The
Creative Writers’ Forum for the month of November was held at the American Corner,
Murtala Muhammad Library, Kano on 30th November, 2013. The event had
in attendance the former branch Secretary of the Association, Abdulkadir Badsha Mukhtar, the current branch Secretary,
Zaharaddeen Ibrahim Kallah, ANA Kano Ex-officio; Almustapha Musa Ilyas, A.T
Tahir, and Bakano A. Murtala.
After
opening prayers by Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Chairman of the occasion, Bello Sagir
Imam introduced the entries for the first session. The session started with a presentation
entitled, “Queen I” by Bello Sagir Imam. It was a poem written for his fiancée
and his feelings toward her. The writer believed that he eats in order to work
and also work to earn for his queen. One of the stanzas of his poem read as:
I’m
Majnun
That
of Layla
I
can’t survive you
Like
Romeo, Juliet
No!
I’m not
Titanic’s
Jack
But
Jamilu
You,
Jamila
The
next presentation was a poem entitled, “The Born-Teacher…” presented by Bakano
A. Murtala. The writer appreciated the gift of being a teacher which eludes many
people. The poem will definitely motivate other teachers to be proud of the
profession. Some lines of his poem read as:
I
teach
Coz
teaching follows me
I
teach,
Coz
I’m made and meant to
I
teach,
Coz
I owe a debt to humanity
I
teach,
Coz
I’m a Humanist
The last poem in the first session was also a poem
entitled, “Freedom” by Muttaka Idris Abasha. As the title indicated, the theme is
freedom and its value to humankind. Abasha expressed his opinion on freedom and
its restrictions in a nation like Nigeria. The second stanza of his poem read
as:
Hefty
muddy looters
Haughty
naughty pushers
Heavy
brainless cavities
Halted
freedom to reign.
The second session began with a short story entitled,
“The 24hour President…part iv” by Bakano Murtala. The writer presented his
story in an adopted style of James Hardly chases, with reference to Nigeria.
Similar to chase collection, the short story was also a crime genre that
portrayed the bomb blast that took place in Nigeria during Independence Day celebration.
In Bakano’s story, the scenario happened when the President was making his
speech. Some lines of the speech delivered by the President before bullets were
fired toward his direction read as:
“The making of Bakano
remains indebted to you! But you must toil to its success! I therefore ask for
your cooperation to support your new President only if I am right. Impeach and
imprison me if you think it right!”
Salim Ibrahim Kallah presented a poem, “You are not
what you think you are”. Like Bello Sagir, the poem was written for his fiancée
to be. It was another good poem, but members of the forum suggested that the
title should be reviewed, looking at the content of the poem. The last stanza
of his poem read as:
Do
you still want to know who you are?
You
are the full meaning of beauty
You
are the meaning of love
That
is actually who you are.
The next presentation was a poem entitled, “Take to
your heels” by Yaseer Kallah. The first two stanzas of this poem read as:
Take
to your heels
Oh,
you little fowl
I
have seen a hawk
Above
your head
Take
to your heels
Oh,
you strutting fowl
Before
your scintillating feathers
Drench
with blood
Nazeer I. Kallah made the last presentation in the
second session with a poem entitled, “The Wailing Mother”. A very interesting
poem that portrayed Nigeria as a mother with her children. In one of his
stanzas, the writer condemned the present children of Nigeria who are not after
their mother. He said:
Now,
I know my real children have gone
Living
me with cantankerous ones
Ungrateful
they are to me myself
For
the wealth I have all goes in vain
The third session began with a short story entitled,
“Let Her Know” from Nazeer I. Kallah. Like other presentations from young
people, the story is about a young man who was in love with a girl, but lacked
confidence to meet her and express his feelings. But when his sister realized
the problem, she encouraged him to do so.
The second presentation was a poem, “Paying the
Price for Betrayal” by Almustapha Musa Ilyas. The poem generated argument on
whether a writer is dead or alive after publishing his work. The second to the
last stanza of this poem read as:
Slowly,
you taste the bitter truth
Slowly,
you see the ugly face of lies
Slowly
the wind will unmask the cloak-and-dagger
Keenly
I watch with indifference
The same write presented a short poem entitled
“Untitled” which read as:
Ah!
I
feel what you feel
Like
One
in one
The last presentation for the day was also a poem
entitled, “The Classic Dance of Love” by Yaseer Kallah. The first two stanzas
of the poems were read as:
Oh,
sweet drum!
Give
us a sound
Give
us a tone
Of
love and delight
The
shackles of love
Are
so much strong
Dadap
dadap dapad
Lala
lala lala
Tadap
tadap tadap
Lala
lala lala
The
music of love
Always
gives delight.
The forum was rounded up with vote of thanks from the
branch Secretary, Zaharaddeen Ibrahim Kallah. He commended the teachers who
brought their students to the event, according to him this would serve as eyes
opener to them to learn about creative writing which in return would promote
their studies. The session was ended with closing prayers offered by Abdulkadir
Badsha Mukhtar.
By
Zaharaddeen Ibrahim Kallah
africanglobalpoet.blogspot.com
