Review: The toast of Kanawa’ is royal, literary feast

But, as pointed out by a renowned literary critic and erudite scholar of African literature, Professor Charles E. Nnolim, NNOM, of Department of English, University of Port Harcourt, in his seminal paper, ‘The Writer’s Responsibility and the Literature in National Development,’ “A discerning reader knows that art is propaganda where the writer (poet) is the […]

But, as pointed out by a renowned literary critic and erudite scholar of African literature, Professor Charles E. Nnolim, NNOM, of Department of English, University of Port Harcourt, in his seminal paper, ‘The Writer’s Responsibility and the Literature in National Development,’ “A discerning reader knows that art is propaganda where the writer (poet) is the persuasive purveyor of the truth even if, in higher art, the end-result is an aesthetic experience.”
It is needless to say poets like Khalid Imam are such poets who, by their creative endeavours, continue to demonstrate that a poet should be the conserver of our traditional values, the promoter of our history and the interpreter of our rich culture, among many others.
It is in the light of the foregoing that Emir ‘Muhammad Sanusi ll: The Toast of Kanawa’ could pass as a classic example of an epic poem, which, by all standards, could also be classified as a panegyric – a poem written to deservedly give honour to whom honour is due (forgive the cliché). This kind of poem usually eulogises powerful kings or influential queens; and in some cases, highly praises great men and women of princely lineage or great hunters and warriors who stand out in the society as brave men with impeccable character and unquestionable integrity.
It also elevates the status of spiritual leaders to high heavens by using highly charged language to celebrate their assumed sainthood as men of God or guardians of the shrine. To a great extent, praise song reverentially hagiographises the persona, for instance, the subject here: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Muhammad Sanusi II of Kano, whose outstanding life-long achievements, without exaggeration, have deservedly qualified him for the reverence or veneration showered on him. Panegyric poetry, as many scholars, have claimed, is rooted in ancient Arabia where Bedouin poets often showered encomiums on their Caliphs or rulers to showcase their outstanding virtues, exemplary lordship, glaring strengths and unique achievements.
Imam’s work is a stimulating praise-song that adds to the compendium of such works written in a highly charged and elevated language to paint the vivid picture of the personality, Muhammad Sanusi ll of Kano.
This genre of poetry from time immemorial was popularised by Arab poets such as Amar Imran from North Africa, Toufat Noor from Andelus among many others. With the publication of the Song of San Kano, (the author’s first book in this genre), Khalid Imam,  like most of his great African oral poets, especially Hausa singers, has successfully marked himself as a modern panegyric poet whose energetic contributions to the field of panegyric poetry have earned a place among the guru poets mentioned above.
No qualms, poems which is a praise-song written in simple language, rich symbolism and cultural idioms, has, in more ways than one, confirmed Prof Saleh Abdu’s earlier description of Khalid Imam’s debut panegyric poem “as a work coming from the pen of hagiographer par excellence.”  
In Emir Muhammad Sanusi ll: The Toast of Kanawa the subject is raised to the deserving status of a great prince befitting Muhammad Sanusi ll. The newly coroneted Muhammad Sanusi ll of Kano, Malam Sanusi Lamido Aminu Sanusi is, without doubt, a distinguished personality whose outstanding contributions as an astute economist and banker, erudite intellectual, experienced administrator, robust critic and a Kano prince put him ahead of his peers.
By distinguishing him with this poetic panegyric: ‘Emir Muhammad Sanusi ll: The Toast of Kanawa,’ Khalid Imam has memorably succeeded in joining the long chain of master oral artists, palace courtiers and great Hausa praise singers such as the legendary late Salihu Jankidi, the talented late Alhaji Musa Dankwairo Maradun and the multi-talented late (Dr.) Mamman Shata, who, from time immemorial, have served as the feeding rivulets that ceaselessly feed the rich river of Hausa oral literature.
Another compelling evidence of Khalid Imam’s deftness in handling a poem like this one is his ability to not only celebrate the persona but equally showcase the uniqueness of Kano emirate and its historical eminence which the grandeur of the present emir’s great ancestors successful leadership reinforces, as vividly captured in this unique book.
Finally, the poet, Khalid Imam, has in more ways than one, reinforced that a poet could wear different garbs. Here, the poet serves as a modern palace courtier or praise singer who writes his poetry or song in English yet, enriches it as a revivalist poet, cultural diarist and quasi-historian of the Kano palace through an effective medium to reach his readers. By and large, they are poems written to address readers both at home and abroad just like the subject, who is equally the toast of his people back at home and a shining star internationally.   
Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu lectures in the Mass Communication Department, Bayero University, Kano.