I Was Docked Because Of ANA Land – Denja Abdullahi
By Yemi Adebisi-October 12,
2019
Professor Idris Amali (left); Yemi
Adebisi (second left); Dr. Udenta Udenta (third left); Senator Shehu Sani
(third right); Dr. Wale Okediran (second right) and Denja Abdullahi during the
tour of Mamman Vatsa Writers Village, Mpape, Abuja on Saturday
Mpape, Abuja is one of the largest
slum settlements in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) fondly occupied by
artisans from diverse ethnic regions. Noted for its hilly and rocky topography,
its undulating landscape makes the place a revered section within the city and
known to be a settlement with the highest number of shanties like Ajegunle in
Lagos.
The slum has survived several
demolition attempts from successive governments, series of court cases, with
little or no infrastructural development.
However, with the level of the
ongoing projects embarked upon by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA),
the umbrella body of Nigerian writers’ fraternity, Mpape is about to outshine
other cities within the FCT. ANA has commenced the building of an ultramodern
Writers’ Village named after the former FCT minister, Mamman Vatsa.
It would be recalled that sometimes
in 1985, Major General Vatsa, a poet and nationalist, donated 60.9 hectares of
land to ANA for the purpose of building a befitting Writers’ Village.
Few weeks after he donated the land,
Mamman Vatsa was executed precisely on March 5, 1986, by the General Ibrahim
Babangida-led government, following a military tribunal conviction for treason
associated with an abortive coup.
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Today, the said total has diminished
to 36.9 hectares, either through confiscation by higher authorities in
government, reallocation, revocation or otherwise, part of which was taken by
Federal Government to build the MOPOL Barrack beside the proposed Writers’
Village.
Of the remaining 36.9 hectares,
about five hectares have been set aside for development, which currently houses
the ongoing projects.
The building project actually took
off around August 2017 after an MoU was signed between ANA and KMVL, the
developer.
Two years after, in the midst of
allegations, counter allegations and defense to clear the rumour that rent the
air of the world of the literati, a project media tour led by the National
President of ANA, Mallam Denja Abdullahi and KMVL, took place eventually on
Saturday, October 5, 2019.
In the company of ANA past
presidents, some members of Denja Abdullahi executive committee,
representatives of some media houses, some Abuja based writers and of course,
renowned Senator Shehu Sani, the existing structures (under construction),
sighted during the trip, include the 500-seater auditorium; a conference centre
to be named after late Professor Chinua Achebe; 50-room hotel and residency
chalets.
Some critics however observed that
if the project is properly funded as promised by the developer, and there is no
distraction or unnecessary politicking, the initiative will change the
narratives of Nigerian writers.
In his address, Abdullahi commended
the viable gesture of past administrations of ANA for laying a good foundation,
which according to him, has fast-tracked the projects to date and also helped
in the actualisation of other achievements of his administration.
“On January 24, 2013, after
surviving a long-drawn four-year legal battle over this same land, with an
erstwhile developer (Home Securities Limited), the Association did a
groundbreaking ceremony and a turning of the soil, under the auspices of the
Remi Raji –led ANA and the current developer, KMVL, to signify our
determination to get things going. That was the state of affair until my
Executive Council came on board in November 2015. My Executive Council
implemented the mandate given by the congress of the Association at the 2015
convention to constitute a Land Development Committee. This was done at our
inaugural meeting in January 2016 in Abuja where we also asked the present
developer to present a brief on the prevailing status of developments on the
land. The ANA Land Committee also met later that year with the developer and
initiated a monitoring system to fast track developments on the land. All these
initial activities of the Executive Council and the Land Development Committee
culminated in a foundation-laying ceremony that was held on Friday, May 26,
2017, to announce to the world that the period of actual development on the
land towards realising the dream of Vatsa and that of all Nigerian writers had
come.”
He therefore requested for the
cooperation of government, individuals and philanthropic agencies to complete
the project.
“The incoming executive after us
needs to do a lot of work to see this project to the end and will need every
support and encouragement from the generality of ANA members. The Association
still needs the Federal and the States governments, corporate institutions,
national and international donor agencies, individuals and groups to join hands
with ANA as it builds a place for literature and culture in Abuja. The period
of being romantic about a land bequeathed to us by a benevolent poet-soldier is
long over; we are in an age where a hard-nosed business option has to be continually
taken to fully build the land and realise the vision behind the giving.”
Reacting to accusations that some
parts of the land were unlawfully acquired or sold by some big masquerades
among writers, Abdullahi said it was an unjust and unfounded allegation to the
best of his knowledge.
“I was docked because of ANA land
when I was Secretary General. This land is neither in my custody nor in my
possession, but the developer. I have no authority to give a pinch of this land
to anybody. To ensure the security of the property and maintain good
administration, I pay the clerk employed on this land from my salary every
month. This ANA land matter since the inception of its being given in 1985 up
till this moment has been a subject of myth-making, mindless and unfounded
accusations, mostly against its minders in the successive national executive
councils over the years. This wild tale in broad daylight has been taken to the
dizzying height of arrant falsehood in the devil-may-care political maneuvering
of some persons as they battle others in the build-up to attain power in ANA at
the forthcoming elections in the Association in November 2019. May I reiterate
here that the Denja Abdullahi-led National Executive Council of ANA has kept a
verifiable trail of all its activities on this land since the first day it took
office and has executed its mandate as given by the ANA congress to the best
interest of this Association in this ANA land matter and all other matters.”
In his response, Professor Osofisan
narrated his relationship with Vatsa and how the dream of donation of the land
came through. Commending the effort of the current administration, he, however,
joined issues with Abdullahi on whether or not some writers benefitted from the
land, saying, “writers are their own worst enemies.”
Okediran, the chairman of ANA Land
Committee said: “I was reluctant to take up the challenge of the chairmanship
of the committee because of the heat. The committee was the clearinghouse
between the writers and the developer.”
Agada said it was during his tenure
as president that ANA won the case from the court before the land was
reinstated.
Amali said with the structure on
ground, writers can beat their chest of possession of monumental heritage and
invite writers from any part of the world. He warned the current and future
leaders of writers not to politicise ANA land because of posterity.
Aisha Vatsa, the only surviving
child of the slain soldier expressed her appreciation of the battle the
Nigerian writers have been fighting since the demise of her father, encouraging
them not to give up.
“My father taught me that whatever
you do, speak from your heart. Many people would have thought this is
impossible many years ago, but we are standing here today to witness it.”
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