Meet Mohammed, 19-year-old royal edifice decorator

At a time when teenagers are busy trying to find their feet, either in academic pursuits or other fields of their choice, young and agile Muhammad Sani Adamu has found solace in royal edifice decoration, an art usually akin to old people with vast experience in traditional items. The young talented artist said he took […]

At a time when teenagers are busy trying to find their feet, either in academic pursuits or other fields of their choice, young and agile Muhammad Sani Adamu has found solace in royal edifice decoration, an art usually akin to old people with vast experience in traditional items.

The young talented artist said he took himself to where he served as an apprentice, even before completing his secondary education in 2022.

Adamu said he had the opportunity to watch a well-established royal decorator from Kano State while working in one of the royal houses in Jigawa, which made him develop keen interest in the processes of art decoration. And as soon as the opportunity to talk to the expert presented itself, he jumped on it and sought to be his apprentice.

“I watched as the expert was making interesting designs and decorating them. It is an artistic work akin to royal edifices. In Hausa we called it dagi.

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“I was in secondary school then but the expertise with which he was doing the decoration caught my attention, so I decided that I would want to learn the art. I waited for an opportunity to talk to the expert from Kano because I wanted to be like him. He graciously accepted my request, and with my parents’ consent, I started learning the art,” he said.

Although based in Jigawa State, the young Adamu dedicated his time to learning the whole process. And he was able to learn so fast that he got freedom within two years.

Gurasa, as he is popularly known in his field, has gradually become a hot cake sort by many royal palaces as his works began to spread wide, especially within northern palaces and residences of royal dignitaries.

 

At the age of 19, he had successfully done a lot of royal artistic decorations in various places across northern states.

However, Gurasa had taken his profession to the next limit because he expanded his horizon to make extra research in ensuring that he developed new strategies that will take his work to the next limit, as well as make him stand exceptional among his peers.

He also revealed that he had not lost hope in educational pursuit as he is determined to go to the highest limit. He explained that based on his current chosen profession, he would pursue a university degree in architecture.

“I want to continue my studies. And in line with what I am currently doing, I want to go for a degree in one of the universities to read Architecture. I know the world is changing, but there is a need for us to preserve our golden heritage, and this royal traditional decoration is one of them,” he said.

He further said what he needed to excel in his chosen profession was patronage from people, adding that his work entails dealing with very expensive things, so he needs a reasonable capital.

According to Adamu, he is currently working with over five apprentices. He added that very soon he would want to establish a mini company that would be dealing in royal architectural designs and decoration.

“I am sure that with patronage from the people, very soon I will be able to establish a company that will purely deal in royal architectural designs and decoration. However, presently I need encouragement in the form of patronage to be able to excel in this field. I am sure that with time, people will start appreciating what the North has in terms of culture preservation,” he said.

Adamu also told Daily Trust Saturday that presently, he uses his money to assist his parents and plan for studies in future.