Two columnists and public commentators, Tope Fasua and Abdulaziz Ahmad Abdulaziz, will be the featured writers at the September 29 edition of the Guest Writer Session, an initiative of the Abuja Writers’ Forum (AWF), which holds at Hamdala Plaza, Plot 23, Jimmy Carter Street, off Protea Hotel, Asokoro, Abuja.
Tope Fasua is an economist, Chartered Accountant and Finance expert, based in Nigeria. He prides himself as one of Africa’s young modern historians and sociologists, by choice. Tope keeps a column with the Abuja-based Sunday Trust newspapers and writes occasionally for other media houses in Africa. In writing this book, he hopes to contribute his quota to the debate about Africa, using his home country, Nigeria, as case study. He hopes to break ranks with the thinking that young people should merely focus on their own material self-betterment. Fasua believes the tragic realities of Africa today is because of the inability of Africans to recognize the need to spend more of their energy and effort, resolving socio-economic paradoxes.
Fasua has published a book, CRUSHED, which is an acronym for the strategies that Africa (the sub-Saharan region in particular), must adopt if it is not to face extinction in the medium to long term. The book presents pungent, and urgent, analysis of the precarious situation that that region of Africa has found itself; a situation foisted not only by the historical facts of slave trade and colonialism (as most texts on the subject are wont to aver), but most importantly the failure of the African states themselves to properly interpret their cultures and how those clash with the ones they are trying to adopt and adapt to.
CRUSH-ED navigates the tortuous terrain, delivering enough kicks in the belly to all stakeholders; chiefly the Africans themselves, the colonizers, the dominant cultures, the superpowers, the politicians, and not least, the author himself! This book should refresh every reader, especially those that are ready to be objective and face some ‘inconvenient truths’, about the world and about themselves.
Abdulaziz Abdulaziz is a writer, civil society activist and journalist. Born and brought up in Kano, Abdulaziz has practiced as a journalist and development worker. He is currently on the editorial staff of Blueprint newspaper based in Abuja. He had worked with LEADERSHIP newspapers as Kano State correspondent, rising to become its Regional Editor (Kano) before he resigned early this year.
He has participated in many writing workshops, the recent being the 2012 NBC/Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop taught by seasoned writers such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Binyavanga Wainaina and Jeffery Allen. Other similar workshops attended by the writer are the British Council’s ‘Radiophonics: Writing for Radio’ training, Children Literature workshop organized by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and one day writing workshop with English writer, Bernadine Evaristo).
Abdulaziz has served as a volunteer with a number of nongovernmental organizations and worked as Programme Officer (Information) for Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).
His poems have appeared in Pyramids: Anthology of poems from Northern Nigeria (2008), MazanFara; ANA Zamfara Anthology of Poems and Short Stories (2008), Cavalcade (2009), Fireflies (2009), Savanna Poets (2010), Crumbled Spell (2010) JeNDA (2010), among others. He has also published his poems, short stories and literary essays in Weekend Triumph, Weekly Trust, LEADERSHIP, Sunday Trust, New Nigerian, National Life etc. He is among those published in the pioneer edition of Sentinel Nigeria, online literary magazine, and has published poems on some websites including www.poemhunter.com, www.nigerians.biz, among others.
His book, Rage and Solace: Musings of a Reporter, a collection of journalistic pieces was published last year and has been given a thumbs up by the likes of Mohammed Haruna, Abubakar Gimba, Garba Deee Muhammad and Paul Mamza. Abdulaziz has co-edited Voices from the Savanna, an anthology of the English and French Department, Bayero University Kano (BUK).
The Guest Writer Session which started in June 2008 is generally regarded as the most consistent literary event in the country and has become the template for similar interventions. So far this year it has featured an interesting mix of writers namely Uche Ezechukwu, Steve Okecha, Oyibo Ameh, K. K. Iloduba, Betty Abah, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Chido Onumah, Richard Ali, Maero Ozako, Bob Majiri Oghene, Onyinyechi Nwadinmaand Ibrahim Kabura.
The September 29, 2012 edition of the Guest Writer Session starts at 4pm and will include the usual side attractions of poetry performance, mini art exhibition, and a raffle-draw as well as live music. The Abuja Writer’s Forum meets three Sundays each month and hosts a reading on every last Saturday at the International Institute of Journalism, Hamdala Plaza, Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja.
