MINNA LITERARY SOCIETY (MLS) - Minna City of Literature

History

The Minna Literary Society (MLS) is a Non-governmental organization committed to promoting literary and arts development in Minna and its environs.

A group of four writers co-founded it; Abdullahi Yusuf Tela, Abdulrahman M. Abu-Yaman, Abdulrahman Muhammad Ndako, and Khalid Tanko – who had a critical discussion on the need to create an avenue for fellow writers to have their works critiqued and receive insightful feedbacks on ways to improve on their works. Prior to the convergence of the quadruple writers, Abdullahi Yusuf Tela first made a post on Facebook expressing a nostalgic desire on when to finally meet with poetry – to which Abdulrahman Abu-Yaman commented, indicating interest in working together with him to see it come to fruition. Abdulrahamn Ndako had also expressed interest in reading Abu-Yaman’s works after the latter reached out to him – asking if he could get a read and feedback from him on some of his manuscripts. Eventually, Ndako tagged along Khalid Tanko, his colleague and poet, to join the fold that had that famous meeting at the Niger State College of Education (COE) in Minna.

MLS was formally established on the 22nd of July, 2021, in the city of Minna, Niger State of Nigeria and had its maiden session on the same day at the Niger State Library. Many writers attended it, as authors and literary enthusiasts across the city of Minna. Some members of literary organizations in Minna like the Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation (HCAF) and Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Niger State branch also graced the occasion.

The MLS Executive Council was also formed – primarily comprising of the founding members after unanimous agreement was reached for them to champion the organisation’s affairs.

The Executive Council members:

Abdulrahman M. Abu-Yaman – Chairman

Abdullahi Yusuf Tela – Vice Chairman

Abdulrahman Muhammad Ndako – Secretary General

Sakina Bawa Musa – Treasurer

Khalid Tanko – Financial Secretary

Shuaibu Yaqub – Chief Librarian

MLS Sessions

The MLS session is the official gathering for reading and critiquing works written by MLS members and other writers from far and wide who want good feedback on their pieces. This is done for the primary purpose of adding more value to works submitted through suggestions and recommendations on ways to improve the quality of works written by writers. The sessions hold on a bi-weekly basis – on Saturdays from 4-6pm. Submissions are open a few days before the imminent session for works to be submitted to the MLS Secretary General. Eventually, the submitted entries are printed out for circulation during the session to make critiquing and corrections easy.

However, the MLS session is not restricted to reading and critiquing of writers’ manuscripts alone – as there is also a segment dedicated to discussions on contemporary events happening in the world, ranging from social, political, literary, economic, geographical and cultural issues and how they affect us and our communities. This part is usually filled with lots of brainstorming, arguments and debates on a particular topic of discussion chosen. It provides the climate for youths, teenagers and even middle-aged/ elders to also vent their ideas and opinions on many issues under the platform created by MLS for inclusiveness of all and sundry, irrespective of their age. Not forgetting the fun games included and book giveaways as prizes to make the session equally entertaining. MLS have also received visitors from outside Minna and other parts of Nigeria attend our sessions.

The MLS session official venue for grand occasions is located at Iyaka Plaza, along Old secretariat road, Minna, Niger State. There is usually an alternation of the venue with another rendezvous in Democracy Garden not far from the aforementioned venue for having the MLS outdoor sessions.

Literary Masterclasses/Workshops

Since its establishment, MLS has hosted and organized four successful creative writing and poetry workshops for writers and poets across all age brackets in Minna and its environs.

The MLS first poetry masterclass that took place in January 2022 featured the renowned and famous poetry performer on stage, Bash Amuneni – one of the finest spoken word poetry performers in Africa who had performed in couple of countries around the world. He delivered his piece on spoken word/poetry performance while another poet and once winner of the ANA Prize for literature, Su’eddie Vershima Agema took the class on written poetry.

For the second Creative Writing Workshop in the same year, MLS invited award-winning writer Hajaar Muhammad Bashar for a tutor on Creative Writing on Fiction and Non-fiction. Record number of females attended the writing workshop and a lot of participants remarked on how the impact of the knowledge they had gained improved on their writing skills.

In 2023, following the success of the maiden edition of the MLS poetry masterclass that resonated far and wide across the city of Minna– so much we had to call on the facilitator Bash Amuneni for another one which took place in Newgate University, Minna. Some University students were also participants and certificates were issued to all participants by MLS at the end of the masterclass.

Book Reading/Authors Flash

On the 21st of January, 2023, after the conclusion of the Hajiya Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festival (HIASFEST) – the biggest prize giving schools festival in Africa organized by the Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation, MLS capitalized on the presence some invited and distinguished guest writers and organized a book reading that took place at Iyaka Plaza in Minna. The reading session featured NLNG Prize finalist, Su’eddie Vershima Agema, Kukogho Iruesiri Samson (KIS) and Bash Amuneni who all read from their books after MLS members engaged them on discussion about their writing experience.

One of our MLS member, Firdausi Aliyu Ekkan also has her debut novel published – tilted ‘Hues of Love’on the 16th of March, 2023. MLS organized a book flash to engage her more on the writing process of the book, the inspiration and behind some of the characters in the book.

Book Donations and Distribution

MLS received a dozen of books donated by the Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPOFEST) on the 4th of April, 2023. The books were anthologies titled ‘Moonwalking Into Paradise’ which featured writers from northern Nigeria who underwent a fellowship – A Bada Murya Fellowship sponsored by the McArthur Foundation.

MLS selected some schools using a specific benchmark based on their level of performance and participation in programs and competitions in Minna. Six schools were selected and each received two copies of the book.

The schools that benefited from the MLS books distribution are as follows:

Father O’Connell Science College, Minna
FOMWAN Schools, Minna
Bosso Secondary School, Minna
Diamond Global Academy, Minna
Maryam Babangida Girls’ Science College, Minna
Government Day Girls’ Science College, Minna

As MLS grows, it continues to expand on its scope to capture areas that it could make an impact in Minna and its environs among other long terms plans. One of such area that has been identified is organizing a writing competition among tertiary institutions not only in Minna but in Niger State as a whole. The competition will feature essay writing, fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. Prizes would be awarded to the top three winners and there will be consolation prizes for ten honorable mentions.

MLS can be reached via social media through the following page/handle