Deliberate grooming: Why Niger will continue to produce the best writers in Nigeria

BM Dzukogi just stood there.  He wanted this visit.  He wanted every visit, but this was the guest he wanted now.  Dzukogi didn’t want the visitor for himself, but for the teenage writers he mentors, and for the literary centre which has become an incubator where writers’dreams are hatched. Therefore, there was nothing irregular about […]

BM Dzukogi just stood there.  He wanted this visit.  He wanted every visit, but this was the guest he wanted now.  Dzukogi didn’t want the visitor for himself, but for the teenage writers he mentors, and for the literary centre which has become an incubator where writers’dreams are hatched.
Therefore, there was nothing irregular about this wait.  He had done it a good number of times.  Meeting him for the first time, you’re startled by how his height messes with your sense of depth perception.  BM Dzukogi is a tall drink of a man, who, to hazard a guess, towers above every visitor to his center.
Untiring, he has been in the trenches since in the 90s when he teamed up with others to start Annual Schools Carnival of Arts and Festival of Songs (ASCAFS) to introduce and nurture secondary school students to the world of literature, culture and art.  This annualcontest and the Hilltoparts Foundation he later co-founded have produced writers who have been national stars; to say nothing of those who chose journalism and those who won many awards.AlkasimAbdulkadir, a former student of Dzukogi and a journalist who has worked with the BBC, has won two awards.  Sadiq, Dzukogi’s own son, Halima Aliyu and Maryam Bobbi have won ANA awards. All went through the mentoring programme.  Other state are now copying his template.
There may be however, a problem today.  After all, I was the guest he was waiting for.  And I had failed many times to turn up before, after given my word that “whenever I’m in town, I’d love to put in a presence.”  The first time he expected me was in February.  This is October.  Three Saturdays ago, I was also expected.  But already forgotten pressing matters conspired to keep me away. 
I tried to come the next Saturday, since the teenage writers meet every Saturday.  That week, I was in Kaduna.  The plan was to come back to Abuja on the 6 p.m. train.  Then travel to Minna the next morning to meet the session of the writers before they leave at 2 p.m.  We missed the train on Friday, so we journeyed back to the hotel.
So next day, Saturday, we began our journey back to Abuja.  When it appeared that we were running late, I sent a text to him: “Still on the way.  I fear that I may not meet the session.”  This was 12.30 noon.
“I can keep them till 3 p.m.,” he replied, “At what point are you now?”
“Just arrived Abuja.  Will have lunch then I should be on my way,” I wrote back.  However, by this time, I was half hoping that I wouldn’t have to travel on the awful Abuja to Minna road, so that I would  rest my limps in Abuja.
BM Dzukogi, as if he was listening to my thoughts, came to my rescue: “Can we then leave it for next Saturday.”  Alhamdulillah!
Well, here’s that Saturday.  And BM Dzukogi, stood under a tree at Hilltop Secondary School where his centre is domiciled.  But I made it this time.  With an outstretch hand, he introduced the director of the centre, AwwalSakiwa, an artist and another great resource who has been illustrating books of the more senior writers and who also conceived the current logo of Niger State. Another mentor, Isyaku B. Ibrahim who codified the Nupe numerals and calendar wasn’t available.
But under the tree with the teenagers was Aminu Sheikh, another mentor and author of many books himself.  I wanted to go towards them, but BM and the director had other designs.  “First, we’ll give you a tour.”
Inside the hall, he pointed at the picture of AlkasimAbdulkadir on the wall, “he was one of my first victims.” He pointed at another picture – a seedling. “That seedling has become the tree you saw outside.  This is symbolic of the growth of the centre and those who pass through here.”
There were other pictures on the wall of compatriots and foreign nationals who visited and contributed to the centre.  But the one that beckoned on me was a large banner with twelve pictures of teenagers arranged from January to December.  This means that every month in a year, the center publishes one author.  But first, they’re matched with a sponsor who is willing to pay the cost of publishing.  Fortunately, many people are willing and have successfully published the teen authors.  Among the sponsors is the governor’s chief of staff, Al Amin MikailBmitosahi.  (In case you want to sponsor a teen author, the minimum cost is N70, 000.)  Even though it is yet to be fulfilled, the centre also informed me that they got a favourable response from the letter they sent Senator David Umaru.  I promised them I would remind the senator.
I was taken to the library where I saw the works of the authors affiliated with the center.  Including expositions on the works of BM Dzukogi by two authors – EzekeilFajenyo and NsubongSulay.  Dzukogi himself has authored more than nine books.
The most exciting part of my visit was mingling with the teen authors.  I wanted to listen to them, to hear the ideas swimming in their young brains.  I met Peter Kwange “Deflowered,” Mustapha Gimba “Memoirs of a Broken Heart,” Fidelis Obaseki “Chronicles” and many others. These authors gave me copies of their books.
But unfortunately, I was also asked to speak.  What would my teenage me be interested in? I asked.  So I told them a bunch of stories.  I also told them that I had benefited from the writing style and the teachings of the Associated Press of the United States and pointed them toward the tools that would benefit whatever kind of writing they choose to do.
You know and I know that great things happen through deliberate effort – especially when we invent systems and processes to realize our dreams.  The Hilltop Arts Centre has these ingredients.  It follows therefore that – except you’re doing something better – the centre and Niger State will continue to produce good writers in Nigeria. This mission is also helped by the fact that Niger State already has a head start, due, probably to something in the water, which has produced great writers and journalists like Abubakar Gimba, Cyprian Ekwensi, Zik of Africa, Mohammed Haruna, Yahya S. Dangana, Alghazali and a host of others.