‘Africana Literati’, a new arts and culture television show, which promotes African literature, is set to premiere on Africa Magic Family on Saturday.
Award winning essayist and writer Isabella Akinseye is the host of the programme.
Akinseye, who is also the brain behind the project said, “’Africana Literati’ is aimed at reviving the reading culture with a focus on celebrating our own stories and culture.”
Akinseye, who started her television career reviewing books on a weekly segment ‘Bookaholic with Bella’ on Silverbird television in 2009, gave up her corporate communications job at Nestle Nigeria Plc to focus on her company, Yellow Tamarind Productions.
The graduate of education with English and drama from the University of Cambridge ran the popular ‘Bookaholic Blog’ with award winning essayist and writer, Temitayo Olofinlua, while the pair worked at leading publishing firm, Kachifo Limited.
“We have very few art shows out there. Abroad, arts and culture are a big deal, but here in Nigeria, it is politics, music, sports, reality and fashion. ‘Africana Literati’ is making reading and learning cool. On each episode, culture critic, Dr. Wilfred Okiche reviews a book by an African author and Harri Obi handles the vox pop segment. I go back to my education roots on the ‘Back to School’ segment which focuses on spelling, pronunciation and African slang,” Akinseye said.
The 13-episodes series, with each episode running for half an hour, includes profiles of African literary greats, top five countdowns, African proverbs and giveaways to nurture budding writing talent. The show will air every Saturday at 11 a.m. on Africa Magic Family Dstv channel 154.