Prof. Tanure Ojaide, speaks with CHUX
OHAI about issues affecting literature
and tertiary education in Nigeria
United States-based award-winning
poet and essayist, Prof. Tanure
Ojaide, is currently working on a
research at the Delta State University,
Abraka. What may be considered
remarkable about his presence in the
country is that he chose to do the
research in that institution at a time
tertiary education in Nigeria is
perceived to be in a deplorable state.
But in spite of the obvious odds,
including a potentially crippling
impasse between the Academic Staff
Union of Universities and the Federal
Government, Ojaide appears to be
driven by an acute sense of patriotism
and love for fatherland.
In an interview with our
correspondent, on the wings of the
recently concluded 2013 Convention
of the Association of Nigerian Authors,
he explains why he chose a Nigerian
university for the research. "Nigeria
is my home and this is where I get my
inspiration. As they say, home is
home. It doesn't matter the conditions
here are not as good as they should
be," he says.
Ojaide's research is on the oral
traditions of his native Urhobo ethnic
group. Although he is aware that
there is talk about the book and oral
literature becoming endangered by
the influx of social media platforms,
he dismisses it as the product of a
weird imagination.
"The notion that the coming of the
social media will endanger the book
and oral literature is highly
exaggerated. It will not happen. The
book will not die. Neither Twitter nor
Facebook can hinder oral literature
and other things that have to do with
performance. Even if people sit in
their homes and offices and
communicate with each other from
distant places, there will still be the
need for them to come together on a
higher level to express themselves. So
oral literature will continue to be
important in the society," he says.
The poet thinks that writers still have
an important role to play in nation
building. He would have loved to see
the literati getting more involved in
the affairs of the country, just as the
likes of Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe,
Christopher Okigbo and John
Bekeredemo-Clark did in their time.
Instead of isolating themselves from
the rest of the polity, he noted the
present generation of writers could
play an active role in the
transformation of Nigeria from a
corruption ridden and backward
country to a progressive one.
"So far, writers of my generation and
the younger ones have not been doing
enough to affect what is going on in
the country. Maybe our problem is
that we are too many. Still I think
that the period in which the likes of
Soyinka, Achebe, Okigbo and JP Clark
thrived was a lot of different from the
present time. The times have
changed. Those who were writing at
the time were very few and the
conditions were different. So they
were able to influence the leadership
of the country to an extent. But then,
corruption was not as rife as it is now
and the leadership still had some
respect for education. Nowadays our
politicians have no respect for
education. All that they are interested
in is stealing money from the public
treasure and acquiring material
things," he adds.
Ojaide believes that writers could be
effectively deployed in the fight
against corruption and other social
ills. He says the best way to tackle
corruption is to expose those who are
involved in it.
"Writers should embarrass corrupt
politicians and other Nigerians that
are guilty of corrupt practices
through their works. But corruption is
not the only major problem that
writers have to deal with in this
country. There are ethnic and
religious conflicts, too. Literature has
a role to play in making people to be
more tolerant of others. If writers can
achieve this, then Nigeria will be a
better society than it is now," he says.
But the poet is not happy that the
quality of writing has seriously
declined in the country.
"People are writing, but not many of
them are serious. The quality of what
they write is not as high as what it
used to be. If you look at some of the
works produced by the present
generation of writers, you will see that
a little editing and advice from a
more senior writer would have gone a
long way in improving the quality of
the works. Such books are often
riddled with spelling mistakes and
other grammatical errors. I think the
current generation of authors ought
to understand that it is important to
learn the rudiments of writing from
older and established writers. You
can't just sit in your room and write
and then, go and publish. No, that is
not the way it should be done," he
says.
Having been in Nigeria for the past
four months, Ojaide could not help
but make some critical observations
about the university system in the
country.
He says, "I think that much needs to
be done in the university system. If
you look at the ranking of the
universities within Africa, Nigeria
occupies about the 75th position.
There were times in the past when the
University of Ibadan, Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile Ife; University
of Nigeria, Nsukka and maybe,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria were
ranked as the best four on the
continent. Unfortunately in the
present world ranking, we are
nowhere near even the 1000th best .
Apart from that, Nigerian universities
are no longer respected anywhere in
the world. This is a disgrace.
"There used to be a time when people
were sent from the University of
London to do research at the
University of Ibadan. It is no longer
so. The irony of it is that nowadays
more money is given to the
universities and yet, everything is run
down. There are no good libraries, no
good workshops and more. The
situation is so bad that parents are
sending their children to universities
in Ghana, South Africa and Malaysia.
This is not a good development."
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