‘Bits of Borno’: A narrative of resilience

In a bid to move from the sad and sometimes dehumanising narrative of terrorism victims in Nigeria’s north east, Fati Abubakar photographed the resilience of everyday people in Borno State. Her works have been shown in a travelling exhibition, ‘Bits of Borno,’ in Abuja, Lagos and Maiduguri where it began and will end.  According to […]

In a bid to move from the sad and sometimes dehumanising narrative of terrorism victims in Nigeria’s north east, Fati Abubakar photographed the resilience of everyday people in Borno State.

Her works have been shown in a travelling exhibition, ‘Bits of Borno,’ in Abuja, Lagos and Maiduguri where it began and will end. 

According to organisers of the event, North-East Regional Initiative’s (NERI) manager, Mr. Albert Pam, the exhibition was conceived to showcase the beauty, culture, traditions of people living in the State.

He said: “The media has portrayed an image of Borno as a place of death and destruction. We are happy that a photojournalist is using her pictures through various platforms to challenge misconceptions about her hometown.

“Most of the pictures demonstrate the resilience of the peoples, especially women and children who are still proud to carry on their day to day activities with joy and happiness.

The exhibition showed happy faces of playful children, mothers, the elderly and farmers among others going about their daily business, their faces showing their will to survive against all odds in spite of their hurts and brusies. 

The event which held at the Thought Pyramid Art Centre, was organised by Borno State Government in collaboration with Centre for Arts and Creative Talents.