WHICH HUMANITY?

Which of your humanity are better than mine?

Or which of my humanity is better than yours?

Is the planet you inhabit not same as mine?

Is it the air you breathe different from mine?

Is your sky red or bluer than the sky I watch each morning?

Is your mother star and its satellite not the Sun and the moon?

Which of your humanity is better than mine?

Do you smile and laugh when you are happy just as I do?

Do you sneeze, cough and yawn just as I do?

Do you get angry, shed tears and weep just as I do?

Are you ever hungry?

Are you ever emotional?

Then which of your humanity is superior to mine?

In this sphere called Earth within the Milky Way

From far in the vastness of the universe

Our tiny planet earth is but a speck

All that is in it is our collective humanity

So your humanity is just like my own

My humanity is same as yours

My humanness is the same as yours

Madina 7/11/09

HOPE

For Abubakar Dandogo

Hope drives our wishes with whirl wheels

It keeps human spirit active and alive

It flies our dreams on its wings

Hope keeps us alive despite all odds

It rekindles our heart when its flames are dim

Hope keeps us going when we could have stopped

Hope gives us strength and reason to pursue dreams

Hope keeps us afloat and always anticipating the best.

Jiddah (11:10pm)

9/12/09

DOUBLE STANDARDS

For Richard Tellinghast

They shout of existential threat

Of their right to exist all the time

Yet, they are an existential threat

Denying others that right to exist

What kind of people are these?

Who see other people as not fit to live

They stole others' land and continue to steal

They occupy others' territories and continue to do so

They keep them under murderous siege

Denying them every basic necessity of life

No medicines. no schools not even clean water

No electricity, no building materials not even cherries

Yet, they shamelessly shout the song of freedom

They beat the drums of high moral values and standards

Where is freedom and where is morality?

Only Uncle Sam and his cronies could tell

They attack with full force at slightest provocation

They care not killing and maiming women and children

Not even the United Nations is spared of their madness

Yet the most powerful democracies world over are mute

Oh great powers, bear witness to the senseless killings

Bear witness to the arrogance of this murderous State

Bear witness to the flight of the innocent and powerless

And shall also bear witness to what injustice and inaction leads.

Kaduna, June 7 2010

Unceremonious Walk outs

When they walked out, they worked out their chances

That their action would bring other nations to their side

Instead, their walk out expose their utter helplessness

Telling the world that they are indeed not in control

It exposes their sorry state and puppet status

They walked out shamelessly because they are cowards

If not cowardice what else explain their action?

03/05/2010

LIST OF ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS

ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS

Peer reviewed journal articles and chapters in books and conference proceedings

Adamu, Y.M. (1996) ‘Distribution of Health Facilities in Urban Kano’ in Mala, M.M. Issues in Environmental Monitoring. Proceedings of the 39^th annual conference of the Nigerian Geographical Association held at the University of Maiduguri. (1996)

Adamu, Y.M. (2000) ‘The New Hausa Literary Movement’ West African Journal of Language, Literature and Culture, Volume 1 Number 2 (2000)

Adamu, Y.M. (2002) ‘The Development of Hausa Neologisms: The role of Urban Spaces’ Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of Hausa Language, Literature and Culture. Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University, Kano. (2002)

Adamu, Y.M. (1996) ‘Between the word and the screen: a historical perspective on HausA literary movement and home video invation’ Joural of African Cultural Studies, Vol. 15, No 2 December 2002, 203-213

Adamu, Y.M. (2003) ‘Health Place and Inequality: Distribution of Health facilities in Kano State’in Shitu M.B and Adamu, Y.M. (Ed) (2003) Studies on Inequality in Nigeria: A multi-disciplinary perspective. New Academia, Kano.

Adamu, Y.M. (2004) ‘Town and Gown: Bayero University and Its Environs’ in Jega, AM, Abba, IA, Wakili, H (Ed) (2004) Consolidating the Citadel, Bayero University Kano 1994-2004. Center for Democratic Research and Training, Kano

Adamu, Y.M. (2005) ‘Patterns of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in Kano State, A Geographical Analysis’. Journal of Social and Management Science, Volume : Special Edition 2005 pp. 196-221

Adamu, Y.M. (2003) Bulungudu: Space and Coinage in the Hausa Home Video Industry’ in Adamu,AU, Adamu, YM and Jibril, UF (ed) 2003 Hausa Home Video: Society Economy and Society. Centre for Hausa Cultural Studies, Kano.

Adamu, Y.M. (2006) ‘Presentation of Literature Review’ in Adamu, YM, Mohammed, H and Dandago KI (2006) Readings in Social Science Research, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Bayero University Kano. (Chapter 11)

Adamu, Y.M. (2006) ‘Learning and Scholarship in the Sokoto Caliphate: Legacies and Challenges’ Bobboyi, H and Yakubu AM (2006) The Sokoto Caliphate: History and Legacies 1804-2004, Arewa House, Ahmadu Bello University Kaduna (Volume Two, Chapter 23: pp.369-395)

Adamu, Y.M. (2007) ‘Attractions and Barriers to the Utilisation of Antenatal Care services in Urban Kano‘ Kano Studies, New Series 2007

Adamu, Y.M. (2008) ‘Maternal Health Issues in Kano Region” in Olofin E.A. et al (2008) Wudil in Kano Region: A Geographical Synthesis, Department of Geography, KUST, Wudil.

Adamu Y.M. Hamisu M. Salihu, Nalini Sathiakumar, Greg R. Alexander‘ Maternal mortality in Northern Nigeria: a population-based study’ European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology 109 (2003) 153-159

Adamu, YM and Salihu H.,‘Barriers to antenatal care and obstetric services in rural Kano State, Nigeria’. Obstetric and Gynaecology November 2002 Vol 22, No 6, 600-603

Adamu Y.M. and Liman, M.A (2003) ‘Kano in Time and Space: From a city to a metropolis’ in Hambolu M (ed) (2003) Perspectives on Kano-British Relations. Gidan Makama Museum, Kano.

Adamu, Y.M. and Dantata, U (2003)‘Hausa Oral and Written Expressions: The British Colonial Influence’ in Hambolu M (ed) (2003) Perspectives on Kano-British Relations. Gidan Makama Museum, Kano.

Adamu, Y.M. and Awaisu S, (2003) ‘Distribution of Health Facilities in Jigawa State’in Shitu M.B and Adamu, Y.M. (Ed) Studies on Inequality in Nigeria: A multi-disciplinary perspective. New Academia, Kano.

Adamu Y.M., Salihu, H, Aliyu, M.H and Aliyu Z.Y ‘Pregnancy-associated morbidity in Northern Nigeria. Journal of Obstetric and Gynaecology. Volume 24, Number 4, 367-371 June 2004

Adamu Y.M and Tanko A.I. ‘What is Where? Near or Far, Primary Geographer, October 2004, pp 18-21, The Geographical Association, UK

Adamu Y.M. and Liman, M.A (2005)‘Urbansation and Spatial Development of Urban Centres in Yakubu AM, Jumare IM, Saeed A.G. (ed) (2005) Northern Nigeria, a century of transformation, Arewa House, pp. 90- 99

Adamu Y.M and Radda, S.I. (2006) ‘Conceptual Framework in Social Scineces’ in Adamu, YM, Mohammed, H and Dandago KI Readings in Social Science Research, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Bayero University Kano. (Chapter 10)

Adamu Y.M and Umar Y.A (IN PRESS) ‘Riding Youths: A Preliminary Analysis of the Acaba Motorcyclists in Metropolitan Kano in Umar, B.A (forthcoming) (Ed) Issues on Youth.

Adamu, Y.M. (IN PRESS) ‘Youth in Informal Petroleum Distribution In Urban Kano: The Cuwa-Cuwa Phenomena, Umar, B.A (forthcoming) (Ed) Issues on Youth.

Academic books co-edited

Inequality in Nigeria: A Multidisciplinary Perspective (2003) New Academia, Bayero University, Kano. (With M.B Shitu)

Hausa Home Video: Technology, Economy and Society (2003) Center for Hausa Cultural Studies, Kano (With Adamu, A.U and Jibril, U.F)

Corporate Survival, Competitiveness and Consumer Satisfaction in Nigerian Industries (2005) Department of Business Administration, Bayero University, Kano (with Sagagi, MS)

Readings in Social Science Research, (2006) Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Bayero University Kano (With Mohammed, H and Dandago K.I)

Introduction to Social Sciences (2008) Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Bayero University Kano (with A.A. Adepoju & M.A. Yusuf)

Issues in Youth Development in Nigeria (forth coming) with Aliyu, BU and Dandago KI

Creative Works

Prose Fiction

Idan So Cuta Ne (1989) AJ Publishers, Kano, (Hausa novel)

Ummul-Khairi (2000) AJ Publishers, Kano (Hausa novella)

Kowaggyara (2005) A Daidaita Sahu, Kano (with Magaji Shitu & Yusuf Shehu) Collection of Hausa Short Stories

Maza Gumbar Dutse (2007) Gidan Dabino International (with UNESCO & Francaphonie)

Poetry

Litters (2000) AJ Publishers, Kano, (Collection of poems)

Pregnant Skies: Anthology of 50 Nigerian Poets (2003) AJ Publishers, Kano (Editor)

Landscapes of Reality (2007) AJ Publishers, Kano

Mazan Fara: ANA Zamfara Anthology of Poems and Short Stories, (2008) AJ Publishers, (Editor)

Children Literature

Butterfly and other poems (1995) AJ Publishers, Kano, (Children rhymes)

My first book of rhymes (1998) AJ Publishers, Kano, (Children rhymes)

Animals in the Neighbourhood (2007) AJ Publishers, Kano (Children’s book)

My Brief Biography

I recieved many emails from German students asking about my biography, I put a brief below.

Briefly, I was born on March 9 1968 in Katsina city northern Nigeria. My primary education was at Giginyu Primary school (in Kano State) and Secondary schools were at Government Secondary Schools Koko and Zuru (Kebbi State) upt 1985. My University education is a the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, (BSc Geography: 1990), The University of Ibadan (MSc Geography: 1994) and the Bayero University Kano (PhD Geography: 2004). I specialized in Medical Geography with special interest on Maternal health and I am currently an Associate Professor of Geography at the Bayero University Kano. My other research interests include cultural geography, spatial patterns of phenomena, socio-linguistics, and healthcare delivery. Find also above a list of some of my academic and literary publications.

MADINAH

Here I am in the living city of light
The city of the holy Prophet
On whom beAllah’s peace and blessings
Here I am watching a bright moon
Yet, the moon brightness was dimmed by his holiness

Oh my dear indescribable Madinah!
You have given me a rare opportunity
To meet all races of mankind
All colours of homo sapiens species
All professing one faith in one God
All longing the presence of Muhammad

I witness pilgrims weeping in reverence
For his presence is worth more than anything earthly
The benefector of mankind I salute you
No one has achieved as much as you in a mere
Two decades and three years!

Madinah (4/11/09)

MARRAKECH

For Judith Ann Walker

The gracious brick coloured city
Of traditional eminence and status
The grand city of dual splendour
Oriental golden enticement of tourists
Mid terrain between Africa and Europe

Marrakech! The red minaret of the Maghreb
Bride of the Mediterranean
And Atlas protected summer camp
Where horse cart battle engine wheels

Visitor’s fascination by your magnificence
Eternally startles me Marrakech
Marrakech, you are purely splendid!

Amani Hotel, Marrakech
September 25-26, 2009

KANO

Tradition and modernity
Inseparable like a mixture
Buy and sell
The city offers more
To engage in and more to marvel at
For saints
For sinners
For the active
For the dormant
It has a place for every one.

March 1998

BAMAKO

FOR MARTINE CHRISTIN

On one side stands the hill of power
On the other the light of learning
In between is a valley so they said
So calm and serene is the valley
That bears beautiful traditional face
And wears an elaborate colonial dress
A dual city of tradition and modernity
A duality that works perfectly that
One walks across space and time
As one walk through the streets of Bamako!
Grand Hotel September 29, 2006

GLOBAL VILLAGE

though we are all human
we are made to be different
by forces beyond our clout

yet they want remake us
in a new image of their choice
in a village too big to be safe

the world they now call
a single village in the globe
with a big brother to match

as long as we are second class
within that large village fashioned
we should not be subjected to
someone’s standards
someone’s culture
someone’s technology
someone’s understanding
someone’s world view
someone’s theories and concepts

they try hard in harder ways
to make us part of that village
but we know we are different
and shall strive to live outside
that fashioned unsafe village

May 7, 2001

GAZA*

What befall humanity that it keeps silent?
Gaza strip is turned into a concentration camp
Israelis are committing another Holocaust
A massacre and genocide is going on
Gruesome murder is being committed by Zionists
And world leaders are afraid to take action

In Gaza, human life is made so cheap by Zionism
The mighty American and European Empires
Are under the siege of global Zionism
Arab world leaders, gutlessly keep silence
More afraid to lose their political power than their brothers

The Israelis shamelessly justify their atrocities
They cowardly defend the killing of children
The murder of women and unarmed civilians
As if their lives are worth more than other lives
They are exposing their cruelty and inhumanity
Telling the world that saves them from Auschwitz to go hell
The world must stand against global Zionism
It is a monster that humanity must confront

But after all the hypocrisy life will go on in Gaza
The will of the people is tested but also strengthened
The Zionists are afraid of what tomorrow holds
They want to change the future with violence
But the future belongs to those who resist occupation
For Zionists are destined to fail for they are unjust

They will eventually leave Gaza, empty handed

January 8, 2009

Source: http://www.monde-magouilles.com/photos_guerre/gaza3.jpg


* Thanking Aljazeera International for keeping the free world informed

THE HOLOCAUST CARD

So Nazi Germany was cruel
Yes, the Nazis were brutal
They were barbaric and inhuman
Auschwitz camp was horrific
Men were reduced to numbers
Not only Jews were victims of Nazism
But anyone not Aryan in origin

For years since Auschwitz
The world became Semitic haven
The Jew is honoured by the human spirit
Spirit of rationality and brotherhood
No one dare say a word or act
That is capable of hurting the Jew
Or be labeled anti-Semitic
The West is at the forefront
The Jew is sacred, not profane.

Soon Zionists realized their strength
The Holocaust card can always be used
To do anything human or otherwise
Thus, Israel was born on borrowed land
Palestine was robed of its precious land
Let the Jews flood from all over earth
A new home for them is already secured
The Zionists are not satisfied anyway
The State of Israel must grow big and bigger

Then the Jews became “Chosen People”
Superior to the gentiles they met on the land
They became the Aryans of the Middle East
With a license to do whatever they want
Backed by a government with military might
The media they already control
The mighty dollar is under their guard
Even security agencies are in their hands

They have an open check to terrorize
They kill and maim the goyim
They steal their land and demolish their homes
They kill the goyim’s women and children
They imprisoned their able-bodied men
Their leaders are put under house arrest

They amass Weapons of Mass Destructions
That no other Middle East country can possess
Any attempt is met with the anger of their slaves
Yes, American sons are ready to fight their war
They can lay down their lives and honour for Israel
For if you dare speak against Israel you are doomed
The Holocaust card is potent with smear and label
The mark of Cain is the label of anti-Semitism
Zionists have conditioned the West to believe the myth

How I pitied the citizens of the mighty empire
Whose name is used to commit murder and theft
Whose taxes are used to protect criminals of war
Whose military might is used to justify unjust acts
Shamelessly in the name of freedom and democracy
Woe unto you the citizens of the empire
Your government's every act negates your creed
Transitory is military might in the history of man
Human spirit for freedom and justice cannot fail
Superpower status can even tomorrow be gone

Tell your emperor my dear citizens of the empire
The world is full of fear of his might
Yet, allow their resource and name be used for crimes
Tell your people it is time to stop the emperor
He is mad and his madness is too grave
He will destroy the empire or set its downfall
All the founding fathers toil will go without a fight
Tell your emperor the empire is at a brink
Of becoming a neo-Nazi of our time
Let him tell you the truth and stop telling lies
His wars are not for your protection but doom
His wars are for Zionists, the enemies of peace

And please tell Israel that the God of Abraham never sleeps
Let the good citizens of the empire rise up
Discard the Holocaust card or accept its crimes
Tell the emperor your son's lives are worth to live
You can fight for yourselves with every joy

But not for others who never appreciate your worth
Who spy on your home security and sell your secrets
Whose lobby hides under the Holocaust card
And your lads to die for their cause
And for you Israel, the land of the Jews
Remember how God has honoured you among men
Pay back with love and kindness and not with crimes
The Lord that dispersed you for your sins
Watches you committing them again and again
He does not sleep.

February 8, 2005

BLOODBATH IN JOS

Your natural landscapes are painted red again
Your cool and fresh weather heated by hatred
Your once open hands of brotherhood amputated
Your loving heart for love mutilated
Only hatred is sprouting from your once green soil
You have massacred women and children
As your leaders shamelessly watch with an approval nod
Their hands are full of blood of the innocents
Oh Jos! Oh Jos!! What befell you?

I heard that you hate settlers
But if I may ask the older settlers of the Plateau
Where were they when the settlers came?
Where were they when they settled?
Where were they when the settled toiled robustly at the mines?
Where were they when they built your so-called capital?
Were indigenes on the hills busy drinking burkutu?

I heard that you are becoming puritanical
I heard that what you want is a purely Christian State
Where no other creed or belief shall flourish
Could you be self sufficient in a nation of multiple faiths?
Can you afford to be isolated by other Nigerians who share other faiths?

The nation is sensing the shadow of puritanical paganism looming
The professed faith is loosing its clasp of your hearts
The love preached by Christ is gradually being battered by hatred

Oh Jos! You cannot go on like this
Those heartless butchers must be brought to book
And the spirit of those murdered shall keep them awake for eternity
Never again! The settlers have spoken!

December 13, 2008

THE WORLD AFTER BUSH

So the Bush era is ending
The chapters of his world order are closing
The Bush gospel is being discarded
The world under Emperor Bush has never been a green one
It was red, horrific, bloody
It is closing… closing for ever
Let the greenish lush of this brittle world return!

Kaduna
November 18, 2008

PALESTINE

Like the destruction of a tsunami
Like the devastation of a hurricane
So the world watches your occupation and destruction
So the world lives in denial and hypocrisy
That what happens in Palestine does not happen

But for how long would the world be suppressed?
For how long would the world practice denial?
Righting what it wronged all along?
No injustice thrive forever, no matter its might
The Holocaust and Nabka are sides of the same coin

Occupation shall certainly end
Your land is your land
Forceful occupation did not change that
Land grab remains land snatch
World powers’ cowardice cannot change that

Palestine is Palestine!
Your vine and olive shall grow again
Never allow Zionism to break your spirit
Never allow Uncle Sam’s criminal support
Kill your rainbow of dreams

Just as the world liberated the Jews from Auschwitz
So shall it liberate Palestine from global Zionism
It is just a matter of time!

Kano
September 30 2008

BARKA DA SALLAH

Barka da

Sallah

Eid

Mubarak

Happy

Sallah

Happy

Eid
Allah ya maimaita mana amin.

WMD & WMD

For GWB & TB

It is not about Weapons of Mass Destruction
It is about an emperor
Inflicted by War Mongering Disorder
It is about show of strength
Arrogance of power
It is about greed and
Postmodern neocolonialism

It is about misleading the public
“We must disarm him to douse our thirst”
At the expense the lives of women and children
They are expendable and not human enough
After all the High Priests have approved of it

The Emperor’s greed and arrogance
Is exposing the vision of his nation
The desire of your people
Who, though proclaimed freedom & democracy
In reality it is a tyranny it means
They have betrayed their call

My dear Emperor
Watch carefully where you put your step
Look back at the map of history
Many examples abound
Where injustice and greed
Destroys the fabric of civilization

My dear Monarch
The world is tired of your madness
Better understand bluntly
No power lasts forever,
All empires are destined to is to crumble
It is from the ashes and debris of old kingdoms
New ones will emerge

You are leading your people to madness
Proving your cowardice and racism
The world watches with interest
We shall see how the drama will unfold
You will not write the next history
History will write about you in blood
It is also watching and writing.

Kano
February 15, 2003

NEW FREEDOM

today’s world is enveloped
by the air of techo-aggression
shadows of hegemony are growing
freedom is being re-christened
the world techno-bullies are casting their nets
to catch the golden fishes planet-wide
in the dream of fashioning a new river in their image
to the high priests of new world order
freedoms means
abandoning all identities and creed
accepting new ‘fatwas’ from materialist priests
it means
agreeing with rednecks’ imperial hegemony
accommodating and legalizing acts of terror
by guns-and-money politics
destroying all resistance to self determination
new freedom means
believing in uncle sam’s wisdom
practicing big brother’s econometrics
but
it also means
the foolish is still dreaming

Birmingham AL
February 8, 2002

NEW IMPERIALISM

New economic models
+
Loans and debt servicing
+
Military coalitions
+
Hollywood stereotyping
+
Academic brainwashing
+
Mass media tyrant’s extravaganza
+
Psychological subjugation
+
Cultural redefinition
+
New conceptual paradigms
+
Labeling monopolisation
+
Covert this & that
=
New world order
~
N e w I m p e r i a l i s m
Birmingham AL
2001

THEY CAN SPEAK ENGLISH!

This article is a response to Corinna and subsequently many other German Students who want to know more about one of my poems titled THEY CAN SPEAK ENGLISH. It was Corinna who first ask some questions and I simply send the same response to all of them.

Corinna's email reads:

Hello Dr. Yusuf M.Adamu,
I'm from Germany and I'm 17 years old. In school we talk about your poem ,, They can speak English '' !
I have to do a presentation about it.
So I'have got some questions :
1. Why did you write this poem? What were your personal reasons ?
2.What do you think about English and England ?
3. Are you proud of your mothertongue and what is your mothertongue ?

I really hope you will answer my questions because it would help me alot !!!

Nice greetings from Germany !!!

Yours, sincery Corinna

My response:

1. Why did you write this poem? What were your personal reasons?

I wrote the poem in 1999 after reading another poem by Dollar Brand another African poet. Now I can’t remember what he wrote, but I can clearly remember why I wrote mine.

You see, in some parts of Nigeria, some people have taking English language to be a symbol of civilization and beyond that what makes one a full human being or a literate person or both. This opinion I did not share. But because of that perception, it becomes possible to stereotype some Nigerians whose pronunciation of certain English letters, seem to be wrong. For example, Hausa people in the north don’t have P , V and X in their letters, so most at times when they want to pronounce P, they actually pronounce F, for instance the word PEOPLE would be pronounced FEOFLE. This, makes Hausa speakers of English in Nigeria a laughing stoke by other Nigerians especially in the South. But, this does not mean that other Nigerians in the South, notably Yoruba and Ibo are any better. The Yorubas for example have problem when pronouncing A and H, somehow, the interchange them naturally. A Yoruba man will pronounce the word HEAD as EAD and the word HAND as AND, and so on and so forth. Our Ibo brothers have problem with pronunciation of the word THE, so they say DE instead of THE and the word MOTHER for example they pronounce it as MODA and so on and so forth.

Despite this, any person who cannot speak in English or read and write in English is seen by some as backward and illiterate, this is even if he can read and write in any other language. This is very annoying that some times I personally have to protest. For example, when people meet to celebrate weddings, at times English language is used as the language of communication, that prevents many from expressing their minds, so when I attend such gatherings I speak in Hausa language because that’s my language. That action always encourage other people to speak in the language without feeling bad.
In 1998, I went to the UK for an academic exchange program between my department (Geography) at the Bayero University Kano Nigeria and the School of African Studies at the University of Sussex , at Brighton . That was my first time of visiting Europe . It was during this visit that I realised that the English people are not worried about how I speak, whatever accent I have as long as I communicate, I also met other nationals who speak English in their accents, so I concluded that there is no English language, rather Englishes. So, why should any non native English speaker be more proud of the language than the native speakers. It therefore makes no sense to me that we take English language as a measure of success or civilization. My poem is therefore a reflection of these experiences.

It may surprise you to hear how my colleague and I suffered in a West African City of Abidjan from fellow Africans simply because we could not speak their colonial language of French. It was very annoying that I was coming from Kano in West Africa to Abidjan in the same region but my own brothers and sisters see me as different simply because I could not speak French. I have to tell them when they ask why that even the English language I was speaking was out of necessity, if I had chance, I would rather speak to them in Hausa which is the most widely spoken language in West Africa . It was shocking to see how the people of Abidjan takes the French language. That encounter led to the poem below.

ABIDJAN

Instead of staying for a while as transit
We were dumped by Bell view and rejected by Air Ivoire
In a land of elephants and lagoons
Of bare postcard breasts and fabulous women
A city where French language is sacred
And English could be seen as profane
Yet, Koumassi was pleasant with its baked chickens
And delicious Kef at Khamadi’s restaurant
The worshipers and the faithful abound
If not for those arrogant Air Ivoire women at the airport
Abidjan could have been a marvellous place


Grand Hotel, Bamako
(3:34pm) September 28, 2006.

2. What do you think about English and England ?

English language is today a global language. What was responsible for that include colonialism and neo-colonialism, imperialism and media. It dominates most languages in the world also because it is able to borrow and adapt new words and also because it is a language of business. But this does not make English the best language in the world, rather a powerful second language to millions. If I have choice, I would rather use my language in anything. Unfortunately, Nigeria was colonised by Britain and English is our official language, we were taught in it and we teach and do formal work in English at the detriment of our local languages. Still, English people and English speaking peoples have promoted their language through peaceful means and also through none peaceful means.

As for England , while there I visited London , Liverpool, Sven Sisters, Abury and the Stonehenge . So, I have seen their cities and country side, it is a beautiful country. I only feel that, Great Britain has not been fear to Africa , looking at what happened in the past and how things are happening today.
3. Are you proud of your mother tongue and what is your mother tongue ?

Of course yes Corinna. I am very proud of my mother tongue. Before I tell you more, I think I should first answer the other question attached to this. My mother tongue is Hausa. Hausa is a term used to describe a people and their language. A conservative estimate shows that there are over 40 million speakers of the language. It is the lingua franca of northern Nigeria and Southern Niger and is widely spoken in Benin , Burkina Faso , Ghana , Cameroon , Central Africa Republic , Chad , Sudan , Togo and Eritrea . It is the fastest growing literary language in Africa with over 200 women writing and publishing in the language. You can learn more about Hausa on the internet by searching through google.com and also from Deutsche Welle, where Hausa is one of the languages broadcast.

Now to my relationship with my mother tongue, I take my mother tongue so seriously that I was the only Social Science student learning Hausa language and literature at my first and second year during my undergraduate studies at the University. I was a member of the Hausa Cultural Society and rose to the rank of Secretary General. I ensure that I not only write in the language, but also promote its use. I have so far published 3 novels in Hausa language namely Idan So Cuta Ne, 1989 (literal: if love is a disease), Ummul-khairi, 1995 (mother of goodness) and Maza Gumbar Dutse, 2007 (Men are a cake of stone) and have finished the following which are now awaiting publishing Dukan Ruwa, 1988, Gumakan Zamani, 1992 and Son Zuciya Bacinta, 1987 (Hausa play). I personally teach my children to read and write in Hausa language and have been a leading Hausa author and promoter of Hausa literature. Very soon I would dedicate a blog to the teaching of Hausa language.

Well Corinna, this is what I am able to get for you. I hope it would be useful and hope you won’t mind if I share this with others on my blog in the near future. I wish you success and hope that we would keep in touch.
The poem, They can speak English is reproduced below:

They Can Speak English
(After Reading Dollar Brand's Western Influence)
red-eared mentogether brought us
to live as nations
their languageto us they introduced
with it we communicate officially
later we even think in it
mother tongues second classed
stereotyped
back benched
if you speak english
you are civilized
praised, recognizedand respected
but in england
my pronunciation they bother not
my grammar they care not
if only they could understand me
i communicated well
but why should a black-eared red-ear one
be so proud to speak english
even at the expense of mother tongue
be proud not because you speak english
be proud only if in your mother tongue
be it hausa ashante or berber
swahili masai or kwa zulu
sango ashante or arabic
you can think and
express your thought

July 23, 1999