worst of all, it took place in a community who watched as silent spectators and passive participants,” Soyinka laments.

A renowned writer and community leader in Aluu, Captain Elechi Amadi, expressed dismay and sadness at the killing of the four University of Port Harcourt students. However, he insisted that the unfortunate incident had nothing to do with Aluu indigenes.

“All the suspects as paraded by the police are non-indigenes except the traditional ruler of the community who was arrested as a matter of routine. People of Aluu have been demonized… but we call on security operatives to police the environment,” Amadi says.

Arnold Alalibo