Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has said that his administration will soon embark on the construction of a modern facility for creative writers.
The governor made this statement on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Port Harcourt Book Festival in the state capital.
“We are building a Creative Village at present and it is going to cost N3bn. In the village, there will be a public library, a theatre and a cafe, among other facilities,” he said.
Amaechi said the public library is part of the government’s effort to promote the reading culture in the state, adding that Shell had promised to contribute to the funding of the project.
He charged Nigerian writers to rise up to the task of nation-building by producing works that confront the problems affecting the country.
The governor noted that the reason why corruption and other social ills still persist is because members of the literary community have not done enough to question the excesses of some Nigerian leaders.
“We watch many people dying of hunger in the country, while some politicians are busy building houses and buying new cars. How many writers have written about it?
“I think that writers are part of the problem because they neglect their responsibility to the society, which is to mirror it as it is. They are the mirrors of the society. When they look in the mirror, what have they seen?” he said.
On the theme of the festival, which is ‘Literature and the creative economy’, the governor added, “For me, a creative economy will be the one that will challenge the people to ask questions about the way they are ruled n this country.”
Amaechi also said that the government would commission one of the best theatres in Nigeria in December.