NAIROBI, KENYA — Award-winning writer/critic Alexander Nderitubelieves that Lagos City, Nigeria, has what it takes to be designated a UNESCO City of Literature. Speaking at the inaugural Asian Literary Festival in Kenya, the author, who is spearheading Nairobi City’s campaign for the UNESCO CoL status, said:

‘Like anything else in life, you’re not going to get it just because you deserve it. You have to go for it. I believe that Cairo and Lagos also qualify. Abuja has been designated, but a country can have more than one City of Literature. Also, Conakry has been designated both a UNESCO World Book Capital and a UNESCO City of Literature, but the latter is a better option to pursue because it’s more permanent. The World Book Capital status is like a beauty contest because it’s only for a year.’

UNESCO’s City of Literature programme calls for nominations once every four years. It is a part of the wider Creative Cities Network which currently includes 408 cities around the world. The stated objective is ‘to place creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and co-operating actively at the international level.’ Currently, the African cities enjoying UNESCO City of Literature status are Abuja (Nigeria), Durban (South Africa), Conakry (Guinea), Tangier (Morocco), and Buffalo City (South Africa). ‘There’s a certain element of collaboration involved,’ Nderitu said, during his lecture titled ‘Nairobi as a UNESCO City of Literature’. ‘It’s a very democratic thing. People should agree that a city deserves the status.’

Alexander Nderitu published Africa’sfirst-ever e-novel, When the Whirlwind Passes, in 2001. Over the next decade, he wrote stage plays, poetry, short stories, and essays. His work was among the first to be included in the Worldreader (now BookSmart) international reading app when it was founded in 2007. According to Worldreader statistics, the majority of his readers came from Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Kenya, in that order. He has since set several short stories and poems in Nigeria. These include the short story, ‘I’ll Take Lagos’ – about an estranged married couple competing for the governorship of Lagos State – which appears in A Body Made for Sin, and ‘Love and Rockets’ – a romance between a Nigerian economist and a Kenyan receptionist– which appears in Disco Matanga.

Lagos megacity, one of Africa’s most densely populated urban zones, is home to many renowned writers. It plays host to numerous literary festivals, such as The Lagos Book and Art Festival, Aké Arts & Book Festival, Lagos Book Fair, and the Akada Children’s Book Festival. Popular venues for stage plays and other performing arts include The National Theatre and TerraKulture. In addition, Lagos is a key production hub for other cultural products, such as television shows, music, and films.

Coincidentally, Alexander Nderitu was born on April 23^rd, which is UNESCO’sWorld Book & Copyright Day. In 2025, he was appointed the Director of the Asian Literary Festival inKenya.