The Arrow of God at 50 national celebration train which took off from Ibadan, Oyo State on March 28 stopped at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Thursday, April 3.
The Abuja event, like the Ibadan and Otuoke ones held before it, was not devoid of colour and spectacles. But unlike the two before it which witnessed keynote speeches, paper and play presentations, the occasion was commemorated in Abuja with a children’s carnival.
Held at the NTA Arena, there were also drama sketches, quiz and dance dramas centered around Arrow of God. Over 350 students from 10 schools participated in the activities which began with a welcome address by chair of the National Organizing Committee (NOC), Dr. Wale Okediran, who was represented by Mallam Denja Abdullahi, a member of the committee.
Chair of the occasion and a member of the House of Representatives, Professor Chudi Uwazurike, commended the Achebe Foundation and members of the NOC for deeming it fit to celebrate the golden jubilee of the book. He particularly commended the inclusion of secondary school students in the celebration, noting that it will help in making them interested in reading. Dr. Jerry Agada, a former ANA president and minister of education, spoke in the same vein. He reiterated the importance of getting students interested in books, noting “we must catch them young.”
At the end of the highly entertaining quiz competition, School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada, emerged first with Regina Pacis and Government Secondary School, Lugbe coming second and third respectively. The School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada also came first in the performances of sketches from Arrow of God with Government Secondary School, Garki and Regina Pacis, Abuja, emerging second and third respectively.
Chukwuemeka Obi-Obasi, Ikeogu Oke and some other Abuja-based artistes provided light entertainment during a brief interlude. Obi-Obasi, a young performance poet gave life to Isaac Ogezi’s ‘The Warrior’s Homecoming’, a tribute to Achebe while Oke read two poems from his ‘Song of Success’, a collection of poems for children.
One of the highpoints of the day that initially terrified the audience but which they later loudly applauded was when the School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada re-enacted Oduche’s imprisonment of the royal python in the novel. A box was dropped violently on the ground, with the lid flinging open to the let the royal python out. The crowd saw the python slither out of the box and escaped, albeit drawn by a thin, almost invisible thread by one of the dancers. For young secondary school students, it was an ingenious theatrical stunt.
The Arrow of God at 50 celebrations continues on Wednesday, April 16 at the University of Lagos. Charles Larson, an Emeritus Professor of Literature from Washington DC, US, will deliver the keynote speech at the occasion.
