Kannywood, can you remember this face?

“Vividly, I can remember how I joined the Hausa film industry. It all started like a joke on the day I went to collect my final result at Government Girls Secondary School, Dala, from where I graduated in 1997. “On arriving at the school, I met my Geography teacher who was then into filmmaking and […]

“Vividly, I can remember how I joined the Hausa film industry. It all started like a joke on the day I went to collect my final result at Government Girls Secondary School, Dala, from where I graduated in 1997.

“On arriving at the school, I met my Geography teacher who was then into filmmaking and he told me that he had written a script which he thought I could perform well in bring it to life. He said I represented exactly the lead character in his written script and cajoled me into giving it a trial. Because I respected him, I was convinced and therefore agreed to play the role. With just some days of rehearsals, I performed wonderfully in the film and since then, I fitted into any role I was assigned in subsequent films”.

On whether she faced any problem venturing into filmmaking, Hajara said she did not face any resistance from her parents as they went through the script and gave approval for her to act.

“Of course I had to discuss with my parents before I acted my first film. I just thank God they were very understanding, all they requested for was to be convinced about the role I was going to play. Having understood the role I was going to play and what the entire film entailed, they approved that I go ahead and that was what gave me the courage to carry on”.

She explained that the film was inculcating morality in the minds of viewers particularly the youths and it was after her performance in that film that she started receiving invitations to feature in more films.

According to her, “the storyline of the film as the name suggest: “Su Ma ’Ya’ya Ne focused on the need for society to stop stigmatising children born out of wedlock. In the story, the writer tried to show that such children came to this world innocently just like any other child did. The story tried to show that such children had committed no crime by coming into this world out of wedlock. Therefore, they needed not be stigmatised but trained in the best moral way in order to avoid future re-occurrence of giving birth to children out of wedlock”.

Talking about how she coped with the fans as an actress, Hajara said, “Honestly filmmaking really affected me and my life style. I attracted crowds anywhere I went and especially with the release of a new film. Within a very short period, I became just too popular for my liking and the amazing thing is that anywhere I go, people keep referring to me as Amina, the name I used in my first film. It was really not funny for me coping with that from the initial stage but I came to learn to live with it.

“As I became popular in the industry, I was offered to feature in a film titled Alhaki Kwikwiyo produced by Film Laboratory Production and Services (FILAPS) here in Kano and I acted the key role in the film. I was called Saudatu. Actually, I had a keen interest in completing the film but after taking part in some scenes, I had a problem with the film director, Galadima of blessed memory; I therefore unceremoniously quit the set of the film and, later on, the industry as a whole. This was because I felt I didn’t belong to the industry and the reason for abandoning filmmaking, I wouldn’t want to disclose”, Hajara said.

When she abandoned filmmaking, as expected, a number of filmmakers in the state and even beyond tried severally to lure her back to the industry but having already made up her mind, she remained adamant.

On whether she had any regrets abandoning Kannywood, Hajara maintained, “I have no regrets leaving the industry; it was even a blessing to me because when I left, I attained greater heights. I achieved what I would have not achieved if I were still in the industry. Today, I am a graduate of Beyero University, Kano from the department of Nigerian Languages. I am a writer, a columnist with Concern magazine and, at the same time, an interior decorator. So I thank God that I had to leave the industry at a very good time. And if anything will take me back to the industry, I will certainly not go there as an actress”.

She added that even though she abandoned filmmaking, she still impacted the society through the media. “Currently, I present an educative radio programme called ‘Creative Writing’ on Freedom Radio under the auspices of the Association of Fiction and Non-fiction Writers (AFINOW) among other things. I have so far presented over 1,000 poems on radio. Moreover, I wrote and launched my first book on the former governor of Kano state titled Dr Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso: An Engineer in Re-engineering and I am now on the second book which I hope to complete before the end of this year”, she said.

“I am also the vice president of the Society for the Promotion of Reading Culture in Northern Nigeria”, she added. I have worked as a flight attendant for Meridian Airlines. Also, I worked with Bedmates Italy, an Italian furniture company, as their sales director in Kano. I was appointed the Director Women Mobilization Youth Coalition for Development at a point; all these I achieved with the guide of my mother who has always been my model in life. So you see all these wouldn’t have been achieved if I were still in the film industry”.

Advising filmmakers, she said: “My advice to the Hausa filmmakers is that they should try to promote Islam and its teachings. The Hausa cultural heritage should be maintained and all forms of immorality both in films and in the real world must be shunned. Hausa culture should be promoted and also, they should ensure that their films make meaning by way of addressing burning issues in the society. Finally, I wish them luck”.