A former president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Dr Wale Okediran is the new Secretary-General of the Pan- African Writers’ Association (PAWA).
Okediran succeeds his late Ghanaian friend and founding Secretary-General of PAWA, Professor Atukwei Okai, who passed on July 13, 2018.
Chair, PAWA Steering Committee, Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, disclosed that the body’s Interim President, Emeritus Professor Femi Osofisan, announced Okediran’s appointment recently.
Apart from being a writer, Okediran, who will resume at the PAWA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana on August 1, is also a medical doctor and politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, contributing to advocacy, regional dialogue and policy development, leading to improvements in health across Africa.
He has consulted for several international and local development agencies such as Constella Futures International USA, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, UNICEF, Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria, and Action Aid.
Okediran has published 14 novels, while his ‘Tenants of the House’ a fictional account of his years in the House of Representatives was the 2011 co-winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature.
A film adaptation of the novel has been completed and premieres shortly.
In 2010, Okediran and some friends established the first Writers Residency in Nigeria, the Ebedi International Writers Residency in Iseyin, Oyo State.
He is a Fellow of the General Medical Practitioners of Nigeria and Fellow of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria.
Okediran is also the current Deputy Secretary-General (Africa) for the Union of Writers from Africa, Asia and Latin America.