'Culture administrators have done well for Nigeria'

• Published date: 15 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Denja Abdullahi is a culture administrator, technocrat and manager. He is the immediate past president of the Association of Nigerian Authors ANA. An award winning author, playwright and poet, he tells Edozie Udeze in this encounter how the culture and tourism sectors have impacted on the society in the past years. He also takes a broader look at ANA and what the future holds in stock for it. And lots more.

As the year draws to a close what can you say are the main achievements of the culture sector?

I can say that the sector has been able to overcome the setbacks of theCovid-19 pandemic . It was like the pandemic taught the sector the ways to upgrade into operationalizing its activities and programmes along the demands of the digital age. There is now much pressure on the sector to justify its existence in relation to its input to national economic development and general societal well being. That pressure has made those who work in the sector to realign their programming along that line. Therefore, in both the public and the private arms of the sector, we have witnessed an upsurge of well appointed activities, cutting across hosting of all kinds of festivals, visual arts and crafts exhibitions, theatre and dance shows, seminars and workshops, books and literary arts festivals, specialized film and documentary shows, music fiestas and many other cultural events. In short, the main achievement of the sector has been its resilience in its overcoming existential challenges of the day, to foregrounding the fact that culture is the wellspring of any nation's well being.

As a culture technocrat and administrator,has the players been able to use indices of cultural sentiments to help steady a society going adrift?

You may not be able to readily measure the impact of culture to societal sustenance because much of its components are intangible. Yes, the cultural institutions are there but it is the intangible aspects of culture that are the living parts of culture which are consumed ,which permeate the mental make-up of a people and which are transmitted across generations. The players in the cultural sector ,both public and private,have their various mandates,whether statutorily given by laws or self-appointed. In addressing the various problems presented by the contradictions in the society because of the struggle for power or control of resources, the players in the sector have been trying their best at least in designing programmes and projects that eternally harp at the need to maintain the unity of the country. In the public sector , you hardly see them not inserting the phrase 'national unity,' 'peaceful co-existence,' 'national integration,' 'unity in diversity,' ' religious tolerance' and all such salubrious lexicons in capturing the overriding thematic thrust of their activities. You may ask yourself, why do we still need to be talking these after over 100 years of amalgamation and 60 years of independence? Your answer as they say is as good as mine. Private and independent players in the sector may have moved a bit further by asking disturbing questions in their books,films,music ,drama, artistic revues ,poetry performances and dance shows but are the right people listening ,watching or reading? The listening , watching and reading are not just for the leadership class in the society alone, it is for all. Cultural activities designed to set the society aright will achieve their purposes only if the society hearken to them.

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