Hausa Literary Movement & the 21st Century

This article was written in 1999 and was published online in 2002 by www.kanoonline.com. it is being reproduce here in the light of the crisis between writers in Kano, Nigeria and the Kano State Censorship Board. It is a pointer. Enjoy reading.

******
The story of Hausa literature is a long one and it can be said to have come a long way. In the modern sense and in this write-up, our concern about Hausa Literature is not all encompassing rather restrictive. Creative writing in Hausa language started as soon as the Hausa people accepted Islam in around fourteenth century or much earlier. Arabic scripts were used to write Hausa in what is called Ajami form of written Hausa. That form of writing was used for scholarly works, communication and creativity up till today by millions of people. Up to the 1960s and early 1970s Ajami was in used by a large number of people. Although today its use has declined due to the rampant use of roman script and some socio-historical circumstances, the use of Ajami is still common. All Nigerian currencies carry Ajami form so are a number of commercial products like the Swan Water. There is also a whole newspaper in Ajami published weekly by the Triumph newspapers company called Alfijir. Recently Dr. Abdallah Uba Adamu of the department of Education Bayero University, Kano is initiating and leading a campaign of Ajami revival. The essence of Ajami is that our literature was first written in it. There is no doubt that Islam and Arabic civilisations have a propound influence on Hausa language, culture and literature. Thus the earliest genre of creative writing was poetry. There were many evidences on the use of poetry for scholarship, mobilisation, enlightenment, campaigns and revolutions. However the peak of poetry usage came with the Jihad of Usmanu Danfodio in the 19th century. The Jihad leaders used the medium of poetry to educate, mobilise and enlightened their followers; the Jama'a. A quick peep in the Jihad literature provides hundreds of examples of poems composed by the Jihad leaders especially Usman Danfodio, his brother Abdullahi and his children Muhammadu Bello and Nana Asma'u. Poetry continued to dominate Hausa literary scenes until recently. Other genres of creative writing particularly prose and play were virtually non existent before the coming of the British colonialist in the early 20th century. This may be attributed to religious position which do not encourage fictional stories because of the fear of making them to appear real and authentic. The introduction of roman scripts saw the emergence of the new Hausa prose-fiction and plays. Abubakar Imam and his colleagues under the guidance of Dr. Rupert East gave birth to what we may consider modern Hausa literature. Thus from 1933 when the first set of Hausa novels were published, we have witnessed the emergence of second and third generation of Hausa novelists and finally in the mid 1980s the fourth generation emerged. Hausa play and poetry has declined it is the novel that lives on as even the short story genre has declined. What we call fourth generation of Hausa writers is what some call Soyayya writers or market literature while some others call them millennium generation still some call them the new Hausa writers or contemporary Hausa novelists/writers. Whatever name they are called, there is no doubt that they have generated a lot of controversies more than their predecessors have. Some of the major criticism labelled against these writers are that - They are immature and not well educated - They are corrupting the minds of youth (their target readers) by introducing anti-cultural plots and styles in their writing - They are low quality books (because they are self published) - The books aremere love stories most of which are adaptations of Indian movies and many more. Thus from around 1990 debates ensured on the pages of newspapers and magazine (the broadcast media inclusive) for and against these books and writers. One thing though is certain these books have survived. Whatever negative thing is said about these books and writers in the last few years. it will be imperative to see the positive side of this new literary movement and its implication to Hausa language and literature as we step into the21st century. This is for a number of reasons the most important of which this new literary movement has earned Hausa language the position of the fastest growing literary language in Africa in a time when Arabic and Kiswahili are becoming increasingly important contenders as Africa’s lingua franca. The new literary movement which was and still is dominated by youth has contributed in no small measure in increasing literacy level among Hausa speakers particularly women. This singular achievement alone is enough to commend these young writers who despite unfriendly economic and technical environment were able to write and publish. Secondly, the movement has brought forward Hausa literature for the very first time into the main stream of Nigerian literature. Until 1996, Hausa writers were not recognised as writers in the Nigerian literary circles. The formation on a branch of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) in Kano between 1992-1995 and attendance of some ANA Kano members to the 16th Annual Convention of ANA in Kaduna brought Hausa literature to the forefront. Thanks to Ado Ahmad Gidan Dabino, Dr. Adamu Tanko, Malam Bala Mohammed, Dr. Saleh Abdu and Yusuf Adamu who represented Hausa writers and mounted an exhibition during the convention. Now we have two Hausa writers (though equally English) as members of ANA national executive council. Thirdly, the movement has contributed in no small measure in inculcating reading habit and culture among Hausa youths. One young people acquire this culture, it prove essential throughout life and a people that doesn’t read is doomed. Next, the movement has produce for Hausa literature fine writers who will form the background of Hausa literature in the next millennium. This also implies that without this new literary movement Hausa literature would have been certified dead. Reasons: when the major Hausa publishers (notably NNPC Zaria, and Huda-Huda) declined Hausa literature was threatened, had this new movement not started, we will today have no new Hausa writers thus no literature. Look at what is happening to Hausa poetry and plays. Hausa poetry is today restricted to political campaigns periods and Hausa plays relegated to TV dramas and Home videos. Another important attempt (though now abandoned) made by this movement was that of inventing new scripts for Hausa. Notably Dan Azimi Baba Cediyar `Yan-gurasa and one Sadiya Lawan have attempted inventing new Hausa scripts and were put to use by a few followers. This is implying that since the British Imperialists have helped in killing the Ajami form of written Hausa by introducing Hausa in Roman scripts, young Hausa men and women are trying to show that they can abandoned the roman script for an original Hausa script. This attempt is worth studying by our scholars in the Universities especially the Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages of the Bayero University Kano and Centre for Hausa Studies of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. What hope for the millennium? Despite all these achievement, Hausa literature is far from being ready for the 21st century world. There are a number of reasons that militate against it some of which are follows: - Stereotyping of the whole movement by some section of the population, the media and academia. - The state structure has yet to take the whole movement seriously in that The Kano State Library Board (the custodian of Kano state collections on Arts and Literature) does not have a collection of the new Hausa writing. So also most other libraries in Hausa speaking places. -Lack of organisation and strong economic base in the publishing industry. - The emergence of Home-videos (a more profitable business) is threatening the booming book industry. - Lack of interest from the State, Hausa elites and academia on the progress of Hausa literature. - There is a clear neglect by the State and the writers community in writing for children. Notwithstanding these problems we can say there is hope as there has always been. Thanks to Allah that those chosen to be writers are always conscious of their responsibilities and are not relenting. For now the Kano ANA is now organising a monthly literary forum it called Dandalin Marubuta that brings together writers, critics and readers monthly to discuss and exchange ideas on how to go about improving Hausa literature. This is yielding fruits. It is also publishing an anthology of Hausa short stories for the first time in the history of Hausa literature. It is also trying hard to find a sponsor for a prize to be administered by ANA national for Hausa novel. The leading writers in the movement have also indicated their interest and willingness to improve the literary and production quality of their works as we entre the 21st century. An educationist with Bayero University (Dr. Abdallah Uba Adamu) is putting together a book of readings on the new Hausa literary movement in book form. This will serve as a teaching and reference text for the students of Hausa literature, culture and sociology. A Kano based publishing firm (Adamu Joji Publishers) that publishes books for children in English will also start a new series next years in Hausa for school children. This is to address one of the major areas of weaknesses of Hausa literature of neglecting children. Conclusion By way of conclusion, I think it is becoming evident that the next century is a century of information. Coupled with what is happening to the Hausa-speaking peoples in the current time, there is every need on the part of all stake-holders to come together and re-focus Hausa literature by identifying with its producers and assisting them. Our literature is our history. If we let our literature die just like we let our great historical monuments (the city walls)in Kano, Katsina, Zaria, Sokoto and other Hausa City-states die, we will do more disservice to our children and to history. We will not be forgiven for siddon-look but may be forgiven for making mistakes. We as writers would continue to do our best for our society, if the society fail us, history shall still say good of us.

BETWEEN THE PEN AND THE SWORD: DRAWING THE BATTLE LINE IN KANO STATE

“A society can endure kufr but it cannot endure injustice”
-Shiehk Usmanu Dan Fodiyo

The Nature of the conflict
Sometime in June 2008, the Kallabi Writers Association, a Hausa female authors association was launched. The Director General of the Kano State Censorship Board was invited. He attended but did not stay up to the end of the occasion was finished he left. There were insinuations as to why he left before the even is concluded, but the information we received rightly or wrongly was that he was angry with the organisers, (being a literary event), for not ‘taking permission’ from him to organise the event and that he even made some statements that made authors jittery.

Later, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and other Authors Associations operating in Kano State were invited for a meeting with the Board. The meeting started well but later it turns out to be something else. The board requested that all Associations must give details of their membership and that all books published from the time the Board was established must be registered before they are “legal” and sellable within the borders of Kano State!

What actually made the writers angry was this rather awkward proviso that every member must register with the board individually. This means that every author in Kano State must be licensed by the Board to be able to write, this is despicable indeed. Remember Orwell’s 1984? This is in addition to the one month ultimatum given for all authors to register and also register their books otherwise; the board will start raiding the market and arresting authors, publishers, booksellers who are not licensed by the board or whose works were not registered.

After the meeting the chairman of ANA Kano State Branch gave interviews to the Hausa service of the BBC, Deutschewelle (Voice of Germany) and Radio France International protesting the position of this powerful DG of a Kano State Government Agency. The authors met and discussed the issue trying to find a middle ground, (because authors are law abiding but not idiots). So, they wrote under the umbrella of ANA Kano State Branch using its letterhead (being the mother Association of Nigerian Authors), to the board requesting the board to send to them in writing what they really want from them instead of verbal commands and instructions (as if the military is controlling some agencies in Kano State)

The bias and injustice that characterized the response from the Board is what prompted this article, as argued Man Ray (1890-1976) “Each one of us, in his timidity, has a limit beyond which he is outraged.” The DG replied some of the Associations in the league, deliberately excluding ANA arguing that ANA is not registered with the holy Censorship Board and so not recognised by “Kano State Government?”



The reply to our letter which is circulated to ‘registered association” read as follows:

Pursuant to your letter dated June 5th 2008 on the above subject matter being registered associations with this Board, I am instructed to communicate to you that, the laws and regulations of this Board are public documents accessible to our stakeholders and general public. These documents are strictly guiding the activities of this Board over its stakeholders hence provides the do’s and don’ts for compliance.
Further to remind you on the joint meeting held on July 3rd 2008 between this Board and your associations which was purposely conveyed to:
i) Guide your association and individual members on the impact and virtues of literary works
ii) Educate you on the powers of the Kano State censorship Board on the registration of members of literary works through your respective associations. As primary agency the board finds it Cogent to have comprehensive data, contribution in the literature and the society and the likely benefit/incentive from government to the registered members.
iii) Obtain comprehensive membership strength of each association.
iv) Re-emphasis the importance of censoring your projects with Kano State censorship Board as mandated by the law
More over, the meeting was meant to educate you and your members on respect to law and order (regulations), constituted authorities and professionalism of literary works.
Find attached partial extract from the laws for guidance, please.
Best Regards

The letter was signed by a senior officer for the grand Director-General,

The over personalisation of civil service, raw over zealousness and brute lack of civility by the refusal to reply ANA is outrageous. Since we wrote, we deserve a response, but this is a DG of a powerful government agency refusing to reply a registered and respectful Association simply because he thinks it is not registered with his agency. This makes no sense to any sensible and trained bureaucrat, one wonders what the seasoned civil servants in the agency are doing. Perhaps, they are working under instructions.

In the first instance, as Nigerians, the 1999 constitution has given us the right to associate enshrined as a fundamental human right. ANA being a professional Association has no business registering with any kind of Censorship Board, if any one needs to, it is publishers and not authors. Yet the current chairman of ANA Kano State Branch Ado Ahmad Gidan-dabino has compromised and registered ANA with the Board, he has paid the required money at Afri-bank for the registration. He made another compromise by submitting to them a list of ANA Kano State Branch registered members and also encouraged ANA members to individually submit their books for “puritanical certification” even without consulting the national body; wai duk don a zauna lafiya, yet, the Association he heads was denied a reply simply because he insisted that writers do not need a license to work as writers.


Why we respond

We as authors have deep respect for a couple of people who are in the act of Governance of the State among them is the SSG, a fellow writer, who has always been supportive of ANA whenever any national activity is taking place. Yes, the SSG has supported ANA Kano State Branch to host the best annual convention of the Association ever in 2005 which re-affirms Kano’s adage Ko da me ka zi an fika. We have respect for Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa a brilliant author, who happens to be one of my literary mentors and an ardent supporter of ANA and literary activities in Kano State. We also have respect for Malam Bala Muhammad the DG of A Daidaita Sahu; he is a friend, associate, colleague, comrade in arms a great mentor of ANA. He is a great friend of writers being a writer himself. Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa, a fine scholar and scientist is also admired and respected in our midst. All these people are greatly respected in our midst and because of them compromise and are open to dialogue on literary matters. Despite our respect for them, in a situation like this we as writers and authors cannot look the other way; because their colleague is all out to suppress creativity and kill the many years of hard work and dedication recorded so far in this beloved State of ours. We are sorry the battle line is drawn between us and the DG of the Kano State Censorship Board. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) said “A man never tells you anything until you contradict him.”

The Board verbally, told us that they want to censor vulgar and obscene language (batsa) from our works. Fine, it is good to ensure that the public read only that which is good. In any case we see ourselves as Muslims before becoming writers (see my article Faces of Islam at www.tagarduniya.blogspot.com for details). As Muslims and Hausawa we want our writings to be sane and safe for our kids to read. As authors also, we want to have good editors that would edit our works. But the questions begging for answers about this ghost called censoring that are not answered about censorship include among others the following:

What guaranty do I have that if tomorrow I or any author writes a satire about a fifth columnist politician who betrays the trust of those who supported him when he was nobody only to bow to his enemies and eulogies and even worship them, that my manuscript will pass the many hooks and nails of the uncompromising DG.

What would happen to a manuscript that exposes the immorality, decadence and contradiction in an institution that claims Puritanism and decency?

What would happen to a play that criticizes the corruption that characterised a polity that claims transparency and prudence? This sledge hammer has no modus operandi.

Does the almighty DG have competent hands to censor good works of art?

Isn’t it funny that the boss of the censorship board employs his wife to censor books and he would unashamedly tell an author that “wallahi matata ba ta gama dubawa ba” or when an author goes to collect his certificate he would be told “Ka yi hakuri yaran da suke duba littafin ba su zo ba yau” and other nonsense of this sort.

Has he done his homework? Has he read his history books well or has he studied his papers to know about ANA’s internal censorship mechanisms (let him refer to the first draft of the censorship edict prepared under the military at the Ministry of Information and their encounter with ANA then) before beating the drums for war?

Not until these questions are sufficiently answered, ANA is left with no option than to conclude that His Excellency the DG has a level to score and only the Agency provides him with a platform to launch his attack. But the innocent Agency is a wrong place for this.

Why is the censorship board confronting the writers now?

What are the reasons for the Censorship Board’s recent outburst? I spoke to a number of people and a couple of authors about the probable reasons for opening a new frontier by the over zealous Censorship Board. Many opinions were expressed among them, three are outstanding. Whether these reasons are correct or not, they are opinions held by a number of people and authors especially.

The first opinion is that the Director General wants to remain relevant because he wants maintain his chair that is why he must remain in the news, the easiest way is to open a new front, this time confronting those who can really make noise. It is noise he thinks that could help him remain there perhaps without end. Those with this view support their view by saying the DG of censorship board has said in public that “na gama da ýan film saura marubuta” Just like the proverbial “After communism what next?

The second opinion is that the outburst was part of a master grand plan of a foreign government who is looking for ways to gag Muslim scholars by censoring what they teach or preach, that is why censoring began with filmmakers where the players feel big, rich and influential. After them they would tackle writers. Perhaps after writers, malaman zaure or malaman makarantar allo would come next.

The third view is that the DG has failed his employers some how, he is now confused and wants buy time by distracting the attention of his employers and the public elsewhere, so the best target and presumably the softest one are the writers. “why do you think Bush wants to attack Iran while his country is stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan?” someone opines.

Whatever is the reason or motive for the this approach, it is ill timed and ill conceived and I am afraid, your Excellency might not be in torch with history, a war between the sword, and the pen always leave the former in disarray. In any case, Robert Rubin once said “Doing nothing is the wrong thing to do if there is something to do that is clearly the right thing to do. But doing something that is not sensible...is a very bad idea.”

Possible Scenarios
Writers are like any other human being in their nature, however, their predictions sometimes come true because they almost all the time put their situation into the framework of a fictional story. We are now at crossroad, how would our story end? Assuming we are putting our scenarios into the fabric of a story in progress. There are many possible scenarios on the dimension the conflict will take. The first is that the censorship board would use the ‘divide and rule tactics’ which they have already shown indications. It is possible that some writers might be tempted or forced into recognition the Board’s infamous licensing requirements and even go public in support of the action. It is also possible that ANA might be polarised if the ‘Kano emotion tactic’ is invoked. This tactic would lure some writers into believing that ANA is an Association of ‘the other’ (to be modest) so writers who are Kano State indigenes should have their own independent Association.

A group of renegades might be enticed into believing that those who support the board might be rewarded with money, because as their letter and actions shows government has some money to dash out. After all it is political era, an era of ci-mu-ci, there are many Toms, Dicks and Harrys that are willing to auction their conscience for some coins.

But the above scenarios are the soft options, there could be others options. The censorship Board has a lot of power and its boss is known to be thorny and uncompromising aficionado neglecting the fact that “Extreme trends are breeding grounds for equally powerful countertrends” as argued Stephen S. Roach.

The Board which has already begun a census of books in the market may enact a decree that would make the sale of all “uncensored books” a crime as the case with filmmakers. Anybody found selling “uncensored books” can then be jailed just like it happens to some film marketers in Kano State . This can work for a while and it can prevent book sellers from selling “uncensored books” therefore, forever closing the pages of the flourishing literary market of Kano, after all who is really interested in making Kano State prosper again as a center of industry. Can’t you see that Kano State no longer produces any thing, isn’t Singer Market the only symbol of Kano’s industrial past, the only thing that we do in Kano State , tireda!

The board may also decide to arrest authors, publishers and distributors of all “uncensored books”, and within weeks, Kano central prison would be celebrating having tens and tens of authors as inmates. They have the power the State government is behind them 101%, what else do they need?

Another scenario can be covert, the Murtala Mohammed Library Board supports ANA, in fact, our office is located there and we meet once every month there free of charge. The board can ensure that our office is revoked. The hall we get to meet once in a month may also be charged, that can put us in a difficult situation.

Possibly also, is that the support we enjoy from the State government during major events may cease. ANA Kano State Branch was given the mandate to organise the 2nd Northern Nigerian Writer Summit in 2010. The powerful DG may convince Kano State Government not to support it. Up north, Katsina is on standby, Jigawa is also on standby not to talk of Kogi and Benue States down North-Central. If this happens who lose, we as authors, or and its people?

There could be other scenarios which we are thinking about but which we also making plans for, but until then, every author living in Kano State, every publisher, every book seller, and in fact every intellectual is in danger.


Conclusion

Censorship Board is supposed to be diplomatic, polite and people oriented and not a battle ground of anti-creativity. The DG is playing with a fire that could consume him, and his chair, Luo Guanzhong, a 14th century Chinese author and playwright once said “Anyone using fire depends on the wind. This is now winter and only west winds blow...I am on the northwest and the enemy is on the south bank. If they use fire they will destroy themselves. I have nothing to fear.”

The militaristic attitude of the Censorship Board DG is capable of eradicating the remaining sympathy the state have in the heart of intellectuals in the State and outside, he is capable of turning the friends of the government into its foes. I am sure the State Government is not a bunch of fools that would simply sit down and fold their arms and watch this disoriented figure marring its name. He is miscalculating and wants to take other reasonable people with him into a voyage on a ship that is destined to wreck. If the State Government and other responsible citizens of Kano State decide to take a siddon look attitude,we want to warn that this battle is a battle without end. ANA would not fold its arms and watch this bully destroy its membership nor any writer resident in Kano State. Despite this well deserved stance, we want to let everyone know that we are open to dialogue.

This article is a preamble and because the battle line has been drawn, our pens are sharpened and we would use every media local and international at our disposal to fight this oppression and madness. This article is already on my blog www.tagarduniya.blogspot.com and we shall soon dedicate a whole blog for this battle. I want to appeal to all writers, fellow journalists and blogers wherever they may be on this Earth and in the cyber space to put their weight behind us. If the pen is mightier than the sword, it shall certainly be mightier than injustice. The struggle has just begun.

It will be nice to conclude with an excerpt of a poem by Hafsatu Ahmad Abdulwahid, (an unlicensed poetess) the first Hausa female novelist and author of So Aljannar Duniya from her unpublished collection of poems Ancient Dance:

Crossroad!
Cross road, I know I have come
One laced with thorns
The other bare and safe
And although the choice is mine
I dare walk the thorny road
For the yearning of my heart
A desire so potent
I crave to follow my wretched heart.

Dr Yusuf Adamu, former ANA kano chairman, is a Senior Lecturer in Geography at the BUK, a blogger and columnist with Sunday Trust Newspaper.

July 11, 2008.

BANGON DUNIYA. Where are we in the Cosmos?

I was re-reading one of my favourite Science books; COSMOS by Astronomer Carl Sagan, when I came a cross a section that reminded me of my search for God as a small boy. In this book, Sagan was narrating how he developed interest in Astronomy telling us “I would look at them (the stars), twinkling and remote, and wonder what they were. I would ask older children and adults who would only reply ‘they’re lights in the sky kid’ I could see they were lights in the sky. But what were they? As soon as I was old enough, parents gave me my first library card… I asked the librarian for something on stars… she smiled and found another book---the right kind of book. I open it breathlessly and read until I found it. The book said something astonishing, a very big thought. It said that the stars were Suns, only very far away. The Sun was a star, but close up... So I decided that I would be an astronomer”.

So, I told my younger brothers about it and narrate to them how I also develop interests in Astronomy but without deciding to ‘become an Astronomer’. Just then, one of them asked me about Bangon Duniya (the wall of the world?) Trying to argue that he was told that when you pass the Great Wall of China, you have reached the end of the world and that you would just disappear. I wonder the source of that strange idea. They encouraged me to share the very little I know of the planet Earth and the universe with more people. I feel the idea is just right so I set to compose this article, (the last time I published an English article on the stars was in the defunct newspaper Democrat, 1989) which I hope would make more people aware of our place in the Cosmos.


This article is going to begin with some personal narrative. Therefore, this time around, we are leaving literature and history to make a short trip to Astronomy. Lately I went to greet my mother when my young son Abdulrashid asked her about the moon. While replying she said ‘like father like son. When your father was a kid he will always insist that I lift him up to touch the moon or get him one of the stars”. I then realised that my interest with the skiy has been a very long and intimate one.

Now to my journey. Like any other Muslim child in Hausaland, northern Nigeria, my first school was the Makarantar Allo later I joined Islamiyya School to be taught the Qur’an, Hadith, Seera, Fiqhu, Arabic and so on. Two incidences happened, the first, while I was in Qur’anic school and on holidays with my grandma ma in Tsafe (then North Western State, now Zamfara State). Whenever it was time to prayer, she insist that I pray, but like any other child, sometimes I rather continue with my wasan kasa or something else. She would admonish me saying “if you are not praying, Allah would burn you in the hell fire in the hereafter” and I would reply innocently “Allah would not find me, for I would run away to Maiduguri and hide”. The reason for saying Maiduguri was that I heard that it is a town very far, far away and I thought God might not be able to find me.

When I start attending Islamiyya School I came to learn more about the attributes of Allah, some of which I began to learn with a Malam in Kankia (Katsina State) when I visit my maternal grand parents. Thus, I learn that Allah has no beginning nor will He ever had an end, He created time and everything and that He knew everything. The lines to justify that Allah has no beginning are still fresh in my memory and they read:
“Domin kuwa lokaci halitta ce ta Allah
To yaya za a yi halittar Allah ta riga Allah
Saboda haka, ashe Allah bas hi da farko, kuma ba shi da karshe”
(Translation)
Because time itself is a creature of Allah
How then can Allah’s creation comes before Allah
Therefore Allah has no beginning and has no end”

Thanks to my teachers, may Allah reward them abundantly with the best of rewards. From then on, the idea of running to Maiduguri seem untenable, therefore abandon. The next great challenge was with an idea of paradise taught to us by our Yasayyadis. I learnt that Paradise is the opposite of hellfire and that it is a beautiful place that we never could imagine. Whatever good or beautiful thing we thought of is abundant in paradise. We were told what to do to be admitted in the paradise and what to do or not do to be in hellfire (God forbid).

All these are conceivable to a small child of my age. What was not conceivable or acceptable or even comprehensible was the idea that this paradise is consisting of very big and mighty houses/palaces. Their sizes are the bone of contention between my imagination and the Yasayyadi’s pronouncements that the poorest inhabitant of paradise would be given a house that is seventy thousand times bigger than the world. This is a very difficult idea for me. I reasoned that we were living in Kano, I have travelled as far as Katsina and Sokoto and have seen how vast the land mass was and I know that places like Makkah and Madina and even Ingila (England) were very far way. So how could only one person (the poorest for that matter) get a house 70,000 times bigger than the whole Earth? Where would the space be found? Yes the key question was where would the space be found?

I see the sun rise every morning and sets every evening. We see the crescent moon grow to be full only to wane back again. Of course I see the stars in the night, but it never occurred to me that they have any link with the problem at hand. That ‘powerful doubt’ kept confusing me. The only consolation was the belief that Allah is able to do all things. That being the case, the material world could not answer or clear my doubt.

One day at the primary school, I begin to learn that the Earth (world) is a planet in the solar system and that there are other planets beside the Earth. By the time I was in form three, my first lesson in Geography was about the Solar System. From then on I realised that some of the planet out there are bigger than our planet and that those tiny lamps in the sky that we call stars are mighty bodies of gas. For the first time, I came to learn about galaxies. From then on I began to understand that the spaces to be allocated to ‘yan aljanna are actually available.

I set out to understand the mystery of the night sky I see every night. Every book that talks about the sky or the universe became my good friend and Geography my twin brother. We had a library at the senior secondary school I attended (Science Secondary School, Zuru, now Kebbi State) and I made it a point to read all the books that talk about Astronomy. At the university, the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Library provided me with all the basic books that I needed to learn about the universe. It was through Astronomy that I personally discovered God and had a conviction about His existence and His powers of creation and love for mankind. This was my personal discovery and not something I have been taught by my Malams. It is in astronomy that one would hear Astronomers declaring their weakness in knowledge and simply saying ‘we do not know’. My further studies into Islam and Science through books notably by Maurice Baucille and others strengthen my belief in Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.

Now let us go straight to our topic by starting to discuss briefly the planet Earth. The simple thing we are going to do here is to describe it and provide some facts and figures about it after which I would lead you into a journey across the Solar system.


The Planet Earth

The Earth is a planet, one of the nine planets orbiting the Sun. Scientist have told us that it is about 4.5 billion years old. The mean distance of the Earth from the Sun is 149,503,000 km (92,897,000 mi). Like all other planets, it orbit round the Sun. the length of its orbit round the Sun is approximated at 938,900,000 km (583,400,000 mi). This is the distance we all travel each year as the Earth revolves round the Sun. The more interesting thing about this long journey is the speed at which we travel which is 106,000 kilometres per hour which means, we travels at a speed of 260,805.5 kilometres every second. The Earth is spherical in shape as shown on the accompanying photograph. Its diameter is about 12756 km (7926 mi) at the equator and about 12713 km (7899 mi) — 43 km (27 mi) at the poles. Water covers most of the Earth about 71 percent.




This means that countries are located at different locations. To make it easier for us to know our world, Geographers use some imaginary lines to divide the world. They are called longitude and latitude. Longitudes move from North to South, the upper part always been the North. We use them to know time. Since the Earth rotates on its axis (East to West), it means that while one area is facing the Sun, the other is backing it. This is why we have variations in terms of day and night. Some areas particular those in the East see the Sun before those in the West. The other imaginary line is called Longitude and this one runs East-West, right hand being the East. This helps us know our location, i.e. where we are on the planet Earth.

Geographers use this line to divide the world into two, the line called equator divides the world into two equal halves, north and south. We also have areas tagged as Tropical regions; these are the areas lying immediately north and south of equator. We also have Temperate areas as well as the Polar region. We do not have to bother ourselves with their exact degrees here. What we are particularly interested in all this is the issue of the amount of solar radiation each section receives. Because the Earth is tilted, the angle in which Sun’s rays hit the Earth varies from region to region. Whereas in the Tropics, the Sun is almost overhead, they receive a lot of solar radiation and that is why it is hot. As you move up north/south the angle’s slant increases thus the temperate latitudes receive less amount of solar radiation compared to the tropics. That is why countries in those areas are always cold.

At the poles, the Earth are relatively flat, the story is interesting. But before then, let us examine and see if the poles may be considered as Bangon Duniya, because literarily, it is the end of the world. Although I personally did not know much about Hausa pre-Islamic cosmology, the idea of the world having a wall (bango) among the Hausas might be an old belief. It is obvious that the idea is associated with the belief that the Earth is flat. Hausa people’s culture of making city walls might have helped in this idea. It also means that when you reach the walls of the world and dig through it, you may fall down (to God knows where). However, the Islamic belief in Yajuju wa majuju (Gog and Maggog) might have strengthened this belief of Bangon Duniya. Now we know better that the Earth is not flat but spherical. What we may consider as Bangon Duniya should be the Poles, north and south poles that are within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.

The most interesting thing about the Polar region is the fact that, at the poles, there is only one day and one night. That means they have six months of continuous daylight and continuous night. Their seasons are opposite, when it is summer in the Arctic (north pole), it is winter in the Antarctic (south pole). The area is extremely cold and is covered with ice and snow. There are rivers not of water but of ice, there are hills and mountains of ice. In fact, the people that live in the polar region use ice to build their houses, which they called igloo. The picture below shows two Inuit people building an igloo (house).

Now, we have said something about our planet, although we did not say much, the very little we have said, I hope, would help those of us that are not Geographers like me. The next thing to do now is for me to lead you. We are making a trek within the solar system. Hope you are ready.

Measuring Distances in the Universe

This journey we are going to make was influenced by my personal experience in the London Planetarium. In November 1998, I was in London on an Academic Exchange programme with the University of Sussex at Brighton. A friend of mine, who now abandon me in the classroom and “start working” Malam Bala Muhammad (formally of Mass Communications Department, Bayero University, Kano), took me to the London Planetarium. There, we experienced a journey across the Solar system and beyond. It was that experience that influenced this one. The only difference in this case is that you would only be reading the article without experiencing the journey (no visual effects). In any case, I think, it would be exiting. Most often I think about things like Planetarium becoming available in Nigeria. A planetarium would not cost us as much as we spent extravagantly on hosting Commonwealth whatever or the COJA extravaganza. But as you all know, what is important is always not a priority in Nigeria.


A Planetarium

Although we are not travelling any far away, we must note that distances in the sky (space) are enormous that the use of kilometres or miles may be meaningless. Instead we use the speed of light to measure distance. For example light travels 300,000 kilometres ever second. How long does it travel in a year? It travels an enormous distance of Ten Trillion Kilometres (10,000,000,000,000 km). Those when we say One light year what we actually mean is 10,000,000,000,000 km. In astronomical sense we do not say the distance between the Sun and the Earth is 150,000,000 kilometres rather 8.5 light minutes. At greater distances that remotely into the ream of the known universe we use even higher measures like kilo per sec to Mega per sec. These units are far greater than per sec or common light year. Nearby galaxies like The Andromeda galaxy 1,063,072,000,000,000 kilometres (One Septillion, Sixty three Trillion, Seventy two billion Kilometres) and is in the local group. The ream of the known universe detected by radio telescopes is about Forty Billion Light Years away. Think of that colossal distance in miles or kilometres.





NASA/Liaison Agency
Galaxy M100
The spiral galaxy M100 is located between 35 million and 80 million light-years from Earth. The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the core of M100 after repairs were made to the telescope in December 1993.


Time may not permit us to travel outside the Solar System to go to the galaxies. But for those of us who do not know, a galaxy is a star system, which constitute of thousands of billions of stars. Just as we have cities on the planet Earth, galaxies are like cities of stars in the universe. The Milky Way galaxy is our home galaxy, i.e. where the solar system belongs. Its diameter is 100,000 light years across and its thickness is about 20,000 light years. It completes a single revolution in every 225,000,000 years. The Milky Way Galaxy is just one of the uncountable galaxies that litter the universe. We live at the backwaters of the Milky Way (on the arms)

A trek through the solar system

Let us now make an attempt to travel just around the neighbourhood. I said neighbourhood because comparing the vast distances in space a traveller in the Solar System is a non-starter. Our travel must be aided by our imagination and accumulative knowledge gained through reading and watching educational documentaries. Just imagine yourself as a member of a space travel team. You are already in your astronaut’s suite and are fully aware that we are going to travel at the speed of light, thus it will take us roughly 50,000 years at the speed of light, this indicates that time will stop working on us as we approach the speed of light. Fasten your seat belt and let move on a spaceship of imagination. As your captain I shall be informing you of where we are whenever we arrive.

Our first point of call is the moon. It is about 375,284 kilometres from Earth and thus will take us roughly 1 minute to reach it and we have. We are now on the moon, as you can see from the window it is very quite and lifeless. You could see rocks and soil boulders and a number of craters. Its gravity is too small that we can lift 300 kg worth of material without feeling it. If you look up, you could see the planet Earth. How beautiful it looks plotting in space. For the remaining planets we will just hove around and view it from above. This is because their atmospheres and surfaces are not friendly to our technology.

It took us just two minutes to our next point of call, the planet Venus. It is over 40 million kilometres from the moon. It is a very hot planet because of its nearness to the Sun with up to 450OC. It is about the size of the Earth as you can see. It takes just 225 days to complete one revolution. Thus a person that is 10 years old on Venus will be just Six years three month (6.3) old on Earth.

Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun (just some 55,000,000 km away) is even hotter as you can feel despite attempts to protect yourself. It took us three minutes and we could not stay more than some second, we have to move further. I know you are still trying to spot it, it is hard to spot because of the dense lightening of the Sun. Anyway, and it takes about 88 days to complete its revolution.

Now you have to put on the dark curtains on your windows we are approaching the Sun. This is the powerhouse, the energy source of the Solar system. The Sun is a medium star. It is over 300,000 times bigger than our Earth with a surface temperature of 6000 o C (water boils at 100 o C, this means the heat on the surface of the Sun is just like the heat of boiled water times 60) and an internal temperature of 15,000,000 o C. Its diameter is about 1.5 billion kilometre. We must leave now towards the planet Mars.

It is relatively far as it took us 12 minutes thus nearing about 227 million kilometres. Some of us have read several fantasies about this planet fondly called the red planet. Observers from Earth view a number of landforms misunderstood as irrigation canals. This made many to believe that there is an intelligent being there who till the soil as we do. There are so many stories about the Martian invading the like and us. But as you can see from your windows Mars is as lifeless as the Moon. Indeed you could see some landforms looking like drainage systems some of which as if artificially made. Our knowledge is still inadequate to say exactly what they had been. I hope you are able to spot its two moons Phobos and Deimos. Lets move.

We are passing through the asteroid bet. This is as you are watching comprised of small rocks the largest (Ceres) about 936 km radius. This belt is what is considered as the boundary between inner and outer planets. I know some of you have spotted the biggest planet in the Solar System: Jupiter. We are heading towards it.

It will take us 41 minutes to traverse a 752 million kilometres to Jupiter’s atmosphere. We are now in its atmosphere and some of you have seen some of its 16 moons as we cross. You can see it is really big. It is 1,300 times bigger than our planet. Because of its distance from the Sun it take 12 years to complete a revolution. Therefore a one year old on Jupiter is 12 years old on Earth. The strangest thing about this planet is the fact that it has no surface like the inner planet. It is mainly gaseous. Look up, you could spot a tiny blue ball, it is our planet, some 100 million kilometre away. We have come far.

Saturn, the beautiful planet with a ring is about 42 minutes away and shall be there soon. It is 750 million kilometres away. Some of you are fast asleep, please wake up, the beautiful planet is here. We have arrived Saturn. You can see that there are six beautiful rings surrounding it. Look carefully; you will see that they are not smooth but made up of rock particles. How marvellous it looks. It has 21 moons and I know you have spotted Lapitus, Rhea, Titan and Mimas. It takes 29.5 years to complete a revolution. One year on Saturn is therefore 29.5 years on Earth.

Uranus here we come. We have spent one hour fifteen minutes to arrive Uranus’s atmosphere. It is about 15 times bigger than the Earth and has 19 thin rings. Hope you are counting. It has five moons, could you spot Ariel and Miranda? Because of it vast distance from the sun it is very cold and takes 88 years to complete a revolution. We have to move on.

Now we are going to travel in darkness. We are getting farther and farther away from the Sun. The temperature is drastically falling. In the next 84 minutes we will cover a distance of four billion, 370 million kilometres. Aha! You have sighted two celestial bodies. They are Triton and Nereid, two main Neptune’s moons. It takes 164 Earth years to complete a revolution.

Finally our journey is nearing end as we approach Pluto. After covering 950 million kilometres in one hour 41 minutes we arrived Pluto. It is a small planet that is at the extreme from the sun measuring about 5 billion 952 million kilometres from the Sun. This great distance means that its orbit is wider. It has one moon and completes a revolution in 248 Earth years. A one year old on Pluto will be 248 years on Earth, thus if any of us can be left there to spend the next three years on the planet Pluto, when we come back he will be 744 years older than we left him.

We have reached the edge of the Solar system. It is not wise for us to go beyond it. We must therefore turn back home, to our planet Earth. Well, I am also tired; I think we shall all rest here. See you another time, Insha Allah.

Conclusion

From this short trek we had into the Solar system, we can appreciate our position in the scheme of things at least within the Solar system. Our planet is understandably the only one that favours life form, as we know it. Being at a distance not too close (to be too hot) like Mercury, or not too far away like Pluto, (to be too cold) or even with a harsh atmosphere (like Mars) or without a surface like Jupiter, the Earth is the most suitable place in the solar system. Scientists have been searching for life in the solar system and beyond. They are yet to find any even though thy have found other planetary systems around other Suns. The feeling of loneliness is at times tempting. When Voyager was sent out to space, it went with a number of things about us, including our music, language and astronomical position in the Universe.

Are we alone in this vast universe or are there ‘others’ somewhere far away, at the realms of the known universe? This is a question that would take many years to be answered. In any case, we must use our loneliness in the universe to poster unity and love among our kind. This planet Earth is would have been a better place if had we not been making plans to destroy ourselves. Countries that have Nuclear weapons (and maintain the right to own such weapons, yet prevented others from having, for the advantage in terrorising others of their kind) are the harbingers of our destruction.

But when the Earth is weigh down by a Nuclear Winter (God forbid) none of our kind (mankind) would survive. Better we uplift the spirit of this space faring civilisation with love and unity of our kind than by amassing Weapons of Mankind’s Destruction.

FACES OF ISLAM

It was in the month of October 2003, that Abdullahi Ismail, of ANA Niger and then National Assistant Secretary called me and informs me that Mr. Nduka Otiono (ANA National Secretary) has asked him to inform me that I am slated to give reading at the Goethe Institut Lagos. The Goethe Institut will be celebrating a photo exhibition tagged Faces of Islam. The exhibition is on Ethiopian Muslims; they therefore in collaboration with ANA decided to match it with a reading by northern Nigerian authors (presumably because many are Muslims). I was glad to hear about it, but I began to ask myself what am I going to read that will match the occasion? What other details are there. I called Mr. Nduka ha gave me some briefs and said when we meet at the then forthcoming convention of ANA holding at Makurdi he would give more details. I waited until we met at Makurdi, unfortunately, it was an election convention, we are all too busy to talk, and I however saw the news on ANA Review. After the convention, I got my date. Mrs Rachel Attah of Kogi ANA will be attending also to read from her works.

On Saturday morning, November 8, 2003, my younger brother Usman took me to the airport. There I had two options, there were two flights to Lagos each costing Eleven Thousand Naira only, one IRS taking off at 10:00 am, the other Bellview, at 11:00 am. I had travelled with IRS in the past so I opted for Bellview. I went there and paid and waited. While IRS passengers were boarding, I felt like I should have joined that flight. But I have no business in Lagos before 5:00 so I remained till our time. When our plight landed we board and took off.

On the air, I was busy doing my favourite thing, watching the land from the air. It is always an excellent and exiting view how hour houses are well laid, how our farmlands are properly demarcated, the water bodies, the hills and so on. As our altitude increases we pass through the clouds and we move above them. I remembered my Climatology course realising that we have just passed through the troposphere and up to stratosphere where it is safer for flights. I can see the clouds spread as a land with some undulating surface. Far away I can see some hills or mountains of clouds.

We arrived Lagos on time. I was holding only my bag and have not to wit to collect it. When I can out of the arrival hall, Tijjani Abubakar who was my student and supervisee at Bayero was there waiting for me. I was so glad t see him because the problem with Lagos is not arriving, but getting to where you want to be. He was with his cousin Baba who drove us to Goethe Institut at Victoria Island where I was booked to read. There was traffic hold on as usual, but we made it around 2:30 pm, I text Nduka Otiono, ANA national secretary that I have arrived. He replied informing that he was in Ibadan to take Mrs Rachel Attah. That we should meet at 4:00 pm. When I arrived there at the Goethe Institute, at the gate, I saw a banner with Mrs Attah’s name and mine and I said to Tijjani jokingly ‘so I am this important’. There are pamphlets at the reception reading thus:

Goethe-Institut Lagos would like to invite you to a special event in collaboration with the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Exhibition and Readings. On the Road-Faces of Islam-A Photo Exhibition
Readings by Rachael Attah from Kogi State and Yusuf Adamu from Kano State.

None of the officials are there because the activity begins at 4:00pm, so we went to Dolphin Estate (Tijjani’s residence) I prayed and took a bath, rested foe a while. We left Dolphin estate some twenty minutes to four and arrived just on time and as Nduka was arriving, what a coincidence. We greeted and moved to the reception. The director Mr Michael Muller-Verweyen, and Mr Sunday were there to welcome us. Mr Nduka arrived with Mrs Attah and other ANA members from Lagos. We made copies of our submissions and distribute to the participants. We were fully introduced by Mr. Nduka and the director of Goethe Institut gave a background of the exhibition.

Mrs Attah was the first to read her short story. It was as if we arranged that she would be reading prose and I poetry. Her story was a folkloric one about one young man called Aduga who happens to be a son of a woman not so favoured by her husband. He has to pass through many huddles to succeed in the end. One of the huddles was when his father gave him a cock and his brothers hens and ask all to bring eggs after sometime. Aduga was clever enough to realise that the hens could not have made eggs without his cock and therefore used that opportunity by asking his brothers to give him an egg each so that he can allow his cock to meet with their hens, they have no options by to oblige. It was an interesting story that clearly shows her culture, issues of polygamy, favoured and unfavoured wives ad so on and so forth.

After she finished her short story I was asked to read my collection. Among my collections. Earlier I thought of what kind of selections I am going to make at the occasion, which seem to reflect Islam. As a Muslim I know I must have written some poems that may be seen as ‘Islamic’ but I also know in Islam, life itself is all Islamic in as much as poets will see life as poetry. In any case, I have no doubt that my poems will always manifest my Islamic faith, so I made a careful selection that I feel may be relevant and may summarise my poetic works in some sense. When I told Nduka and the director about my deliberate selection, they seemed impressed. The poems are categorised as, Religious, Social, Political, Place, Historical and Personal. However among the poems I was to read was Global Village, for this poem it was a homecoming because it was published in a German English High School text title Across Cultures (2002) published by Cornelsen, Berlin. The poem was published on pages 156-157 in the part three section of the book, which was discussing Globalisation. It may interest readers to reproduce how the poem was presented and the questions raised, at least it would show us how poems are appreciated in another part of the world.





Global Village
Yusuf M Adamu
In this poem Yusuf M Adamu offers his view of the impact of globalisation.
* Before reading, write down what you think the poem might be about based on
- the title (What is a ‘village’? How does the adjective ‘global’ go with it?);
- your knowledge of the topic;
- the poet’s name (Where do you think he comes from?).
* Discuss your notes in class, then save them for your analysis and final evaluation of the poem.

Global village

though we are all human
we are made to be different
by forces beyond our clout

yet they want remake us
in a new image of their choice
in a village too big to be safe

the world they now call
a single village in the globe
with a big brother to match

as long as we are second class
within that large village fashioned
we should not be subjected to
someone’s standards
someone’s culture
someone’s technology
someone’s understanding
someone’s world view
someone’s theories and concepts

they try hard in harder ways
to make us part of that village
but we know we are different
and shall strive to leave outside
that fashioned unsafe village

Read the poem and jot down your first impression of what it is about.
Now look at the style and form of the poem and describe them as precisely as possible. Compare notes with a partner and discuss to what extent your information is of significance for the poem’s central message. Keep your notes and ideas ready for further reference.
with a partner or in groups of three, go through the poem and make notes on the following:
-Who is the speaker? Who might he be speaking to?
-Who/and what is he speaking about? (What key words are there to indicate this?)
-what is the speaker’s attitude towards ‘global village’? (how does his attitude come out in the poem?)
-What development do you see from the first to the last stanza? Look for clues such as similar words and phrases, and echoes within the poem.
-Which aspects of the poem’s form are connected with the overall message (look again at your notes from task2)
Decide as a group what the message of the poem is and write down your conclusions. Compare your conclusions with those of the other groups and discuss in class the overall message and your differing interpretations of it.

I gave most of the participants a photocopy of this and the selections below.

Religious poems

The selection below are considered and presented as ‘purely religious’ poems.

prayer time

when i feel uneasy
worried and confused
inattentive to other things
prayer time has elapsed
i am busy doing something else
the moment i pray
happiness abound in my heart
serenity engulfs my frame
i can do other things now
nothing hinders my way
from then on

faith

smoothness of affairs
freedom from wants and worries
promises of the day break
gives us a peace of mind
but
the conviction
that God exists
gives us permanent peace

9/10/1999



extremes

two extremes in the terrain of
human behaviour lie oblique
on one extreme the beast
on another stupidity
in between lies reasoning

October 11 1999

living in peace

you live in peace
when you are peaceful with yourself

you will live in peace
when your intentions are good

you will live in peace
when you always think good about others

you will live in peace
when everyone his rights you give

you will live in peace
when every trust in your hands is safe

you will live in peace
when other peoples’ business you did not interfere

you will live in peace
when your activities do not harm others

you would indeed live in peace
when you do your job properly

you would certainly live in peace
when you forgive mistakes

you will always be in peace
when you trust in God







Political poems


Saints

A tradition it is becoming
When power is snatched from your hands
When your influence is gone
When you no longer have a say
When you are no longer acting on stage
You are accused of all wrong doings
‘past administration’ you are labelled
Any little mistake is yours

Those in power think they are better
In fact they want to be seen as saints
But saints are made by their actions
Saints never accuse others to hide their weaknesses
Saints are careful not to blow their trumpets

They are judged by prosperity
Never define their sainthood
Their good deeds tell who they are
Those that now call themselves saints
Will not remain as saints when they leave office
Nay they will also be like their predecessor,
sinners!

October 21 1999.

I don’t care
I value my way of life
It is the best life can give
I eat what I want
Wear what I chose
Go to where I wish
Sleep in a nice house
Do whatever I want
Without fear of anyone
For I’m secured

I am rich and beautiful
I am powerful and proud
Tall I stand among others
Why should I care about any one
So long my way of life is protected

I waste a lot no doubt
I consume too much I am sure
But that is because I’m powerful
That’s why others envy me always
That is why I’m the best

Why should I worry about others
It is not my business to care
The way of the rich is not the way of the poor
The lifestyle of the strong does not look the weak’s
Civilization is what I think it is
I should care only about me

Who cares if you are hungry
Or have no roof above your head
Who mind that you are diseased
Or insecure poverty-stricken
Why should I be concerned
If you are oppressed and cheated
I care only about myself
I always feel I’m more civilized
I am a human being but not like you

Shhhhh!
It is a matter of time
The day shall come when
Everyone must care
About every other one
By the dare need to be truly human

January 20, 2002
SOCIAL POEMS
The following poems were presented as poems of our social reality.

Gsm palaver

suddenly it rings
and away its holder
moves trying to catch
the incoming call; hello!, hello!

away by the side
to make conversation inaudible
yet very audible is all said
those left disturbed by loud voice

why move away
when all said is heard?
stay there and talk
let everyone hear!

Pakoto, 18/11/02




career beggars

old, frail, disadvantaged
some of them are
able-bodied and sound
most others are
“for Allah’s sake
for prophet’s sake”
they lobby for alms
as if Allah permitted them
ignorance- misled they think
the prophet also enjoys it
they made a career in begging
despite being fit
their minds are enslaved
by false-belief and ignorance
chained by laziness and broken heart
their minds may never be free
until the society decides to free them

professional beggars

leper
blind
paralysed
amputated
limping
rejected and dejected
their society certified
that they don’t fit in
they took to the streets
with blinded eyes
damaged fingers and toes
amputated fingers and legs
paralysed hands and legs
manifested in each disability
a distinct professionalism

fuel scarcity
long queues
hectic days
frustration
price hike
congestion
time waste
alfarma1
cuwa-cuwa2
fire out-breaks
smuggling
embarrassment
chaos
black market
surface tanks
jerrycans
task force
purchase card
police
military
press war
fuel scarcity
has arrived.

motor cyclist

acaba
okada
kabu-kabu
going
express1
describing the motorcyclist
who emerged
not by design
or scheme
but by necessity
to get employed
to send away idleness
to safeguard dignity
keep together body and soul
maintain family bonds
meet him in cities
meet him in suburbs
even in villages
he has a mental map
can locate whereever you suggest
streets and drives
nook, corners and roads
cannot be mistaken
always in a haste
reckless and speedy
`let’s make the balance,
before the day runs out’
1. acaba, okada, kabu-kabu, going and express refer to commercial motor cyclist.



Place poem

Sokoto

(for Salisu Yakasai)

protected by two arms
of rivers sakkwato and rima
forming base for
islamic reformers and saints
establishing a state
so just
an empire
so vast
a people
so honoured
sakkwato
the city of the shaihu.


Lagos

traffic jams
sky crappers
overhead bridges
area boys
bar beach
beggars
mobile preachers
affluence
destitution
this
is
lagos.

(lagos, oct. 1998)


Historical poem

ancient revolutinary

(for akhenaten, c.1388-c. 1358 BC)

when the then civilised world
was engrossed in polytheism
every man, house, village, city
with its god
every aspect of life
with its god
Ptah, Anubis, Sekhmet, Osiris, Hathor
with Amun-Re, the major god

a child was born
he was deformed,
they said
he was weak,
they said
he was eccentric,
they said
but queen Tiy, his mother knew
his mind must be strong
his psyche great
for one day
he shall be pharaoh

and the day came
amenophis IV became akhenaten
he declared aten, his new god
the god of all egypt, syria and nubia
the boy king declared monotheism
aten was a sole god,
shall be worshipped alone

the boy king refused been called a god
prepared to be seen as a man
he knew, he was only that
he showed love to his family publicly
not as pharaoh should do
he revolutionised art
amarna art, they called it
to his name he added
`ankh em maat’1


the high priests of amun annoyed
sad and determined
to see the end of this new faith
is a must

akhenaten realised
left thebes
established akhetaton
a new abode for aten
propagated his new faith
built more and more temples

they called him a heretic
they called him all sorts of names
in c. 1358 BC
this revolutionary died
akhetaton was abandon
so also aten
thebes welcomed a rebirth
polytheism was strengthened again
but for akhenaten
the glory of monotheism
that appeared on the horizon
shall re-appear again
monotheism became the new faith
for the whole world.



Personal

The Mirror Never Lies

The mirror tells me that
My face is full of valleys and crannies
My chin as bare as the Sahara

As the Sun winked again and again
The moon smiles and grin
The seasons exchanged fortunes

The mirror told me something new
All the valleys and crannies gone
As if it has been different ever since
My chin has turned into a bush

The mirror showed me a total stranger
This morning!

She

She came into my life
After my mind had been conquered
She waited and observed
Patiently, waited and studied
Then she casts her web
Soon I came under her spell

I showered her with my love
I pampered her so much
Held her like an egg
Not even a crazy wind could touch her

Like an occupying force
She had been resisted
By the earlier conqueror
“It is a territory not to encroach”
So said the empress in situ

She carved niches after niches
But they could not expand
Despite my admiration and protection
Will she ever be satisfied?
Or will I ?
I wonder ..
I am confused…

Makurdi (2/11/03)



I read the poems one by one without explanation or any brief on why the poem was written. This is not to pre-empt what the participants would want to say, for I am sure there would be comments and observations and indeed critical criticism, particularly because it is a northern poet presenting in Lagos.
One poem attracted applause even before I finish reading the rounds; that was fuel scarcity. It is one of our social reality and no Nigerian, not even OBJ would disagree with the issues raised.

After I finished my readings, as usual I got applauses and I recognised their applauses by saying (as usual) thank you, thank you… Mr. Nduka came forward and try to say he is vindicated that our presentations are superb, discussable and of interest and relevance.

The time for questions and comments came. All questions were noted and we latter responded. A summary of the questions and comments made are reproduced below. One Mr. Chuks was the first to comment and his comment was that although he agrees with the substance of the poems I read, they are too prosaic and did not tally with the mainstream of Nigerian Poetry.

I responded by also asking (like typical Nigerians) what is Nigerian poetry like and latter explained why my poems are simple and ‘prosaic’ if he thinks they are so arguing that I think many people in Nigeria and elsewhere feel that what I am writing is poetry as my poems have been published in Nigeria by journals like Okike and a review of them in Glendora Literary supplements a part from many anthologies and newspapers. I however stressed that my poems are simple because it is a matter of style and I am writing for the common man, the man on the street. I am not writing for critics or fellow poets. I have the conviction that all should enjoy poetry; the only way that can be achieved is by writing in a simple and accessible language. Many participants seem to like my response and commented in favour of poetry for the common man. Victor Okhai in particular was strongly against obscure poetry and poems that are too loaded just to be seen as poems. Many other young poets supported my style after the reading.

Olayiwola a.k.a Layi a literary columnist, now with Chevron raised the issue of influence, i.e. do religion influences poetry or is it the other way round, in other words he wanted to know whether Islam influences my writings. He latter raised the issue of Almajiri (the beggar) and asked about the cultural significance of the Almajiri and its social nuisances ad ask about the way out.

My response there was that as far as I am concerned, I am a practising Muslim and Islam as my religion actually influences my literary works, in fact it actually guides it. I informed the gathering that there is no way I can separate myself from Islam and that I cannot write anything that would go contrary to Islam. That means many deduced I am not a believer in the concept of Literature should be independent and Art is secular. The discussion even after the formal reading was interesting and rewarding.

On the issue of Almajirai, I told them about its cultural roots and my personal
opinion about it all, I use the three poems earlier presented (almajiri, career beggars and professional beggars) to buttress my points. At least many were able to differentiate between Almajiri (the Qur’anic school pupil) and alamajiri the beggar.

Austen Njoku (ANA National Treasurer) was more captivated by the first poem I read: Global Village. He commented at length about globalisation and its benefits citing examples of myself as a beneficiary of globalisation (otherwise how can I be published and taught in German secondary school?) in the end he asked this important question “Who are the we in the poem?”

I believed that globalisation has benefits, that is, if we view it from the point of view of communication, shrinking the world and making information accessible and cyber communications easier. It is now easy for me in Kano Nigeria to communicate with someone in Iceland or in Mangolia.

However, globalisation is not just about communication, it is about exploitation and domination. The Encarta Encylopaedia defines it as “integration and democratization of the world’s culture, economy, and infrastructure through transnational investment, rapid proliferation of communication and information technologies, and the impacts of free-market forces on local, regional and national economies”. This definition is loaded and meaningful. Globalisation is about ‘one state’ remember George Orwell’s 1984? I explained these to the audience and to their dismay I said, the we means Third World. This was an issue well discussed and everybody now get better information about the notion or concept of globilisation.

Victor Okhai, commented in my defence at two angles, first on globalisation citing the issue of Cowboy diplomacy and asking who determines what is right. On the other hand he argued that simple poems are the best form of poetry, as long as its goal is to communicate. Layi also argued that poetry must be allowed to flow without much complication. Readers enjoy poetry only when they understand what it is saying.

Flora of Comets said the poems are very simply (not simplistic) and raised an observation about American poetry. Here, I agreed with her the my poems are naturally simple for reasons earlier given. I also inform her that while in the United States as a Fulbright Fellow at the School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, I attended poetry sessions and have published in their journals. If our poems are said to be prosaic, the poems I listen to or read in the US may be seen as simply PROSE not even prosaic poems.

This is a summary of the discussions and in the end the irector Goethe Institut and Mr Nduka Otiono thank us and the participants and we went out to drink. There also, a new phase of the discussion starts. I was pasting and there was only Coke and water for me and Tijjani, but there is plenty of beer, the Lagos guys are doing what they know best.

The Director, I found to be a gentle and intellectually sound and seem to be well mannered and cultured. I remember when one of the participants suggests that the photo exhibition should have been that of Nigerian Muslims (northerners of course), the Director’s response impressed me, he argued that exhibiting Ethiopian Muslims and superimposing Nigerian Muslim poetry made the magic. It means that Islam is the same everywhere and that Islamic culture is transnational and across man-made and natural boundaries.

I have to thanks everyone exchange addresses and emails and take my leave. In the afternoon, I left for Kano. I met my younger brother Usman waiting for me at the airport. The Goethe Institiut experience is one experience I will cherish for a long, long time to come. Many thanks to ANA (especially Mr. Nduka) and the Goethe Institut (especially Mr Michael Muller-Verweyen).

FIR'AUNONIN MASAR TA DAURI

Na gabatar da wannan makala a bikin bikin Makon Hausa na Jami'ar Bayero ta Kano ranar, 11/9/2000
GABATARWA
An nemi in gabatar da makala akan Fir’aunonin Masar ta Dauri. Wannan a gaskiya ba karamin aiki ne a gare ni ba. Na farko dai wannan abu ne da ya shafi tarihin wayewar kai mafi tsawo da dadewa a duniya. Ita kuwa Masar ta Dauri gidan tarihi ce. In aka ce za yi lakca akan Masar ta dauri a kullum, za shekara guda ba a kare ba. Don haka, kada a yi tsammani zan iya yin bayani da zai zama mai gamsarwa game da Fir’aunonin Masar ta dauri, zan dai tsakura kadan daga kalilan da na sani game da taken jawabina na yau. Kafin mu shiga harkar bayani akan Fir’aunoni bari mu fara da yin sharar fage akan wasu ‘yan bayanai da suka shafi ita Daular /Daulolin Masar ta Dauri dangane da tarihinta, tsarin rayuwa da addini.

MASAR KYAUTAR NILU
Kufakar kogin Nilu (Nile Valley) na daya daga cikin wurare na farko na wayewar kan dan adam. Masani Herodotus dan kasar Girka, tun lokaci mai tsawo ya kira Masar a matsayin kyautar kogin Nilu saboda dalilai kamar haka; kogin Nilu ne mafi girma a kogunan duniya, tsawonsa ya kai kilomita 6671. Ya taso ne daga tafkin Victoria ya malalo ta Uganda ya biyo ta Sudan sannan ya shigo kasar Masar ya malala ya fada tekun Mediterranean. Idan an dubi Masar za a lura cewa kusan dukanta hamada ne ba don kogin Nilu da ya ratsa ta cikinta ba. Ratsawar kogin Nilu ne ya sa kufadar kogin ta zama mai matukar ni’ima ta fuskar shuke-shuke da noman rani. Duk shekara, mutanen wannan wuri kan dogara ne ga turbaya mai taki da kogin kan amayar ta hanyar yin ambaliya ta yadda bangarorin kogin biyu za su wadatu da taki domin yin noman rani da na damina. Ta haka mazauna wurin ke samun wadatuwar abinci har ma su sayar ga wasu kasashe. Wannan damar ce ta bada samuwar wayewar kai a wurin tun lokaci mai tsawon gaske.

ADDININ MISRAWAN DAURI
Misrawan dauri mutane ne masu addini. Ma’ana suna bin dokokin addinsu sau da kafa. Sai dai su ba mutane masu bautawa Ubangiji guda ba. Suna da iyayen giji da dama, duk da cewa suna daukar shi kansa Fir’auan a matsayin Ubangiji. A kowane babban birni akwai mabautu. Kowane birni na da ubangijinsa, haka kauyuka da gidaje, sai dai akwai ubangijin da kowa yake bi. Wasu daga cikin Iyayen gijin Misrawan dauri sun hada da;
Amun-Ra Ubangiji-Rana
Osiris Ubangijin Matattu
Isis Matar Osiris
Horus [an Osiris
Anubis Ubangijin Jana’iza
Ma’at Uwargijiyar Gaskiya
Thoth Ubangijin Rubutu
Sekhmet Uwargijiyar Yaki.
Ptah Ubangijin Halitta
Mut Uwargijiyar Sama’u kuma uwar Fir’auna
Tunda suna bautar Iyayen giji ne da dama, a wasu lokuta wasu Iyayen giji suna zama muhimmai fiye da wasu. Alal misali Amun ko Amon karamin Ubangiji ne, sai a sabuwar masarauta, bayan an dawo da babban birnin daular Thebes sannan ya zamo muhimmin ubangiji. Lokacin babban birnin yana Memphis babban ubangijin Misrawa a lokacin shi ne Ptah.

MUTUWA DA HISABI
“Jinjina a gareka Ubangijina Osiris! Zan tsira da gangar jikina har abada. Ba zan rube ba, ba zan zama abincin tsutsotsi ba; Ina tabbace, Ina raye, Ina da kuzari na, na tashi cikin salama, kayan cikina ba su rube ba, idanuwa na ba su lalace ba, ba a raba kaina da wuyana ba, gangar jikina za ta tabbata, ba za ta shude ba” Wannan wani bayani ne na karanto maku daga cikin Littafin Matattun (Book of the dead) daya daga cikin manyan bayanan da Masar ta dauri ta bar mana na dangane da yadda Misrawa suka dauki mutuwa. Masu ilmin kufai sun gano cewa a cikin kowane kabari, akwai wasu rubuce-rubuce da ake yi, wadanda manufarsu ita ce ta taimakawa mamaci ya isa lahira cikin nasara. Shi wannan ba saukaken littafi ba ne, a ainihin gaskiya ma masani Lepsius ne ya sawa tattararrun bayanan littafin matattu wanda ya buga a 1842.

Misrawan dauri sun yadda cewa in an mutu za a yi wa mamaci hisabi. Misali, in mutum ya mutu ana kyankyame gawarsa ne domin ya ji dadin yin sabuwar rayuwar lahira. To, bayan an yi bayanan nan na rubutu a kabarinsa wanda ake ganin kamar shine fasfon tafiya, sai kuma a kai ruhin mutum wurin da zai yi bayanin ayyukan da ya yi a rayuwar duniya. Misali mutum zai yi bayani kamar haka “ban tauye ma’auni ba, ban hana jariri shan mama ba, ban karkatar da hanyar ruwa ba, ban tauye hakkin maraya ba, ban kashe kowa ba..” da sauransu. Daga nan sai a dauko zuciyar mamaci a sa ta a sikeli. A hannu guda na sikelin kuma sai a sanya gashin kaza ko na agwawa ko wani tsuntsu a auna. Idan gashin ya rinjayi zuciyar mutum, to ya haye kenan, in kuwa zuciyar mutum ta rinjayi gashin nan to mutum ya kade har ganyensa kenan.

SARAUTAR FIR’AUNA
Da farko ya dace mu gano asalin kalmar Fir’auna. Daga ina ta samo asali, kuma me take nufi. To ita dai kalmar Fir’auna ta samo tushe ne daga harshen Misrawan dauri. Ita dai kalmar Fir’auna da (Ingilishi Pharaoh) tana nufin ‘babban gida’ da harshen Misrancin Dauri. A dauri ana amfani da kalmar ne domin bayyan fadar Mai sarautar Misrawa. An fara amfani da kalmar ne domin kiran Masu Sarauta daga wajajen 1400BC. Ta kokarin kiran dan sarauta dan babban gida shi ne har kalmar ta juye ta zama taken sarauta. A tsarin addininsu, Fir’auna an dauke shi a matsayin dan Osiris, daya daga cikin Iyayen gijinsu. Yana mulki ne a duniya a matsayin wakilin Osiris da sauran iyayen gijin Misrawa. Saboda haka, shi ne shugaban addini da kuma mayaka. A wasu lokuta ma ana daukar Fir’auna a matsayin wani dan karamin ubangiji tunda shi wakilin Osiris ne. Daga cikin fitattun Fir’aunonin da aka yi sun hada da Khufu da Zoser (Djoser) da Thutmose I da Thutmose II da Akhanaten da Ramses II, da kuma Fir’auniya Hatshepsut. Za mu yi bayani akan wasu daga cikin wadannan Fir’aunoni.
Mai Sarauta na farko da za a iya cewa shi ne ya kafa daular Masar ta Dauri shi ne Menes ko Nermer. Shi Menes shi ne ya hade garuruwan dake Kudancin kufadar kogin Nilu da kuma na Arewacin kogin Nilu. Ga jerin Gidajen Sarauta da kuma sunayen wasu daga cikin Fir’aunonin da aka yi a Masar daga gabanin samuwar Masarautu zuwa zamanin Girkawa da Rumawa.
ZAMANIN MULKIN FIR’AUNONIN MASAR
Kafin samuwar Masarautu Kafin 3150 BC
Masaurautun farko-farko 3150BC-2686BC Gidajen Sarauta I -2
Tsohuwar Masarauta 2686-2181BC Gidajen Sarauta 3 - 6
Tsaka-tsaki na farko 2181-2040BC Gidajen Sarauta 6 – 11
Masarauta ta Tsakiya 2040-1782BC Gidajen Sarauta 11-13
Tsaka-tsaki na biyu 1782-1570BC Gidajen Sarauta 13-17
Sabuwar Masarauta 1570-1070BC Gidajen Sarauta 18-20
1570-1293BC Gidajen Sarauta 28
1570-1546 Ahmose
1551-1524 Amenophis I
1524-1518 Tuthmosis I
1518-1504 Tuthmosis II
1504-1450 Tuthmosis III
1498-1483 Hatshepsut
1453-1419 Amenophis II
1419-1386 Tuthmosis IV
1386-1349 Amenophis III
1350-1334 Amenophis IV(Akhanaten)
1336-1334 Smenkhkare
1334-1325 Tutankhamun
1325-1321 Ay
1321-1293 Horemheb
1293-1185 Gidan Sarauta na 21
1293-1291 Ramesses I
1291-1278 Seti I
1279-1212 Ramesses II
1235-1224 Merneptah
1185-1070 Gidan Sarauta na 20
1182-1151 Ramesses III
Tsaka-tsaki na uku 1070-664BC Gidajen Sarauta na 21-25
Masarautun karshe-karshe 664-332 BC Gidajen Sarauta na 26-31
Zamanin Girkawa-Rumawa 332BC-395AD Gidajen Sarauta na 26-31
(Sarakunan Talamawa –Ptelemies da na Rum)

FIR’AUNA KHUFU DA ZOSER
Yanzu kuma sai gabatar da bayani akan wasu daga cikin wadannan Fir’aunoni da suka gabata. Dole ne mu ambaci Fir’auna Khufu da Zoser koda a gurguje ne domin kuwa sune suka gina Dalar Dutse da aka ce yana daga cikin manyan abubuwan mamaki na duniyar dauri guda bakwai. Wadannan Fir’aunoni na farko sune suka gina manyan abubuwan tarihi da har yanzu muke takama da su a matsayin kayan tarihi. Dalar Dutse da Mutum-Zaki (Sphinx) abubuwa ne na ban al’ajabi. Misali Dalar-Dutsen da suka gina takai kafa479 a tsawo, ta kunshi a kalla bulo (wanda kowane ya kai ton 2) guda 2,300,000. Herodotus, masanin Labarin {asa da Tarihi dan kasar Girka ya ruwaito cewa, sai da mutane 100,000 suka yi shekaru ashirin suna gina shi. Tirkashi, har yanzu abin da daure kai, domin an kasa gano yadda aka gina su. Shi kuma Mutum-Zaki (watau Sphinx) ya kai kafa 66 a tsaye, tsawonsa kafa 189.
Zanen Dutse mai nuna Khufu na karya makiyansa
FIR’AUNA AKHANATEN
Babban dalilin da ya sa na zabi in kawo bayani akan wannan Fir’auna shi ne, domin ya bambanta da saura. A baya mun gaya maku cewa, Misrawa na bautawa Iyayen giji da dama, babba a cikinsu kuwa shi ne Amun-Re. Fir’auna Amenophis III, shi ne mahaifin Fir’auna Amenophis IV. Mahaifiyar Amenophis IV kuma Sarauniyar Amenophis III sunanta Tiye. Amenophis III Basarake ne wanda ya yi fice ya kuma yi suna ta fuskar jarumtaka da mulki.

Lokacin da Amenophis IV yana yaro, watau yana dan Sarki kenan, bai taso tamkar sauran ‘yan Sarki ba. Maimakon ya maida hankali wurin koyon dabarun yaki da kuma sauran al’amura na jarumtaka da mulki, shi ya fi damuwa ne da wasu abubuwa na dabam. Misali shi ya fi damuwa da halittun Ubangiji madaukaki. Ya fi damuwa da kallon Dinya da Agwagin ruwa ko kifaye. Ya fi damuwa da kallon fitowar rana da faduwarta. Da sauran abubuwa na halitta.

A wannan lokaci, manyan malaman addini na Masar wadanda ke zaune a birnin Thebes sun kasaita matukar gaske. Tun farkon farawar Sabuwar Masaurauta, su wadannan malamai kan sami dukiya mai yawa daga masu sarauta da kuma mutanen gari. Saboda haka, sai suka fara zama barazana ga Fir’auna Amenophis III. Wannan ya sa a lokacin ya fara tunanin yaya zai yi ya rage masu karfi. Ta haka ne ya fara gina manyan Mutum-mutumansa wadanda daga bisani ya fara jan hankalin a rika bauta musu. Ta haka kenan ya fara janye mabiya Amun-Re kenan. A Birnin Thebes bautar Fir’auna ta fara karbuwa sosai haka a kudancin Masar.

Lokacin da Amenophis IV ya zama Sarki, ya gaji mahaifinsa Amenophis III, sai ya fara nuna alamun yana da ra’ayin wani Ubangiji da ake kira Aten. Shi wannan Ubangiji ba shi da mabiya da yawa. A takaice ma dai, ba a damu da bin wannan Ubangiji Aten ba. Ana cikin haka sai ya far a nisanta kansa daga bautar Ubangiji Amun (Amun-Re). Daga nan sai ya gina Mabautar Aten a Birnin Karnak, Sarauniya kuma Uwa Tiye ta rika tausawa danta domin lura da cewa shi mutum ne wanda bai damu da duniya ba, kuma ga alama ba zai iya yin mulki yadda ya kamata ba, ta hanyar yin amfani da karfin tuwo. Ba a tabbatar da cewa ko ta goyi bayansa ba bayan ya bayyana sabon ra’ayinsa na jaddada addinin Aten.

A takaice dai sai ya bayyanawa Misrawa cewa ya sauya sunansa daga Amunophis zuwa Akhanaten. Wanna sabon suna ya warware shi daga bautar Amun gaba daya ya kuma lika shi da bautar Aten. Ma’anar sabon sunansa shine Aten ya wadatu da ni. To daga nan ne ya fara bayyana cewa Misrawa su daina bautar Iyayen giji barkatai. Su bautawa sabon Ubangijinsa watau Aten. A cewarsa Aten shi kadai za a bautawa kuma ba za a wakiltar da siffarsa ta hanyar gunkin mutum ko dabba ba. Shi kuma Akhanaten ba za a kira shi ko a bauta masa a matsayin Ubangiji ba. Duk wannan abu da ake yi mabiya Amun-Re ba su jin dadi. Don haka sai suka fara shirya masa makarkashiya. Wannan ne ya sa ya yi hijira daga Thebes zuwa wani wuri tsakanin ta da Memphis (wani babban birni a Masar ta dauri). A daidai wannan lokaci ne ya auri wata mata mai suna Nafertiti, ba a da tabbacin ko ita wacece ko ‘yar wacece, sai dai ana kyautata zaton cewa kila ‘yar sarauta ce ita ma. Nafertiti ta yi imani da wannan sabon addini na mijinta ta kuma ba shi cikakken goyon baya.
Surar matar Akhenaten Nefertiti
A cikin shekar sa ta shida ne a kan karaga ya tafi wurin da zai gina sabon birninsa wanda ya kira Birnin Ubangiji. A dai-dai inda ya tsaya don kafa wannan sabon birni, ba komai face wasu ‘yan gidajen da talakawa ke zaune ciki bakin gabar kogin Nilu. Akhanaten da kansa ya ce game da wurin “Na sami wannan wuri da bamallakar kowa ba, ba na wani Ubangiji ko Uwargijiya ba ne, ba na wani yarima ko gimbiya ba ne, ba wanda zai ce nasa ne” Ya kwana a tantinsa, da safe ya fito ya shata iyacin inda birnin zai tsaya, ya kuma sa masa suna watau AKHATATEN ma’ana Birnin Aten. Sannan ya yi bauta ga Ubangijinsa, bayan nan sai ya cewa wadanda suke biye da shi “ Aten Ubangiji ne, shi ne ya umarce ni da in gina wannan birni” sannan ya ci gaba “Ga ubangiji na Aten zan gina wuraren bauta”

Bayan shekara biyu aka kamala ginin Akhataten suka dawo tare da iyalinsa da mabiyansa. Bayanan da aka samu sun nuna cewa, wasu sun biyo shi ne domin sun yi imani da shi, wasu kuma don su sami abin duniya suka yi kaura tare da shi. Imaninsa da gaskiya watau Maat ya bambanta da na sauran Fir’aunoni da suka gabace shi. Ga Akhanaten, Maat ba kawai tana nufin gaskiya tsurarta ba ne kawai, a’a, in an ce Maat, ana nufin ne aikata gaskiya, barin munafunci da annamimanci, bayyan abubuwa a yadda suke. Wannan sabuwar manufa ta shafi yadda ake tafiyar da rayuwar yau da kullum ta wancan zamani. Ga kadan daga cikin yadda yake yabon Ubangijinsa Aten. (daga cikin rubuce-rubucensa)

Ayyukanka suna da yawa matuka
Ya ubangiji tilo, babu wani tamkar sa
Kai ka hallici duniya yadda ka so
Da kai kadai ne tilo,
Duk mutum, duka dabbobi na gida da na dawa
Duk hallitta mai tafiya bias dugaduganta
Duk abubuwan dake sama da halittu masu fiffika suna tashi
(shi Ya halicce su)

Kai ka halicci kasashe har da kasar Masar
Ka ajiye kowane mutum a wuri nasa daban
Al’umomi suna harsuna da-ban daban
Siffarsu ta jiki da launi sun banbanta
Domin ka banbance tsakaninsu.

Ya haifi diya mata kamar su Merytaten da Meketaten da Ankhhesenaten, sai dai bai haifi namiji ba.

Mabiya Iyayen giji da yawa sun ci gaba da shirya masa kulle-kulle da har daga baya dai ya sami baraka da matarsa suka rabu. Daga bisani ya zabi mijin diyarsa Makataten watau Samenkhkare ya zamar masa waziri. Da ga bisani dai ba za a iya cewa ga yadda ya kare ba. To amma bayan fakuwarsa Semenkhkare ya zama Sarki. Bayan ya zama sarki sai ya bar Akhataten ya koma Thebes. Shi ma daga nan ba a san yadda ya kare ba. Tutankhaten wanda shi ma surukin Akhanaten ne shi aka nada sabon sarki, sai dai yana yaro sosai. Don haka, Ay wani babban kwamadan Akhanaten kuma mai bin addininsa shi ke mulki. Tutankhaten wanda ya maida sunansa Tutankhamun, bai dade yana kan sarauta ya mutu yana dan shekara 18. Don haka Ay ya haye karagar mulki. Shi ma saboda tsufa bai dade ba ya mutu. Daga nan sai sarauta ta fada hannun Horembeb, wani babban kwamandan Masar.

Horembeb ya tabbatar da cewa an koma kan tafarkin addini da ake bi kaka-da kakanni. Da yake soja ne, sai ya dora kasar akan tsarin mulki irin na soja. Ya fara mulkin kama karya da gallazawa talakawa, tare da hukunce-hukunce marasa tausasawa. Kamar guture hancin mutum in ya karya dokar kasa. Ya sa aka goge duk inda sunan Aten ko Akhanaten ya fito a Masar saboda a manta da shi har abada. A shekarar 1320BC ya mutu, daga nan Gidan Sarauta na 18 ya zo karshe. Horembeb ba shi da magaji, saboda haka sai sarauta ta fada hannun wani mayakinsa mai suna Paramesses. Wannan shi ne kakan kakan Fir’aunan Annabi Musa (AS). Ya cire Pa daga sunansa ya koma Remesses I.

FIR’AUNA REMESSES II
Ramesses II dai shi ne wanda ake kyautata zatin cewa shi ne Fir’aunan da ya yi zamani da Annabi Musa (AS), wanda Allah Ya fadi tarihinsa a cikin Alkur’ani, littafin Allah mai tsarki. Kodayake masana irin su Maurice Bucaille suna ganin Merneptah ne ba Ramesses II ba. Saboda haka, ra’ayi ya banbanta ko tskanin Ramesses II da Merenptah wanene Fir’aunan Annabi Musa (AS). Wasu masanan Masar tadauri na ganin cewa Annabi Musa (AS) ya yi yayi da Remesses II ya kuma yi yayi da Merenmptah, wasu kuma na ganin dai-dai lokacin da Yahudawa suka yi kaura daga Masar suka bi ta kogin Maliya, Merneptah ne ke kan karagar mulki. Sai dai ba bu cikakken bayani akan shi Merneptah kamar yadda ake da bayani akan Remesses II. To, kowane ne dai daga cikinsu Fir’aunan Annabi Musa (AS) Allah ne Ya fi tokowa sani. To amma dai duka gawawwakin na su suna nan, don haka, alkawarin Allah Ya cika kenan. A duba shafi na gaba domin ganin kyamkyamammun gawarwakin Remesses II da Merneptah
Idan mun dauka Remesses ne Fir’aunan annabi Musa (AS) to, kusan duk mai bin addinin Muslunci ko na Kiristanci ko Yahudu ya karanta a cikin littafinsu yadda Allah Ya bada labarin kafircin Fir’auna Remesses II. Saboda haka, ba za mu yi wani dogon bayani ba illa dan tsokaci. Shi dai Remesses II da ne ga Seti I wanda shi kuma da ne ga Remesses I. Remesses I da sunansa Paramesses wanda asali ba jinin sarauta ba ne. Shi soja ne wanda ya gaji mulki Misra daga hannun Fir’auna Horembeb. Ya yi yake-yake da gine-gine manya katafarai. A takaice dai za a iya cewa yana daya cikin manyan masu mulki da Masar ta dauri ta taba yi. Cikin katafaraen gine-gine da yayi, ana daukar babban dakin nan da girmansa ya kai murabba’in kafa 5800 kuma an yi masa rufi tsaf. A yau da yake a bude, in ka shiga ka ce a wani sararin daji kake. Har yau in ka ie Karnak da Abu Simbel za ka ga wasu daga cikin maka-makan gine-gine da ya yi. Cikin manyan matansa akwai Nefertari da Manefrure. Ya kuma auri uwarsa ya kuma
aure diyansa mata guda uk`u. diyansa sun kai 150, dansa na 13 ne ya gaje shi shi. Sunansa Merneptah.
A shekarar 1881 aka gane kyankyamammun gawarwakin wasu fitattun sarakunan Masar ta dauri na Sabuwar Masarauta a wani wuri da yanzu akan kira Kufadar Sarakuna watau Valley of the kings. Cikin gawarwakin har da ta Fir’auna Remesses II, saura sune Seti I da Ramesses I da Ahmose I da Amenhotep I da Thutmose I da Thutmose II da kuma Thutmose III. Duka sai aka kai su gidan adana kayan tarihi na Masar. A cikin shekarar 1912 Masanin Masar ta dauri Eliot Smith dan kasar Ingila, ya fahimci cewa wata cuta ta kama gawar Remesses II saboda haka aka fara kokarin tsayar da kwayar cutar dake neman bata gawar. A cikin shekarar 1976 aka dauki gawar zuwa kasar Faransa don kyautata ta. Wannan shi ne karo na farko da gawar wani Fir’auna ta bar Masar. Da aka sauka da gawar a filin jirgin saman Orly, sai hukumomin Faransa suka yi mata tarba irin wadda ake yi wa Shugabannin {asashe har da shimfida jar darduma. Gawar Fir’auna Remesses II ta yi shekaru 3200 da binnewa, saboda haka ta fara fita daga hayyacinta. Don haka ne aka sa likitoci da masana kimiyya guda 102 karkashin Farfesa Lionel Balout suka yi watanni bakwai suna aiki akan gawar. Bayan an gyatta ta sai aka maido ta Masar. Ai alkawarin Allah ba ya tashi.
KAMMALAWA
A wurin kammalawa, ina ganin zai yi kyau in yi bayani a takaice bisa yadda ilmin Masar ta dauri ya iso mana. A nan ya kamata a fahimta cewa hanya ta farko ita ce ta Saukakkun Litttatafai kamar Al-qur’ani mai tsarki. Hanya ta biyu ita ce ta hanyar abubuwan tarihi da su Misrawan suka bar mana. Sai kuma hanya ta uku wadda ita ce ta bada cikakken bayani akan tarihin wayewar kan Masar ta dauri na tsawon shekaru dubu biyar zuwa bakwai. Wannan ita ce ta hanyar iya karanta, da fahimta da kuma fassara rubutunsu na dauri. A nan ya kyautu mu koma mu yi godiya ga masana na baya da suka yi kokarin gano sihirin rubutun misrawan dauri, irin su Nicolas Claude Fabri da Athanasius Kircher da Bernard Montfaucon da Jean-jacques Barthelemy da Antione Isaac Silvetre. To amma mutum daya da za mu fi yi wa godiya shi ne dan kasar Faransa Jean-Francois Champollion wanda ya shekara 30 yana kokarin warware zaren ya kuma warware shi a karshe. Sai kuma masanan Masar ta dauri da dama da suka yi bincike da rubuce rubuce a kan Wayewar kan Masar ta dauri irin su Manetho da Herodotus da Lepsius da Maspero da Marriette da Carter da Cheik Anta-Diop da su Gardiner da sauransu. Babu shakka, ba dominsu ba, da sai mu ce sai dai a yi kame-kame da shaci-fadi.

To, babban abin burgewa da Masar ta dauri ta barwa ‘yan baya shi ne gine-gine. Duk da cewa su gine-ginen duwatsu suka yi, za mu iya cewa Misrawan dauri da na yau sun yi kokarin adana kayan tarihinsu, ba domin haka ba, da babu abin da zai rayu har mu ‘yan baya mu zo mu gane shi mu kuma karu da shi. Don haka, kenan ya zama wajibi ga kowace irin wayewar kai ta adana kayan tarihinta domin ‘yan baya. Wannan ne ya sa na ga ya dace in nuna bakin cikina game da yadda mu a kasar Hausa muke yin watsi tare da fatali da kayan mu na tarihi. Yanzu ku duba badalar Kano. Duk da cewa an gina ta ne lokacin sarakunan Habe, da jahadi ya zo karkashin Fulani, ba su rusa ta ba. Da Turawa suka zo, ba su rusa ta ba. Amma bayan Turawa sun tafi, gata nan ta zama abin tausayi. Na tabbata nan da ‘yan shekaru ba za sami ko kufai na badala ba (sai shaguna?). Don haka, ina ganin lokaci ya yi da mutanen Kano za su fara wani motsi ko rugugi babba na gani cewa an tada badalar Kano. Kada ku ji komai, za a iya. Ku kuma daliban Jami’a, hakkin ku ne ku wayar da kan jama’a akan wannan harkar. Zan dakata anan sai kuma in mun sami wata dama za mu dora. Na gode kwarai da kuka zo kuka saurare ni.