The only thing sweeter than union is reunion – Kathleen McGowan
It was a reunion of minds, souls and voices on Saturday, 16th July, 2022, when the Kano chapter of the Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation (HCAF) hosted its Eid Lit Fest at the NSITF Building in Kano. Still in the spirit of Eid, young literary enthusiasts thronged the venue; after all, it had been more than a couple of months since their last meeting.
There were a number of new faces, hence, after the welcoming address by the chapter’s Coordinator, Khalid Imam, the attendees introduced themselves. Thereafter, Hidaya Mahmoud Muhammad gave a brief history of the Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation, as well as its branches and activities. After that, the floor was declared open for poetry recitations and other presentations from the members.
Meanwhile, Mr. Khalid Imam pointed out that members should endeavour to come along with printed copies of their presentations, so that they could be appropriately enjoyed, reviewed and critiqued. This would go a long way in contributing towards the growth of the presenters, as well as serve as a means of record-keeping. Though some of the literary pieces are often shared on the foundation’s digital platform, physical copies would allow better criticisms without distractions, he said.
“When you present by just reading from your phone or from memory, the lines dissolve in air, not leaving an imprint in the minds of the listeners. After today, presentations without printed copies would not be entertained,” he said.
The audience acknowledged Mr. Khalid’s observations, and the presentations began in earnest. As would be expected, many attendees expressed interest in making presentations. Even before the day of the event, an announcement had been circulated by the secretary of Kano HCAF, calling on members who wished to present creative pieces on the D-Day. Interested presenters were directed to message her with their names and the pieces they wished to present. Hence, right from the start, a handsome list of presenters was already at hand, and their literary pieces were shared to the members of Kano HCAF WhatsApp group for their perusal.
Abbas Yusuf Alhassan opened the floor with two poems titled ‘My Home’ and ‘With You, I Was Alive’. His recitations were quite nostalgic and were soon followed by Aisha Indabawa’s powerful spoken word presentation, ‘I See’.
Next came Fatima A.Y.M. with two poems, ‘Worthy Prevention’, centred on how violent reactions are often a product of preventable, unprocessed speech, and ‘The Kwarafshan Tree’, an Engausa poem describing corruption as a tree with roots and fruit whose remedy lies within us.
Isah G. Hassan mounted the stage with a poem titled ‘Who Can Stand for Us?’, followed by Aisha Muhammad (The Ambitious Poet), with a vibrant spoken word titled ‘The Truth’, in which she fused English, Hausa and Pidgin to address Nigerians and their bleak state of affairs, as even their ‘national anthem’ had turned ironic.
Then along came Abu Arab, the pan-Africanist, with a Plato-inspired poem titled ‘Beauty’ and, of course, a pan-African poem titled ‘The Weak Child’, where he eulogised African heroes such as Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, Sir Ahmadu Bello and the like, who challenged the western colonial powers and fought for the emancipation of the stereotyped African child.
At this point, a brief discussion was held, where Mr. Khalid Imam spoke at length on the importance of embedding societal values and historical narratives in creative works. Literature is, after all, the mirror of the society and writers have the ability to metaphorically depict the status quo of their environment through their works, just as George Orwell did centuries ago in his book, ‘Animal Farm’.
The Kano chapter coordinator also drew the attention of the literary enthusiasts to writing literary pieces that carry substance, while avoiding works that would hang their authors either in this world or even the hereafter. He encouraged the attendees to walk in the footsteps of predecessors like the late Mudi Spikin of northern Nigeria. He hinted that they could start from poetry and diversify to other genres for better impact.
But the festival was far from over; it only picked up in tempo when Khalid Imam (Jnr.) presented two poems titled ‘Blood Land’ and ‘Monster’, which he had already printed out. He duly distributed copies of the poems to the attendees and, true to the coordinator’s words, they were analysed thoroughly by members of the forum. While some commended the poems on their didactic messages, others commented on the structure and style of the poems. Also, meaningful suggestions were made on how to improve the poems’ flow and literary strength.
Questions were also entertained, such as whether punctuation is necessary in poetry, to which the coordinator replied that poems are often punctuated sparingly to avoid the disruption of their flow.
The presentation of a duet titled ‘Wasted Tears’ came next, by ‘Handsome Writer’ and ‘Habiba_Writes’, after which Sufian Ibrahim presented ‘You’, a relatable Engausa poem written for anyone who has ever felt insecure and inadequate.
Shaahid Yusuf Ali then presented ‘Slave of My Desire’, which, as the title implies, is a love poem. As for Ibrahim Bashir Aliyu, he presented ‘Failure’, which he described as “not fatal”.
Malam Khalid Imam himself was not left out, as he presented a Hausa poem titled ‘Ni’imar Allah Ga Bayi’, as well as an English poem titled ‘Almustapha’, where he extolled the virtues of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). Abduljabbar Abdussalam followed suit with his poem titled ‘I’m Afraid of Being a Poet’, followed by a Hausa Poem titled ‘Ranar Idi’, written in honour of the recent Eid celebrations.
Abdussamad (Gentle Writer) then mounted the stage, presenting a poetic article titled ‘Ƙasa Ta’, after which ‘Nura Writes’ presented two poems: the first titled ‘Lost in Love’ and the other, ‘Dukan Zuciya’, inspired by Khalid Imam’s poem titled ‘Burin Zuciya’.
At this juncture, Mr. Khaid Imam presented ‘Garin Masoyiya’, inspired by the Hausa saying, “Garin masoyi ba ya da nisa’, which means the land of the beloved is never too far for the lover!
Mustapha (MDV Motivations) followed suit with a powerful motivational piece based on personal experiences. In it, he reiterated that he kept “Holding on to my belief, and the hope that my life would get better.”
He addressed his listeners: “Let challenges make you become better; understand that some make it early in life, others, late. Don’t lose hope, keep your dreams alive.”
To his presentation, Mr. Khalid expressed commendation, though he suggested that he reduce his speed, and if possible, emulate seasoned orators like Yusuf Maitama Sule and Ahmed Aminu to better convey his message.
Then along came Madina Abdussalam, who read a poem titled ‘Read and Lead’, sourced from the book, ‘Challenges & Prospects of Reading and Library Development in Nigeria’ by Eyo Willoe.
By that time, it was already past noon, indicating that not all the items on the agenda would be explored due to the huge turnout of poets. Hence, only two more presentations were entertained: a spoken word by Hidaya Mahmoud (Qalam Inspirator) and a poem titled ‘Tribute to Tranquility’, inspired by the insecurity plaguing northern Nigeria, presented by Fa’iza Salihu.
The original agenda included fiction reading and games, but with time running out, only one game was played, leaving out the fiction reading. The game played was called ‘Name that Author’ and it involved naming an author whose name starts with a mentioned letter. The first letter mentioned was ‘A’ and as the game proceeded, subsequent letters were mentioned, eliciting responses such as Buchi Emecheta for ‘B’, Helon Habila for ‘H’, Mariama Ba for ‘M’, Ola Ifatimehin for ‘O’, Paul Liam for ‘P’, Umaisha Isa for ‘U’ and Zaynab Alkali for ‘Z’.
With this exciting game, the event came to a close, but not after closing remarks and a reminder to interested presenters to come along with printed copies of their presentations to subsequent Kano HCAF events. Afterwards, the attendees trooped out for pictures and gradually dispersed, with the excitement of the memorable reunion leaving an imprint on their minds.
* Fatima Garba Yusuf (A.Y.M.) is a member of the Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation (HCAF), Kano State chapter. E-mail: [email protected]
