Why We Held the First Yoruba Literature Awards in 2017

 

WHY WE HELD THE FIRST YORUBA LITERATURE AWARDS IN 2017

 

The Society of Young Nigerian Writers (SYNW) in conjunction with the Centre for Yoruba Literature Research, Development and Documentation (CYLRDD) held the first-ever Yoruba Literature Awards in 2017. The awards ceremony was organized to celebrate and recognize the contributions of Yoruba writers to literature and to promote the reading and writing of Yoruba language.

Yoruba literature has a long and rich history dating back to the 19th century. It is a literary tradition that has produced renowned writers such as D.O. Fagunwa, Amos Tutuola, Wole Soyinka, Akinwunmi Ishola, Adebayo Faleti, JF. Odunjo, Olabimtan, Okediji and many others. Despite its rich history and contributions to African literature, Yoruba literature has not received the recognition it deserves.

The Yoruba Literature Awards aimed to address this gap by promoting Yoruba literature and creating a platform to celebrate the works of Yoruba writers. The awards ceremony provided an opportunity to showcase the richness and diversity of Yoruba literature, to encourage writers to continue to write in the Yoruba language, and to inspire a new generation of Yoruba writers.

The awards ceremony featured a range of categories, including Best Yoruba Fiction Writer, Best Yoruba Non-Fiction Writer, Best Yoruba Poet, Best Yoruba Playwright, and Best Yoruba Writer in the Diaspora. These categories were designed to recognize the various genres of Yoruba literature and to ensure that all Yoruba writers had the opportunity to participate.

The Yoruba Literature Awards also had a special category for young writers. The Best Young Yoruba Writer category was created to encourage and inspire young people to write in the Yoruba language. This category was open to writers between the ages of 15 and 30, and it aimed to promote the development of Yoruba literature among young people.

The Yoruba Literature Awards received a significant amount of support from the Yoruba literary community, as well as from government agencies and private organizations. The support received demonstrated the importance of Yoruba literature and the need to promote it.

The Yoruba Literature Awards also provided an opportunity to highlight the challenges facing Yoruba literature. One of the key challenges is the lack of funding for Yoruba literature research and development. The awards provided a platform to call on government agencies and private organizations to invest in the development of Yoruba literature.

Another challenge facing Yoruba literature is the lack of support for Yoruba language education. The awards ceremony provided an opportunity to call on government agencies and private organizations to support the teaching and learning of the Yoruba language. This is crucial for the development and promotion of Yoruba literature.

The Yoruba Literature Awards also aimed to promote cultural diversity and encourage the use of indigenous languages in literature. This is particularly important in a world that is increasingly becoming globalized. The awards provided a platform to celebrate the uniqueness of the Yoruba language and culture and to promote it to the world.