Since it was established in 2017, the Kaduna Book and Arts Festival has been the melting pot for creative Nigerians within and outside Nigeria. This year was no exception as the crème la crème in the art industry converged for another fiesta.
Artists and creative minds from the nooks and crannies of Northern Nigeria converged on Kaduna to showcase their talents and also witness the various displays put up at the 4th edition of the Kaduna Book and Arts Festival (KABAFEST).
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Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the 4-day event featured various creative minds and ideas including poets, writers, dancers, musicians and artists.
The event also featured a special performance from a Nigerian artist, Jordan Bangoji. The 22-year-old writer, singer and performer was among the top 12 contestants on the Nigerian Idol season 7 in 2022.
The governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-rufai, disclosed that the idea for KABAFEST was conceived after he attended the Ake Festival in Abeokuta and thought it would be beneficial to many creative minds in Northern Nigeria.
The festival is among the largest art event in Northern Nigeria, and annually attracts art and literacy lovers in Kaduna State to engage in a variety of activities.
Daily Trust on Sunday recalls that the festival’s first edition which was held in 2017 was headlined by Sudanese author and inaugural Caine Prize Winner, Leila Aboulela, and featured over 50 writers, artists, actors, poets and performers from around the world.
Our correspondent further reports that the 2022 edition of the festival which was held from Wednesday, 14th September 2022 to Saturday, 17th September 2022 had an extensive line-up of 72 guests and over 500 attendees including Umar Turaki, Uchenna Emelife, TJ Benson, Bisi Adjapon, Hauwa Slaeh, Leye Adenle, Richard Ali, Sasa Malumfashi, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim and Abdulkareem Baba Aminu, among others.
The guests were treated to a variety of poetry, music, art fair, panel discussions, book chats, balangu night, dance performances, breakfast events, Northern delights, a taste of Lebanon, film screenings and discussions.
Daily Trust on Sunday reports that there were nine-panel discussions on very key topics including Kannywood: Film as a Vehicle for Social Change; Almajiranci and improving literacy across Nigeria; Sexual Harrassment: A Silent Epidemic; the pressure of sexual performance; improving literacy across Northern Nigeria and managing cultural event in Northern Nigeria.
Others were, towards sustainable peace in northern Nigeria, women and effective leadership in northern Nigeria and rebuilding cosmopolitan cities in northern Nigeria.
In his opening remarks at the welcome ceremony, Governor Nasir El-Rufai said the aim of the festival was to provide a platform where creative minds from northern Nigeria can showcase their talents.
According to him, “When we initiated KABAFEST in 2017, it was our goal to institutionalise the fixture of the cultural calendar, a fitting platform for the talent that exists in this part to grow and interact with creatives from other parts of the world.
“After the successful inaugural edition in 2017, we were glad to hold the festival in 2018 and 2019 before the uncertainties and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic aborted the 2020 and 2021 editions. We are however excited that the KABAFEST is back as an important component of our creative arts program which is devoted to nurturing, promoting and celebrating the creative potentials of our people.”
He added, “As one of the largest states in a diverse country, Kaduna is an epitome of diversity, from cultures and languages to landscape. This variety is a blessing and the interaction of these cultures and languages enriches us all as literature and other arts make a major contribution in helping us understand each other better, interrogating where we are and pointing out where we could go.”
He regretted that because of the train incident, the Abuja-Kaduna train was still not available and assured that with the offensive operation against the bandits by security agencies, Kaduna will be secure by the 5th edition of the festival.
While thanking the organisers of the event, he noted that cultural dialogue apart, the creative art could in itself be a source of economic dynamism saying, “The Nigerian film industry, our musicians and our photographers are breaking new ground and demonstrating sustained viability.”
In her welcome address, the Director, Book Buzz Foundation, an NGO that is devoted to promoting literacy, creating reading spaces and organizing literacy and cultural events such as the Ake Arts and Book Festival who is the organizer of the festival, Lola Shoneyin, congratulated the people of Kaduna State for hosting an event that featured so many distinguished and accomplished personalities, many of whom are from the northern part of Nigeria.
She said, “Indeed, Kaduna and other parts of the country have had their challenges, but it is unfortunate that events, where creativity and ideas are being celebrated, do not get quite the same coverage as stories about conflict and violence and banditry. We have no choice then, but to tell our own stories, ourselves, to assert the range and multiplicity of our experiences.
“The KABAFEST 2022 program is designed to educate, challenge, inspire and entertain. KABAFEST allows us to explore a range of themes and topics, to bring people together who have diverse ideas and viewpoints and we must never underestimate the powers of cultural dialogue, the way it breaks down barriers and helps to build bridges, especially in states like Kaduna, where there is ethnic and religious diversity.”
However, discussing the topic, Almajiranchi and improving literacy in Northern Nigeria, the three discussants comprising Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Maryam Augie Abdulmumin and Abdulrahman Usman Leme shared their views on what the challengers are and proffered solutions to addressing the challenges which come with the Almajiri System of Education.
According to Abdulaziz, “I have been to two bandit’s camps in Zamfara State and I have interfaced with them and the only connection linking the impression that the Almajiri is being recruited by bandits is that one of the malams at the bandits’ camp was an Almajiri before he joined the gang and after he joined, he also serves as their malam. Other than that, there is no connection but it does not rule out the fact that one or two almajirai may be recruited by these terrorists.
“There is a need for the government to find a solution to this problem because it is a collective problem. Seeing that the government cannot continue to support the responsibility of others, parents should be made to take responsibility for their children or it will continue to tie us down.”
For Abdulrahman Usman Leme, there is no data that has linked almajiranchi to the ongoing banditry going on in the country and stressed the need for the government to put in place deliberate intervention to address the problem.
He added, “The situation needs serious intervention and it cannot be left in the hands of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) or development partners alone.”
Highlights of the event were the presentation of the Life Achievement Award to Audee T. Giwa, a professor of English at the Kaduna State University (KASU) for his outstanding writing of fiction in Northern Nigeria and also presentations of the 2021 Hamza El-Rufai Short Story price and 2021 Andrew Nok Poetry price to students of Zamani College, Kaduna.
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