Eyin'juOdu

‘It’s Painful We Are Producing Children Without Roots’ At the flag off ceremony of the 2012 edition of ‘Read Africa’ project, an initiative stemming from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), UBA Foundation, held at the bank’s headquarters in Lagos, the renowned Kenyan writer, Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong’o, who was the guest speaker at the event lamented the total neglect of African languages in affairs of Africans and African states. He frowned at the preference among Africans for European languages and culture. Flaying what he referred to as the enslavement of Africa by Africans, the literary icon expressed the view that Africa will not be free through the mechanical development of material forces, but it is the hand of African and his brain that will set into motion and implement the dialectics of liberation of the continent from self-imposed mental slavery. Ngugi, who flew into Nigeria from California, United States of America, spoke wit

• Culled from The Guardian, Sunday July 29, 2012 THE   three-part Literature Showcase curated by the Committee for Relevant Art, CORA as part of showcase of Nigerian Arts, Culture and Lifestyle in the course of the Olympics kicked off on Thursday at the Theatre Royale, Stratford East. On stage to share precious moments with the audience were UK-based Nigerian novelist Diran Adebayo, playwright Ade Solanke and poet Nnorom Azuonye.    Aside fielding questions from the moderator, Lookman Sanusi (artiste and CEO of BubblesFM), and members of the audience, the writers also read from their works as well as engaged in discussing the state of Nigerian literature vis-a-vis the notion of multiculturalism under the theme ‘Imagine Nigeria’.    Titled Nigeria House Literature Showcase, the event is designed to exhibit the best of Nigerian Literature through book readings, conversations on literature and a display of a wide range of books by Nigerian authors at home and