‘NIFESTEENA will produce Nigeria’s next generation of writers, artists’

The second edition of the NIFESTEENA festival will this year be taking place in Kaduna. The brains behind the programme, Baba Muhammad Dzukogi, in this interview explains the reason for staging it in Kaduna and why they are even doing it all over again this year.   You are planning the second edition of NIFESTEENA […]

The second edition of the NIFESTEENA festival will this year be taking place in Kaduna. The brains behind the programme, Baba Muhammad Dzukogi, in this interview explains the reason for staging it in Kaduna and why they are even doing it all over again this year.

 

You are planning the second edition of NIFESTEENA following on the first edition last year. Why are you doing it again?

It is an annual event to be rotated among the states of the federation. We are consolidating on our long years of mentoring teen authors at the Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation with a national event that will bring together teen artists from around the country. It is basically to plant the spirit of art in the child so that they can become excellent craftsmen and women in thier adulthood. Art programmes in Nigeria hardly give attention to the young ones, so, NIFESTEENA is an all-encompassing platform for the artistic expression of students in poetry writing, story writing, painting, photography, spoken word, performance poetry, folksong, contemporary song in English and cultural dance. In NIFESTEENA, we are to pick students that will qualify for the maiden edition of Nigerian anthology of teen authors for poetry and short story. We are simply preparing for the next generation of Nigerian artists. 

 

What would you say were the successes from the previous year?

The programme was inaugurated last year in Minna. So, it’s barely a year old. However, from an outing of nine states, we now have over 20 states participating with over 50 schools coming for the 2018 edition. This is only at our last count. Today, the Foundation has Coordinators in about 26 states managing the affairs of the Festival and the Foundation. Last year, parents sponsored their children to the event. However, when we have such cases, we registered them against their schools and states. Meanwhile, the effort to breakaway from adults writing for children and substituting it with children writing for children is fast gaining attention. This child-to-child medium of communication could be used as a strategy for advocacy on many societal problems bedeviling us, especially children. This is one profound contribution that our teen authorship programme is making to the society. NIFESTEENA is also triggering large scale publication by participating students. For example, in category A, a child contesting there must be a published teen author to gather maximum point. So, the proliferation of published teen authors in Nigeria means the guarantee of future writers for the country. Meanwhile, non-published authors can take part but they won’t get advance score as the published ones.

 

 The first edition took place in Minna last year, the second is taking place in Kaduna. Why the change in venue?

Profound events like this are a big messages worthy of being carried around the country. We had it in mind that it would be rotated among the states of the federation. Kaduna came to our mind because of the literary activities initiated by El-Rufai since his assumption of office. So, everyone said it should be Kaduna. We wrote the governor to host and sponsor this year’s edition. We visited the wife, Hajiya Hadiza Isma who founded the Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation to intimate her of our plans to bring NIFESTEENA to their domain. We also met the Special Adviser on Creative Arts Development about the festival. I doubt if there is a state in Nigeria with that kind of Special Adviser. We are in Kaduna because of the great understanding of El-Rufai and his wife that art is a tool for not just empowerment but a medium for focusing and refocusing of the mind of young people.  

 

What are the objectives of the festival?

Many. This year’s theme is: Teen Authorship as a strategy for child-to-child advocacy for the behavioural change of the society. The keynote address would be delivered by Hajiya Hadiza Isma El-Rufai, the author of An Abundance of Scorpions. This theme captures the primary objectives of Nifesteena, and of our foundation. Specifically, Nifesteena is set to achieve the promotion of creative spirit in the child as primary element for developing society; to proliferate society with quality thinkers tomorrow; to provide a national platform for unifying the Nigerian child through art; to attract the attention of society to understand the high value in institutionalised mentoring of young ones; to share creative, educational and cultural experiences among students to enhance academic programs and functional life in the community; to provide a platform for showcase quality creative products by teen artists; to induce professionalism in the art of teenagers from school age; to teach quality citizenship and leadership ideals through art; to dissipate creative energy that takes away the minds of students from vices; to promote friendship among Nigerian child; to identify tomorrow’s creative geniuses; and make teenagers happy through creative engagements. 

 

What new things are you introducing to this edition?

There are three new categories to make it six. They are: contemporary songs in English with the theme child; Folksong with the theme Yoruba; and Cultural dance with the theme as Tiv. Last year, we had only three categories; we had creative writing, where students featured in poetry and  short story writing; we had visual arts comprising painting and photography; and lastly, category C which included spoken word and performance poetry. We shall be having a national workshop for all the schools participating in this year’s festival which will produce the maiden editions of Nigerian anthology of teen authors in poetry, and another volume in short story. We shall also give award to the most valuable contestants in male and female categories, this year. There shall be mentoring sessions in photography, painting and creative writing. We are in partnership with Teejay Dan’s outfit and Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation in these aspects. We shall also give awards of merit to patrons of teen arts from around Nigeria. 

 

Where is the funding for the festival coming from? 

Last year, the Niger State government did the bulk of sponsoring. The 2017 edition trophies were donated by Nigerian writers: Dike Chukwumerije, Ahmed Maiwada, Teresa O. Ameh, Aminu Sheikh, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Ikeogu Oke, Denja Abdullahi, Sulaiman Zailani, and the Medical Director of General Hospital, Minna. Some commissioners from Niger State and individuals also made contributions. This year, we are looking forward to Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai of Kaduna State to sponsor this year’s edition. The request has been placed before him. You know art strives only on public patronage through goodwill. And art NGOs also live on the goodwill of the public. It’s not a money making thing. Ours is a special genre dealing with the future of teenagers. If there is anything to go well with the governor, it should be this massive children’s programme gathering not less than seven hundred active contestants, and thousands of associates in fine artistic camaraderie. The festival is an exciting phenomenon from the unexpected display of brilliance by teen artists.