Minna Book and Arts Festival: Writers, artists discuss state of Arts in Northern Nigeria.
The inaugural edition of the Minna Book and Art Festival
(MinnaBAF) held at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference
Centre, Minna between September 18 and 20, 2018. The literary and cultural
event themed “Northern Nigeria Creative Development: The Valley and the Boundary”
is the first of its kind in Minna and the North-Central region of Nigeria. It
served to create awareness, build capacities and promote all forms of arts.
Professor Zaynab Alkali, the first female novelist from
Northern Nigeria to be published in English, headlined the festival. Prof.
Alkali’s commitment and dedication to writing and literary activities served as
inspiration to guests at the festival especially school children who were
excited to interact with her. In her Festival conversation, moderated by
Professor Asabe Kabir Usman of Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, Prof. Alkali
emphasized the importance of self-development through hard work and dedication
to writing.
Panel Discussions at the festival were on “New
Age Poetry: Issues and Challenges”, “Manifesto of a Political Writer”,
“Writing, Culture and Interfaces.” Also discussed were “Fiction:
Identity and Representation Across Generations”, and “Trends
in African Literature.”
Panelists that included Prof. E.E Sule, Dr. Wale Okediran, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, BM
Dzukogi, Denja Abdullahi, and Hajiya Balaraba Ramat Yakubu also discussed issues around topics as “The
Core in our Culture: Oral Literature and Beyond”, “The Role of Writers in
Environmental Advocacy”, “Challenges of Arts Blogactivity” and “Changing
Stereotypes through Writing.”
The festival, which was attended by guests from across
Nigeria, also celebrated the life and writings of late Abubakar Gimba, one of
the greatest Nigerian novelists ever to emerge from Northern Nigeria with a
panel discussion that included his daughter.
Discussants on the various sub-themes were drawn from the
academia, publishers, political actors, arts managers, established and young
writers and artists.
The three-day festival which had an Hausa film screening, masterclass sessions in prose writing, photography and filmmaking, ended with a thrilling cultural night of poetry and dances.
What a wonderful fair, wishing the organizers the best in all spheres of Life, it's quite educating, entertaining, informative and amusing especially to young minds..
ReplyDeleteCongratulations !