16th LABAF: Extraordinary book and art festival in 2014

By ADA DIKE

This year’s Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) has come and gone, but its memory will linger for a long time in the minds of the people that attended the first of its kind literary festival.

Inspired by the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 20th Anniversary of the South African Democracy and 15th anniversary of Nigeria’s 4th Republic, the Africa’s biggest art festival, themed, “Freedom and The Word,” was celebrated in honour of Prof. Wole Soyinka at 80.

Organised by the Committee For Relevant Art (CORA), pre-festival events began on Monday, November 10, 2014 with Book Trek and the attendance for the evening of poetry, book reading and so on, at the British Council, Ikoyi, Lagos was quite impressive

In his speech, CORA's Programme Chair, Jahman Anikulapo, stated that the Book Trek is a series of literary event put together to usher participants into the main activities of the yearly festival.

According to him, “Authors and writers are very important, but we insist that all these books are being published and are not even on our streets. We are not seeing them; not reading them, and we are not engaging them. So all of these lies will go on, and we will pass away and our children will read and believe these lies, and the lies will become part of our history because some of us who were alive when these books were published failed to engage them.”

 There were beehives of activities from Friday, November 14, 2014 to November 16, 2014, at the main venue of the festival, Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos, as literary enthusiasts, performance artists, authors, students and pupils from many schools including Playpen Nursery and Primary School, Isolo, Lagos had fun-filled and busy days attending different programmes of the events including colloquium, conventions, music, dance, drama, art stampede, book presentation, visual art exhibition, poetry slam, conversation and so on.

Students learnt a lot of things including the history of the Fall of Berlin Wall at Goethe Institut stand. They also participated in book readings, visited visual arts exhibition and learnt how to wash hands to avoid germs.

The knowledge of Africa’s first Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and his works, came to fore during a colloquium which started around 1.30 pm. With the theme: “Soyinka: and The Nation Building, experts from different universities and literary giants including the keynote speaker, Professor of African and African-American Studies and of Literature and Comparative Literature at Harvard University, USA, Prof. Biodun Jeyifo; Member, Editorial Board, The Nation, Prof. Ropo Shekoni; Dean of the Faculty of Arts at University of Abuja, Prof Mabel Evwierhoma; author, Odia Ofeimun; and Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, among others discuss extensively about Soyinka and his works. 

The keynote speaker, Prof Jeyifo, who re-titled his lecture: “Freedom and Nation Building”, pointed out that Nigeria has too many Richard II than Henry IV and stressed that the dispossessed in the society clamour for change.

He focused on Soyinka’s two works namely: ‘The Man Died,’ which he said was apt for activism and “A Dance in the Forest’.

This was followed by panel of discussion and festival symposium themed: ‘The Intervention Series: ‘Soyinka as a Public intellectual’ which was anchored by the chairman of the Nigeria Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi A. Odinkalu.

On the second day, notable literary experts including Chuma Nwokolo, Toni Kan, Adewole Ajao and Kola Tubosun, among others, x-rayed books on the theme, “In Search For Freedom”. Books that were discussed included: David Welsh’s The Rise And Fall Of Apartheid; Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom; Peter Schneider’s The Wall Jumper; Ala Al Aswany’s Chicago; and  Wale Adebami’s Trials and Triumphs: The Story Of The News.

  Day Three commenced with “The Book and Youth Empowerment”. Special focus was on books published by authors under 35 such as Chude Jideonwo’s A’re We The Turning Point Generation?’; Ayo Sogunro,’s ‘The Wonderful Life Of Senator Boniface’ and  Okechukwu Ofili,’s ‘How Stupidity Saved My Life’. 

The Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) is CORA’s annual culture picnic with a high book content aimed to attract families and a public that seeks cultural entertainment.

The Book and Art Festival is a 16-year old event, established in 1999, the year of the nation’s return to democracy, to call attention to the importance of literacy. The Festival is always filled with fun and thrills, with live band and theatre performances, galleries displaying art, and a series of art, craft, textile, dancing workshops focused on kids happening all over the open field.