Samod Biobaku
Member
Controversial and witty Kenyan writer, Binyavanga Wainaina was recently in Nigeria for another installment of Farafina’s creative writing workshop and he has strongly criticised what he described as the addiction of Nigerians to the Caine Prize.
"I am going to take this first to another road because I think all you Nigerian literati are way too addicted to the Caine Prize. I give the Caine Prize its due credit, but it just isn’t our institution. All these young people who are ending up in that place were built up by many people’s work. If there was no Saraba, if there was no Farafina workshop, if there was no Cassava republic, if there was no Tolu Ogunlesi meeting Nick in South Africa and then workshoping stories, if there was no Ivor Hartmann, if there were no thirty thousand Facebook groups that I know off or don’t know, there will be no Okwiri, there will be no Elnathan, etc," he affirmed.
Speaking on why he has visited Nigeria over half a dozen times, he expressed his love for Nigerian music and it's people. "I discovered I know pidgin because the software was sleeping inside of me (laughs). So I have three per cent Nigerianness in my body. That’s beautiful, you know."
Click here to read more
Source: ThisisAfrica
#BinyavangaWainaina #KenyanWriterBinyavanga #CainePrize
"I am going to take this first to another road because I think all you Nigerian literati are way too addicted to the Caine Prize. I give the Caine Prize its due credit, but it just isn’t our institution. All these young people who are ending up in that place were built up by many people’s work. If there was no Saraba, if there was no Farafina workshop, if there was no Cassava republic, if there was no Tolu Ogunlesi meeting Nick in South Africa and then workshoping stories, if there was no Ivor Hartmann, if there were no thirty thousand Facebook groups that I know off or don’t know, there will be no Okwiri, there will be no Elnathan, etc," he affirmed.
Speaking on why he has visited Nigeria over half a dozen times, he expressed his love for Nigerian music and it's people. "I discovered I know pidgin because the software was sleeping inside of me (laughs). So I have three per cent Nigerianness in my body. That’s beautiful, you know."
Click here to read more
Source: ThisisAfrica
#BinyavangaWainaina #KenyanWriterBinyavanga #CainePrize
