WHY WE FORMED SYNW –ADEDOYIN
February 8, 2020 Editorial III Arts & Books 0

Wole Adedoyin is currently the president of the Society of Young Nigerian Writers (SYNW) and the immediate past National Publicity Secretary (South) of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). In this interview with AWAAL GATA, he discusses his literary journeys and why SYNW was created.
HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
My becoming a writer wasn’t accidental. I started writing during my secondary school days. Back at Holy Trinity Grammar School, Old Ife road then, I was appointed as Library Prefect. My favourite subject then was Literature-in-English and I was the Captain of the subject from SS1 to SS3. I represented my school in many literary outfits and events. It was purposely because of my performance in Literature-in-English and my good reading habit that got me appointed as the Library Prefect. A former ANA President, Prof. Remi Raji, is also an alumnus of the school. My Literature-in-English teachers then in persons of Mr. Oduola and Mr. Raji were fantastic teachers. They developed my interest. When I was to choose between Geography and Literature-in-English in SS1, my father supported my choice of Literature-in-English. My late father, Prof. Albert Aderemi Adedoyin, despite being a Professor of Business Studies, decorated our house with literary books like David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Complete Works of Shakespeare, She Stoops to Conquer, Violence, Things Fall Apart, Mission to Kala, The five Late D.O. Fagunwa’s Ireke Onibudo, Igbo Olodumare, Adiitu Olodumare, Irinkerindo Ninu Igbo Elegbeje, and Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irumale, Alawiye to mention but few. In 2015 when Mrs. Sijuwola (Nee Fagunwa) the first daughter of Late D.O. Fagunwa asked me the first time I came in contact with her dad’s books. I told her that was when I was in Primary 6. My late father then mandated me to be reading Fagunwa’s Ireke Onibudo, a chapter a day. I continued doing this from JSS 1 to SS 3. He always accessed, read with me and tutored me pronunciations of difficult Yoruba words. There are big Yoruba grammars in all D.O Fagunwa’s books. This love of Fagunwa and his books which my father developed in me made me start SYNW’s annual Yoruba literary event which I tagged “Fagunwa Day”. During every Fagunwa day event, we celebrate Fagunwa’s life, works, Yoruba Literature, Culture and tradition. It was the programme which made me close to D.O. Fagunwa’s children, Chief (Mrs.) Sijuwola, Ms. Diwura Fagunwa and my great uncle, the current heir of D.O Fagunwa, Uncle Diipo Fagunwa. The three of them had attended the annual literary festival instituted in honour of their late father and also supported the initiative financially through D.O. Fagunwa Foundation which they founded to promote the literary legacy and works of their late father. Till date, D.O. Fagunwa’s five books are like bible to me.
Educare Trust also played a very vital role in my literary career. I joined the Centre in 2003 through my brother, Deacon Tolulope Adedoyin. To us, Educare Trust is not just a co-educational center but like a University of Knowledge. It was through the Centre I got to know great literary figures like Tony Marinho (one of the founders of Educare Trust, it was where I sharpened my ICT Skills and he also nominated me as the Coordinator of Olaudah Equiano Poetry and Prose Club), Dr. Wale Okediran (is the current Treasurer of the Centre, who also nominated me for Wole Soyinka Foundation’s Study Abroad in Lebanon –SAIL in 2017), Prof. Remi Raji (a former Chairman of ANA Oyo and former National President of ANA who later nominated me as National Secretary of the National Teen Authorship Scheme of ANA in 2012)Mallam Denja Abdullahi (who also nominated me as National Secretary of Young Writers Mentorship Scheme and who eventually supported my emergence as ANA National Publicity Secretary (South), Mr. Anthony Ebika (my mentor and master, whose during his tenure as ANA Oyo Chairman gave me sense of belonging. He taught me the art of poetry and literary organization. He also nominated me for the 2008 Oyo State Merit Award in Literary Arts powered by Oyo State Government during the political administration of His Excellency, Otunba Alao Akala and lastly, Dr. Remi Adedokun (former HOD of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan, who donated Amphiteatre (former House of Prof. Wole Soyinka while in U.I) free of charge for holding our workshops, readings and meetings).It was in Educare Trust I joined ANA in 2005 and from 2006-2010 I was elected Oyo ANA Auditor and PRO under the leadership of Mr. Akin Bello. In Educare Trust, I met all these great people. They all contributed meaningfully to my educational and literary career in one way or the other. And I do always pray for them and their children every day. God will also make good ways for them and their children.
WHAT HAVE YOU SO FAR ACHIEVED AS A WRITER AND WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE IN THE FUTURE?
Being alive is an achievement and I always thank God every day for it. I am hardly known as a writer but as a literary organiser. Though I’ve published two collections of poems and a drama book, all for children. I also have some of my works published in anthologies, literary journals and magazines, online platforms both within and outside Nigeria. I haven’t achieved anything but God has given me the grace to make impact in the lives of teen writers and few young writers. The success of those I groomed and mentored are my achievements. I have mentored over hundred secondary school students through our annual Fagunwa Day literary event under the platform of the Society of Young Nigerian Writers (SYNW). And of course honing of young writers skills through our quarterly creative writing workshops and our electronic anthologies (almost 12 of them, they are on www.obooko.com) which I started in 2013.
My achievement will be to make more impacts, hone more young writers’ skills by organizing more educative and informative literary workshops and groom more teen writers. As for me, I’ve not achieved anything and I’m not competing with anybody in terms of achievements or success.
WHO ARE YOUR LITERARY ROLE MODELS?
My role models are the six people I had earlier mentioned above: Dr. Tony Marinho, Dr. Wale Okediran, Prof. Remi Raji, MallamD enjaAbdulahi, Ebika Anthony and Dr. Remi Adedokun. To me role models are those who make things happen, who devoted their selfless time, resources, energy and wherewithal to bridge a gap which some people are unable to fill. They are people who have contributed enormously to impact lives and ensure development. They are change agents in their different fields. Practically, I have passed through all of them, they have impacted my life in one way or another, they have shown me the direction of where I fear to trudge. Prof. Remi Raji @ 50 National Poetry Competition. It was the competition which gave SYNW a national image. Mallam Denja Abdulahi is a poet, playwright and literary administrator. During my two years apprenticeship as ANA National PRO (South) under his ANA Presidency, I learnt a lot about literary administration, in fact advanced literary administration. Ebika Anthony is a poet and puppeteer. He taught me how to write poems and the foundation of literary administration.
WHAT IS THE IDEA BEHIND YOUR FORMULATION OF SYWN?
SYNW is a dream from God. It is the only teen/young writers oriented literary association from Nigeria in the newly published Teen Lives Around the World, which is a global encyclopedia (Volume II) edited by Karen Welle published in November last year. SYNW was mentioned on page 332. A Philippines school is currently using two of our E-Poetry anthologies for studies. We have members across the 36 states of the federation and coordinators in over 30 states across the six geo political zones of the country. The current national Secretary is Izunna Okafor, an award winning author and journalist from Anambra. He is also the coordinator of SYNW Anambra chapter. We also have other national executive members as stipulated in the constitution. Like I pointed out earlier, the first literary event which threw SYNW into limelight was Prof. Remi Raji at 50 National Poetry Competition. Over 300 entries were received from within and outside the country; I could remember that newspapers like Tribune, Sun, Vanguard and other national dailies beaming their searchlight on it. Many young writers who now have their own different literary outfits participated in that competition. Prof. ObododimaOha and Ms. TiwatopeFakayode judged the submitted entries. Another of our project is the Paperless Book Project or Mobile Library Project. It was initiated in 2014. The idea is to encourage reading of books via phones, computers etc. We have books both literary and textbooks stocked in PDF, Kindle, TXT, DOC and other electronic formats. This project was formerly known as 2000 e-books per school project. Over 100 schools in Osun, Oyo and Lagos have benefited from the project.
Also, worthy of note is our Chinua Achebe Annual Literary Festival conceived and initiated by Mr. Izunna Okafor, SYNW National Secretary and the Anambra State Coordinator. Now in its fourth year. The idea behind the project is to promote Chinua Achebe’s life and works. Also to promote his literary ideology and legacy. The Chinua Achebe Annual Literary Festival is gradually becoming a national programme, this is because Mr. Izunna Okafor’s (initiator) zeal and dedication. Read Across Nigeria (RAN) is another of our initiative which was started in 2016 with Dr. Wale Okediran as our celebrant. Readings took place in 26 states of the federation. The event was also given a wider coverage. Dr. Wale Okediran’s financial assistance and personality assisted the project. 2016 was indeed a national reading day. In 2017, we featured another celebrant, a female writer from the North, in person of Hajiya Hafsat Abdulwaheed. In 2017 we started National Week of Remembrance for Departed Writers (NAWRED), an internet based literary project aimed at honouring, immortalizing and remembering dead writers. In 2017 we featured 100 outstanding departed writers. While a month ago we exhibited 130 departed Nigerian writers celebrating their lives, works and legacies. Our newly introduced project which will start by the grace of God in March is the National Book Awareness Week (NABAWK), also an internet based literary project aim at promoting Nigerian and African books (literary). NABAWK will be showcasing old Nigerian books which people have forgotten, refreshing and bringing back their memories of such books.
https://www.blueprint.ng/why-we-formed-synw-adedoyin/