In her closing remarks at this year’s edition of the
festival, which held virtually for the second year because of the Covid-19
pandemic, Shoneyin said, “Having Sterling Bank by our side makes our heads
swell. From their commitment to the belief in tSterling Bank commended for
supporting Ake Arts and Books Festival he transformative power of our stories
and for helping us document and archive our ideas, we thank you.”
She said Ake Festival is the envy of cultural entrepreneurs
and organisations across the African continent, adding that Sterling Bank has
become the code word for companies that support the Arts with sincerity of
purpose. “Across the continent, cultural
activists often say ‘we need a Sterling Bank’,” she added.
Also speaking, Abubakar Suleiman, Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Sterling Bank Plc, said the bank has
continued to support Africa’s biggest literary festival because education is
one of the five sectors that the bank is currently concentrating investments
in. The others sectors are health, agriculture, renewable energy and
transportation.
The three-day festival featured ‘The Life and Times Series’
event with Booker-Prize shortlisted author, Maaza Mengiste, in a conversation
with the festival headliner, Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah, who was announced as
the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Gurnah, a Tanzanian author, spoke about the invasion of East
Africa and noted that until recently, most conversations about colonial
presence in Africa had always excluded Germany. The Nobel Laureate, however,
used his novel as a medium to narrate how Germany established colonies in
present-day Namibia, Cameroon, Togo, parts of Tanzania and Kenya as well as
Rwanda and Burundi.
According to him, German colonial rule was as brutal as
colonial enterprises were in an era known for its oppression and violence. The
author, in Afterlives noted that it was Germany that perpetrated the first
genocide of the 20th Century in 1904 and 1908 respectively. The genocide was
part of a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by
the German Empire against the Herero, the Name and the San in German South West
Africa (now Namibia).
Commenting on this year’s theme; Generational Discordance,
Shoneyin said the internet has amplified generational differences in almost
every area of African life. “From relationships, love and marriage;
spirituality and religion; gender and feminism to politics and activism, the
differences in perspective are glaring. Where earlier generations of Africans
are anchored to their cultural identities, our younger compatriots see
themselves as a part of a globalised world. It is easy to assume that our aspirations
are poles apart but they are not. Africa cannot afford the luxury of endless
culture wars,” she said.
“Engagement and communication – characterised by a
willingness to listen – as well as mutual respect and empathy are what will
face down the retrogressive forces and the structures and systems that oppress
and dehumanize us. We must eschew the sensationalism and divisive influence of
digital algorithms and find a more harmonious continental rhythm that allows us
to talk to, and not past, each other,” she remarked.
Some of the book discussions included Bring Back Our Girls
by Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson; Lionheart Girl by Yaba Badoe; His Only Wife,
by Peace Medie; Formation: The Making of Nigeria from Jihad to Amalgamation by
Fola Fagbule and Feyi Fawehinmi; Prince of Monkeys by Nnamdi Ehirim; An
Ordinary Wonder by Buki Papillon; Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi;
Born in Blackness by NYT columnist Howard French; When the Sky is Ready The
Stars Will Appearby EC Osondu; The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Dorkoa
Sekyiamah and The Teller of Secrets by Bisi Adjapon.
Alongside the intergenerational conversations, panel
discussions also focused on African crime-writing, conspiracy theories and
healthcare; disability rights and repatriating Africa’s stolen treasures, with
discussions moderated by Harper Collins’ (UK) Nancy Adimora, which explored Of
This Our Country; a new collection of essays and reflections by 24 Nigerian
writers.
Virtual visitors enjoyed interviews with Denrele Sonariwo of
Rele Gallery and Ade Bantu, Founder of Afropolitan Vibes.
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