By Anote Ajeluorou
ON Sunday, at The Marquee, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria
Island, Lagos, Elnathan John’s wish for African writers came through. As a
shortlisted writer in The Caine Prize for African Writing, John had voiced his
frustration for making African literatry laureates outside.
So last Sunday, it
was in Lagos, and not London or Paris or New York that a winner for the maiden
edition of Etisalat Prize for Literature for first fiction book emerged on
African soil. She is the petit Zimbabwean novelist, NoViolet Bulawayo; she won
with her critically acclaimed book, We
Need New Names. She had won The Caine Prize in 2011, with ‘Hitting
Budapest’, a modified short story excerpt from her current book, a few years
ago.
It wasn’t a surprise
win as such. We Need New Names was in
the longlist in The Booker Prize in 2013, England’s famous prize contest, as
the first African woman to be so appraised.
An elated Bulawayo specially thanked the
judges, patrons, and Etisalat Nigeria for the award and for the opportunity the
Etisalat Prize for Literature afforded her, saying, "I am thankful to the
organizers of this event, Etisalat Nigeria for this most excellent and
necessary prize. We are all aware of the shortage of literary prizes and it is
heart-warming to know that Etisalat Nigeria sees and values the significance of
such literary works in Africa".
She was also presented with an engraved Montblanc
Meisterstück pen, a Samsung Galaxy Note. As part of the prize’s pecks, Bulawayo
will attend
the Etisalat Fellowship at the prestigious University of East Anglia and be
mentored by Giles Foden, author of The
Last King of Scotland. She will also have book tours in three
African cities and get the chance to start work on her second book.
But the prize award
went farther than merely announcing the winner from a shortlist of three. In
celebrating new and additional authors to the pantheon of African literary
canvas, it gave due recognition to pioneering literary icons in the continent,
past and present. In a section tagged ‘Write of Passage’, with soft music in
the background, the pioneer writers were given credit for their immense roles
in lighting the way for those coming behind to see to the future nurturing of a
continent’s creative imagination.
Joseph Ephraim
Casely Hayford (first Ghanaian novelist), Naquib Mahfouz (Egypt and first Arab
writer to win the Nobel Prize), DO Fagunwa (Nigeria and pioneer Yoruba writer),
Sol T. Plaatje (first South African novelist), Camara Laye (Guinea) and Nigeria’s
Chinua Achebe. Other living pioneers given credit included Nadine Gordimer
(South African and only African female Nobel Prize winner), Ngugu wa Thiong’o
(Kenyan) and Nurudeen Farah (Somalia).
Sadly, black
Africa’s first Nobel Prize winner, Wole Soyinka wasn’t included in the line-up
of writers for recognition. This also goes for an important group that was
jumped over for a much younger generation. The Odia Ofeimun, Femi Osofisan,
Niyi Osundare, Kole Omotoso, Tanure Ojaide group didn’t feature before focus
was shifted to the Ben Okri (Nigeria), Chimamanda Adichie (Nigeria), Tstsi
Dangarembga (Zimbabwe) and Alain Mabanckou’s (DR Congo) group.
The two runners-up,
all females, were Nigeria’s Yewande Omotoso (Bom Boy) and South Africa’s Kareen Jenning (Southbek). This prize has also thrown up the women as being masters
of the literary craft at the continental level. For a debut prize to have an
all-female shortlist cast is salute to women’s creative ingenuity and a
significant shift in the literary power equation. Omotosho and Jenning were
also presented with Samsung Galaxy notes. They will also go on book tour of two
African cities.
Bulawayo’s win and
the dominance of women in this prize is continuation of the literary trend in
the last few years both in Nigeria and Africa-wise. In 2012, South Africa’s
Sifiso Mzobe squeezed past two other women –Nigeria’s Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo (Roses and Bullets) and another South
African, Bridget Pitt (The Unseen Leopard)
to win the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa. That same year, Chika
Unigwe won The Nigerian Prize for Literature with On Black Sisters Street. Only last year, Dr. Ogochukwu Promise was
in the shortlist of three as she contested keenly against Amu Nnadi and the
eventual winner, Tade Ipadeola in the same prize. Nigeria’s Chenelo Okparanta
(‘America’) vied against three other Nigerians and one Sierra Leonean in The
Caine Prize in which Tope Folarin won with ‘Miracle’.
This is how far Africa’s
female writers have come, and the future looks bright for them, as they
continue to push their creative vision to the front row.
Also, another female
writer, Uche Okonkwo won with ‘Neverland’ in the Flash Fiction Prize category
and went away with 1000 British Pounds plus other valuable items.
Earlier, Acting Chief Executive Officer,
Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Matthew Willsher reaffirmed his company’s commitment to
arts and their capacity of the arts to affect society positively. He noted that
the Etisalat Prize for Literature was designed “to recognize and reward debut
writers of fiction in Africa, with the objective of discovering new creative talents from Africa and promoting the bludgeoning
publishing industry in Africa.
"As a rite of passage, published and
unpublished literary works of art have been passed down from generation to
generation in Africa. Etisalat Nigeria is indeed pleased to celebrate all
authors in the African literary spectrum. As such, Etisalat Nigeria is proud to
use its maiden pan-African Prize for Literature to recognize and celebrate the
amazing work done by these unique individuals”.
Renowned Ghanaian author, Prof. Ama Ata
Aidoo, awarded the Flash Fiction prize to Okonkwo and commented on the growing
significance of the genre in world literature on account of the popularity of
the internet.
Senegalese music star and former tourism and
culture minister capped a remarkable event with a sterling performance.
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