Dear Ebi Robert Esq, allow me to congratulate you once again on your emergence as Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Bayelsa State chapter. You will recall that I resigned my place as electoral chairman to contest the office for reasons I spelt out in clear terms, namely that, in my capacity as pioneer Chairman of ANA Bayelsa State, I felt beholden to take on the responsibility of healing the long-standing rift in the association, especially because I was challenged to do so.
Congress has since decided that you are a better choice for the job, and I believe you are up to the task. You will equally recall that, on the eve of the election of Sunday, 29 June 2025, I forwarded to you an internet publication purportedly emanating from The Village Writer. The author of the document did not have the courage to endorse a signature, nor was a name attached to it. The writer remains faceless.
The said publication openly tagged me an ex-convict and displayed my photograph frontally with a banner headline condemning me in the eyes of the world. The content of the document went on to malign me and my family, going so far as to question my heritage as an illustrious son of Nembe Kingdom, and by so doing defaming me without scruple.
You advised me not to react until the elections were over, but then the publication had already gone viral on every known platform the day before. The outcome of the election was clear. Congress would not have an ex-convict in charge of the association.
I happen to have in my possession a book with the title, Social Media Law by Ebi Robert Esq, the new Chairman of ANA Bayelsa. I believe, therefore, that you are in a vantage position to disabuse the mind of the public about the content of the publication under scrutiny, and to advise on the best course of action, in the event that you identify the errant author in question.
In your proven capacity as a man of the law, I believe you know what it means to be an ex-convict. It seems to me that one of your key assignments as Chairman with a specialist understanding of social media law is to educate our writers about the difference between an ex-convict and the remand order of a court issued on grounds of contempt.
Since that questionable publication, I have taken time to investigate the records of the Bayelsa State judiciary, and confirmed that there is no judgment condemning me as a convict for a crime or misdemeanor. Clearly, the allegations contained in the publication remain unfounded, if not spurious.
To the best of my knowledge, to be an ex-convict you must be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction, and the court must give a ruling finding you culpable of whatever allegation brought against the accused, with a formal pronouncement to that effect, and a given sentence spelling out a period of incarceration, or fine, as the court pleases.
In my case, I was not arraigned before any court of law for the offence brought against me, namely libel in a civil suit. The case was struck out, in the fullness of time, and I was released from detention on the grounds that I was wrongfully detained without recourse to fair hearing. ANA, at the national and state levels, was active and instrumental to the process of securing my freedom in the interest of justice.
It bears repeating that I was simply picked up from my house and remanded in prison custody for not showing up after repeated summons, and thereby holding the court in contempt. In other words, I stayed behind bars for one hundred and thirty-five days without a court appearance and without a ruling of the court, before the suit was thrown out for technical impropriety. As we speak, I am on the best of terms with my accuser, and I am grateful for the peace that now prevails between us.
The lesson for us as creative writers, I dare say, is that the case centered around the content of my ninth book, published in 2009, which challenged a primitive and outrageous custom among the Nembe people, a despicable age-old cultural practice which entailed the dehumanizing experience of face-down burials for every first child to die among siblings in a mother’s line. Thankfully, on Friday 8 July 2011, the Nembe people abolished this shameful and ignoble anomaly in a traditional ritual ceremony witnessed by the entire community and presided over by the king.
Evidently, my spirited advocacy for change achieved a definite result. My intervention altered the status quo, earned me the moral victory, and proved that literature does have its uses. As you know too well, there are several examples of prominent writers who confronted authority at the risk of their lives, and changed the mindset of people, and therefore the course of history, in virtually every age.
In our own clime, Wole Soyinka suffered persecution in prison for his principled stance, and so did Ken Saro-Wiwa. Only recently, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, the famous Kenyan novelist, author of Detained: A Prison Diary passed away. As far as I know, none of these writers were ridiculed as ex-convicts. On the contrary, they were celebrated for their crusading courage and their single-minded tenacity of purpose.
It is important for the body of writers in Bayelsa State to be educated about the pitfalls associated with libel so that no one falls victim and gets to be labeled as an ex-convict in future. More than that, writers in the state should cultivate a healthier disposition to each other, and refrain from hasty name-calling. In the end, what survives every writer is the quality and value of the works they produce, not the mischievous skulduggery pushed out by cowards in the shadows.
Mr Chairman, I trust that you will undertake the assignment placed on your able shoulders, namely to bring every prodigal writer back into the common fold, and to lead every stray sheep aright like a shepherd with a clement crook in hand.
As things stand, I have been living with the stigma of being an ex-convict since the hateful publication which was widely orchestrated into a viral post on the Internet. As a law-abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who holds fervent views about the power of the pen to correct the errors of society, I deserve to be treated with my share of decency and respect. I am not a saint, but I am certainly not an ex-convict.
My simple hope and prayer is that you will help to amplify this fact, and disabuse the public mind accordingly. I enjoin you to work in the best interest of the Association, to foster unity and peace amongst members, and to encourage the wholesome growth of creative literature in Bayelsa State. Thank you for your kind attention.
Pope Pen The First
