BUK Alumni: Karramawar har da ni!

A ranar Lahadi, 24 ga Fabrairu 2008 da safe ina checking out daga Zaranda Hotel, Bauchi, sai ga text daga Dr Yusuf Adamu mai dauke da kalma daya rak, "Congrats."

Na mayar masa da, "For what?" A rai na, ina jin wata tsokanar ce. To amma gaba na ya na faduwa: Ko an ba ni sadakar aure ne, ban sani ba?

Can sai ya maido da amsar cewa ban ga abin da aka buga a shafi na 7 na Sunday Trust ta ranar ba?

Na buga text, na ce wallahi ban gani ba. Me su ka rubuta ne? Nan ma a rai na ina ta wasiwasi. Kai, ko an nada ni Ministan Harkokin Fetur ne?! (Wai ma!!!)

Gaba na ya na ta faduwa, ina jiran amsa. Can sai Yusuf ya maido da amsar cewa ai ina daga cikin mutanen da ALUMNI (kungiyar tsofaffin daliban Jami'ar Bayero) za ta karrama a wurin gagarumin bikin saukar karatu da za a yi a mako mai zuwa. Malamin ya nanata cewa ina daga cikin MANYA irin su wane da wane da wane fa da za a karrama (har da tsofaffin gwamnoni).

To fa! To kuma ni me na yi da har za a karrama ni? Tambayar da na shiga yi wa kai na kenan lokacin da na bar otal din, ni da aboki na Badamasi Shu'aibu Burji (wanda ya raka ni birnin Bauchi don ganawa da Gwamna Malam Isa Yuguda, wanda mun gana da shi a daren ranar Asabar).

Mu ka shiga garin Bauchi, mu ka sayi jaridar Trust. A shafi na 7, mu ka ga sanarwa har shafi daya. An lissafa jiga-jigan kasar nan da su ka taba yin BUK har mutum 50; ni ne na 15 a jerin: ''Alhaji Ibrahim Sheme, Editor, Leadership Newspaper.'' To fa! Duk a jerin, babu yaro ko talaka kamar ni. Ana maka maganar jan wuya ne irin su:

- Alh. M.D. Yusufu (tsohon Sufeto Janar na 'yansanda)
- Col. Dangiwa Umar (tsohon Gwamnan Jihar Kaduna)
- Gwamnan Neja Dr Mu'azu Babangida
- Brig. Gen Yuuf Bomoi (shugaban hukumar NYSC ta kasa)
- Ambassador Usman Baraya (Ambasadan Nijeriya a Amurka na yanzu)
- Amb. Hassan Tukur (Fitaccen Jakada)
- Prof. Nuhu Yakub (VC, UniAbuja)
- Prof. Attahiru Jega (VC, BUK)
- Prof. Abdullahi Zuru
- Prof. Tijjani Bande (VC, UDU)
- Prof. Ruqayya Rufai (BUK)
- Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima (tsohon Gwamnan Zamfara)
- Hon. Farouk Lawan
- Haj. Aishatu Jibril Dukku (Ministar Ilimi)
- ds

Za a karrama mu a ranar 1 ga Maris, 2008 a Kano.

Har yanzun nan, idan na dubi gaggan manyan mutanen da ke cikin shafin jaridar nan, na kan yi tunanin: wace nasara na cimmawa a rayuwa da har na shiga kwaryar manya haka?

Babu shakka sai godiya ga Allah (SWT) mai kowa mai komai.

Shata ma ya fad'i:

"Ni ko yanzu kasuwa taw watse,
Dankoli da fura goran shi,
To shi ko kasuwa tai riba.."

Alhamdu lillah.

A KULA:
Shugaban kungiyar marubutan Nijeriya (ANA), reshen Abuja, Dr Emman Usman Shehu, shi ma ya na cikin jerin wadanda za a karrama!!!! Shi ne na 7 ma a jerin. Kai, mun gode Allah. Ni ban ma san BUK ya yi ba sai a ranar.

HIRA DA RAHMA A. MAJID

Ashe Mace Ma Mutum Ce?

HIRA DA RAHMA A. MAJID

Daga Ibrahim Sheme


Hajiya Rahama A. Majid ta na daga cikin fitattun marubutan Hausa na wannan zamanin. Ta rubuta litattafan hikaya masu damar gaske, kuma ta ci moriyar su, ciki kuwa har da littafin ta da ta fi so, wato ‘Za Ta Iya.’ A yanzu haka d'aliba ce a Jami’ar Al-Azhar ta k'asar Masar. To, kwanan nan ta yi wani hob'b'asa, inda ta fito da wani jibgegen littafin hikaya mai suna MACE MUTUM, wanda girman sa ya fi na kowane littafin Hausa da aka tab'a bugawa, domin kuwa ya haura shafi 520 ne. Kamfanin Gidan Dabino Publishers ne su ka wallafa littafin.


Shin wacece Rahma A. Majid? Menene tunanin ta game da rubuce-rubucen Hausa, da rayuwar mata a k'asar Hausa, da kuma makarantan littattafan Hausa? Rahma dai za a iya cewa mace ce mai kamar maza-kwari ne babu! Ta na da kazar-kazar da nuna k'wazo da bajin ta a duk harkar da ta sa kan ta. Idan aka ce maka za ta iya yin abu kaza na bajin ta, to kai da ganin ta ka san za ta iya.


Wannan hirar da za ku karanta, mun yi ta da Rahma ne tun a cikin shekarar 2005, a lokacin da ake ta yin kici-kicin buga littafin ‘Mace Mutum.’ An buga hirar a mujallar Fim ta Nuwamba da Disamba 2005. Kafin mu kawo muku sabuwar hira da marubuciyar, mun ga ya dace ku fara karyawa da wannan, domin kuwa ko me za ta fad'a a yanzu, bai dai wuce wanda ta fad'a a wannan hirar ba.

A sha karatu lafiya.

Hajiya Rahma Abdulmajid, mu fara da jin tak'aitaccen tarihin ki.

Assalamu alaikum. Suna na Rahma Abdulmajid. An haife ni a shekarar 1980 a Agege, Legas, kuma a can na yi makarantar firamare, na fara sakandare, amma daga bisani na k'arasa karatun sakandare d'i na a Zariya, bayan da aka yi mana canjin wurin aiki a shekara ta 1998. A Zariya ne na yi difiloma a Shari’a, k'ark'ashin Jama’atul Nasarul Islam.

A wace makaranta kenan?

A Jama’atu Institute ne na yi karatun difiloma daga shekarar 1999 zuwa 2000. Bayan nan ne na koma gida Legas, na yi kwasakwasai irin na komfuta har zuwa shekarar 2002, lokacin da mu ka fara cuku-cukun neman tallafin karatu zuwa k'asar Misra. A halin yanzu ina karatu a Jami’ar Al-Azhar, shekara ta 3 zuwa ta 4, ina b'angaren Tarihi da Al’adu. Wannan shi ne tak'aitaccen tarihi na.

Bari mu koma baya kad'an; ki gaya mana sunayen makarantun da ki ka yi na boko.

Da farko dai na yi makarantar firamare d'i na a K. K. Primary School da ke Agege d'in, kuma bayan kammalawa ta a dai nan Agege d'in na ci gaba a Dairy Farm Secondary School. Wannan kenan ta b'angaren boko. A b'angaren Arabiyya kuma na soma a makarantar gidan mu ne da ake ce wa Nubrasul Huda, wacce bayan mun yi sauka na sake shiga wata wadda ake ce mata Rahmatu Islamiyya wadda ta ke Ikeja. Bayan na kammala aji shida sai na wuce Danmarkazul Illumi Islami ta Sheikh Adam El-Uluriy na yi aji 3, lokacin ne kuma ya yi daidai da tafiyar mu Zariya.

A bayanin ki, kin ce an haife ki a Legas, to ko za ki iya bayyana asalin jihar ki?

Gaskiya idan aka cire Legas to sai dai a yi waje da ni, domin mahaifin mu mutumin Sudan ne, mahaifiyar mu kuma ’yar asalin Jihar Adamawa ce. Amma na tashi ne a matsayin cikakkiyar Bahaushiya ko in ce cikakkun Hausawa a gidan mu, domin ita ce al’adar da mahaifin mu ya karb'a tun zuwan sa a matsayin sa na Musulmi.

Ku nawa ne a gidan ku, kuma ke ta nawa ce?

Mu 22 ne, kuma ni ce ta cikon 22 d'in.

Idan mu ka koma b'angaren rubutun adabi, da yaushe ki ka fara yin rubutu?

Sanannen abu ne ga duk wanda ya yi makaranta a Kudu cewa yaren Nijeriya da zai iya d'auka zai zama Yarbanci ne. Ni dai Yarbanci na koya kuma shi na iya rubutawa, to amma a wannan lokutan da wasu littattafai ke tashe, akwai wasu gidajen rediyo a Legas d'in, Sashen Hausa, su na karanta littattafan Hausa, mu kuma mu kan d'an bi. To amma da yake ya na d'aukar sati kafin mutum ya ji ina aka kwana a wannan labarin, to bayan zuwan mu Kano wata ziyara, sai na sayi wasu littattafan na rik'a bi ina karantawa, wanda ta cikin su ne zan iya cewa na koyi Hausa. Kuma abin da ya ja hankali na wajen yin rubutun littafi shi ne wani littafi da na tab'a karantawa, wato ‘In Da So Da K'auna’ na Ado Ahmed. A wannan littafi da akwai wani babi na musamman wanda aka ce "Kishi Kumallon Mata." A gani na, wannan karin magana ta sab'a al’ada, ganin ba mata kad'ai ne su ke yin kishi ba. A wannan lokacin ne na fara rubuta duk wani labari da na ji, ko ya zo kai na, a kan kishin maza da na mata. To wannan sai ya zama kamar wani raddi ne a kan wancan karin magana, wanda a kan sa na fitar da littafi na na farko, ‘Wa Ya Fi Kishi?’

Daga wannan littafi zuwa yanzu, kin yi kamar littattafai nawa?

Bisa lissafin sunaye akwai ‘Wa Ya Fi Kishi?,’ ‘Tashin Hankali,’ ‘Menene So?’ ‘Ha’inci Ko K'auna,’ ‘Za Ta Iya,’ ‘Shekaru Ashirin,’ ‘Baya Yana Suka,’ ‘Tuwon K'aya,’ ‘Laifin Wani...’ ‘Ba Ita Ba Ce,’ sannan kuma sai ‘Hadari Sa Gaban Ka...’ Wad'annan littattafai na goma sha d'aya kenan, to amma da akwai masu zuwa da kuma na d'aya da na biyu.

Ko menene ya sa ki ke rubutu da Hausa kad'ai bayan kuma kamar yadda ki ka yi bayani, kin iya yaren Yarbanci da kuma Larabci?

Bahaushe dai mutum ne mai son k'aruwar ilimi da kuma abubuwan karatu, musamman na d'ebe kewa. To kuma sai ya zamanto ya rasa wad'anda za su yi masa wannan hidimar kamar yadda ya kamata, to wasu yarurruka gaskiya suna da shi. Domin akwai wasu da su ka tab'a kirawo ni in yi wani rubutu da harshen Larabci, sai na ga wannan wani abu ne wanda ba a buk'ata, domin su Larabawa su na da masu yi masu wannan d'in, to amma Bahaushe ya na da k'arancin wad'anda za su yi wa nasa yaren hidima, ya zamanto cewa ya amfana da shi. Wannan shi ne tunani na a kan cewa e, ana buk'atar wad'anda su ke ganin cewa su na da wani sak'o na a zo a gani, to su shigo cikin adabin Hausa su dawo wa da Bahaushe abin da ya ke so ta k'aruwar ilimi.

Ko wane marubuci ya na da lokacin da ya ke samu ya yi rubutu, to da alama dai abubuwa sun yi maki yawa saboda karatu da tafiye-tafiye. Ko da wane lokaci ki ke samu ki yi naki rubutun?

Kamar yadda kowa ya sani, rubutu na da alak'a da baiwa daga Allah (SWT), to amma na fi yin rubutu a lokacin da jarrabawa ta zo min, domin a lokacin ne na ke samun natsuwa, ba na tafiye-tafiye.

Daga cikin littattafan da ki ka rubuta, wanne ne ki ke jin ya fi kwanta maki a rai?

Littafin ‘Za Ta Iya’ ne ya fi kwanta mini a rai. Sannan kuma littafin da na ke ganin ya fi saurin tafiya da sak'on da ya dame ni shi ne littafi na na farko, wato ‘Wa Ya Fi Kishi?’

Menene ya sa kusan duk littattafan ki su na magana ne a kan zaman aure, ba kya tab'o wasu jigogin?

Ba duk littattafai na ne su ke da jigo a kan zaman aure ba. Kamar ‘Za Ta Iya’ da kuma ‘Tashin Hankali’ jigon su ba ya na magana ba ne a kan zaman aure.

Me ya sa ki ka fi yin rubutun zube, ba kya rubutun wak'a ko wasan kwaikwayo ko dai wani abu da ya shafi adabin Hausa?

Wato babban abin da ya kan kiyaye mutum daga jin kunya shi ne ya rik'e fagen sa, wannan shi ne dalili.

Daga cikin wad'annan littattafai, da akwai labarin da yake magana a kan rayuwar ki?

A’a, babu.


Ga shi kin yi sabon littafi, ‘Mace Mutum’; wanda kuma ba ma karin magana ba ne. Ko menene hikimar wannan suna?

E, to, shi ainahin sunan ‘Mace Mutum’ wani suna ne wanda ya na kira ne ga duniya da mu ka fuskanta yanzu, cewa kowacce halitta ta na da k'ima, sannan halitta mafi k'ima ita ce halittar d'an’adam. D'an’adam dai a wajen Bahaushe shi ne mutum, to mace ta kan ci sunan ta ne kawai ‘mace,’ amma ba ta cin gajiyar ‘mutum.’ To, sai na yi k'ok'arin had'a wannan littafin domin ya yi nuni da cewa mace ma mutum ce kuma ta na da hak'k'ok'i da k'ima kamar na kowane d'an’adam.

Kusan duk littattafan Hausa a yanzu babu littafin da ya kai yawan wannan. Shin sak'on ne yake da yawa ko kuwa domin ki burge ne?

Abu na farko dai shi ne, k'ananan littattafan da ake yi na yanzu na saka kasala ga masu karatu. Domin na san kafin zuwa na fagen rubutu, an samu masu k'alubalanta, su na ta yin kira a kan cewa ya kamata marubuta su juya su na yin rubutu mai yawa saboda a kawo canji a adabin Hausa, ya zamanto ya samu k'ima daidai da adabi na duniya. Sannan kuma abu na biyu, ya zamanto ya kawar da kasala ta karatu, to amma sai aka kasa samun wanda zai bugi k'irji har yau ya yi, kowa ya koma daga gefe ya na jiran wani ya yi tukunna. Sai na ga cewa a wannan lokaci ana buk'atar wani ya bugi k'irji ya ce bari in je in yi wannan.

Wasu na ganin idan su ka yi littafi mai yawa, wai ’yan kasuwa ba za su amince ba domin zai yi tsada. Ke ba ki yi tunanin haka ba ki ka rubuta wannan wagegen littafi?

Kasuwar littafi ta na da alak'a da kowace k'a’idar kasuwanci. K'a’idar kasuwanci ta na buk'atar ka kyautata abu, sannan ka tallata wa jama’a cewa lallai wannan abin mai kyau ne, sannan kuma ka sa ido kan ganin yaya za a yi su saya. To amma kasuwar littattafan mu na Hausa da ake ganin shin za ta tafi ko ba za ta tafi ba? Shin ina ta tsaya tukunna? Littafi zai fito a sati, amma babu wanda ya san zai fito sai marubucin. Watak'ila ma shi mai shagon da za a kai wa littafin domin ya sayar bai san da littafin ba sai a ranar, a wannan lokacin ake tunanin cewa za a iya tantance shin ko wannan littafin ya na da kasuwa ko kuma ba shi da shi? Bisa ga tsarin kasuwanci, littafin da ya zamo cewa na d'aya ko ka kyautata aikin sa, misali tafiyar ka ta baya ta nuna wa mutane cewa e, lallai wannan aikin da gaske ka ke. Ina k'ok'arin ganin na tallata littafi na tare da sanar da isowar wannan littafi da inganta aikin sa. Kuma wannan shi ne zai nuna wa mutum cewa e, na gama duk abin da zan iya. Abin da ya yi saura kuma shi ne k'addara da za ta biyo baya a kan me littafin ya k'unsa?


Menene labarin da ke cikin ‘Mace Mutum’?

Labarin ‘Mace Mutum,’ a tak'aice, labari ne na mata biyu, uwa da ’ya. Uwa ce wadda ta tashi a cikin rayuwa ta k'auye, sannan ta ga yadda mata su ke ci-baya a k'auyuka, yadda su ka yi daga rayuwar ta har da ma ta ’yan’uwan ta. Hakan ya sanya bisa yarinta su ke tsammanin cewa duk abubuwan da su ka yi kaca-kaca da rayuwar mata a k'auye kamar wasu dodanni ne da ya kamata a guje su. To sai ta yi yarinta ta gudu daga k'auyen zuwa birni, ta ga yadda lafiya ta ke a k'auye, mata na mutuwa wajen nak'uda, a ce an yi camfin mazan su ne ko kuma akwai wata cuta da za a iya magance ta, a ce a’a akwai wani macijin aljani ko menene da ya ke giftawa shi ne ya ke janyowa. To tunda a k'auyen su ya ke, sai ta yi tunanin ta gudu. Bayan ta gudu ka ga ta gudu daga matsalar mata da ke cikin k'auyen, sai ta ke tsammanin cewa mace mutum ce a cikin birni.

A yayin da ta shigo birni, shi kuma ya na da nau’in tasa matsalar ta daban. Idan mace a k'auye ba ta wuce daraja irin ta doki ba misali, wanda shi sai ranar Juma’a ake hawan sa, ita kuwa idan ta fita aiki tun da safe ba ta dawowa sai k'arfe 11 na dare, to sai ta zo ta samu ga mata nan a cikin birni wad'anda babbar matsalar su shi ne, idan za ka tafi asibitin k'auye ka same su a kwance su na fama da ciwon yoyon fitsari, to za ka zo asibitin birni ka samu mata na fama da ciwon zuciya domin su sun san ’yanci, an gaya musu akwai, amma kuma ba za su iya magance shi ba.

To wad'annan matsalolin da ta gani ya sa ta fara tunanin neman wani wurin zaman tsaka-tsaki wanda shi ba k'auye ba kuma ba birni ba, domin ta rayu. Daga nan sai ta fad'a wani waje wanda al’ada ce ta ke mulkin wajen ba k'auyanci ko birnanci ba. A irin wannan waje ne ta samu ta yi aure har ta haifi ’yar ta mace. Ita dai wannan ’ya kasancewar ta zo ne a gidan sarauta, sannan kuma gidan da ba a tab'a haihuwa ba. Ciroma ya ke buk'atar wanda zai gaji sarauta ba wadda za ta saci sarauta a matsayin ta na mace ta kai gidan wani ba. To wad'annan matsalolin da ta samu sun had'a da matsalolin da ake samu a k'asar nan, misali ta b'angaren kafa shari’a ko al’ada, ya zamanto cewa an hukunta mace. Hakan ne ya sanya ta gudu da ’yar ta sannan ta tafi wani sashen daban wanda a yanzu kuma ba nema ta ke ta zama mace mutum ba, nema ta ke ta zama mace, ta tsira, ta rayu domin ta san cewa tata ta k'are a wannan lokaci, domin duk abubuwan da ta samu a duniyar ta ta yi asarar sa, sai dai a kan hanyar yadda za ta raini ’yar ta duka-duka ba ta wuce shekara 2 ba. Ita kuma ta mutu a sakamakon wata wahala da ta sha.

To ita wannan ’yar ta samu kundin tarihin rayuwar ta, domin ita uwar ta shirya shi ne a matsayin ta san ba za ta raini wannan ’ya tata ba, saboda ta na buk'atar ta yi wani wanda zai zama shi ne ruhi na tayar da k'aimin ’yar ta, sannan kuma ta bayar da amanar cewa a taimake ta.

To wannan ’ya ta yi duk abin da ta ga ya dace wajen ganin mace ta cika mutum ta hanyar addini da al’ada, siyasa da kuma lafiya, har ma da wasu abubuwa wad'anda mata su ka rasa a halin yanzu, domin ganin ta tabbatar wa da mata hak'k'in su.

Tirk'ashi! Jigon littafin ya zama wani mataki na gwagwarmaya domin tabbatar da ’yancin matan Hausawa kenan?

E, haka ne. Ina magana ne a kan matan Hausawa ko matan Nijeriya ko kuma matan Afrika ta Yamma, to amma matan Hausawa su ne a kan gaba wajen tsintar kan su a irin wannan hali. Wannan ne ya sa na zab'i matan Hausawa su zama ‘characters’ na labarin.

Shin ko ki na da shirin wata rana ki fassara littattafan ki, musamman ‘Mace Mutum,’ zuwa wasu harsuna kamar Turanci, saboda mata su amfana da shawarwarin da su ke ciki maimakon a tak'aita a wani yare kad'ai?

E, ina da nufin fara rubuta na Turanci.

Da ki na daga cikin marubutan Hausa da ake suka, ana kiran ayyukan su "adabin kasuwar Kano." Shin wane k'ok'ari ki ke yi da wannan littafi ki fita daga cikin wannan k'angin?

E, to, "adabin kasuwar Kano" yadda na fuskance shi wani suna ne na alfahari, ya danganta da yadda kowa ya juya shi. Zai iya kasancewa kamar ana buk'atar mutum ne ya zamanto ya na zaune ne kan sa, ba ya na tsaye ne da abin da mutane su ka ce ba. Adabi ya na buk'atar masu k'alubalantar sa, kamar yadda "adabin kasuwar Kano" ya ke da masu k'alubalantar sa. Haka ma ya ke da wad'anda su ke son sa. To wannan ya nuna cewa ba k'ok'arin fita daga "adabin kasuwar Kano" ba ne, illa cewa ra’ayi na da tunani na shi ne ya yi mani wahayin wannan littafin.

Wacce irin alak'a ce tsakanin ki da masu karatu?

Alak'ar da ke tsakani na da masu karatu ta fi komai dad'i a wuri na. Na d'auki masu karatun littafi kamar wani k'ashin baya ne, kuma su ne za su iya gaya maka cewa abin da ka rubuta ya yi dad'i ko kuma an samu kuskure domin ka gyara a rubutun gaba. Hakan ya sa akwai alak'a mai kyau tsakani na da su.

Alak'ar ki da sauran marubuta fa, domin masu kula da harkokin marubuta na ganin babu alak'a mai kyau a tsakanin ku marubuta.

Alak'a tsakani na da mafi yawan marubuta alak'a ce mai kyau. Ko da yake ni ba a k'asar nan na ke zaune ba, to amma na samu an kafa k'ungiyoyi wanda kuma manufar kafa su shi ne wata ta yi gaba da wata, wanda hakan ko kad'an bai kamata ba. Amma ni ba na cikin kowace k'ungiya; kusan in ce ni marubuciya ce mai zaman kan ta.

Ga shi ke monita ce a wani zauren tattaunawa a intanet a kan rubuce-rubucen Hausa (Majalisar Marubuta). Ko za ki yi mana bayani a tak'aice kan yadda wannan zaure ya ke, da manufofin sa?

Wannan ya na da labari ne na shiga ta ita k'ungiyar. Kafin in shiga ban san cewa Hausa adabi ba ne wanda ya na da masu k'alubalantar wata kasuwa wadda saboda nisa na da ita, iyakaci na in yi littafi in ajiye, amma da shiga ta wannan k'ungiyar kafin ma in zama monita a ciki na ga wad'annan amfanonin da dama. A cikin wannan majalisar na samu sanin wasu littattafan Hausa da aka yi masu k'ima, da kuma abubuwan da ake k'alubalantar marubuta da su, sai in je in d'auka wanda zan gyara ya zamanto cewa na gyara. Sannan kusan zan iya cewa a da ina da d'an shakku wajen cewa yaya za a yi in yi littafin Hausa mai yawa ya tafi? To amma shiga ta wannan majalisa ya nuna min cewa lallai ashe ana iya yin, kuma zai iya tafiya. Misali, na tarar ana tattaunawa a kan ‘Ruwan Raina,’ wanda a lokacin ban san shi ba, da kuma ‘’Yartsana,’ wanda shi ma ban san shi ba sai a cikin wannan majalisar na samu cewa littattafai ne masu yawan shafuka, kuma aka yi masu kyakkyawan bugu. Sai ga shi ba su samu wata matsala ta kasuwa ba, sannan marubutan da su ka yi su sun cancanci yabo.

Saboda haka ina shawartar marubuta da su shiga cikin wannan k'ungiya ko majalisa domin akwai abubuwan k'aruwa masu tarin yawa; haka ma masu karatu, domin su samu damar k'alubalantar abin da marubuta su ke ciki. Wannan ita ce hanya ta had'uwa da ’yan’uwan su masu rubutu a tattauna da manazarta wad'anda su ka yi fice da fuskantar ina adabin ya dosa. Hakan a gani na zai taimaka wajen kawo ci-gaba ga ita wannan harka tamu.

Yaya ki ke ganin adabin Hausa zai iya kasancewa nan da wasu shekaru?

E, ai Juma’ar da za ta yi kyau tun daga Laraba ake ganewa. Daga cikin kashi biyu, wato marubuta da masu karatu yanzu ya zamanto su ne su ke canza adabin Hausa, wanda wannan kuma alamomi ne na nasara. Da farko idan na soma da masu karanta littafi a zamanin baya, kamar k'arshen k'arnin da ya wuce, littattafan Hausa su na samun suka domin babbar matsalar da na sha fad'i ita ce masu bayar da sak'on su na da wani sak'o da su ka ga cewa lallai ya damu Hausawa, ya kamata kuma a tashi a yi fama da matsalolin, kamar na auren dole da makamantan su, domin haka na da illolin sa na b'acin ’ya’ya, to amma sai su ka manta da wani abu guda d'aya, wato ba iyayen ba ne su ke karanta littafin za su iya kwafar b'acin da aka nuna a cikin littafin, maimakon iyayen wanda da aka yi wasu wannan salon. Hakan ya janyo ’yan matsaloli wad'anda littattafan baya su ka samu kan su a ciki. To amma masu karatun da ake samu a yanzu su ne ’ya’ya na wancan zamanin wad'anda su ka karanta kuma su ka k'aru da wani abu, su ne su ka zama iyaye, su ke karatu a yanzu. Adabin Hausa ya samu iyaye da ’ya’yan su su na iya karantawa, sab'anin zamanin baya.

Na biyu, masu karatu na da hanyoyin sabuwa ko huld'a da marubuta kamar ta wayar tafi-da-gdan-ka ko kuma ta intanet, domin yi masu gyare-gyare ko sharhi da makamantan su. Ta b'angaren marubuta kuma, ban da masu yin canjin shek'a ma da akwai wad'anda su ka ce adabi ko na menene ya na da amfani, don haka sun bayar da lokacin su wajen yi wa adabin Hausa hidima wacce ta cancanta za su rubuta da kan su, za kuma su yi kira ga marubuta su ce kuma ku rubuta abu kaza. Saboda haka adabin yanzu idan za mu lura da littattafan da ake rubutawa masu yawan shafuka da kyawu, zai nuna mana cewa duk wani littafi da yake kamar wata annoba ce a cikin adabin Hausa a baya kamar shekara goma, zai zamanto cewa ya kwanta dama.

Akwai wani kira da za ki yi ga su marubutan Hausa?

Kiran dai a kowane lokaci shi ne wad'ansu abubuwa ne wad'anda da zarar an same su komai zai daidaita. Marubuci ya kamata ya san cewa ga inda sak'on sa za shi. Na biyu, ana buk'atar marubuci ya san menene adabi. Na uku shi ne menene na sak'o wato adabin da na ke yi wa hidima? Sannan kuma bai kamata marubuci ya yi tsoro ba, ba wai ina nufin sai ranar da marubuci ya fito ya zagi wani babba ba, a’a, tsoron kasuwa ma bai kamata a ce marubuci ya ji shi ba, domin ba a tab'a yin masu yi wa adabi hidima iyakacin sa ya damu da kasuwar sa ba ko inda adabin za shi ba. Don haka ya kamata ya zamanto cewa wannan ya na kan gaba.

To menene zai biyo bayan ‘Mace Mutum’ daga alk'alamin ki?

Abin da zai biyo bayan ‘Mace Mutum’ shi ne ina so in ci gaba da yin rubutu a manyan shafuka mai ingantaccen bugu, kuma wanda zai zamanto ya na da sak'on da zamanin ya ke so. Wannan ya sanya ba zan iya sanin menene zai biyo bayan ‘Mace Mutum’ ba, domin ina so ne in kasance kowace shekara a ce da littafin da zai fito, ya zamanto cewa ainahin sak'on da ake buk'ata shi littafin ya taho da shi.

Yaushe ne za ki kammala karatun ki ki dawo Nijeriya da zama?

Shekara mai zuwa ne zan kammala karatu na, to amma da yake ina da buk'atar k'are digiri na na biyu shi ne ya sa ba ni da masaniyar lokacin da zan dawo.

A can Alk'ahiran ko kuwa?

E, ko a Alk'ahira ko kuma a gaba da ita.

A’a, to shikenan kin dinga karatu? Aure fa?

(ta yi dariya) Ai aure ba ya hana karatu.

To yaushe za a yi auren? Wasu za su so sanin haka daga gare ku.


To ai kada wanda ake so a yi da shi ya ji, kuma ya matsu ya ce an sa marad'a magana! (ta k'yalk'yace da dariya)

Hajiya Rahma, mun gode.

To, ni ma na gode.

-----

KARIN BAYANI: An sake buga wannan hirar a jaridar LEADERSHIP HAUSA ta ranar Juma'a da ta gabata, 15 ga Fabrairu 2008

KANO'S CENSORSHIP LAWS

PRESS BRIEFING BY DIRECTOR GENERAL KANO STATE CENSORSHIP BOARD, MAL. ABUBAKAR RABO ABDULKAREEM, ON THE EXPIRATION OF SIX MONTHS BAN ON FILM LOCATION ACTIVITIES HELD ON MONDAY 11TH FEBRUARY, 2008 AT THE CONFERENCE ROOM OF THE BOARD

Distinguished guests,
Gentlemen of the press.

1. Further to the unfortunate happenings in the film industry, His Excellency Executive Governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has approved the appointment of a task force committee to sanitize, standardize and professionalize the film industry in the state.

2. This unfortunate incidence led to public outcry which resulted in the lost of public confidence in the film industry, followed by suspension of all location activities for three months by motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN) and subsequent endorsement by the Board.

3. To compliment stakeholders’ position, the Board extended the three-month suspension order to six months for the purpose of fulfilling certain Herculean challenges facing the industry, Board inclusive.

The suspension order was clearly on location activities unlike what was speculated that it was meant to jeopardize the film industry. Marketers, production and post-production companies, musical studios and other activities were not affected by the order. More so, the Board has responded to various appeals made by organizations that have a stake in its activities to revisit the issue of censoring films already completed before the unfortunate incidence.

4. Accordingly, this is not the first time filming activities were suspended in Kano State. In the year 2000 the then administration suspended filming activities without any exception, even cinema houses were affected. Another example is that of Lagos State where filming activities were suspended for two years in order to ensure ethical professionalism in the business.

It is professionally a tradition and globally accepted; sensitivities are never compromised in filming projects. Currently, China is a clear testimony where a prominent production company was duly punished and suspended from further filming.

5. Gentlemen of the press, I want make it categorically clear that religion, culture and public dignity cannot be compromised by any good Government in the name of economic interest persuaded by certain segment of the society, taking into cognizance the social responsibility being entrusted by our people to this administration which operates within the tenets of Shari’a legal system.

6. Special guests, gentlemen of the press, within this suspension period the Board through its open door policy has tried to bring stakeholders on board through various activities such as meetings, sensitisation seminar, consultations with other relevant government agencies and revalidation /registration exercise.

7. The ideal registration period of the Board is first two weeks of the month of January of every year. Therefore, we want to notify the public that, some of our stakeholders have responded positively e.g. cinema proprietors, soccer viewing center proprietors, CD sellers, and some production companies. But in order to be lenient to our teaming stakeholders the Board has magnanimously from last week extended the registration period to the end of first quarter of 2008. This extension is peculiar to the year 2008. Meanwhile, provisional license is under processing for those production companies that are about and are determined to fulfill requirements.

8. General requirements and guidelines for registration were reflected in the Board’s application Forms and didn't in any way undermine ethics, professionalism, Religion and culture of our people. Hitherto, in respect to this, I would like to make it abundantly clear that every individual operator MUST register and be issued with license to operate, be it an artiste, script writer, designer, director, producer and other related persons in the home video as provided by Section 8 sub-section 'B' of the Kano State Censorship Board Law 2001 (Guidelines attached).
Meanwhile, trade guilds must register with the Board after being recognised by the MOPICON code of ethics.

9. Registration of production companies as enshrined in the Kano State Censorship Board law is mandatory before operation or any transaction with them.

10. Scripts must be submitted by a certified and registered production company for the Board’s approval which will facilitate the document to be recognized by other authorities like Copyright Commission, etc.

Equally, approved script will not be filmed until location/outing schedules are endorsed by the Board. At this juncture I want to draw the attention of Hoteliers, agencies and individuals to note that, henceforth, no location activity will take place in their premises without clearance from the Board.

Gentlemen of the press, we are using this medium to warn that, it is a breach of law for any production company to embark on shooting/location activities without his script and schedule of outing being approved by the Board.

11. Important issues worth noting primarily to our teaming stakeholders are thus:¬

a. Submission of scripts will be through guild of script writers, MOPPAN or individuals as the case may be.

b. Submission of accomplished films will be through MOPPAN, Film Makers Associations or individuals as the case may be.

c. To facilitate the activities of the preview committee, the Board has decided to expand the membership of the committee by involving Kano State Film Makers Association as members to serve in the committee

d. All our stakeholders are equal in the eyes of the law provided they remain law abiding.

e. Stakeholders dealing with international organisations and corporate bodies should note that, Board has moral and legal status in that transactions as provided in Section 85 of Kano State Cinematography licensing Censorship regulations 2001.

At this juncture, I am happy to announce to our teaming stakeholders and the general public that the ban on location activities is hereby lifted with effect from Tuesday 12th February 2008 on the following conditions:

All film operators and related persons must register with the Board and be issued with license as enshrined in the Kano State Censorship Board Law 2001 Section 6 sub-section 1B to ensure maximum control:

a. All Film corporate bodies and companies/professional guilds and associations must register with the Board as provided by Kano State Censorship Board law 2001.

b. All production scripts and outing schedules must be approved by the Board before any location activities.

c. All production must not jeopardize the sensitivities of the general public thus religion, culture, law, state and ethics of the profession. Hitherto, public are rest assured of protecting their dignity in Hausa films.

d. Any film that features non-registered artiste/artistes by the Board will not be cleared.

e. The proliferation of Hausa musical albums has attracted the Board's attention, hence must be censored. Therefore lyricists and musicians are equally to register like the rest of our stakeholders.

These conditions go along with the law establishing the Board and the regulations conducting the affairs of the Board.

Thanks you and God bless.

BISSALAM

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR GENERAL REGISTRATION OF FILM OPERATORS (INDIVIDUAL IN THE FILM PRODUCTION)

1. A film operative must possess "O" Level Certificate or its equivalent (Additional qualification is and added advantage)

2. Director/Producer must possess a Diploma or Certificate in the field of production from a recognized institution.

3. A film operative must avoid any act capable of polluting public morals.

4. A film operative must observed and respect religion, Culture and public interest.

5. A film operative must be a registered member of an appropriate guild.

6. A film operative must be a Nigerian as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

7. Female artiste, musician and lyricist must be under the care of her husband, parent or guardian (Not independent as the case may be)

8. Director/producer must ensure friendly atmosphere and should avoid roles/acts that will tarnish the image of his artistes.

9. Director must be guided by the approved script throughout his production

10. Producer must ensure that his script is endorsed by recognised consultant and approved by the Board.

11. A producer must ensure professional equipment are used (broadcasting standard) in his production.

12. Notice for location activities must be submitted to the Board 48 hours before the outing.

13. Singing and dancing has been cancelled in Hausa films.

14. Producer must discourage free mingling of opposite sexes for the whole night during production.

15. An artiste must be mentally and of sound moral behavior.

15. An artiste must not be below 18 years old, special artistes exclusive.

16. These guidelines are subject to review depending on prevailing circumstance.

GUIDELINES FOR THE REGISTRATION OF FILM PRODUCTION COMPANIES

1. Certificate of Incorporation (CAC)

2. Tax clearance for 3 years.

3. Letter of introduction from the Local Government Council where the production company is situated.

4. Production company shall employ the service of a film/video production consultant.

a) Such consultant shall be qualified from a recognised film institute within Nigeria or abroad.
b) Such consultant shall have a working experience of not less than 4 years in the field of production.
c) Employment: means part-time/retainership.

5. All film production companies shall furnish their studios with all the necessary facilities in accordance with the broadcasting standard or its equivalent, thus:

a) A set of computer
b) Pinnacle editing system
c) Monitors
d) A VCR player
e) HD camera with accessories or professional digital camera.
f) Two sets of earphone/microphone
g) Tripod/crane
h) Professional lights

6. Production company shall ensure that all technical production crew are registered members of a professional association of Nigeria (MOPP AN).

7. Production company shall have a clear office identification address.

8. Production company must have a permanent office secretary.

9. Production company must register with Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Co-operatives, Kano.

10. Production company must ensure crowd-free office environment.

11. Henceforth, no producer will go to location for activities without his script being vetted by a recognised consultant and approved by the Board.

12. All members of the production crew shall have a minimum qualification of a Diploma /Certificate or equivalent in a related field from a recognized institution.

13. Production company shall have a minimum of N2.5 million as working capital. Confirmation could be obtained from bank.

14. Henceforth, the Board has cancelled singing and dancing in Hausa film.

15. The aforementioned guidelines are subject to review, depending on monitoring circumstances.

MACE MUTUM!

A yau Alhamis (ko in ce jiya, tunda karfe 1 ta haura) na shiga kasuwar Wuse, Abuja, inda na samu sayen littafin Mace Mutum na Rahma A. Majid. N820 na saye shi. Littafin ya dan yi kwana biyu da fitowa ban gan shi ba, ga shi kuwa wai ni ma d'an gida ne (tunda "kanen" marubuciyar ne!). Hasali ma dai na aika wa da wasu littafin, ciki har da Amina Abdulmalik (mai 'Ruwan Raina'), wadda ta na Katsina yanzu, na sa Danjuma Katsina ya kai mata kwafe har gida, kuma ta karanta har ta gama cikin kankanin lokaci!

Na aje littafin a kan teburi na a ofis. Duk wanda ya shigo sai ya dauka, ya yi mamakin girman sa, har wasu na cewa, "Wannan tarihin waye?" Ba su ga hoton Yar'Adua ko Babangida a bangon ba! Sai na ke ce musu, "Ai novel ne."

"Novel? Da ma ana yin novel da Hausa haka?"

Mutane sun saba da ganin littafi mai shafi 40 zuwa 70 na Hausa. Shi Mace Mutum, shafi 520 ne. Wane yaro!?

Kai, lallai Rahma ta ciri tuta! Mace mai kamar maza, kwari ne babu! Matar soja kin fi karfin yaro!

Allah ya sa sauran marubuta za su dauki hannu, su yi koyi da ita. Ni da ma na shafe shekaru ina yekuwar cewa ya kamata marubutan mu su rika yin rubutu mai inganci, kuma su rika yin littafi mai kauri-kauri. Su yi kokarin ficewa daga kangin 'Adabin Kasuwar Kano.' To, Rahma dai ta fara. Allah ya k'ara mata basira, da kwarin gwiwa.

Gobe (ko kuwa dai a yau!) zan fara karanta shi insha Allahu.

Kuma na kudiri aniyar saya wa marubuciya Sa'adatu Baba Ahmad Fagge kwafe daya in kai mata a gidan su a nan Abuja (domin fa ta na gari yau mako biyu, kuma na ziyarce ta sau biyu, gobe ma zan koma). Zan ba ta mamaki da kyautar littafin, domin ita ma har yanzu labarin sa kawai ta ke ji. Za mu yi tseren gama shi kenan.

Sallaman ku!

Barmani Choge's Night of glory

Kai kun ji zan gaya maku yaran mata ai haihuwa malkar faru ce,
Ayye ran da ta kare sai warisa,
Kuma sai walkami dada sai sa hoda,
To kuma rigar mama salama alaikum.

Ayye ni idan na hwara sai nai dozin,
Ke Ladi, in na hwara sai nai dozin,
In yi Sa’a kuma in yi Sa’adu,
In yi Habi kuma in yi Habibu,
Sai nai Amiru sai in yi Hamza,
In yi Jamila, in yi Jamilu,
Na yi Basira na yi Basiru,
Saura Salamatu saura Saleh.

– Barmani Choge, in “Gwanne Ikon Allah,” urging young women to embrace reproduction

It was another night of rumbunctious gaiety. The diva who makes women to shake their bottoms was in town again, at the same venue and time. And the chain of events was almost the same, an uncanny replay of the 2006 outing - the rub-a-dubs of the water-filled calabash drums, Barmani Choge’s lilting voice, the academics intervening occasionally with background infos, the Q & A from the excited audience. Even the audience looked the same - women, men (young and young-at-heart), children; husbands and wives; the enthralled Britons who are trying to understand it all.

Outside the traditionally styled offices of the British Council, there was no parking space. Motor cars and cycles had filled up the place, watched by uniformed security guards. Passers-by would pause to ask what was going on here, Kano being a city of great spectacles. In that, it has no match in Hausa land. Ko da me ka zo, an fi ka. Hearing the amada music swinging in the air above the enclosed amphitheatre, the passers-by would wish to go inside and quench the thirst of their curiosity. Some would sneak into the place even though it was strictly by invitation.

The event’s poster called the night World Premier of Amada Rap as if it was the first time amada music was coming on stream!

As the show progressed, the amphitheatre continued to fill up to capacity; so many stood against the walls, their eyes focused on the old and young women on the stage beating the upturned calabash drums (kwarya) on their laps, creating a tune that was so unique, so original, so African. The leader of the musical group, Hajiya Barmani Choge, was easily Hausa land’s leading female traditional musician.

Born in 1945, she is old, of course. She had started singing about forty years ago, but her voice was surprisingly the same, keenly unaffected by age. The themes she dealt with were also timeless. They traversed topics from serious social issues like women’s education and importance of small-scale trading by women, all of which would empower women, to bawdy topics like co-wives as idle snobs, voluptuous women’s backsides, etc. These themes have been on her talented tongue since the late 60s, long before the Women’s Lib movement caught on in these parts of the world. Their core message is: women should get up and shine in this male-dominated world.

The audience in Kano last Saturday night, January 19, 2008 had heard all those songs before. As Barmani churned them out, their memory was only refreshed. But the difference was that this was live, Barmani in flesh. For those that had never seen her, it was a moment to relish forever. As she sang for her benefactors such as the ubiquitous Bala Waiman, Sa’in Katsina, Mairo Tafida, etc., their memories went back to the old days when traditional Hausa music was given more recognition, not today when it has been overtaken by Hausa movie lyrics and other attempts at modernisation.



The event was organised jointly by the British Council, Kano, and the Center for Hausa Cultural Studies, Kano. A generous endowment of the arts sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, under the Empowering Hausa Traditional Artistes Initiative, a programme initiated by the CHCS and supported financially and otherwise by the Council and the bank, made the show possible. Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, a culture activist who teaches at the Bayero University, Kano, and also chairs the CHCS, is the cultural affairs facilitator of the programme, selecting the artistes and bringing them to the stage at the Council.

I asked him what this event was all about.

The purpose, he answered was “to showcase Hausa traditional performance arts, to bring it to the attention of the world, to keep it alive, to show that it is alive and kicking and it’s real, and that it can never be substituted by any other form of music. But it can work with other forms of music.”

The programme was meant “to show that we are as modern as modern can be, we normally invite vocalists - not only musicians - who will be able to work with the traditional musicians. That is why you won’t see most our instrumentalists here but the vocalists, particularly rap and hip-hop are brought over to play with the traditional musicians.”

On why he brought Barmani to the stage again, having first presented her on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 on the International Women’s Day, he said, “She is a female, she is old and she is targeting herself at female private sphere, and that is what we are loking for. We are looking for women entertainer-artistes, particularly the older women who will appeal to older women themselves. Because older women don’t have any form of entertainment except by Barmani Choge. Other women - younger women - have other younger artistes to cater for them.”

A publicity flyer for the event explained Barmani’s art in the following words: “Barmani Choge popularized the mature Hausa women genre of music called Amada (although she had precedent in the late Hajiya Uwaliya Mai Amada (1934-83) which started as religious performance by women in their inner apartments, before later becoming secularized in public performances. Barmani Choge’s performances appeal typically to mature women in high society due to her daring – and often experimental – exploration of issues that other conventional women musicians avoid. Literally the last of her generation, she popularized the Amada genre of Hausa music which is centered around five upturned calabashes floating on water and played with the hands by rather elderly women.

“The thematic focus of her performances is on the sociology of the family as it affects the woman in a typical Muslim Hausa household. She uses her lyrical power to draw attention to issues dealing with inter-personal relationships among women and between women and men.


“A lot of her repertoire deals with female social and economic empowerment in a traditional setting. For instance, her song, ‘Sakarai Ba Ta Da Wayo’ (Silly, She’s Not Smart) is a direct attack on women who prefer to live on other women’s economic efforts rather than seek out their own means of living. This song is complemented by ‘A Kama Sana’a Mata’ (Women, Engage in Profitable Occupations) which urges women to be economically empowered by getting engaged in a whole series of economic activities outlined in the performance.

“Her other set-pieces include a song that celebrates birth, ‘Gwanne Ikon Allah’ (The Blessings of Multiple Births), in which she proudly celebrated having a dozen children; as well as occasional forays into a more adult-themed performance such as in ‘Wakar Duwaiwai’ (The Song of the Derriere) in which she celebrates a woman’s attraction to her matrimonial duties. However, her most successful song is about resistance to polygamous marriages as sung in ‘Dare Allah Magani’ (Allah, the Curer of Night Darkness). Although not original to her (other Amada musicians such as Uwaliya had earlier recorded the song), Barmani’s rendition carried with it a fresh perspective that appealed to more modern Hausa women who took umbrage at the idea of polygamous relationships.”

As usual with these outings, the organisers ensured that while Barmani was the main artiste, other performers were included. Tonight, a new artiste, a young woman musician by name Amal Yunusa, as well as popular Hausa rap musical groups, X-Man (a solo artiste with the ragga-hit, Corruption), Minor Mistake (made up of four young high school students with a good rap track record), accompanied Barmani. While Barmani and her Calabash Ensemble were the star artistes, the solo vocalist Amal was the second while the two American-style rap groups provided a tantalising mix.
The audience was treated to Barmani’s most famous numbers: ‘Sakarai Ba Ta Da Wayau,’ ‘Dare Allah Magani,’ ‘Duwaiwai Dole A Zauna Da Kai,’ ‘La Ilallah Choge,’ ‘Ahayayye Sama Ruwa Kasa Ruwa,’ ‘Gwanne Ikon Allah,’ ‘Ari!’, ‘Dare Alherin Allah’, ‘Lale Maraba Da Ke Zinariya,’ etc. Amal did a remix of some of these songs, bringing them on recorded piano tunes as well as on live amada beats. She was joined in her acts by Aisha Jamilu, a grand-daughter of Barmani’s. They took the previous day to rehearse the show.

In this outing, there was an obvious attempt to create inheritors for Barmani. Aisha Jamilu, a secondary school student, had been included in the band and was made to sing Barmani’s songs to the accompaniment of the calabash music. But by far the nearest perfection to getting an inheritor was presented in Amal, a pretty young woman who took to music purely out of interest. She holds a diploma in Nursing and is now pursuing a HND course at the School of Management, Kano.

Hitherto, the 25-year old Amal sang enlightenment rap numbers in studios, using pianos instead of local instruments. She had recorded some six songs in a studio, but they have not been released yet. This was her first public appearance as a musician. She was brought into duet with Barmani three weeks earlier by Abdalla, who has conducted such experiments with other artistes, much to the delight of those that see them. Prof. Abdalla has always wondered - and worked on - how it would sound like to mix traditional tunes with modern, Western-created sounds. He achieves his purpose at the British Council shows.

Some members of the audience wondered how a thoroughbred Hausa young lady was allowed by her parents to take part in this kind of show, music being regarded as a trivial vocation by most tradition-minded Northern Nigerian Muslims. Amal told me in an interview that she had been liking music since her childhood when she listened to lots of Indian music. She had no family background in music, though. As proof that her family was not averse to her perceived indulgence, she brought her mother to the show.

“I have no any challenges from my family. My mum is even here,” she said, adding quickly, however, that her mother, a lawyer, sees the whole thing as a passing hobby, nit a serious vocation. “She wants me to learn and learn; she doesn’t want me to be occupied with it.. She is a barrister, she wants me to be someone like her,” Amal said.

She is into music not for commercial reasons. It’s a hobby, then?

Smiling, she replied: “I don’t know. Whatever happens I would welcome it. I may continue, and I may drop it. I don’t know what will happen because, you know, I will soon get married. I don’t know how my husband will react to it, so it depends on what he feels. If he wants, I will continue, if he doesn’t want it, I’ll stop it.”
This attitude to music seems to be shared by the old guard, too. A member of the audience asked Barmani if she would like her grand-children to become musicians. No, was the answer. She would rather want them to go to school and become “educated.” The mother of twelve children out of a single marriage - something she is always proud of - emphasised the importance of education, especially to women. In her life time she had seen instances where education helped emancipate the women folk from the shackles of ignorance and male-induced subservience.

The great old woman of Hausa music was given her first award during this event. It was a dainty certificate of merit from the Center of Hausa Cultural Studies for Barmani’s “immense contribution to the development of Hausa performing arts for women.” It was presented to her by the former consul of Niger Republic in Kano, Hajiya Fatima, assisted by the British Council’s Rabi Isma. The certificate was in two versions - in Hausa and in English. No doubt, it was a well-deserved honour to the woman who made women to not only “shake it” but also to think about their status in the society.

The event recorded a resounding success. Reacting to my query whether this was part of a global programme, Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu told me it was. “Yes, it is part of the programme of the British Council called Cultural Diplomacy. The whole idea behind it is to show that Britain is a friend of Nigeria and it supports cultural activities of Nigerians. British Council is the only agency that is supporting these kinds of activities now.”

Would this kind of thing have taken place in any other place but the British Council, considering the ban on musical performances in the state due to the state government’s restrictions based on the Sharia law?

“Yes. Sharia didn’t prevent people from having music. It would take place in Alliance Francais (in Kano) because something like this will take place there in a week or so from now.”

He hoped that the Kano State History and Culture Bureau would be able to take up the challenge of showcasing and sustainng traditional Hausa musicians, because that is their purview.

According to him, the next show is scheduled to take place “before April, by God’s grace.”

If it is not Barmani, be sure to see that it is another traditional musician who will take th audience down memory lane and induce a high sense of nostalgia. Already, the ever-active professor is working on it. In a telephone chat last night, he told me that a Fulani ensemble may be the next trick in his hat. After all, it is not only the Hausas that helped define what is known as Hausa culture.

The Murray Last Interview

Photograph by Abdalla Uba Adamu shows Prof. Last at the conference on preservation of Arabic manuscripts, in Kaduna last year

The following interview was published in LEADERSHIP newspaper, Abuja, on Wednesday, January 16, 2008


How Hausa People Choose When To Die

By IBRAHIM SHEME

Professor Murray Last is the kind of person you would call a poplar among the shrubs. A scholar par excellence, he traverses the world of academics like a Colossus. I had been seeing his name in books and journals ever since I started learning ABCD. So meeting him a few months ago was one of the most pleasant moments of my life.

Murray Last is a Emeritus Professor of History based in England. He obtained his PhD from the University of Ibadan, becoming the first person to do so. He is best known as the foremost scholar of the Sokoto Caliphate. He first went to Sokoto in 1962 principally to study the ancient Arabic and Ajami manuscripts that filled the libraries of that headquarters of the defunct Caliphate founded by Sheikh Usmanu Danfodio. He had his tutulege under the great vizier of Sokoto, Waziri Junaidu, a man of immense learning himself. Under the Waziri, the young Last – in his 20s – became the first white man to gain full access to the long scholarly heritage of that intriguing era.

Now in his old age, Prof. Last is in retirement. Nevetheless, he was able to attend an international conference on the preservation of the arabised Hausa script, the Ajami, as well as Arabic manuscripts. I was fortunate to be present at the event, which took place last year at Arewa House, Kaduna, where I booked an appointment with Prof. Last. Accompanied by Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu of the Bayero University, Kano – another burning light in the sphere of academics in our times, I interviewed Prof. Last in his hotel room on the circumstance of his early foray into studies of the Caliphate, some of the findings of his work and his views on various aspects of contemporary scholarship. His finding that people can decide on when to die (when they are sick, of course) is as controversial today as it was when he first revealed it three years ago.

SHEME: I think it is only reasonable to start by asking what drew your attention in the first place to the study of the Sokoto Caliphate.

PROF. LAST: I came to Nigeria in 1961. I got a grant from Liverpool Foundation for two years to work for my PhD. I had been at Yale where I read Chinese and African history for my M.A. Although I wanted to do Chinese history, in those days you could only go to learn Chinese in Hong Kong. I was very excited with African history since Independence was coming in 1960. I was in Yale from 1959 to 1961, so I was there for the excitement of Independence and everything. I had long been interested in Islamic things. I had traveled to Jordan, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

When I came to Ibadan to do my PhD, I decided to choose an Islamic subject. There was H.S.C. Smith, who was a professor then, with people like Jacob Ajayi and others, with Kenneth Dike as the vice chancellor. It was then of course known as University College, Ibadan. Abdullahi Smith, as the late H.S.C. Smith later became, suggested that I study the viziers, the Waziris, in Sokoto since there were documentations of the letters from the Waziri to various Emirs, and also letters from the Emirs to the Waziris, so it seemed a very good subject to do. I started in 1961 to do "A Study of Sokoto in the 19th Century, with Special Reference to the Waziris," which was the title of the thesis.

To start the study, did you have to move to Sokoto?

I first came to Kano in December 1961 and then spent the Christmas in Maiduguri so, I didn’t actually go to Sokoto until Muhammad Ahmad Al-Hajj came up with me to Sokoto, after I had done my first year in Ibadan. I spent the summer in Kaduna, reading in the Archives, staying with Adamu Ciroma and Dahiru Modibbo Girei. Sometimes I played scabbles with Gomwalk and people like Garba Ja Abdulkadir and the Sarkin Jalingo – the Sarkin Muri as he became. So I got my real taste initially in Kaduna and then moved on to Sokoto to settle in the Waziri’s house.

Was it Alhaji Junaidu?

Yes, it was. He was very kind to me; he let me stay in one of his rest houses, next to his own house. Each morning, I would go to his house and sit in the library on the floor and start reading manuscripts, with my dictionary beside me. So me and my dictionary read the books! My Arabic, I had started learning it in Ibadan in 1961 to ’62, so it was getting better by the time.

Were you the first European or white man to undertake a study at that level in those days?

Yes, but at the Antiquities Department in Jos, Dr A.D.H. Bibar had done some cataloguing and preserving some of the manuscripts in the Waziri’s house, particularly the correspondence, and he wrote a few articles. And there was a British non-resident Senior District Officer, H.A. Johnston, who was interested in the history of Sokoto and wrote a book called "The Fulani Empire of Sokoto", but he basically used the district notebooks. So I was the first student actually to write a doctoral thesis on Sokoto using the Arabic materials and being taught by the Waziri and other people in Sokoto. But I was the first person to get a Nigerian PhD from Ibadan. It was so very exciting!

It must have been a great privilege.

It was fantastic! And of course Ibadan was the best place because it was the only university, so all the brightest Nigerians were there and they were much brighter than I was and of course much more sensible politically wise. It was an exciting place to be. Dr. Afigbo was the other person who finished at about the same time with me but I finished my thesis first.

I learnt that you migrated to Medical Anthropology. So what happens to History?

After I finished my PhD, I came up to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, to help start the Northern History Research Scheme, from 1965-67. For three years I worked, collecting Arabic and Fulfulde manuscripts and photocopying everything. But then the war started, the (Nigerian) Civil War, and I had friends on both sides. Secondly, when I was in Sokoto, the A.D.O. was an old friend – Dahiru Modibbo Girei, who later became head of BCNN (Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria). And as A.D.O. he had to decide who was mad in the prison and who was not mad, and we used to talk about it. So from that point, from 1967 or so, I knew really we must try to do work on traditional notions of madness. Thirdly, ABU Teaching Hospital, the medical school, was just starting and Ishaya Audu was the vice-chancellor; he was the medical doctor who was Yakubu Gowon’s personal doctor. So it seemed a good thing for me to study traditional Hausa medicine so that the new medical students and doctors might know something about what their patients felt themselves.

What eventually drew you to the study of the Maguzawa?

When I retrained for doing the anthropology of medicine, of healing, I was linked to ABU. I first went to Dankanjiba, a market town on the edges of Kano and Katsina, in Malumfasi district. I surveyed the entire village. I asked everyone the medical history of their houses. And it became very clear that I could only talk to the male head of house; I couldn’t go inside the house. I then did a study of a Fulani camp where I couldn’t again see the women and the children. Basically, I was only allowed to speak to the men. So I realised that if I had wanted to speak to women and children and see how they got ill and what was wrong, I had to go to a place where I could live inside the house without a problem.

Is it because of the Islamic culture?

Yes. I discovered that 90 per cent of all illnesses was suffered by women and children.

And you could not reach out to them directly.

In a normal Muslim village, you couldn’t be with them all the time. The Maguzawa farm house where I went to stay in was not where the Catholics were, nor was it were the Protestants were, but was where, basically, there wasn’t any proselytisation. So in that sense, it was logical to go to the Maguzawa. And honestly, I thought Maguzawa made some more traditional meaning. So I did (a study of) medicine because it was clearly something that needed to be done because the doctors and the new students (at ABU) didn’t know anything about their patients.

I was told that in one of the lectures you gave some years back, you said that Hausa people chose where to die and when to die. Can you please explain?

It caused a lot of trouble when I said that! But I tried never to publish or give lectures abroad unless I have mentioned it in Nigeria first or at the same time. So I have a rule that if I am going to make any "rash" statement, I must make it here and defend myself from the attack! So I gave this talk in the British Council at their invitation in Kano...

When was that?

Two years ago. Basically, it came out of a work, because I did a survey of a single cemetary in Kano – Dandolo, by Goron Dutse. And the grave digger kept a record for a year of all the burials he did every day. Possibly, the statistics was not perfect but it did suggest that more people died on Friday than on any other day of the week. This came about because one of my old friends at B.U.K., John Levers, who died in Kano and was buried as a Muslim in Dandolo, I used to sometimes go to his grave. And so as happens with a talkative, I talked to the grave digger and by chance asked him, "How many graves do you dig every day?" And his answer was, "Ten graves every day but fifteen on Fridays!" And my jowl dropped. I knew that this was very unusual. And I know that Allah gives a blessing if you die on Friday.
What the statistics actually show is that it’s women and children who die on Fridays more than men do and the argument is: why should that be? But I think it’s the case if you look at it worldwide, that there comes a time when you are close to death that you can decide when to die. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence, both in Nigeria and worldwide, that someone will wait until their children have come and then as soon as they come, they switch off, if you like. So it’s quite interesting. But then the biological problem is, how is it possible to do that? Because if your mind switches off, you go into a coma and the body works automatically. So, biologically and physiologically it’s a real problem which I have no answer to nor do any of my biomedical friends have. But anecdotically one of the striking things is that very often the person dying sends the people around him away, and as soon as they’re gone out of the room or shortly after, he dies. And that happens so commonly both here and elsewhere.

And up till now, nobody has been able to find out why one dies when one wants?

Obviously, there are a lot of cultures where people train themselves on when to die. But in the end, it is very common that you can’t just turn your brain off. What sometimes happens is that in a day or two he will die of the toxins building up in the gut. I know someone whose mother did that, so I am speaking the truth. I know.

Professor, how have you been able to maintain your relationship with Nigerians all these years?

It is mainly because people are so kind and nice to me. But it is extremely pleasant to come back. I always try to visit every year. I always try to come back to Kano and see people there and I come to see friends rather than to do work.

How would you compare the quality of scholarship in your days and now?

I think, to be honest, there are so many universities and so many professors and students and such like that inevitably the selection process is less strict. In the old days, with one, two universities, it was very difficult for students to get into universities and they were driven to do very good work. So I think it is partly the natural consequence of expansion. Many people actually know things that the rest of us didn’t know then. So, in some ways, recent scholarship is more interesting. But I have to admit that the amount of work done on the Sokoto Caliphate is actually little, it is not very great. There is good work, very good work, but by and large there is a tendency not to ask difficult questions.

Why not? Are people afraid to ask questions?

My notion crudely is that I expect to be laughed at but it is what I call the use of old history of Kano, Sokoto, Zaria, Katsina. It is good for schools, good for undergraduate courses; it promotes the establishment of what I sometimes call the golden realm, that in a sense the Shehu’s age or Muhammadu Bello’s age was the golden age, as it were. You might not agree but there was a decline over the century but people are willing to say, people like Shehu Galadanchi, that there was a decline and that was why Allah brought the Nasara (the Europeans) almost as a punishment for the failings of the Sarakai or the Sarauta class. And my argument is that you can’t imagine that the Christians (the colonialists) are stronger than the Muslims. Some say that colonialism came about as ikon Allah (predestined) ; it was a calamity, a disaster.

Some people are at the moment clamouring for the removal of Arabic inscription in the naira and it is generating a lot of debate. Interestingly, nobody knows how the inscription got onto the naira. Would you shed light on this?

It was on the pound, the colonial Nigerian pound. I was going to comment on that. As you probably know, it was the (Christian) missions that took up Ajami (the arabised Hausa scripts) more than anyone else. It was the missions who translated the Bible into Ajami. It was the colonial authorities that gradually moved into boko, into Roman scripts. To be honest, I think the British used Ajami from quite an early time. One of the officers, in 1904-1905, used to write letters to his soldiers, who were Kanawa (Kano indigenes) in Ajami. So it was assumed that it was normal to use Ajami in some of your own Nigerian relations. And the Army too; because remember the commands given at the battle of Sokoto to the British soldiers were given in Hausa; the white Nasara officers gave their commands in Hausa. So you’ve got to see this extraordinary use of Hausa. You couldn’t get promotion as a colonial officer without passing your exams in Hausa from a very early time. And remember Richard Palmer, who became Resident in Katsina, used to kneel down to his malam with his gafaka (leather bag) and take Arabic lessons in Katsina town.

So the British actually promoted the concept of the use of Ajami.

They took it over.

Were there any attempts to find out from other groups whether they had their own script that you are aware of, maybe the Yoruba or any other tribes?

Obviously the Yorubas could have used the Ajami, but as I said in the conference, if you are doing a tonal language in Ajami how do you tell the tone? First, there wasn’t a standard Yoruba, and as you probably know it was the missions that created a standard Ibo, which a lot of Igbos disliked. But why bother? Both the Igbo and the Yoruba were more interested in getting education using Roman scripts. And in the 19th century they were using English in Lagos. The Yoruba elite too were becoming Christians although there was a majority Muslim population amongst the Yoruba. And to be honest, if you were going to break into the new world of learning of geography, science and medicine, all the books were in European writing.

Did you encounter any hostilities in the beginning of your research work into the Sokoto Caliphate, being a white man living in Sokoto?

Never in Sokoto. Or if I did, I might have been insensitive to it. The point is that I was an almajiri sort of person, a student, very thin and badly dressed. And living in the Waziri’s house, I was fed by the Waziri’s servants – not the best food, I might say! So I just lived on tuwo miyar kuka and tuwo miyar kuka. Fura if I was lucky. I was the only white person of that stature. I was in my twenties, and Sarkin Kudu, the late (Sultan) Maccido once referred to me when someone asked seeing me there, saying, "Dan gida ne" (He’s one of us). Of which I was terribly proud. I wasn’t a threat to anyone. The only place I was called a Nasara was in Kano Kurmi market when looking at the Arabic books – you know that section by the mosque. Well, it was not offensive to be called Nasara, because once you cross out of Nigeria and go to Niger, Europeans are all called Nasara, Turawa or Bature.

What advice would you give young and upcoming scholars?

The greatest mistake that I made and therefore would warn others not to is not to systematically talk to every old person I could find. That is to say by concentrating on Arabic manuscripts, which don’t die like people do. For instance, I met an old woman who sent to me the Hausa songs of the Fulani who lost their cattle during the epidemics of the 1890s because I didn’t have a tape recorder with me. When I went back three weeks later, she had died.

I will want the young scholars to talk to their grandparents as often as possible about what they knew and treat them like a real living source. Not that the old people will always tell them the truth, that is not the point, but at least you must find out what they knew and then get it back.

The other thing I will advise students to do is to get out of their cars and walk around the countryside. For instance, the other time I was walking just outside the wall of Kano, and I discovered an old shrine where they used to swear by goats and I spoke to few people around and they all knew about it. Is there anyone in B.U.K. who is still interested in doing that kind of thing?

The scholars in Nigeria complain of lack of funding.

To be honest, this is a serious issue. During my days as a student, I was living on 500 pounds per year, and my car consumed half of it because I drove around a lot. To me, I found the countryside more interesting, but the average Nigerian finds it boring. I would like Nigerian students to explore European, Indian and American cultures and they would be surprised at what they will find.

Shu'aibu Makarfi - Grandfather of Hausa Drama

Today's issue of LEADERSHIP newspaper contains the following piece put together by yours sincely. Enjoy.


Shu’aibu Makarfi’s Last Interview

The leading playwright in Hausa land died last Sunday at the age of 90. In his last interview, published in 1997, he gives account of his life and explains the genesis of his writing

By Ibrahim Sheme

A few weeks ago the name of Alhaji Shu’abu Makarfi dropped suddenly into my mind. I had not seen him for decades and thought that it might be a good idea to go to his house on Calabar Road, Kaduna, and see if he could give me an interview. But then I told myself that the man might have died long ago. The last time I checked, Alhaji Shu’aibu had been battling with a debilitating illness that made him bedridden. However, I reckoned that a man of his status would not have passed away unannounced, without the story being broadcast. Well, maybe I had missed the story. As it turned out, I never made up my mind to find out if he was alive or not.

Last Sunday I was startled by a news bulletin on the FRCN radio, Kaduna, about the death of Alhaji Shu’aibu Makarfi. He had died at Jinya Specialist Hospital, Kaduna, that morning at the age of 90 after a protracted illness. On Monday, the New Nigerian reported that among the early callers at the deceased’s residence to condole his family were Kduna State governor, Architect Namadi Sambo, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, former governors of Kaduna State - Brig-General Abba Kyari, Group Captain Usman Jibrin, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, and Alhaji Abba Musa Rimi - as well as members of the state Executive Council and House of Assembly.

I knew Alhaji Shu’aibu first as a writer and second as a journalist. In this we shared common interests. His two plays, Jatau Na Kyallau and Zamanin Nan Namu, were some of the most popular texts published in Hausa land. I heard that Makarfi did not set out as a writer but became a "writer of radio drama."

I first met him when he was a board member of Nationhouse Press Ltd., Kaduna, publishers of the defunct The Reporter newspaper where I was working as Assistant Editor way back in 1991. That was the first time I saw, in flesh, one of the pioneers of Hausa literature.

Makarfi was a pioneer in another field – journalism. In 1943, only four years after the hugely popular newspaper Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo was started, he became one of its staff. But an example of his being multi-talented was his foray into radio broadcasting. He worked in various capacities as a broadcaster with the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). He retired from public service in August 1974.

The deceased was a director of the New Nigerian Newspapers Ltd (1974 -1980), chairman of the Kaduna State Broadcasting Corporation (1985), and board member, Northern Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, now FRCN Kaduna.

Alhaji Shu’aibu Makarfi is survived by two wives,a daughter and many grandchildren. He left behind an unimpeachable record of public service, good character and hig values.

Even though he had held many positions in journalism, his biggest demonstrable legacy, in my view, was his books. Though many of those that associated with him would rather stick to his values, as far as I know it is his books that will remain his biggest intellectual relics. The question is: how did he write them? What motivated him?

We are lucky that eleven years ago Alhaji Shu’aibu granted an interview on his literary works to Dr Ahmed K. Babajo, formerly of the English Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (and now a lecturer at Kaduna State University, Kaduna). Malam Babajo walked to me some time in February 1997 at the New Nigerian and asked if I would like to publish an interview he had had a few days earlier with Alhaji Shu’aibu Makarfi. I was editor of the paper’s literary pages. Excitedly, I obliged, and the interview – a masterpiece – was published some days later. It could be the first and only such interview granted by Alhaji Shu’aibu Makarfi. Here it is reproduced for the records.

...The Godfather of Modern Hausa Drama

By A.K. Babajo

Alhaji Shu’aibu Makarfi, 79, had an active writing broadcasting career. His plays have been broadcast over the radio, many of which have been published as play texts and are studied in secondary schools and higher institutions, etc. Alhaji Shu’aibu Makarfi started his educational career in Zaria at primary school. He attended the famous Zaria Middle School and later on went to the Katsina and later Bauchi Teachers College.

As a trained teacher he taught a while at Zaria Middle School before joining the army in 1941 to 1943 as an English instructor. After the short military service he joined Northern Literature Agency (NORLA), which became Literature Bureau. After NORLA he worked with Post & Telecommunications (P&T) for five years. In 1948, he joined NBC and worked in various capacities as a producer/broadcaste r.

He has written extensively but fame knocked his door through his play texts, namely: Jatau Na Kyallu and Zamanin Nan Namu, published by Gaskiya Corporation in 1970. He now resides at home in Kaduna, an activist whose unbending opinions on creative arts, development, culture and leadership would be the bone of our discussion.

I contacted him on the appointed hour on Saturday, 22nd February, 1997 in his Calabar Road abode in Kaduna. He received me with warmth, but noted that I did not reach him on the appointed hour – 11:00a.m.

The interview was rendered bilingually but using sense transliteration I transcribed it into English.

BABAJO: When did you start writing and what were your motivations?

MAKARFI: I am a trained teacher but I was denied that career as I only taught for a few years before joining the Army.

It was after the war experience and in particular when I worked with NORLA, between 1943 to 1948, that I came into contact with the vocation of writing, printing and publishing. Then I was under the tutelage of late Dr. Abubakar Imam – that versatile, prolific and resourceful writer – and Alhaji Nuhu Bamalli. But it was my experience as a broadcaster and a programme coordinator that spearheaded my launch into script writing. So, to answer your question, I started writing as a broadcaster some times back in 1943.

What were your motives?

Well, come to think of it, was there any motive? I was only doing my job as a broadcaster! The main thrust was to captivate and moralise my audience – then city dwellers, and from where I made observations before writing my scripts. I was never into writing for fame such as a name or even for material acquisition. Besides, how would I have fended for myself and my family as a writer? Actually, writing as you see in Zamanin Nan Namu came about when I was approached by staff of Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo who persuaded me to surrender my radio scripts for publication as books.

So you were first and foremost a broadcaster than a writer?

Yes, sort of. My venturing into publishing or writing books came accidentally. My main concern was to write scripts to be read on radio for the listeners. My speciality was radio plays. I wrote so many, many of them. The tapes/reels could not be found, and the scripts have long disappeared.

What inspired you into writing? At what particular instance of your life did you discover your innate desire to write?

First and foremost, I was touched by the degree of degeneration of the Hausa culture. All my plays are centred in the city because they are by-product of the city. Look at my office – NBC. Its nearest neighbour is Rex Cinema and I made it a habit to wait after close of office to watch who came to the cinema and things like that. I was keen in watching how the Hausa people in the city dress, how they relate with one another, with the opposite sex, their attitude to constituted authority, etc, and in all these I saw the withering away of Hausa culture. And I cherish Hausa culture to a fault.

I can recollect this tradition in the past. For example, after each harvest season, our father would direct us to distribute bales of grains to the houses of the family malam, the barber, the blacksmiths, etc., before ours was then taken in to be kept in the rumbu (store).

Now selfishness, much more than the cohesive communal relationship, has overtaken such values. Therefore, I am – as I were – disgusted with these changes affecting my world, the Hausa culture. I was not a trained writer. I never read Arabic or European writers; my writings were a direct critique of that sordid social phenomenon. The changes, very negative, prompted me into writing, and then as a young man I could sit on a typewriter and fizzle through hours to produce a script.

Again, this ability came out grossly when I joined the broadcasting world.

Why did you choose to write plays in preference to other forms of literature?

Again, two factors are at play here. The first is the medium and second the content. You should remember, I never sat down to write a book or play. I was only writing scripts of radio plays for an audience out there waiting for them. Two, the subject matter must be immediate, relevant and somehow reflective or bear some semblance to the every day life of those listening to the programmes. So, my love for words was to be heard immediately by a large group of people at the same time.

At that time – those good old days – listening to the radio was in itself a vocation. People would gather around a box to listen; at that time the small transistors radios were not common. I was not cut like Sa’adu Zungur of Bauchi or Namangi of Zaria, my context was to reach out this audience immediately.

I chose plays because I loved to dramatise, reveal and expose ills. And by using characters I was able to convey and project these ills through role-playing. Besides, plays are more exciting in their imitations and make-beliefs. Thus, I chose plays because I was a radio man concerned with an anxious audience. Every week was a challenge as I had to improvise and scout for materials, characters and stories.

Why did you choose to write in your mother tongue (Hausa) than in Ajami or English?

Again, it was my career that determined the discourse and my choice of language. I am entirely a very conservative man. I detest the imposition of English language over Hausa language and have never had any reason to write in English. Look, even when I travelled to London in the late 1940s, I never allowed the beauty of their technological advancement to affect my attitude. I went there with two Kaftans and wore them throughout my stay. Indeed, for the weather, I bought some overcoats and boots, but I was always dressed in my local Hausa outfits.

So, I wrote in Hausa because it is my root, my language and I am not conversant with it than any other language. In another dimension, the radio programme was targeted at a Hausa audience in Kaduna and other Hausa settlements – most especially Hausa city settlers who have made radio another abokin hira (associate). I did not write in Ajami or Arabic because my focus was not religious. Besides, mine was more dealing with social matters as they occured currently. So, it was more a matter of current affairs.

How many books/plays have you written?

Scripts? Yes. I wrote so many. But in terms of publication, they are the ones you know: Jatau Na Kyallu and Zamanin Nan Namu; I should (really) have called the book Zamanin Can Na su instead of Na mu. The focus should not be ours because I was only an observer. Besides, there is a generation gap. Don’t worry . . .

How were these radio play scripts published? Were there no differences between the radio scripts with those of the books?

Gaskiya Corporation has a literature bureau. They were the ones who approached me to release many of the then popular radio plays for publication as books and I gave them. Differences? Well, very little. All we did was to shuffle this portion into that place. Invariably, they are one and the same.

Even though you never wrote these plays with the intention of staging them, did you ever witness any of them performed on stage?

No. But I have heard that some schools have attempted that.

What inspired you to write Jatau Na Kyallu and what was the central message?

See, I am basically an observer. While in Jos, I witnessed a spectacular marriage. I won’t mention names but my neighbour married a renown prostitute whom everybody knew. She was popular in Kano and just as famous in Jos. This wealthy neighbour of ours still went to marry her. Yes, I have no quarrel with that but Allah instructed or enjoined Muslims to select their children when selecting wives. Thus, you must appraise and examine the kind of woman you marry – her roots, upbringing and behaviour because she will be the one to train your children. Thus, I do not see any relevance for a man of his calibre to marry a social misfit like that. But my concern and commentary did not end there. I was appalled by the extravagant manner in which the wedding ceremony was consummated. So, to caution the youth, I dramatised that story, highlightening the ills of marrying people like the prostitute.

Is it true, then, as one researcher noted in a critique of your plays, that your plays dwell on social problems without proffering any solutions?

In a way that is correct. It is true. You see, writing scripts for the radio on a weekly basis is tasking and taxing. You must be fast, shrewd and innovative. Your audience will not appreciate repetition. They are always anxiously waiting for a new play. Often times, I had to submit a title or name for the play before I sat down to devise the play. For instance, there was one play I called Kasa (the python) Sarkin Barci. It was a biting story that became episodic. I thus wrote on things happening, e.g. corruption. A cheat in the office. At home. Wherever. Always satiric and biting because my purpose was to jolt people, enlighten them and shock them to change for the better. So, the criticism is correct. I never considered it my duty to provide solutions. You see, even when writing those radio play scripts I saw myself as a teacher – the profession I so revered but never had sufficient time on it. So, I would rather conscientise, raise awareness, teach and moralise than to solve the whole problem.

In what ways are ’Yar Masu Gida and Malam Mai Dala’ilu similar?

Both are contemporary. Both prefer to live in the city. ’Yar Masu Gida borders on how girls live in the urban areas in contrast to house helps whereas Malam Mai Dala’ilu exposes satirically the hoax of charlatans called Malams. Either way, they treat social matters as they affect the personality of Hausa people in this new world.

Is it a coincidence that all the plays were published in 1970?

No. All the scripts of the radio plays were handed over to Gaskiya Corporation Publishers. They are the only publishers I have ever dealt with.

Did you ever write with a particular audience in mind?

No. How do you mean? I write for my Hausa audience indeed. And yes, I am particularly worried for my Hausa brothers and sisters living in the city. And why not, I dread the plight of women whose material quest has pushed them into trouble.

Did you, like Abubakar Imam, adapt, borrow or copy from any European or Arabic stories/plays?

No. Unlike Abubakar Imam, I mainly relied on happenings around me. Often times, I reflected on folklore and some aspects of oral traditions to buttress some points. For instance, there is diverse use of proverbs, riddles, jokes, etc., in my radio plays and play texts.

Abubakar Imam was like yautai – a smart bird, full of ingenuity and resourcefulness. Give Imam your story, he would blend it, add materials, and before you know it, it has changed into something else. Besides, I am not an intellectual nor have I had any degree or extensive exposure on play writing to model after them.

Do you still write?

No.

Why?

The publishing industry frustrates writers. Since my relationship with Gaskiya my royalties come in trinkles . . . very meagre, I can’t sustain my family with such amounts. At times the feeling comes and whenever I make as if to write I will remember the technicalities and just stop.

What do you foresee as the future of creative writers in modern Hausa community?

To date writing cannot be a means of one’s sustenance. It cannot pay up bills for water and light, talk less of food, clothing, etc. The future is bleak. It is dark. Not very encouraging for upcoming creative writers.

In this regard, how do you see the trend in Kano where urban garage publishers have taken over publishing business and publish themselves?

Times are hard. I support their experiment but disagree with their focus. They talk about foreign etiquettes – kissing, hugging, etc. Very unlike the Hausa way of life. Really, these young publishers have their functions but their presence is a reaction to the hard publishers. Yes, they may be rebellious because they have to survive. Again, I see their manifestation as protest against neo-colonialism where they have to rely on European publishers.

Is there any relationship between oral traditions and drama – the type you wrote?

Yes. The drama is a by-product of Hausa language and culture. It is written in Hausa. It talks about Hausa and how the Hausa society conducts itself. I have said before, I used karin magana (proverbs), habaici (sarcasm) and many other features of Hausa oral arts as spoken by the people.

I relied on common expressions of the day and somehow endeavoured to incorporate them into the plays. Besides, my main appeal is the "oral dispensation" because my audience is always by the radio box awaiting for more experiences. The two relate. I collect from the larger society. Fashion it into speeches to be read by various "actors" in the studio and is relayed to the public via the transmitter.

Sir, who are your contemporaries and associates?

I am surrounded by many age-mates even though many have died. And I don’t really grasp what you mean by contemporaries. Do you mean my friends? Those I interact with?

Yes.

Well, I am close to Alhaji Yahaya Gusau and Malam Ahmed Talib. We belong to the same generation and understand one another.

What about late Abubakar Imam?

We once worked at NORLA, and then I know other writers like Aminu Kano, Sa’adu Zungur and the like.

In what ways have your plays played any role in Hausa literature, language and culture?

You said it yourself. It has raised people’s consciousness. It served much more than a mirror by cautioning people about their behaviour. Indeed, without necessarily beating my drum, I must confess that my plays are household names, very popular and still command respect. I even tried to persuade Gaskiya, my publishers, to reprint because of the high demand but they claim that they don’t have money to do so. I am the first and only person to write and publish Hausa plays in northern Nigeria, and the nation at large.

So to date, my plays are in the school syllabus. They are studied in universities. May the soul of Ibrahim Yaro Yahaya rest in peace. One day he and Professor Dandatti Abdulkadir, while chatting with me, requested that I give talks so that they can record, transcribe into English and other international language so as to capture the essence of my existence in print for posterity purposes. I am happy that you come to me to inquire about my work because of what impression you had. Truly, only you people in the university can help resuscitate this sordid position of creative writing in Northern Nigeria. I am against self-promotion or even propaganda. It is cheapening to go into that. Really, I am happy that you were prompted to come to me on merit. I have never known you and vise versa. So, written works, like the oral, influence people because they deal with words, which affect ideas and beliefs.

Sir,what is your pastime?

I still write but not for the public. I talk to people. I am doing just that with you. I am still the person I like I consider myself a teacher. My simple dictum or philosophical belief is: "It is not what I want to do, but what I can do."

I farm, I interact with others. See this letter, I was recently appointed as a member of Board of Trustees, Kaduna State Emergency Relief Fund.