ANA Publicity Blog

Friday, 8 February 2019

Okechukwu Onuegbu now the Sole Administrator of ANA Anambra

OKECHUKWU ONUEGBU NOW THE SOLE ADMINISTRATOR OF ANA ANAMBRA

By Izunna Okafor

Based on the agelong apothegm that a dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement, Comrade Okechukwu Onuegbu has been appointed as a Sole Administrator of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Anambra State Chapter.

This was contained in a letter of appointment released by the National Executive Council of the association, informing the appointee of the new gig, which was part of the association's resolves in her recent National Executive Council meeting held in Abuja on the 26th of January, 2019.

The letter dated 7th February, 2019 and signed by the National President of the association, Mr. Denja Abdullahi reveals that the appointment was premised on the recognition of Okechukwu's person as a long-standing committed member of the association at both the national and state levels.

Consequent upon this new mandate, among other functions and activities Okechukwu may perform or initiate to resuscitate ANA in Anambra state; he was also charged to: build a consensus among the members of the association in the state, ascertain the authenticity of the membership structure of the chapter for future reference, and to arrange (in close liaison with the National Executive Council), the conduct of a fresh election for the chapter within the stipulated period of his sole administration, which is three months only in the first instance from the reception of the letter.

Conclusively, the letter reads: "...you can co-opt neutral people of integrity to assist you in the discharge of the above tasks. We are of the opinion that you will bring your years of experience to bear on this onerous task of maintaining peace and restoring harmony to ANA Anambra. While we look forward to the attainment of the objectives of the set out tasks, please accept our esteem and due regards".

Prior to his appointment, Okechukwu Christopher Onuegbu has been a published author of many books, a poet, a journalist, a publicist, a blogger and a longstanding member of ANA, Anambra Chapter.

Owing to Anthonie De Saint's epigram that "the time for action is now, and it's never too late to do something"; it is believed that with the experiences gathered so far as a deep-rooted ANA member, and as an apostle of creative arts in general, Okechukwu will promptly reinvigorate and move the ANA Anambra to a greater and enviable height, in an expected swiftest pace.

Monday, 28 January 2019

Communique of the National Executive Council Meeting of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) held at Grangehill Hotel, Mpape, Abuja on Saturday 26 January 2019

COMMUNIQUE OF THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN AUTHORS (ANA) HELD AT GRANGEHILL HOTEL, MPAPE, ABUJA ON SATURDAY 26 JANUARY 2019

Rising from its 4th National Executive Council Meeting held at Grangehill Hotel, Mpape, Abuja, the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), after rigorous debates on a variety of issues affecting the Association and the nation resolved as follows:

1. That the current leadership of the Association is committed to its inaugural objectives of building on the values of the founding fathers of the association in upholding and maintaining its status as the foremost and authentic umbrella body of all creative writers and literary persons in the country and therefore will continue to pursue programmes and initiatives that will unify and build the capacity of writers and strengthen the bonds that has sustained the nation as a whole.

2. That the online database project and documentation of the membership of the association towards the development of a data and statistical resource base to enhance the implementation of the the vision and objectives of the Strategic Development Plan will be pursued to a viable conclusion and therefore all chapters and members are requested to immediately forward the membership forms and fill the online registration forms on the ANA webpage and submit same to the national secretariat on or before 30th March, 2019. Failure to do so will automatically lead to the de-registration of defaulting chapters and exclusion from benefiting from subsequent national projects and initiatives.

3. That the Yusuf Ali Literary Campaign initiative this year shall be open to chapters with innovative literary programmes and projects involving educational institutions in the host states and with the collaboration of key stakeholders in the field. Such chapters MUST also have complied with the membership database documentation project as in 2 above to be considered at all.

4. That chapters that have failed to conduct elections or change its leadership for many years and chapters that are moribund are hereby mandated to handover the leadership to sole administrators to be appointed by the National Executive Council who will be mandated to conduct elections and get the chapters back to operation within three (3) months for effective functioning of such chapters.

5. That the 38^th International Convention of the Association has been slated for the 31^st October -3^rd November, 2019 with the theme: “Literature, Nationalism and the Poetics of National Integration.” The hosting state will be announced later.

6. That the ongoing development of the ANA’s Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village in Mpape, Abuja is intensifying with a view to commissioning some aspects of the project later in the year. The National Executive Council therefore enjoins the developer and all persons connected to the project to keep to the terms of the existing memorandum and promise to deliver on target.

7. That chapters should continue to envision and implement programmes and projects that will ensure the creation of a robust environment for the realization of the creative dreams of writers and members in their chapters.Such projects and programmes should be adequately reported to the National Secretariat for record purposes.

8. That Nigerian writers should continue to engage their writings as tools of tackling rising dislocations and banes of our national development including corruption, terrorism, bigotry in high places, herdsmen atrocities, ethnic militia formations, degradation of social standards, ritual killings, maltreatment of pensioners, the elderly, women and children, instability in tertiary institutions among other issues with a view to drawing the attention of the government to stemming their tide, outright stoppage and regeneration of the confidence of the masses in the State.

9. That the National Executive Council of ANA hereby expresses consternation at the desperation that has settled into our political arena whereby those angling for political power to be secured during the forthcoming General Elections have resorted to discrediting the process even before it began and employing all sorts of self-help methods ; all geared towards opportunistic ends. Like we asked before, where will all these leave the people of Nigeria?.Careless and inciting utterances and disorderly conduct by political players in the country constitute a threat to the peace and harmony in our nation at a time like this. The Association calls on concerned agencies and the government to work towards curbing this ugly development by ensuring strict adherence to due process, rule of law and the constitution of this country.Politicians are advised to go about their campaigns and electioneering in ways that will not release further heat on the polity and allow the will of the people as will be expressed at the polls to prevail.We appeal to the politicians and power players in and out of government to allow us have a country after the elections.

Mallam Denja Abdullahi Dr. Ofonime Inyang

National President General Secretary