A chat with Ahmed Yerima

Cultivating a Reading Culture Helps Individuals
--Yerima

Oyelola Ogunrinde

What is your greatest achievement as a playwright at 52?
I wouldn’t call this my greatest challenge but the lessons that I have learnt is patience and maturity. I take my time to look at each dialogue and the conflict in my plays.

You are in charge of two parastatals: the National theatre and National Troupe, how do you manage them?

It is one paratastal, the government joined them together and the first is a building, while the other is a group of artistes. The National Troupe was first performing at the Muson Centre till they had their own building in 2006. Their next performance will be at Algiers.

Do you have a link with the Nigerian Film Industry and if yes, what are you doing to help them?

The Nigerian Film Industry was first under the Ministry of Culture but now under the Ministry of Information. There are some theatre practitioners who are now in the film industry. I tell my students in the creative arts department in the University of Lagos that there are lots of jobs out there waiting for them. It’s going to be like the banking industry when the rightful practitioners came in and those that don’t have anything to do with the banking industry were flushed out. That would soon happen to the film industry.

Do you have any workshop for young people or students to encourage them into theatre so that the core professionalism which the theatre is known for could continue?

For now we are working with different groups and we are trying to organise children theatre. By next year we will have all that in place.

There is no drama institute in Nigeria, what are you doing about it?

There is, even though the National Troupe/National Theatre doesn’t have any but we support those that have. Joke Silva just established a theatre school which we support. This is the practical aspect of theatre. After studying theatre in the university, there should be a theatre school you should go for training.

How far have you gone with the renovation of the National Theatre?

The only thing we have not yet done is the main bowl. Every other thing is in place. Four of our halls are functional, the conference hall, main exhibition and the cinema hall 1and 2. If we can renovate the main bowl, the National theatre will be back fully. We also have new toilets which we have renovated.

How do you manage the National Theatre?

The government pays us and we generate revenue which we give back to the government. When it comes to NGO’s and universities, they come in here freely because it is our own contribution to encourage theatre arts in Nigeria.

What do you count has challenges to Nigerian Literature?

The greatest thing that kills a writer is when his book is not read. I didn’t know how important and relevant my book was until when people started calling me. I have a boy from University of Benin who has challenged me that I can’t produce any other play than my play ‘Hard Ground’ which won me the NLNG award.
I am writing another one to prove him wrong. That is what the audience does to you. Here in the National Theatre, to encourage writers, we always have a reading session where a group of critics look at your play and if it is good, the national troupe would stage it and if not, we advice you on what to do to make it better. Cultivating a reading culture also help individual writers.
You just launch your new book ‘Discourse on Tragedy’ on Monday 24th May for your 52nd birthday, tell us about it.
I think it’s the fact that I have being teaching tragedy for a long time. We all have the theories of what Aristotle and Shakespeare said about Tragedy. To many, Soyinka’s definition is difficult to grasp. So I thought of giving them a simpler explanation because I was lucky to have learnt under Soyinka.
I also said to myself that on my 52nd birthday, I will give myself a gift and this is the gift. I wanted to explore the question which many ask: Do Africans really have tragedies? So when Gbemisola Adeoti reviewed the book, I felt this is it.

Who are those you look up to?
They are many. Prof wole Soyinka, Prof femi Osofisan, Prof Obafemi and many of my friends who are writers. I am also grateful to my wife who has not given me trouble or a lack of the opportunity to write.

What do you want to be remembered for after leaving this office?

I just want to be grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to serve. I will also thank my wife for giving me peace for without that, I wouldn’t be able to do all that I have done.

What advice do you have for those wanting to write?

All I tell them is that they should just write. They should also read a lot. It will help them. ‘Swamp Dwellers’ which Soyinka wrote was about issues of the Niger Delta. He said it a long time ago and now, it is now happening. Study your society as a writer and I wish you Good luck because you will need it.