Ayodele Anthony Bamidele, a Professor of English and African Literature at Federal University, Lokoja has called on African writers to promote a positive image of Africa in literary works, to make Africa a better place to live.
Bamidele made the call while presenting the 22nd Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University Lokoja (FUL) with the theme: “Beyond Entertainment: Unravelling the African Novel as a Utilitarian Art”, in Lokoja, adding that the African Writers ought to be committed to making Africa a better place to live in rather than pursue the bourgeois formalist school of thought, which is a sharp contrast to the colonial and post-colonial realities in Africa.
Bamidele equally said that African writers were actively involved in anti-colonial struggles as they had courageously fought for Africa’s liberation side by side with African nationalists and political leaders to agitate for the independence of African States.
He pointed out that the eventual attainment of “Independence” was a sham because the gains of independence did not diffuse from the new men in power to the masses, thereby negating the essence of the agitation.
He said “African leaders upon independence, imbibed exploitative capitalism of the West, which made the ‘Flag independence’ a huge disappointment, leading to disenchantment and disillusionment that enveloped the entire African continent”.
He said that what the vast majority of the people did not know about the flag independence was that it was a mere treacherous exchange of batons between the outgoing master and his few trusted heirs, noting that the Africans who took over power from the colonialists had their loyalties to the external authority in Europe and America instead of Africa with Brenton wood institutions dictating the pace of economic growth in African nations.
He said “Since independence, in most African nations, it has been tales of woe that betide Africa. It is a sorry tale of coups d’état, civil wars that occasioned bloodshed, political trickery, and socio -economic dysfunctionality”.
Highlighting the nexus between Literature and Politics, Prof. Bamidele faulted the argument by some scholars that literature should have nothing to do with politics, describing the statement itself as a political statement.
“Literature finds content and sustenance in every facet of society and is thus necessarily emblematic of the society that produces it”, he said.
African writers, he said should not be daunted by the Neo-colonial apologists’ interest, but envision a new African perspective of “a brighter light at the end of the tunnel.”
The Professor said that what the vast majority of the people did not know about the flag independence was that it was a mere treacherous exchange of batons between the outgoing master and his few trusted heirs.
Bamidele noted that the Africans who took over power from the colonialists had their loyalties to the external authority in Europe and America instead of Africa, with Brenton wood institutions dictating the pace of African economic growth.
Prof. Bamidele faulted the argument by some scholars that literature should have nothing to do with politics describing the statement itself as a political statement.
“Literature finds content and sustenance in every facet of society and is thus necessarily emblematic of the society that produces it”, he said.
In his welcome address, Olayemi Akinwumi, Vice Chancellor of the University reiterated the place of inaugural lectures to scholarship.
Akinwumi, also disclosed that the importance of inaugural lectures in intellectual development, could not be overstated, hence, management’s decision to make it a requirement for confirmation of professorial rank.
Akinwumi recommended the inaugural Lecturer, Bamidele as he lauded his presentation as “fantastic” in terms of its composition, currency, choice of words, resourcefulness and analysis of contemporary African literature.
