The second edition of the Sokoto Book and Arts Festival attracted several literary gurus to the seat of the caliphate. The creative clouds gathered at the seat of the caliphate for the second edition of the Sokoto Book and Arts Festival, themed “A Returning” in November.
The Sokoto Book and Arts Festival, organised by the Sokoto Book and Arts Foundation and formed by the collaboration of the Poetry Club UDUS, Caliphate Arts and Literary Forum, and Book O’Clock, attracted writers, artists, photographers, publishers, academicians, students, that cut across different disciplines, ages and ethnicities surpassing the maiden edition held in 2021.
The yearly festival of art kicked off with a virtual ceremony which featured a reading and book chat with award-winning Nigerian author, Francesca Ekwuyasi, on her debut novel, ‘Butter Honey Pig Bread,’ and stellar poetry performances by Nigerian poets, Michael Imossan and Deborah Johnson. It was two hours of engaging beautiful art and the best way to usher guests and audiences alike into the coming days.
At the opening ceremony held at the International Conference Centre, Kasarawa, Sokoto, the director of the festival, Uchenna Emelife, who commended the guests and participants for attending the festival, urged participants to engage in conversations that challenge the stereotype.
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“Conversations that are aimed at calling for a return to arts, conversations that challenge the stereotype ascribed Sokoto people. There is art here and we aim to show that with SOBAFest,” he said.
The first lady of Sokoto State, Hajiya Mariya Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who was represented, reiterated her dedication to keep supporting arts and literature as they are pivotal to a society’s development.
The first lady of Kaduna State, Arc Hadiza Isma El-Rufai, who is the founder of Almara, one of the headline sponsors, encouraged the people of Sokoto to keep giving audience to arts and literature and reemphasized her mantra of telling our stories ourselves and not letting others do on our behalf. “We should tell our stories ourselves,” she said.
Also, Umar Abubakar Sidi who was virtually present, on behalf of Konya Shamsrumi, congratulated SOBAFest on its second edition in his goodwill. He went on to say that “in KSR we believe in the magical and enchanting power of books and arts and their ability to transform us into beings greater than ourselves. It is in this spirit that we celebrate SOBAFest and the entire team that made this possible.”
Two poets jointly called Khaarah thrilled the audience with a duet then followed by a short story by Maryam Umar, the winner of the 2021 BBC Short Story Writing Competition.
Yusuf Shehu Ambursa is his poem called for a more united Africa while there was a beautiful display by Waziri Junaidu Cultural Troupe.
The first panel discussion dwelt on “A Returning: The Caliphate and her Artistic and Cultural History.” The panellists include Mal. Yabo Akilu, Bala Muhammad Mabera, and Umar Yandaki. The trio aptly discussed the artistic and cultural history of Sokoto State as well as the relevance of the past body of works to today’s literary and cultural discourse. It was a timely and important conversation. The panel was moderated by Hamza Aisha Maishanu.
Another panel held immediately on the theme, “Passion to Career: Commercializing the Art”. The panel focused on monetizing the art and making a living off it. The audience got to learn how to convert their passion for creative arts to commercialized ventures. This panel was moderated by Miracle Francis. A book chat followed, where Francis engaged Utibe Hanson on his poetry collection, ‘The Unnoticed Presence of Things.’
A festival play, the staging of Attahiru by Ahmad Yerima which explores Sultan Attahiru’s resistance to colonial forces was also rendered while at night, guests and attendees converged on Forth International School Sokoto for the movie night tagged ‘Sembene in Sokoto’ which featured a screening of Ousmane Sembene’s Mandabi, and a quick chat about the thematic preoccupation of the film.
Day 2 of #SOBAFest22 kicked off with a book chat with Dr Emman Usman Shehu, running through his collection and dissecting it, The River Never Returns. The session later turned into a mentorship class and questions were entertained at the end. The session was moderated by Isah Aliyu Chiroma.
Next was a film screening of a documentary by Aisha Kabir Muhammad produced by Document Women, Kallabi Tsakanin Rawunna which translates to Headscarves amongst Turbans. The documentary explored the experience of women in spaces traditionally dominated by men.
The day become hotter with the commencement of The SOBAFest Isele Prize for Arts. The nine shortlisted performers for the poetry slam made stellar performances on stage. Six poets, two singers, and a dancer competed for the prize. After judging the participants, three winners were selected. The first prize went to Majeed Bn Saleh, the second prize to Oge Amarah and the third prize to Zainab Bello Tambuwal. The prizes were N50,000, N20,000 and N10,000 respectively.
A panel discussion: Drafts to shelves: Publishing in Northern Nigeria followed after a quick break. Uchenna Emelife engaged Hadiza Isma El-Rufai, Prof Asabe Kabiru Usman and Sada Ibrahim Malumfashi on the publishing scene in northern Nigeria, the work Almara Publishers does in filling it up, the need for writers putting out their work, contextualization in writing and censorship.
The final panel of the day explored contributions made by young people in Sokoto across all sectors. The panel was themed, Changing the Narratives: The Drive for a Better Sokoto. The conversation also bothered on areas that are still lacking and lamented the poor collaboration among youth-led groups in Sokoto and the over-concentration on politics and competition.
Concluding the festival, there was a line up of virtual sessions, which took place from Saturday night to Sunday evening. The virtual sessions consisted a book reading and chat with Romeo Oriogun on his ‘Nomad’, with TJ Benson on his ‘People live here’, with Kukogho Iruesiri Samson on his ‘Devil’s Pawn’, with Su’eddie Vershima Agema on his ‘Memory and the Call of Waters’, with Saddiq Dzukogi on his ‘Your Crib My Qibla’. There were also virtual panel discussions. First was “Creating in Community: How Literary Collectives Consolidate Literary Strides” and then another, “The Storyteller and the Story: Coverage of Nigerian Conflict and Crisis”.
The festival came to an end with a night of performance held Sunday Night. A night of poetry, music, dance, drama, comedy, tea, and food. Prizes were also given. The winners of the Queen Amina Short Story Prize were announced and invited to receive their prizes. The first prize went to Fatima Mustapha, second prize to Patience Enokela, and the third prize to Khadija Hassan, with cash prizes of N50,000, N30,000, and N20,000 respectively.
The presentation of SOBAFest22 Icon Awards to the patron and matron of the festival drew the festival to a close. Dr. Mansur Isah Buhari received the award with full grin, while Aaisha Abdulkareem was celebrated in absentia.
Isah Aliyu Ciroma wrote from Sokoto State
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