Must the world see through a single eyes?
The eyes of the heartless oppressors
Who think their eyes are purer and sharper
They only see the other in otherness
And see themselves as the Centre of the Universe
If you don't see through their eyes
They labelled you blind!
But who are blind other then those blind to other's views?
Who could not see what the world sees
But what they always want to see.
23/09/09
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
TEARS FOR NORWAY
A peaceful country
A peaceful people
And a tragedy!
Cowardice of the highest order
Displayed the human-beast nature
This show of inhumanity is incomprehensible
How on Earth could this happened
In the World’s most peaceful democracy?
Our tears and our sorrow
Our heartfelt sympathy to Norway
To the families who lost loved ones
Whatever bad happens to man
Happens to all mankind!
August 2011
A peaceful people
And a tragedy!
Cowardice of the highest order
Displayed the human-beast nature
This show of inhumanity is incomprehensible
How on Earth could this happened
In the World’s most peaceful democracy?
Our tears and our sorrow
Our heartfelt sympathy to Norway
To the families who lost loved ones
Whatever bad happens to man
Happens to all mankind!
August 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Yusuf Adamu on Northern Nigerian Literature
Source: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5402598-146/story.csp
By Akintayo Abodunrin
Writing for the environment
The lecturer at the Bayero University, Kano, reflects his training as a geographer in his creative works because he "was trained to see things from the point of view of a social scientist and from the point of view of the environment which I believe is a balanced perspective. I also deliberately sometimes write on geographical issues, like the column I maintain in the Sunday Trust called ‘Places'. Each week, I publish a poem about a particular place and the picture of the place - since 2007," Adamu informs.
A former chairman of the Kano State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Adamu writes in English and Hausa languages. He writes poetry and children's books in English; but his published prose works - ‘Idan So Cuta Ne', Ummul-Khairi' and ‘Maza Gumabr Dutse', are in Hausa. He writes his poetry in English. "It's harder to write poetry in Hausa because there are so many rules and regulations guiding writing poetry in Hausa, unlike English which is liberal," he says.
Although a number of his prose fiction centre on the environment, Adamu says, "They are not specifically about the physical environment; they are about what we call the social environment. My first published work, for instance, is a love story. The second one is about the challenges facing Hausa Muslim women who go to university, and the last is about ancient times."
Worth of literature
Writers are regarded as agents of change and in spite of the fact that the late Abubakar Imam and Uthman Dan Fodio wrote on the themes of conservation, environmental degradation remains an issue in Nigeria. Does Adamu feel that this genre - and literature generally - are effective?
"It is effective in its own right but it is not functioning because people don't read. Literature will only be useful and influential if those who make policies read. But if they don't read, it won't make any difference. During Utman Dan Fodio's time, they used literature for their revolution, they used their religious writings but particularly, they used poetry to mobilise people and that way, Uthman Dan Fodio, his brother Abdulahi Fodio, his son Mohammed Bello and daughter Nana Asmau, all used poetry to actively bring about revolution in Hausaland. They wrote on the environment and on almost all human endeavours. They did it so well [that] they used it to mobilise society and teach and enlighten. Later on, Hausa writings used poetry in mobilisation, politics, and it worked. But the problem we are having now is when your leaders don't read, there is no way you can address them. This, however, doesn't stop you from writing."
Writing for children
Adamu writes for children because "I realised that in Nigeria and Africa, we don't write for children most of the time. We only write for adults because we feel if you write for children, other writers will perceive you as an unserious writer. But writing for children is even more important than writing for adults because writing for children is likely to have more influence on the future of society than writing for adults who are already grown and who have made up their minds.
"That's why I feel it is more important to write for children but in particular teach them about our environment so they know more about it. That's why I wrote ‘Animals in the Neighbourhood'. I did that because some children don't know certain domestic animals when they see them."
Southern writers' dominance of literature
The author of ‘Landscapes of Reality', a poetry collection, has his own take on the dominance of Southern writers in Nigerian literature. "I think it is luck. What is happening is that Nigerian literature in English is dominated by Southerners but if you talk about Nigerian literature, I'm sure there are more published people in the North. More people in the North write in Hausa rather than in English because they find it easier to express themselves in their own language. One interesting thing is that they have a very large market because I can assure you my Hausa books sell more copies than my English books.
When you write English books, people don't read but there is an established market within Nigeria and West Africa, even up to Central Africa, for Hausa books. So, they are making lots of impact. That is the real situation; it's just that there are more Southerners writing in English.
Adamu agrees, though, that Northern writers should be concerned that works from the South are being taken as representative of Nigerian literature when there is also a vibrant literary tradition in the North:
"Well, it should give them concern because it's good to have a representation of Nigeria and I think Northern branches of ANA are now making deliberate efforts to see that they train people. As you can see in the last two, five years, there have been more writers coming out from the North. But I think they are making deliberate efforts to promote writings in English", he says.
Censorship in Kano
The crisis between writers in Kano and the Kano State Censors Board last year generated a lot of controversy. This led Rabo Mohammed, chairman of the board, to explain the government's position to writers during their convention in Zamfara. Adamu, the first person to raise the alarm on the censorship, sets out the current position.
"If anything, we have signed a ceasefire. Things are better now because we now have an understanding with the Censorship Board and they have also changed their tactics. What they intended to do was to suppress us and we showed them that we are not filmmakers; they ridiculed the filmmakers and thought they could do that with writers but I think it is good that we actually showed them that writers are not like other categories of people."
On why the writers resolved to fight the board, Adamu says, "They were being unjust because we are working with what Uthman Dan Fodio said. He said that a society can endure unbelief but it cannot endure injustice and we felt that was injustice. Saying that you are going to censor what we are going to write? In fact, they want us even to get licence! As a writer, I cannot write in Kano until I have a licence to write and when I write I have to take it to them to censor and both the publisher and distributor also have to obtain licences. So we said no, this won't work. That's why we said this time around, we are not going to respect the constituted authority because it had also gone beyond its bounds."
On younger writers
The author of Pregnant Skies and My First Book of Rhymes is happy with the ascendancy of a new generation of writers in Nigeria. "I'm very happy with it. The only thing I'm not happy with is that the critics are still worshipping the first generation writers. That's my only worry," he says with a laugh.
Women hold the ace in Northern Nigeria literature
Adamu says the Soyaya (romantic story) trend in Hausa literature has been exhausted. "Soyaya is gone. People now mostly write about what I may call family life.
For example women, they are no longer writing about a boy falling in love with a girl. They are focussing on what is happening in the home, how women are treated. What is happening in the family is what people are writing about now in Hausa. And there is no name for it because even the Soyaya is a stereotype. What we feel we should call it is Hausa Popular Fiction."
The men are happy about this trend, he informs. "We have no option; the women have taken over, at least in Hausa literature now. The women have taken over, to be sincere. If a woman writes a book and publishes 5,000 copies, she will be out of stock soon but it's not the same with men. Maybe they write what the readers want."
Adamu agrees that women writers' decision to focus on the family is a reaction against cultural and religious practices in the North.
As for the men, "We are not [angry] because if you are a family man and you read the works, you will see what is true and what is exaggerated. I think women see this as a medium to express themselves and I think it is working because a lot of women are writing.
When you read, you will hear a lot of things which ordinarily you will not know are happening in the family and in the larger society."
By Akintayo Abodunrin
Writing for the environment
The lecturer at the Bayero University, Kano, reflects his training as a geographer in his creative works because he "was trained to see things from the point of view of a social scientist and from the point of view of the environment which I believe is a balanced perspective. I also deliberately sometimes write on geographical issues, like the column I maintain in the Sunday Trust called ‘Places'. Each week, I publish a poem about a particular place and the picture of the place - since 2007," Adamu informs.
A former chairman of the Kano State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Adamu writes in English and Hausa languages. He writes poetry and children's books in English; but his published prose works - ‘Idan So Cuta Ne', Ummul-Khairi' and ‘Maza Gumabr Dutse', are in Hausa. He writes his poetry in English. "It's harder to write poetry in Hausa because there are so many rules and regulations guiding writing poetry in Hausa, unlike English which is liberal," he says.
Although a number of his prose fiction centre on the environment, Adamu says, "They are not specifically about the physical environment; they are about what we call the social environment. My first published work, for instance, is a love story. The second one is about the challenges facing Hausa Muslim women who go to university, and the last is about ancient times."
Worth of literature
Writers are regarded as agents of change and in spite of the fact that the late Abubakar Imam and Uthman Dan Fodio wrote on the themes of conservation, environmental degradation remains an issue in Nigeria. Does Adamu feel that this genre - and literature generally - are effective?
"It is effective in its own right but it is not functioning because people don't read. Literature will only be useful and influential if those who make policies read. But if they don't read, it won't make any difference. During Utman Dan Fodio's time, they used literature for their revolution, they used their religious writings but particularly, they used poetry to mobilise people and that way, Uthman Dan Fodio, his brother Abdulahi Fodio, his son Mohammed Bello and daughter Nana Asmau, all used poetry to actively bring about revolution in Hausaland. They wrote on the environment and on almost all human endeavours. They did it so well [that] they used it to mobilise society and teach and enlighten. Later on, Hausa writings used poetry in mobilisation, politics, and it worked. But the problem we are having now is when your leaders don't read, there is no way you can address them. This, however, doesn't stop you from writing."
Writing for children
Adamu writes for children because "I realised that in Nigeria and Africa, we don't write for children most of the time. We only write for adults because we feel if you write for children, other writers will perceive you as an unserious writer. But writing for children is even more important than writing for adults because writing for children is likely to have more influence on the future of society than writing for adults who are already grown and who have made up their minds.
"That's why I feel it is more important to write for children but in particular teach them about our environment so they know more about it. That's why I wrote ‘Animals in the Neighbourhood'. I did that because some children don't know certain domestic animals when they see them."
Southern writers' dominance of literature
The author of ‘Landscapes of Reality', a poetry collection, has his own take on the dominance of Southern writers in Nigerian literature. "I think it is luck. What is happening is that Nigerian literature in English is dominated by Southerners but if you talk about Nigerian literature, I'm sure there are more published people in the North. More people in the North write in Hausa rather than in English because they find it easier to express themselves in their own language. One interesting thing is that they have a very large market because I can assure you my Hausa books sell more copies than my English books.
When you write English books, people don't read but there is an established market within Nigeria and West Africa, even up to Central Africa, for Hausa books. So, they are making lots of impact. That is the real situation; it's just that there are more Southerners writing in English.
Adamu agrees, though, that Northern writers should be concerned that works from the South are being taken as representative of Nigerian literature when there is also a vibrant literary tradition in the North:
"Well, it should give them concern because it's good to have a representation of Nigeria and I think Northern branches of ANA are now making deliberate efforts to see that they train people. As you can see in the last two, five years, there have been more writers coming out from the North. But I think they are making deliberate efforts to promote writings in English", he says.
Censorship in Kano
The crisis between writers in Kano and the Kano State Censors Board last year generated a lot of controversy. This led Rabo Mohammed, chairman of the board, to explain the government's position to writers during their convention in Zamfara. Adamu, the first person to raise the alarm on the censorship, sets out the current position.
"If anything, we have signed a ceasefire. Things are better now because we now have an understanding with the Censorship Board and they have also changed their tactics. What they intended to do was to suppress us and we showed them that we are not filmmakers; they ridiculed the filmmakers and thought they could do that with writers but I think it is good that we actually showed them that writers are not like other categories of people."
On why the writers resolved to fight the board, Adamu says, "They were being unjust because we are working with what Uthman Dan Fodio said. He said that a society can endure unbelief but it cannot endure injustice and we felt that was injustice. Saying that you are going to censor what we are going to write? In fact, they want us even to get licence! As a writer, I cannot write in Kano until I have a licence to write and when I write I have to take it to them to censor and both the publisher and distributor also have to obtain licences. So we said no, this won't work. That's why we said this time around, we are not going to respect the constituted authority because it had also gone beyond its bounds."
On younger writers
The author of Pregnant Skies and My First Book of Rhymes is happy with the ascendancy of a new generation of writers in Nigeria. "I'm very happy with it. The only thing I'm not happy with is that the critics are still worshipping the first generation writers. That's my only worry," he says with a laugh.
Women hold the ace in Northern Nigeria literature
Adamu says the Soyaya (romantic story) trend in Hausa literature has been exhausted. "Soyaya is gone. People now mostly write about what I may call family life.
For example women, they are no longer writing about a boy falling in love with a girl. They are focussing on what is happening in the home, how women are treated. What is happening in the family is what people are writing about now in Hausa. And there is no name for it because even the Soyaya is a stereotype. What we feel we should call it is Hausa Popular Fiction."
The men are happy about this trend, he informs. "We have no option; the women have taken over, at least in Hausa literature now. The women have taken over, to be sincere. If a woman writes a book and publishes 5,000 copies, she will be out of stock soon but it's not the same with men. Maybe they write what the readers want."
Adamu agrees that women writers' decision to focus on the family is a reaction against cultural and religious practices in the North.
As for the men, "We are not [angry] because if you are a family man and you read the works, you will see what is true and what is exaggerated. I think women see this as a medium to express themselves and I think it is working because a lot of women are writing.
When you read, you will hear a lot of things which ordinarily you will not know are happening in the family and in the larger society."
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Is the World United?
Today the world is united
Against the horrors in Libya
So said the prime minister
But is the world only united
When the oppressor is not a Super Power
Or its allies and friends?
Its allies in the Middle East are above the law
Whatever harm they cause or are causing
No matter how many thousands they killed
Or how many UN resolutions they ignore
The world refused to be united
What a shame and cowardice!
1/3/2011
Against the horrors in Libya
So said the prime minister
But is the world only united
When the oppressor is not a Super Power
Or its allies and friends?
Its allies in the Middle East are above the law
Whatever harm they cause or are causing
No matter how many thousands they killed
Or how many UN resolutions they ignore
The world refused to be united
What a shame and cowardice!
1/3/2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
WE ARE ALL EGYPTIANS TODAY
Mubarak Just Go, it is time
That’s what Egyptians are saying
But you don’t seem to understand
You can’t be like the sphinx
Whose term is timeless and endless
For like them, you are not a god
Let Egypt be! Please leave
It is time to walk off!
Today we are all Egyptians.
1/2/2011
11:05pm
That’s what Egyptians are saying
But you don’t seem to understand
You can’t be like the sphinx
Whose term is timeless and endless
For like them, you are not a god
Let Egypt be! Please leave
It is time to walk off!
Today we are all Egyptians.
1/2/2011
11:05pm
Saturday, January 29, 2011
LITTERS: A Review
By
Ismail Bala
Department of English and French
Bayero University, Kano
NOTE: This is a review of one of my earliest poetry collections Litters.
LITTERS IS A collection of about twenty-seven poems by a Geography lecturer and also a poet from Bayero University, Kano. Most of the poems are written between 1997 and 1999. They are not grouped into any discernible (thematic) parts, as such the collection as a whole reads as short excerpts of a fairly long poem written over a period of time; which assures us that there is a common thread to them all.
The poems are not only short, but are, as it were essentially “epigraphic”, in the sense that they are couched not only with an obvious awareness of `every day speech`, but also in their effort to re-energise the genre of poetry once more as a medium of public utterance that lends immediacy and accessibility to contemporary issues.
And perhaps it is this poetic immediacy that, apart from informing the poems also calls for the innovative way in which the collection is published. The poet- it is important to note- started an exciting experiment: what he called “Card Poetry Series”, whereby some selected (shorter) poems are printed in pocket-size glossy cards; which were later collected and published in the same format; (only that the book is a pocket size `pamphlet`).
The size, however, does not in any way belittle the collection’s bold attempt in giving a comprehensive, new picture of life in present day Nigeria. The political, the personal and the religious are uniquely taken on in a lucid style typical of the poet.
The opening poem “faith” tries to mirror faith in a variety of ways: as both a religious concept, and more importantly as a secularized, albeit psychologically and socially determined state of mind of an individual, and by extension the state of the country whose citizens are somewhat `irreligious`, having lost their faith and its ability to redeem their lives as it ought to do.
To the poet, faith is not necessarily a belief in the conventional context; rather it is the “smoothness of affairs/ freedom from want and worries”. It is no more than the “promises [sic] of the daybreak/ [which] gives us peace of mind”(6). When both the individual and the state reach this level of secular faith, a certain measure of spirituality is also reached, which is a realization: “the conviction that/ god exists/ gives us permanent peace” (ibid). The poem (may) only succeed in piling up images that are unconnected by any process of causality, or rationality; but just an arrangement in space- the page- and not as a successful narrative sequence. But this has benefited the reader in the sense that it forces one to explore it carefully, and in depth rather than just read it off quickly and supposedly gets the message.
Being a Geographer by training, the poet throughout the collection seeks to explore the intrinsic, often neglected relationship between literature and the environment. With verve and vigour, we are made to see what lies beneath this, and what it has to offer towards a fresh understanding of life.
With the rapid internationalization and the attendant globalization in the world there is an ever-increasing distortion and dis-orientation in the people’s (Nigerian) sense of place and/or belonging. One such consequence of this is the question often asked: “to what space/ place do we really belong? Am I a citizen of the world, the nation or the locality?
It is in this that the poem “geography” achieves significance as subsumed in its effort to offer a stable representation or what Edward Said would call maps of meaning with which making sense of the world becomes possible. The poem therefore tries to, in a subtle way, through what can be called `geographical imagination`, as Said would say, captures the dilemma of belonging, by attempting to answer the questions raised, and by so doing extends them. And it does so through the presentation of geography – not as a word which is a natural image of what it may means – but as a somewhat fixed and stable representation that would allow making sense of the world. The poet asks:
what is where?
here, there
somewhere
elsewhere
east, west
north, south
erosion, deposition
highland, lowland
mountains
plains
seas, rivers
ridges, valleys
forests, deserts
cities, villages (13).
And later affirms “where shall we be / if there is no geography?” Despite the overt emphasis on the physical and spatial entities, the poet’s imagined geography seeks to underscore the interdependence and intermingling of both people and places. And it is in this that his geography emerges as perhaps `an account` designed to immerse us both in space and time. But it fails to establish the fact often raised under the influence of post-structuralists and post-modern theory that the language we use to represent geography among other has not truthfully, (whatever that may mean) reflects that geography. Here the poet is also a Geographer who attempts to reveal or uncover the truth of the world, without shifting attention to ways in which language is used to construct and constitute the world. In “Geography” the concept and the discipline are after all construction with all the attendants’ rhetorical features.
From such poems as “ancient egypt”, “history”, “truth” to “litters” (the title poem), “fuel scarcity” and “hope”, the poet restricts himself to the free verse style, as indeed in the rest of the collection for an effect. This is seen in his marked simplicity, which at the same time does not betray his calling as a poet very much conscious of his art and its possible effect.
Litters is not only about geographical meaning mapping, it is also about what I would call excessive poeticism: there is no capitalization throughout the book; not even in the titles of the poems for no clear reason. This practice appears poetic somehow, but apparently it serves no clear function, stylistic or otherwise: it makes no change to the poems other than to make them look different and probably draw attention to themselves.
Yet Litters is surely going to – if not anything- litters the Nigerian literary landscape with new leaves, the blooming of which would perhaps be enough evidence to show the level to which exciting new trends of both poetry writing and publishing are taking shape. It is indeed a compendium of various leaves whose variety and virtuousness call for attention.
Ismail Bala
Department of English and French
Bayero University, Kano
NOTE: This is a review of one of my earliest poetry collections Litters.
LITTERS IS A collection of about twenty-seven poems by a Geography lecturer and also a poet from Bayero University, Kano. Most of the poems are written between 1997 and 1999. They are not grouped into any discernible (thematic) parts, as such the collection as a whole reads as short excerpts of a fairly long poem written over a period of time; which assures us that there is a common thread to them all.
The poems are not only short, but are, as it were essentially “epigraphic”, in the sense that they are couched not only with an obvious awareness of `every day speech`, but also in their effort to re-energise the genre of poetry once more as a medium of public utterance that lends immediacy and accessibility to contemporary issues.
And perhaps it is this poetic immediacy that, apart from informing the poems also calls for the innovative way in which the collection is published. The poet- it is important to note- started an exciting experiment: what he called “Card Poetry Series”, whereby some selected (shorter) poems are printed in pocket-size glossy cards; which were later collected and published in the same format; (only that the book is a pocket size `pamphlet`).
The size, however, does not in any way belittle the collection’s bold attempt in giving a comprehensive, new picture of life in present day Nigeria. The political, the personal and the religious are uniquely taken on in a lucid style typical of the poet.
The opening poem “faith” tries to mirror faith in a variety of ways: as both a religious concept, and more importantly as a secularized, albeit psychologically and socially determined state of mind of an individual, and by extension the state of the country whose citizens are somewhat `irreligious`, having lost their faith and its ability to redeem their lives as it ought to do.
To the poet, faith is not necessarily a belief in the conventional context; rather it is the “smoothness of affairs/ freedom from want and worries”. It is no more than the “promises [sic] of the daybreak/ [which] gives us peace of mind”(6). When both the individual and the state reach this level of secular faith, a certain measure of spirituality is also reached, which is a realization: “the conviction that/ god exists/ gives us permanent peace” (ibid). The poem (may) only succeed in piling up images that are unconnected by any process of causality, or rationality; but just an arrangement in space- the page- and not as a successful narrative sequence. But this has benefited the reader in the sense that it forces one to explore it carefully, and in depth rather than just read it off quickly and supposedly gets the message.
Being a Geographer by training, the poet throughout the collection seeks to explore the intrinsic, often neglected relationship between literature and the environment. With verve and vigour, we are made to see what lies beneath this, and what it has to offer towards a fresh understanding of life.
With the rapid internationalization and the attendant globalization in the world there is an ever-increasing distortion and dis-orientation in the people’s (Nigerian) sense of place and/or belonging. One such consequence of this is the question often asked: “to what space/ place do we really belong? Am I a citizen of the world, the nation or the locality?
It is in this that the poem “geography” achieves significance as subsumed in its effort to offer a stable representation or what Edward Said would call maps of meaning with which making sense of the world becomes possible. The poem therefore tries to, in a subtle way, through what can be called `geographical imagination`, as Said would say, captures the dilemma of belonging, by attempting to answer the questions raised, and by so doing extends them. And it does so through the presentation of geography – not as a word which is a natural image of what it may means – but as a somewhat fixed and stable representation that would allow making sense of the world. The poet asks:
what is where?
here, there
somewhere
elsewhere
east, west
north, south
erosion, deposition
highland, lowland
mountains
plains
seas, rivers
ridges, valleys
forests, deserts
cities, villages (13).
And later affirms “where shall we be / if there is no geography?” Despite the overt emphasis on the physical and spatial entities, the poet’s imagined geography seeks to underscore the interdependence and intermingling of both people and places. And it is in this that his geography emerges as perhaps `an account` designed to immerse us both in space and time. But it fails to establish the fact often raised under the influence of post-structuralists and post-modern theory that the language we use to represent geography among other has not truthfully, (whatever that may mean) reflects that geography. Here the poet is also a Geographer who attempts to reveal or uncover the truth of the world, without shifting attention to ways in which language is used to construct and constitute the world. In “Geography” the concept and the discipline are after all construction with all the attendants’ rhetorical features.
From such poems as “ancient egypt”, “history”, “truth” to “litters” (the title poem), “fuel scarcity” and “hope”, the poet restricts himself to the free verse style, as indeed in the rest of the collection for an effect. This is seen in his marked simplicity, which at the same time does not betray his calling as a poet very much conscious of his art and its possible effect.
Litters is not only about geographical meaning mapping, it is also about what I would call excessive poeticism: there is no capitalization throughout the book; not even in the titles of the poems for no clear reason. This practice appears poetic somehow, but apparently it serves no clear function, stylistic or otherwise: it makes no change to the poems other than to make them look different and probably draw attention to themselves.
Yet Litters is surely going to – if not anything- litters the Nigerian literary landscape with new leaves, the blooming of which would perhaps be enough evidence to show the level to which exciting new trends of both poetry writing and publishing are taking shape. It is indeed a compendium of various leaves whose variety and virtuousness call for attention.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Building Bridges
So J William Fulbright had a vision
Friendship of nations shall be based on knowledge
Bright students and scholars of other nations to America come
Bright American students and scholars to other nations go
Move freely to share your knowledge and ideals
Share the fruits of human learning over the centuries
Thus we found ourselves here in the US
From all nations, cultures, races and creeds
Sharing the Fulbright badge, sharing humanity
We came to Houston and housed friendship
We discussed, listened to one another and learnt
At Rodeo we even produced Cowboys
Knowledge and ideas exchanged
Friendships evolved and matured within hours
New bridges of understanding constructed
Strong pillars of friendship and trusts erected
We are diverse yet united for common good
This Fulbright microcosm epitomized friendship
Symbolizes the best humanity could offer
God bless Fulbright for his visions
God bless Fulbrighters for implementing the vision
God bless us all
Houston
March 2 2002
This poem was read by six Fulbrghters at the Houston conference of March 2002,
each from the six inhabited continents, it was a memorable experience I still cherish.
Friendship of nations shall be based on knowledge
Bright students and scholars of other nations to America come
Bright American students and scholars to other nations go
Move freely to share your knowledge and ideals
Share the fruits of human learning over the centuries
Thus we found ourselves here in the US
From all nations, cultures, races and creeds
Sharing the Fulbright badge, sharing humanity
We came to Houston and housed friendship
We discussed, listened to one another and learnt
At Rodeo we even produced Cowboys
Knowledge and ideas exchanged
Friendships evolved and matured within hours
New bridges of understanding constructed
Strong pillars of friendship and trusts erected
We are diverse yet united for common good
This Fulbright microcosm epitomized friendship
Symbolizes the best humanity could offer
God bless Fulbright for his visions
God bless Fulbrighters for implementing the vision
God bless us all
Houston
March 2 2002
This poem was read by six Fulbrghters at the Houston conference of March 2002,
each from the six inhabited continents, it was a memorable experience I still cherish.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Writer’s block? I had it the day my computer crashed
This interview was published in Nigeria's newspaper THE SUN on Tuesday, April 3, 2007
It was conducted by SEGUN AJAYI
Dr. Yusuf Adamu is a geographer cum writer. According to the immediate past Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Writers (ANA), Kano State Chapter, there exists a strong link between Literature and Geography that cannot be wished away.
The university lecturer is also a culture activist having kick-started his writing career in Hausa language before returning to English. Although the poet realises that it is more lucrative to write in Hausa than English, in Kano, Adamu believes it is time writers of northern extraction are exposed to modern ways of writing.
In his candid assessment of the standard of literature in Kano particularly, the writer reveals that women are having an upper hand because they write in vernacular and in the process turn out larger volumes than their male counterparts. He speaks on the challenges of creative writing in northern Nigeria, his works, publishing and how he once lied that he had writer’s block the day his computer crashed.
Background
I have two identities. My father hails from Zamfara State, while my mother is from Katsina. I was born in Katsina but grew up in Kano. Officially, I claim Zamfara State.
I had my first degree in Geography, in 1990 from Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto. In 1994, I bagged a Masters degree from the University of Ibadan and a PhD from Bayero University, Kano in 2003. I am a medical geographer and I wrote my PhD desertation on maternal mortality. I have been teaching in the Department of Geography at the Bayero University since 1995.
Between Geography and Literature
On account of my interest in writing, I have introduced a course in my department called Cultural Geography which addresses the issue of literature, popular culture, and how they relate to Geography. There are connections between the two subjects. In literature, you write about people, yet the people do not exist in vaccum. There are people in places and in Literature, we write about places.
But, most of the information we gather about places are not even contained in the atlas or regional geography textbooks. Rather they are contained in novels. So that’s how Geography is closely related to Literature.
Writing career
I had my first contact with Literature when I was in the secondary school. I started writing short stories even when I was in the primary school. Actually, I started serious writing in 1983 when I wrote my first Hausa novel. The book is yet to be published because when I read it over, I realised that I needed to re-write it. Later, I wrote a number of novels like Dukan Ruwa which won the northern Nigerian Literary Prize in 1990. It is the story of a family which endured the normal family and economic problems. Essentially, the story teaches patience and perseverance.
After that, I wrote another novel in Hausa in 1989. It was after that experience that I ventured into writing in English. I’ve written two collection of poems for children. The first one is entitled Butterfly and Other Poems, and My First Book of Rhymes. After that, I published another collection of poems after which I returned to writing in Hausa. I published Ummul Khairi. The book is about the challenges of education. I realised that whether we like it or not, the Hausa muslims have to be educated in the modern way.
However, the book is a kind of compromise between tradition and modernity. The next book I published was an anthology of poems. I ensured that I covered the entire country in my choice of poets. I hope to release another collection which I wrote in 1997 entitled Landscape of Reality, and a collection of political poems. These are the works I hope to release soon. I’m also working on another collection which will be a link between my literary interest and my training as a geographer. It is expected to be a collection of poems about places, towns and cities in Nigeria and other areas of the world. The book will be entitled Places and would be accompanied with photographs and maps.
Why I write in Hausa
I started writing in Hausa because the books that inspired me to write were written in Hausa. A lot of people in the Northern part of the country read Hausa. So it was a good medium to put my messages across.
Inspiration
Normally, I write when something happens. Each poem I wrote has a story behind it.
Messages
The most important of my messages is the accessibility of my poems. Considering the fact that poetry is not a popular genre, I have tried to make it accessible. For instance, I have written about happiness, mathematics, globalsation, politics and so on.
When I write
I don’t have a particular time for writing. Even if I am going to write an examination and the inspiration comes, I will write. But when the inspiration is not forthcoming, I will not be able to do it.
Process of writing
It begins with an idea; then the presentation of the idea in the best way. Whenever an idea comes, I’ll put it down on paper.
Challenges of writing
The first challenge is that Nigerians hardly read. When I started writing for children, I was so excited because I was contributing something new. In Northern Nigeria, there are few poets that write in English. So, I told myself that I wanted to write something that will be relevant to the environment. But when I took the books to the education ministry, there ensued a long drama. When I took the works to schools, they would either tell me that the books are too expensive or give me the excuse that the schools were on mid-term break. Eventually, I gave copies of the book free-of-charge to the schools and that gave me some satisfaction.
Publishing
The solution to the problem is involving members of our generation in publishing. I run a small publishing outfit and I published my works through that medium.
Writer’s block
I suffer from it. In fact, I wrote a poem on that. In ANA, Kano chapter, we hold our monthly readings. On one of such days, my computer crashed and I had all my materials stocked in the system. I then told my fellow writers at the reading that I could not remember any of the poems that I had to present at the reading off-hand. But because I had to present something, I came up with the excuse that I had writer’s block. There is a book that I have almost completed work on, but I am no longer interested in the work. That is another manifestation of writer’s block.
Advice to upcoming writers
As most people advise, upcoming writers should be patient and be willing to get their works criticised by others before rushing to the press. For example, when I write, the first people that will read them are my younger brothers and sisters. After that, I’ll give it to others. Secondly, they should write stories that are relevant to the society. I don’t subscribe to writing-for-writing-sake. People should treat topical issues that will be relevant to the development of the society.
Feedback
I have published a few poems on the internet and I received responses from people. One of my poems was published in Germany. There is also a book titled Cultures which is a high school English textbook. I posted it on a website called globalisation. Later the book was published and the publisher contacted me and sent me one hundred euros. Unfortunately, the money got stocked in a distressed bank.
Reward for writing
There is no financial reward for writing in this part of the world. For instance, most of my works have been broadcast on radio and I know that they have made great impact. My books in Hausa have sold up to 20,000 copies, but for the English books, I have not sold up to 100 copies.
Self-publishing
This can be good if there are good editors. If you take your works to a printer, the printer will reproduce them the way you gave them to him. Whoever must do self-publishing must have good editors. Manuscripts can’t wait for ever at Heineman, Longman, Spectrum and others but the books must be well edited.
Literature in Kano
To do that, you have to consider literature at two levels; Hausa and English. Literature in Hausa has gone far in Kano because of the dominance of writers who write in Hausa. In Kano for instance, there are more literary works being published by women. And it has become a phenomenon. The significance of this is that, women buy more books than men in Kano.
The only problem is that the quality is not as good as we expect it to be. But because we have a monthly writers’ forum in Hausa, and workshops, the quality is improving and the volumes are increasing. People come from far and near to buy Hausa books. But as for English texts, people write more of poetry. However, the major problem we face here is that people are not able to publish their works.
Source: http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/how/2007/apr/how-03-04-2007-001.htm
It was conducted by SEGUN AJAYI
Dr. Yusuf Adamu is a geographer cum writer. According to the immediate past Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Writers (ANA), Kano State Chapter, there exists a strong link between Literature and Geography that cannot be wished away.
The university lecturer is also a culture activist having kick-started his writing career in Hausa language before returning to English. Although the poet realises that it is more lucrative to write in Hausa than English, in Kano, Adamu believes it is time writers of northern extraction are exposed to modern ways of writing.
In his candid assessment of the standard of literature in Kano particularly, the writer reveals that women are having an upper hand because they write in vernacular and in the process turn out larger volumes than their male counterparts. He speaks on the challenges of creative writing in northern Nigeria, his works, publishing and how he once lied that he had writer’s block the day his computer crashed.
Background
I have two identities. My father hails from Zamfara State, while my mother is from Katsina. I was born in Katsina but grew up in Kano. Officially, I claim Zamfara State.
I had my first degree in Geography, in 1990 from Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto. In 1994, I bagged a Masters degree from the University of Ibadan and a PhD from Bayero University, Kano in 2003. I am a medical geographer and I wrote my PhD desertation on maternal mortality. I have been teaching in the Department of Geography at the Bayero University since 1995.
Between Geography and Literature
On account of my interest in writing, I have introduced a course in my department called Cultural Geography which addresses the issue of literature, popular culture, and how they relate to Geography. There are connections between the two subjects. In literature, you write about people, yet the people do not exist in vaccum. There are people in places and in Literature, we write about places.
But, most of the information we gather about places are not even contained in the atlas or regional geography textbooks. Rather they are contained in novels. So that’s how Geography is closely related to Literature.
Writing career
I had my first contact with Literature when I was in the secondary school. I started writing short stories even when I was in the primary school. Actually, I started serious writing in 1983 when I wrote my first Hausa novel. The book is yet to be published because when I read it over, I realised that I needed to re-write it. Later, I wrote a number of novels like Dukan Ruwa which won the northern Nigerian Literary Prize in 1990. It is the story of a family which endured the normal family and economic problems. Essentially, the story teaches patience and perseverance.
After that, I wrote another novel in Hausa in 1989. It was after that experience that I ventured into writing in English. I’ve written two collection of poems for children. The first one is entitled Butterfly and Other Poems, and My First Book of Rhymes. After that, I published another collection of poems after which I returned to writing in Hausa. I published Ummul Khairi. The book is about the challenges of education. I realised that whether we like it or not, the Hausa muslims have to be educated in the modern way.
However, the book is a kind of compromise between tradition and modernity. The next book I published was an anthology of poems. I ensured that I covered the entire country in my choice of poets. I hope to release another collection which I wrote in 1997 entitled Landscape of Reality, and a collection of political poems. These are the works I hope to release soon. I’m also working on another collection which will be a link between my literary interest and my training as a geographer. It is expected to be a collection of poems about places, towns and cities in Nigeria and other areas of the world. The book will be entitled Places and would be accompanied with photographs and maps.
Why I write in Hausa
I started writing in Hausa because the books that inspired me to write were written in Hausa. A lot of people in the Northern part of the country read Hausa. So it was a good medium to put my messages across.
Inspiration
Normally, I write when something happens. Each poem I wrote has a story behind it.
Messages
The most important of my messages is the accessibility of my poems. Considering the fact that poetry is not a popular genre, I have tried to make it accessible. For instance, I have written about happiness, mathematics, globalsation, politics and so on.
When I write
I don’t have a particular time for writing. Even if I am going to write an examination and the inspiration comes, I will write. But when the inspiration is not forthcoming, I will not be able to do it.
Process of writing
It begins with an idea; then the presentation of the idea in the best way. Whenever an idea comes, I’ll put it down on paper.
Challenges of writing
The first challenge is that Nigerians hardly read. When I started writing for children, I was so excited because I was contributing something new. In Northern Nigeria, there are few poets that write in English. So, I told myself that I wanted to write something that will be relevant to the environment. But when I took the books to the education ministry, there ensued a long drama. When I took the works to schools, they would either tell me that the books are too expensive or give me the excuse that the schools were on mid-term break. Eventually, I gave copies of the book free-of-charge to the schools and that gave me some satisfaction.
Publishing
The solution to the problem is involving members of our generation in publishing. I run a small publishing outfit and I published my works through that medium.
Writer’s block
I suffer from it. In fact, I wrote a poem on that. In ANA, Kano chapter, we hold our monthly readings. On one of such days, my computer crashed and I had all my materials stocked in the system. I then told my fellow writers at the reading that I could not remember any of the poems that I had to present at the reading off-hand. But because I had to present something, I came up with the excuse that I had writer’s block. There is a book that I have almost completed work on, but I am no longer interested in the work. That is another manifestation of writer’s block.
Advice to upcoming writers
As most people advise, upcoming writers should be patient and be willing to get their works criticised by others before rushing to the press. For example, when I write, the first people that will read them are my younger brothers and sisters. After that, I’ll give it to others. Secondly, they should write stories that are relevant to the society. I don’t subscribe to writing-for-writing-sake. People should treat topical issues that will be relevant to the development of the society.
Feedback
I have published a few poems on the internet and I received responses from people. One of my poems was published in Germany. There is also a book titled Cultures which is a high school English textbook. I posted it on a website called globalisation. Later the book was published and the publisher contacted me and sent me one hundred euros. Unfortunately, the money got stocked in a distressed bank.
Reward for writing
There is no financial reward for writing in this part of the world. For instance, most of my works have been broadcast on radio and I know that they have made great impact. My books in Hausa have sold up to 20,000 copies, but for the English books, I have not sold up to 100 copies.
Self-publishing
This can be good if there are good editors. If you take your works to a printer, the printer will reproduce them the way you gave them to him. Whoever must do self-publishing must have good editors. Manuscripts can’t wait for ever at Heineman, Longman, Spectrum and others but the books must be well edited.
Literature in Kano
To do that, you have to consider literature at two levels; Hausa and English. Literature in Hausa has gone far in Kano because of the dominance of writers who write in Hausa. In Kano for instance, there are more literary works being published by women. And it has become a phenomenon. The significance of this is that, women buy more books than men in Kano.
The only problem is that the quality is not as good as we expect it to be. But because we have a monthly writers’ forum in Hausa, and workshops, the quality is improving and the volumes are increasing. People come from far and near to buy Hausa books. But as for English texts, people write more of poetry. However, the major problem we face here is that people are not able to publish their works.
Source: http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/how/2007/apr/how-03-04-2007-001.htm
Friday, October 1, 2010
A New Poetry Book
Yusuf Adamu’s third collection of poems, his first since Landscapes of Reality (2008), shows him working on a new territory that extends from the politics of language to the question of geography in poetic imagination. Grand, great, as graceful as they are grounded, these poems seem intent on evincing a take on everything: from the veracity and virtue of English language to geopolitics and gender. At the centre of the book’s concern is a kind of a displaced and subtle “elegy” for Nigeria’s miscarried dream and hope, and that elegiac tone permeates the whole book. As W. H. Auden would say: a born poet always looks absolutely natural.
“Yusuf Adamu is indeed a true poet in the mould of Wordsworth and Walcott. Poem after poem, he has an identifying personal tone, a sort of Muse-tainted uniqueness which, in a way, is almost independent of what it portends. The magnitude of his achievement in this collection appears more stunning. They can Speak English quite easily proves why Yusuf Adamu may well have been the most original poet of his generation. Every discerning reader who reads the poems collected here will be delighted by his linguistic subtleties, for he follows the lead of both Brand and Brutus, dazzling in many of the display of imageries that they partake in”.
Ismail Bala
Poet, Critic and Lecturer
Department of English and French, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria
Independence Day Celebrations
As a kid in the years gone by
The nation and we are eager for that day
October first of every year
For our nation is moving forward
Progress is sprawling everywhere
Suddenly the boys stroke and took over
That we move backwards backsliding
Everything in the land made a commodity
Corruption laid sway on the land
Inequality ascends into supremacy
The national purse pauperized by rats
Should my children celebrate October 1st?
Of course yes, I reasoned
It is our nation’s birthday
But looking at where we are today
How our lives are frozen by inaction
How backward we moved over the years
Love for country is questioned
My loyalty too is being questioned
Has my nation done enough…
To deserve my congratulations on its birthday?
September 30, 1999
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
WHEN THEY BURN THE KORAN
America of the brave and the just
America of the free and the independent
And oh dear! America of the Koran burners
When the ashes of hatred are dusted
The wave of Islamaphobia will drain out
Majority American rather read the Koran
From among them shall raise believers
Who will bring America from darkness
And free it from the shackles of ignorance
There shall be a new community
Who shall discover true Islam
Not the Islam of media ranting
But that practiced by Muhammad (PBUH)
The world shall be watered by love
The true spirit of Islam is descending
On the God’s own country in God’s own time
Islam has come to America
America will accept Islam whole heartedly
America shall read the Qur’an.
September 14 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
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
Monday, June 7, 2010
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
Monday, May 3, 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
Friday, January 22, 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
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,
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) ‘
Adamu, Y.M. (2004) ‘Town and Gown:
Adamu, Y.M. (2005) ‘Patterns of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in
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,
Adamu, Y.M. (2006) ‘Presentation of Literature Review’ in Adamu, YM, Mohammed, H and Dandago KI (2006)
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
Adamu, Y.M. (2008) ‘Maternal Health Issues in Kano Region” in Olofin E.A. et al (2008) Wudil in
Adamu Y.M. Hamisu M. Salihu, Nalini Sathiakumar, Greg R. Alexander‘ Maternal mortality in
Adamu, YM and Salihu H.,‘Barriers to antenatal care and obstetric services in rural
Adamu Y.M. and Liman, M.A (2003) ‘
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.
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 Kano
Adamu Y.M., Salihu, H, Aliyu, M.H and Aliyu Z.Y ‘Pregnancy-associated morbidity in
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)
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
Academic books co-edited
Inequality in
Hausa Home Video: Technology, Economy and Society (2003) Center for Hausa Cultural Studies,
Corporate Survival, Competitiveness and Consumer Satisfaction in Nigerian Industries (2005) Department of Business Administration,
Introduction to Social Sciences (2008) Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Bayero University
Issues in Youth Development in
Creative Works
Prose Fiction
Idan So Cuta Ne (1989) AJ Publishers,
Ummul-Khairi (2000) AJ Publishers,
Kowaggyara (2005) A Daidaita Sahu,
Maza Gumbar Dutse (2007) Gidan Dabino International (with UNESCO & Francaphonie)
Poetry
Litters (2000) AJ Publishers,
Pregnant Skies: Anthology of 50 Nigerian Poets (2003) AJ Publishers,
Landscapes of Reality (2007) AJ Publishers,
Mazan Fara: ANA Zamfara Anthology of Poems and Short Stories, (2008) AJ Publishers, (Editor)
Children Literature
Butterfly and other poems (1995) AJ Publishers,
My first book of rhymes (1998) AJ Publishers,
Animals in the Neighbourhood (2007) AJ Publishers,
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