Welcome to Ada Dike's Blog: ANA Lagos State Chapter hosts Vintage Wine- Sam Omatseye

ADA DIKE

Sam Omatseye presenting copies of his books to teachers and students of National College Gbagada, Lagos

At the first episode of literary gathering, Vintage Wine and Fresh Blend, young writers were advised to emulate one of Nigeria’s renowned journalists, Mr. Sam Omatseye who shared his wealth of experience with them.
Organised by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Lagos State chapter, the event which was held on Saturday, January 25, 2014, began at 2 pm at the National Library, Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos.
The author of The Pastor's Prostitute, Yemi Adebiyi conducted the opening prayer and this was followed by the National Anthem.
In his welcome address, the chairman of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Lagos State chapter, Femi Onileagbon, said the new ANA Lagos State Chapter has a mandate to promote literature. He recalled that the only people in school who bother about literature are arts students. According to him art is an integral part of the senior secondary school examinations.
He eulogized the vintage wine of the event, columnist and Chairman, Editorial Board of The Nation, Omatseye, and stressed that apart from being a renowned journalist, Omatseye is a poet and a story teller.
“A golden fish has no hiding place that is why we are celebrating his work today. Omatseye has published many books and there are so many of us still struggling to publish a book. This is the right place to be for the mentors to impart knowledge to them,” said Onileagbon.
The Chairman of the occasion, poet and first ANA chairman, Lagos State chapter, Dr. Tolu Ajayi, was elated to see many writers and students at the occasion.
He stressed that students were the future and added that their presence was vital. “Some of us may not be here at events in 50 years’ time, so these students are going to be our future Achebes and Soyinkas,” Ajayi said.
The fiction writer challenged the young ones to work hard for them to move forward and be successful in life and implored everyone not to forget their past.
He advised all and sundry to gain from Omatseye’s experience. “It is a great thing for us having Omatseye here to tell us about his book. I once wrote a book on Small Cities and people criticized and misinterpreted it, saying that small cities were telling big cities to leave them alone. But I was able to explain what I meant to them,” he said.
Some students from National College Gbagada, Goodluck Comprehensive College and Ikosi Senior High School participated in recital competition and were rewarded with some of Omatseye’s books.
The audience gave a warm ovation when the vintage wine mounted the podium to be drilled by The Nation’s art reporter, Evelyn Osagie.
When it was time for Omatseye to shed lights on himself, he said: “It is difficult for me to talk about myself. I am very pleased to be here. I can’t express my gratitude for the patience the audience exhibited.”
Born in Warri Delta State, his father hailed from Itsekiri while his mother hailed from Urhobo. He was living in Lagos during the civil war. He attended primary school in Lagos, Warri and Ibadan and later proceeded to Government College, Ughelli, Delta State for his secondary school. He got Bachelor of Arts degree from Obafemi Awolowo University.
On where he got the influence to write, the seasoned journalist revealed that his parental upbringing, especially his father has a great influence on him. “We were surrounded by books because my father loved books. Secondly, I was an ardent buyer and reader of Time Magazine and Newsweek while in school. Thirdly, my environment influenced me to write. I was always concerned about the suffering of people. I also went through suffering when things changed in my father’s house and we went from having everything to thinking of when the next meal would be available.
“Individual writers who influenced me are: Shakespeare because of the way he reinvented English Language, Wilson Churchill because of his courage and power of language and St Paul in the Bible for his ability to illuminate, his capability to philosophize and to weave language in a way nobody can ever do,” Omatseye explained.
Like Roger Rosenblatt of Time Magazine who came out with two books in a space of about two years, he said, like somebody who likes to sing, he loves writing even after having sleepless nights.
Omatseye is the author of Lion Wind and Other Poems (Kraft, 2011), Mandela’s Bones and Other Poems (Kraft, 2009), Dear Baby Ramatu (Kraft, 2009) and a novel, The Crocodile Girl (Kraft, 2011).
The fearless writer narrated how his quest to get a scoop landed him in trouble during the military era, especially in the years of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (rtd). After the military plane crashed in Ejigbo, he was arrested and tortured when some soldiers who condoned that crash site searched him and saw his jottings while helping to evacuate the corpses from the debris.
Also, during General Sani Abacha’s era, on his way from the United States of America where he went for a fellowship programme, he was informed that his name was in the surveillance list so he stayed back for ten years and worked with some media organizations there. He returned in 2006.
Spanning over two decades in his career, a lot of people find his column in The Nation newspapers a delight to read while few others said it is controversial and difficult to comprehend. But he believes that: “Writing is an individual thing. It is a matter of devotion. My write-up seeks to create wonder to readers,” he revealed.
Omatseye advised young writers to do what they love doing (writing) and let money take care of itself.

Former ANA Chairman, Lagos, Dr. Tolu Ajayiwith Omatseye

This was followed by readings from his books and a special delivery by a writer, Oluwakemi Omowaire. Though the hall was not filled to the brim, the event was graced by mainly people in the literary vocation and students.