SNIPPETS (42)- BY SUMAILA UMAISHA

_From my chats with writers_

In terms of literary output and quality, Nigeria has come a long way. But the old names continue to dominate the scene. And I don’t think it is so much because they produced particularly superior works. It is the uniqueness of the time they produced their works and the kind of themes they explored. They exhibited courage in portraying the societal ills. Even now writers are producing good works, but the themes are not quite as enduring as those of the earlier writers. Another advantage earlier writers had is the fact that they were very few. Today the scene is full. And where you have too many soldiers fighting in a battle field, the qualities of an individual are not easily recognized. I don’t think the present writers' lack of popularity results from the poor reading culture. Even in those days, given the level of literacy, how many people were reading?

ABUBAKAR GIMBA