Association of Nigerian Authors, Ekiti State Branch (EkANA) Partners State Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy

By Wole Balogun
The Ekiti State Branch of the Association of Nigerian Authors (EkANA), will be partnering with the Ekiti State Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy on several projects meant to benefit humanity. One of such projects is geared towards promoting the reading culture among the youths. The two parties reached a pact on the projects during a courtesy visit made by the new EkANA State Executive Council (SEC) to the office of the Ekiti State’s Honourable Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Prof. Rasaki Ojo Bakare on Monday, January 29, 2024

While addressing Prof Bakare, Chairman of EkANA, Dr. Olugbenga Daramola proposed collaboration with the Ministry on EkANA’s upcoming Read-a-thon project which would be live-streamed to YouTube and other relevant social media platforms . Dr. Daramola revealed that the project was initiated to encourage reading culture among the youths in Nigeria in particular and the larger society in general. He added that it's necessary for intellectuals like ANA members to collaborate with other stakeholders to rekindle the reading culture in the society.

Responding, an excited Honourable Commissioner of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy who is also Nigeria’s first Professor of Dance and Performance Aesthetics, Prof. Bakare said the proposal was a welcome idea. He added that his Ministry was already working on a project that would need collaboration with EkANA.

Prof. Bakare said his Ministry was also planning on several other projects designed to groom the nation’s younger generation towards imbibing useful traditional values of Nigeria and Ekiti in particular. One of such projects according to him is story-telling session where writers of children works can have a date with the kids and read extracts of their works to them in a very mutual and beneficial environment.

The meeting ended on a note of an assurance by the Honourable Commissioner that his Ministry under which purview the activities of EkANA in the state fall, would have a synergistic and symbiotic relationship with EkANA. Dr. Olugbenga Daramola and Mr. Wole Balogun , the Public Relations Officer (PRO) to represented EkANA at the Culture Ministry.