‘Folk tales shouldn’t be seen as a thing of the past’

Weekly Trust: It is quite a while since you indulged yourself in the activities of folklore revitalization. As a newly elected President of the society, can you shed light on what the NFS is in perspective?Dr. Bukar: The society was formed as far back as 1980, but by 1989 its activities became quiet for a […]

Weekly Trust: It is quite a while since you indulged yourself in the activities of folklore revitalization. As a newly elected President of the society, can you shed light on what the NFS is in perspective?
Dr. Bukar: The society was formed as far back as 1980, but by 1989 its activities became quiet for a number of reasons. We had the unfortunate situation where the Secretary of the society passed on. And the society depends quite a lot on the secretariat. Because of that, the conference of April last year made it necessary to revive the society. I attended the conference which was held in honour of Professor (Ambassador) Dandatti Abdulkadir as a presenter. After I presented my paper, the issue of reviving the society came up. It was part of the resolution of that conference that a committee to revive the society should be established. This was done and I was appointed the Chairman of the Nigerian Folklore Society Revival Committee. So, at this conference it was felt that I should be honoured. It served three purposes – to honour me, to hold the conference on folklore and for us at the revival committee to submit our report of the revival activities which we have carried on for the past one year.
The revised constitution was presented and the general meeting approved it, following which elections were conducted. I was then elected to be President of the society with the Secretary being Professor Sani Abba Aliyu who has been with the society as far back as 1989. The revival of the society has to be gradual. But we have a good beginning in the sense that Bayero University Kano has given a lot of support. They created a new department of folklore and not only that, they also dedicated a new building to house the folklore society secretariat, temporarily, pending the time the society will have its own secretariat somewhere else. Everything has gone on well.
Considering the challenges ahead, as a new President of the society, what are your plans on how to make it vibrant?
Building a society is not one man’s role. We will have to sit down with the new executive members to chart our course. The revival will continue. When we sit in a democratic setting, probably with the outcome of the meeting of the conference of last year and that of this year, we would then say, for the society to function these are the areas we need to focus on in the coming year. So I cannot, for now, tell you, this is the specific area of focus, because we have not held the first meeting of the new executive.
What about membership drive and mobilization?
That will continue. We will update the membership to reach out to the centres of folklore studies. There are various departments and it is inter-disciplinary in all our institutions. We have the contact and publicity committees and roles were assigned to some of the members. These they will have to work out.
Who are eligible to be members of this society, or is it only the academicians?
No, no, it is for individuals and corporate bodies. It is provided there in the constitution of the society. Anybody who has interest in folklore or any organization is eligible either as a full member or as an associate member. Each will be given recognition based on his or her interest in folklore.
I observed during the election that many encomiums were poured on you, coupled with the Vice Chancellor’s award. How do you feel?
I appreciate them. When people express appreciation for what one is doing, it is an encouragement. But I’m also apprehensive because when I took up the appointment to revive the society and I was made Chairman, when I was proposed as President, I hesitated. In some political climates, if you’re preparing something it means somebody will say I’m preparing a seat for myself so succeed – which I didn’t like very much. But in an organization you’ve to appreciate the feelings of members and I had to. In spite of my personal reservations the interest of the organization is paramount. And as long as people have confidence in me I think I should not disappoint them. That is why I accepted to chart one course probably one year or two so that another President will continue. We want to make it stronger. For instance, we intend to bring out a journal which will be respected all over. We will try to publish the news letter of the society and also organize writing workshops to teach our members how to present credible papers in conferences of this nature. But as you hear people say, folklore should not be mistaken for something of the past. Folklore has its dimensions of folktales, dramas, and poetry, so it should not be treated as something of the past. They will continue to exist with modernity. We can also use the modern method to improve on the delivery.
Do you have anything cut-out for your cabinet members on how they will help in running the affairs of the society?
When you talk of the cabinet members you should also take note of the board of trustees, headed by Professor G. G. Dara, a notable and respected folklorist who has been associated with the society for quite some time. In fact he was the Vice President and later became the President and you can see the quality of the paper he presented as the keynote address of this conference. It was well commended, and captured almost everything, including the contributions of several people to folktale – it was very rich. That points that while we continue to have people like Professor Dandatti Abdulkadir and many of them who are knowledgeable in folklore and the number is widening, more and more people will be taking more interest in folklore. The executives are well-spread in the sense that they are representatives across the nation and I believe they will bring to bear their experiences and academic qualifications to the success of this society.