Literature

Kano censorship crisis: Far from over (report)

Kano is arguably one of the most vibrant states in Nigeria in terms of literary output. None compares to it in Hausa arts and literature. The commercial nerve-centre of the North is also legendary for intellectual debates among writers and scholars on the forms and contents of its writings popularly known as Kano Market Literature, Soyayya writing and Hausa popular fiction. However, the current debate, which is fast degenerating into a crisis, is not just on the contents and forms of the writings, it involves the writers themselves, who are now required to register individually with the Kano State Censorship Board before they can publish, circulate or market their literary works.

According to an investigation by the New Nigerian Weekly, the bubble had been looming long before it eventually burst last June. When the present regime of the censorship board under its Director-General, Alhaji Rabo Abdulkarim, began an aggressive censorship of the Kano filmmakers last year, there were fears and speculations especially among Kano writers that they might be the next target. But because there was no hard evidence, some writers dismissed it and went about their usual business of writing. Then, almost without warning, the DG dropped what the writers described as the bombshell: Every writers? association in Kano must register with the board. All writers? associations must give details of their membership. Every individual writer must register with the board. All the books published from the time the board was established must be submitted for censorship and certified before they can be circulated or marketed. And failure to abide by these rules within a month would attract punishment in accordance with the law.

The riot act, which was read at a meeting organized by the board on June 3rd, 2008, came as a big shock to the writers. And they didn?t hide their feelings. Soon after the meeting, the Chairman of the Kano State chapter of Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, Ado Ahmad Gidan Dabino, granted interviews to the Hausa services of the BBC, Voice of Germany and Radio France International, protesting the board?s position.

What angered the writers most, according to the chairman, in an interview with the New Nigerian Weekly, was the board?s insistence that individual writers must register with the board before they can be considered qualified to circulate or market their works. "This implies that every writer must be licensed before he could write," he lamented.

In addition to going public on the matter through the media, members of the Kano ANA and other writers? bodies like the Hausa Authors? Forum decided to meet and find a common approach to the issue.

Meanwhile, following the reactions of the writers to his pronouncements, the DG sent letters to all the writers? bodies, except ANA Kano, pointing out the board?s aim of calling the June 3rd meeting. According to the letter, dated June 5th, the meeting was aimed at, among other things, guiding the associations and individual members on the impact and virtues of literary works and re-emphasizing the importance of censoring the writers? works with the board as mandated by the law.

This increased the writers? anger. Not only was the reiteration of the board?s position seen as an affront, the omission of the Kano ANA in the distribution of the letters was considered a selective treatment. So the entire members of writers? associations in Kano met on 6th and 28th July, in a bid to arrive at a common decision that would convey their feelings to the board and indeed the state government. The resolutions taken included their earlier stance that no writer would register individually. They also declared a three-week warning strike in addition to withdrawing their books published in 2008 from the market to pre-empt the board, which, according to them, was bent on confiscating unregistered authors? publications and books that had not been duly screened by the board. The meeting also resolved to set up a committee that would visit the board and clear the grounds of misunderstanding.

But almost a month after the meeting in which these decisions were taken, there appears to be no hope of reconciliation in sight, with both sides accusing the other of refusing to dialogue. And the media war continue unabated, each party maintaining its position. In an interview with the New Nigerian weekly, the DG insisted that section 8, subsection A and B of the Kano State censorship law dealing with the registration of "both project and stakeholders" must be strictly adhered to. He said the fact that a writer had registered with an association was not an excuse for such a writer not to register with the board. The board, he said, has to go through the list of the association?s membership, and interview individual members for their complete dossiers. The logic of the exercise, according to him, is that when the board is treating such a writer?s case after he has submitted his book for assessment, there would be a file to refer to. "It is not proper to treat individual cases using the association?s file, we must have our own independent way of verification," he said.

Speaking specifically on Kano State chapter of ANA, he said the association has refused to register with the board. "ANA which I respect and which I expect to be the first to register with the board up till this moment has not done so." He said the board was only dealing with them out of courtesy and warned that "henceforth, we want things done the right way", adding that "we will not recognize any unregistered association and any association that refuses to be registered will be dealt with according to the law".

On the other hand, members of Kano ANA have denied the allegation that they had not registered. According to the chairman of the chapter, the association had registered because it had filled all the forms, paid the fee through Afri-Bank and obtained the teller. He said they had not submitted the teller to the board because of the utterance of the DG in the media castigating the association and alleging that it was an illegal body because it had not registered. He then declared that the association had even decided not to submit the teller since the DG had kind of denounced the association. "We are keeping it and we will use it as an exhibit when it becomes a court case."

The whole issue revolves around the legality or otherwise of the DG?s insistence on the individual registration of Kano writers. Dr. Yusuf Adamu, former chairman of Kano ANA, believes the DG has not interpreted the laws of the board correctly. He observed that the DG who read Mass Communications and Media Law and who was supposed to be knowledgeable in interpreting such law was reading the laws literally. He then disclosed that they had got a copy of the censorship law and submitted it to their lawyers for proper interpretation.

Dr. Adamu further asserted that the association was not afraid of submitting its works for censorship, because the members had nothing to hide, but that it would certainly not agree with the DG on the individual registration. This is because, according to him, it is a breach of the writer?s right to freedom of expression, since a writer that does not pass their interview would be denied the license to use his God-given talent.

Ahmed Maiwada, the Abuja-based writer and legal practitioner also feels the registration of individual writer amounts to encroaching on the writer?s right. According to him, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides in the Second Schedule (legislative powers - part 1), under Item 62 (d) of the Exclusive Legislative List; "Trade and commerce, and in particular - (d) establishment of a body to prescribe and enforce standards of goods and commodities offered for sale." Hence, he said, "it is only the Federal Lagislature that has the power to make Acts on items listed in the Exclusive Legislative List."

He therefore observed that Kano State government has, in this regard, encroached on the powers of the Federal Government by making laws and "forming a so-called censorship board to prescribe and enforce standards of goods (books in this particular case) written by Kano and other Nigerian writers ?for sale?."

"It is my view that Kano State Government has acted wrongly in this case, and that it should honourably reverse its decision to prescribe and enforce standards for books sold in the state, unless it is out to tell all and sundry that it is seceding from the Nigerian state," he said.

Maiwada further reminded Kano State government that ANA is a duly registered Trustee under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act and that all subscribing members of ANA can therefore duly carry out their trade in any part of Nigeria. "Any infringement of such right is actionable and can lead to serious and dire consequences." He concluded.

In the same vein, Labo Yari, the Katsina-based author and a member of the Board of Trustees of the national body of ANA, disagreed with the position of the board. According to him, the insistence of the board to register individual creative writers before he could publish is an attempt to censor writers, "which is an infringement on the writer?s fundamental rights of freedom of expression entrenched in the Nigerian constitution". He warned that "Whatever the authorities in Kano feel about books, the step they are taking is in a wrong direction because the writers could go underground as writers did in former communist countries." These more powerful and tyrannical states in the former communist countries bloc, he said, had tried censoring their writers but had failed and that the action of Kano State Government will also fail.

Yari, who is the first Northern writer to write a novel in English, further observed that nobody could tell creative writers what to write. Hence, he advised that if the Kano State government is not happy with the books in the state, "they can establish a publishing house where they can produce books to their liking and let them compete with the ones which do not reach their standard".

Baba M. Dzukogi, Treasurer of ANA, said the situation was an unfortunate development that might dent the good relationship the state governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, had established with Nigerian writers. He recounted the governor?s full participation in the 2005 edition of the international conference of ANA in Kano and his promise to do more for ANA in future.

He also recalled how the governor?s friendly attitude had won the state the right to host the next Northern Writers? Summit in 2010. He then urged the state government to call Rabo to order.
In his own view, the Chairman of the Niger State chapter of ANA, Aminu Shiekh Muhammad, if such law is allowed to operate, only the weak will suffer. "My fear which is well founded is that very soon, as is with the case of political Shari?a in Nigeria, only the weak indigenes of Kano would face the wrath of the law. The rich shall enjoy their risqué literature".

Uche Umezurike?s own fear is "what this anomaly will portend for the richness of literature in Kano State and other Arewa States".

The chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of ANA, Friday John Abba, who said the chapter would respond to the issue at the appropriate time, observed that the fast-growing Kano literature is at the risk of being destroyed if the law is implemented.
According to the General Secretary of ANA, Malam Denja Abdullahi, "The Kano Censors board?s current umbrage against writers in the name of censorship is an attempt to cripple free speech and it is against the tenets of the constitution of this country; it will never stand.

In his view, "it is like at the board they do not know the difference between film-making and writing; the different situations and laws governing these separate vocations, though they have some relationship". He then affirmed that ANA is registered by law and Nigerian writers do not need any censorship "whatever its crusading predilection, for permit or clearance to think, write or publish".

Malam Yusuf Dingyadi, Secretary of the Sokoto State chapter of ANA, simply wants ANA to take the board to court. "Let Kano ANA take court action, we will help them to fight this war because the board is trying to kill creativity and that is not acceptable."

In the opinion of Dr. E. E. Sule of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, the censorship law portents doom for literature in Northern Nigeria. "With such fetters, we may not be able to reach the height in writing and literary scholarship," he said, adding that the government of Kano State was simply being anti-intellectual.

Kano-based readers who spoke to the New Nigerian Weekly equally expressed their fears on what the censorship crisis portends for the state. Hassan Muhammed, a business man and an ardent reader of Hausa novels observed that the controversy will have a negative effect on the vibrant Kano literary tradition. He said individual registration of writers was needless, and called on the DG to concern himself with the censoring of books and not the writers themselves.

Hadiza Sule, a civil servant, didn?t see any big deal in registering individual writers since, according to her, "the exercise is merely for administrative convenience, as the DG explained on radio".

Saka Raji Audu is, however, of the view that registration of both associations and individual writers should be optional.

The question one may ask at this juncture is whether there can ever be a middle-course to the issue. Can there be compromise? This is hard to tell for now, given the hard-line positions taken by the parties?

However, so far some reconciliatory moves have been made, especially on the part of ANA. According to Dr. Adamu, Kano ANA has informed the national body. They have also spoken to the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Jerry Agada, who is the Vice President of ANA. Patrons of the Kano ANA like Dr. Bala Muhammed, DG of Adaidaita Sahu (social orientation agency), had also been informed of the development. According to Adamu, Dr. Muhammed even made efforts at persuading Rabo and at a point Rabo seemed to reconsider his position on the matter.

On its own part, the national body of ANA had at the end of the its Executive Council meeting in Abuja on 12th July, 2008, issued a communiqué on the issue. In the communiqué the association observed that from the preliminary reports received from the members in Kano, "the obstacles of censorship been put before writers and publishers in Kano State may gravely cripple the thriving literary industry in that part of the country".

It further states that the association "intends to immediately dialogue with the Kano Censorship Board in order to put the issue in proper perspective and avert any action that may damage literary creativity, intellectualism and the maintenance of propriety in the society".
Even though the President of the association is presently out of the country, he had made a statement that indicates the willingness of the association to achieve a peaceful resolution through dialogue. He said ANA National had already commenced action on the matter, adding that, "We want to hear first from the agency before considering litigation". According to him, a meeting has been slated with the agency for mid August in Kano.

"We are going to the meeting with a team made up of members of ANA National Exco, the Kano State Chapter, PEN International as well as journalists and friends from some human rights and other relevant NGOs", he said.

How far can the reconciliatory moves go? That is left for time to decide. For now, it is all tough talk, with both parties maintaining their ground.

For the Director-General of the Kano State Censorship Board; it is either a complete adherence to the laws of the board or punitive measures for any defaulter. "Any writer that releases a book that is not in consonance with the tenents of the Shari?a, with the tenents of Islamic Shari?a, in addition to our good culture, that writer has breached the law. Any writer, however good his publication is, if he releases his book without being certified by the board and the book is in circulation, has breached the law. Any writer that is not recognised by the law, doing it without registration, he is a defaulter and he will be punished by the law!"

And for the Kano writers, registration of individual writers is unacceptable and they must fight it to the end. In the words of Dr. Adamu; "This law is unacceptable. This is not a Shari?a law. What Rabo is trying to implement is not Shari?a law because Shari?a law gives freedom of expression. It is a human law meant to victimize writers and we must challenge it. Any constituted authority that goes against the law must be challenged. The Prophet (SAW) did that in Mecca, Usman Dan Fodio did that in Hausa land. We will fight it and we will win!"

The crisis is indeed far from being over.

PICTURES:

1. Direct-General of the Kano State Censorship Board addressing the meeting.

2. Writers and staff of the board at the meeting. Kano ANA chairman [facing laptop].

(c) Reported by Sumaila Umaisha foir the 9/8/08 edition of the New Nigerian newspapers.

- As Writers Converge On Uyo?
The Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, is well known for its commitment to annual conference. For the past 30 years it has held an international convention annually. This year is not an exception. Members of the association from the state chapters...

- Female Authors Are The Masters Of Literature In Northern Nigeria
Maryam Ali Ali, Financial Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, could be described as a literary activist not just for being a regular face in literary events, but for her views on literature, particularly female writing, as revealed...

- Ana Salutes The Pioneer Of Hausa Literature
The 9th of July, 2009, could be described as ?The Abubakar Imam Day?. For it was the day in which the fond memories of the pioneer of Hausa Literature were ignited by the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, with an international colloquium in his honour....

- I Have Books That Are Yet To Be Published - Binta (interview)
Binta S. Mohammed, who passed on 4th May, 2009, is a notable poet and novelist and a lecturer in the Department of English at Bayero University, Kano. She had an interesting interview session with Muhammad Kabir Yusuf last year. Here are excerpts from...

- Former 'write Stuff' Editor Loses Wife
Former editor of ?The Write Stuff?, Mallam Ibrahim Sheme, has lost his wife, Binta S. Muhammed. She died on 4th May 2009, after a protracted illness. She died while returning from Egypt, where she was flown for treatment. A lecturer in the English Department...

Literature