By Ismail Auwal
The 2022 edition of Kaduna Book and Arts Festival (KABAFest) ended with the uncertainties that the program will not be sustained when El-Rufai’s second and last term in office as a governor comes to an end next year.
El-Rufai while addressing the concerns of the participants and guests said that this is the last edition of KABAFest he would be attending as a sitting governor.
“I have told the gubernatorial candidate of our party that I hope to attend KABAFest in September 2023. It will be the first time I return to Kaduna after handover,” said El-Rufai.
“Once I leave I’m not coming back. I won’t return until another KABAFest. If he wants me to visit Kaduna, he must win the elections and ensure that KABAFest edition 5 happens,” he said.
Some participants of this year’s edition of KABAFest expressed their worries to SAHELIAN TIMES as the event ended on Saturday
Dr. Usman Zunnuraini expressed his desire for the literary festival to continue because it positively impacts both the state and all of northern Nigeria.
” KABAFest has tremendously inculcated reading habits among Kaduna residents and has produced writers across all ages,” he said.
Ruqayyah Sadisu Abdullahi, who picked an interest in poetry during the festival’s inaugural year, stated that she would like to perform a poetry reading there in the next edition.
This year’s festival, which featured over 70 guests, comprising writers, poets, actors, musicians, artists and filmmakers, hundreds of book and art lovers and culture connoisseurs, was hosted in the facilities of the Stonehedge Hotel in City Center, Bank Road, Kaduna, from September 14 to 17.
It attracted renowned authors, actors, actresses, public servants, journalists and technocrats like, Professor Audee T Giwa, Richard Ali, Bisi Adjapon, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Asabe Madaki, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, and Muhammad Sani Dattijo among others.
First hosted in 2017, El-Rufai said the rationale behind initiating KABAFEST was not only to promote the creative arts and nurture minds, but also to create jobs and wealth for the people of Kaduna, adding that it was the sole responsibility of the state government to support creativity and the arts.
Lined-up for the four-day programme of arts and book-focused events are, ‘booklogues’, workshops, performances, art show, stage play, film screening and panel discussions with Nigerian and international writers and thinkers.
Speakers will tackle issues around life in Nigeria, but most especially Northern Nigeria. The panel discussions typically last for 80 minutes, with at least 20 minutes devoted to audience participation and question and answer.
‘Bookies’ had the opportunity to mingle and hold stimulating discussions on a wide range of issues concerning books with guests. According to the curator of the event Lola Shoneyin, KABAFest is the first and only literary fête of this magnitude in Northern Nigeria. It aims to change the way the world sees the region, “boost access to literacy and reading, reignite a passion for arts and culture in the state and to create more safe spaces where cultural and literary enthusiasts can gather dialogue about books, culture and ideas.
The opening was ignited by poetry performances from Deborah Johnson and Ogaba Ochai’s contemporary dance.
The opening ended with a musical performance by Stringzshady.
The dominant message in Kabafest 2022 is creating opportunities in Literature, politics, arts, public service and every sphere of life.
Within this context, the changing narrative of Northern Nigeria expressed in the festival sequentially revealed an engagement with ideas of turning a page.
The festival reflected and engaged the role of writers, youths and women in public as a nation.
One of the most fascinating sessions was the Booklogue, where writers discussed their works. One of them had Mona Eltahway author of “The Seven Neccessary Sins for Women and girls” and Audee T Giwa author of ” Love in the Afternoon.”
The two novels represent the voices of feminst writers. They engage new themes such as, writing openly about sex, which African writers used to avoid as if it does not happen in Africa.
They also address the pains of marriage, the challenges of childlessness and women being pushed into taking extreme forms of action in search of solutions.
They also address difficult questions concerning religious practices and tensions as fundamentalism takes root in Nigeria and other African countries.
Sunday was poetry night. This year featured 8 Nigerian poets.
They include Hauwa Saleh, Salim Yunusa, Bello Abdullahi, Debbie Johnson, Umar Farouk, QalbSaleem Muhammad, Abdulbasit Abubakar, Jordan Bangoji, and ended with a Music performance by Ladipoe.
The festival, no doubt, is helping to push the fact of a changing narrative, which is genuine and reflective of the Northern literary scene as a viable alternative to the South.
The Kaduna State government, in partnership with the Book Buzz Foundation, Sterling Bank organised the festival
