By
Sadisu Mohammed
MONOGRAPH 007
First published in 2012
CONTENTS
- Theatre in Nigeria
- Theatre in Northern Nigeria
- Theatre in Niger State
- Theatre in Nupeland
- The Link between Theatre and Film
- Nupe Films; The Genesis…
- THE FILM: ‘Teacher Yekondunu’
- The Boost that Turns Things Around
- The Influence of Nupe Films
- Nupewood versus Nollywood
- Professionalism in Nupewood
- Nupe Music Genre
- The Impacts of Nupe Films on Community Development
- Intellectual Impacts of Nupe Films…
- Nupewood’s Agenda of Leading the World
- Conclusion
Theatre in Nigeria
Modern Nigeria theatre started with Soyinka. Although, there had been earlier attempts by James Ene Hanshaw. Henshaw’s plays are simple, situational plays with a mild sense of satire but mainly all written to achieve a particular emotional goal-laughter. It is with Soyinka’s “The Strong Breed, Camwood on the Leaves and The Lion and the Jewel”, the last two having their first performances in Nigeria in 1959; that was when what can be called serious Nigerian modern theatre was introduced.
Generations succeeded one another since 1959. The first known theatre giants are Henshaw, Soyinka and JP Clark. The second generation tried to work towards a rich, entertaining, radical and experimental theatre. These are the likes of Femi Osofisan, Wale Ogunyemi, Ola Rotimi, Biodun Jeyifo, Ben Tomoloju, Olu Obafemi and a host of others. The third generation of theatre giants are made up of Fred Agbeyegbe, Pedro Agbonifo – Obaseki, Felix Okolo, Niyi Osundare, Wale Oguntokun, Ahmed Yerima, Yahaya Dangana and so on. Many more names continue to pour in as significant contributions are made. On the whole, the theatre has remained a vibrant and intellectual-drive community in Nigeria since inception. Majority of the players are university-bred and lecturers working in the universities and most of the new entrants are university students or will soon be.
Theatre in Northern Nigeria
Theatre in Northern Nigeria started professionally in 1982. There was a feeling of dearth in “radical street theatre in contemporary African towns”. In trying to meet this need at Ahmadu Bello University’s Theatre Arts Department, Zaria, an effort came up to produce plays relevant to the needs of a neighbouring squalid suburb. The idea here was to first awaken the minds of the residents of this place to the need for knowing their rights and demanding fair attention from the government. According to Etherton (1982), the plays succeeded because they took the path of the local people. They also reflected life from the viewpoint of the villagers themselves; and they never avoided criticism of government policies which were anti-people. These lamentation-driven plays continue to win hearts and attract attentions as they entertain, educate, inform the people and also protest for them against insensitivity of governments. With time, the mobility of these plays began to swell. Naturally, it spread like wild fire and became institutions for leisure, learning and cultural promotion. The entire North received the theatre with enthusiasm with Kano taking the lead. Wasan Kwaikwayo, as stage performance is called Hausa Language, complemented moonlight plays as leisure and pastime for adult and children respectively.
Theatre in Niger State
Niger state is famous for creativity. The art of story-telling which is a basic ingredient of the theatre has a root in Niger State. “Magana Jari Ce, a Hausa Novel by Abubakar Imam was a masterpiece that later became Wisdom is an Asset on TV, but didn’t make it to the live theatre. No any known attempt to do so in spite of the many literary grounds the Novel broke. Theatre in Niger State came alive with the incursion of the late Afolabi Afolayan popularly known as Jagua in the early 80s. Jagua, it was he who started street and mobile theatre in Niger State, alongside his wife who bore Grace as stage name. Theirs was a family affairs as their children later made up as minor cast. They entertained first on a weekly basis at the then Niger House Motel and later the Railway Club Hall. People trooped there in numbers and paid tokens to catch a glimpse of Jagua’s performance which was always worth more than a princely sum. Jaguar continued to win hearts until technological dynamism snatched him to television. Sule Sule also emerged on the scene with a scintillating stage craft, but also metamorphosed into television series. Gwape International happened to be the only theatre group in the state that stood the test of time. Managed by the State’s Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism, the troupe came into being in 1979. It trained many young men and women who later retired from the civil service and formed their own troupes. One of them is Yahaya Shehu. He formed HANURI Cultural Troupe. The expectation of the troupe was to grace social events like wedding, naming ceremony, book launch, etc with dances of the Nigerlites and especially composed songs. Gwape International is still alive today. Dangana Theatre is a renaissance of sort in Niger State’s Theatre history. The success of Yahaya S. Dangana’s “The Emir’s Secret”, spun the afore-stated reawakening. The enthusiasm led to many theatre explorations like the stage of other plays by Dangana and some by visiting troupes invited by Dangana Theatre or the Niger State-owned Gwape International.
Another significance influence on theatre in Niger State is schools’ drama. Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) readily comes to mind in this regard. ANA vigorously horned the talents of acting in secondary schools’ children through a fiesta tagged Annual Schools Carnival of Arts and Festival of Songs (ASCAFS). Annually, students converged to compete in stage drama, songs and other creative exercises. In the end, the outstanding amongst them go home with enviable prizes. Many winners of ASCAFS prizes have become professionals in the creative/media industry now. One of them is Alkasim Abdulkhadir who now reports for CNN. He has also produced radio drama for BBC.
Theatre in Nupeland
The history of electronic theatre in Nupeland can be traced to the late 70s. It was triggered by the existence of cinemas. Young men and women used to converge at the popular Fimuta in Bida. They paid money to watch these movies that were mostly Indian or American. With time, the habit began to appear like addiction; children stayed late into the night. More significant areas like farm and Quranic schools got little attention as a result.
Naturally, parents began to frown at it. It is this situation coupled with the alien influences those movies continued to instil into the children that gave birth to indigenous efforts by some groups. Their motif was to salvage the situation with a more honourable option. They first produced “Eye Gago Nawu wo, Dalili Nongbana and Egan Navo” under the aegis of Ndaduma drama Troupe. The Director of the troupe at that time, Mallam Muhammad Mahmud said, “our first film was Eye gago nawu wo”. It came out in 1993 and became an instant hit. According to him, the film sold over 2,000 copies before he lost count of how many copies the marketer, CEO of Melody Sound Centre, was producing on a weekly basis. Mahmud enthused that the film spun the interest of Nupes towards Nupe films greatly. The delay in the release of the part 2 of the first film generated serious concern by the people. Lack of encouragement from the local government and the low income the sales accrued as a result of the marketers’ dishonesty coupled with piracy necessitated their discontinuing. A year later, another group from Mokwa by the name Kpeye wo Mantsan came out with another film entitled “Sokoa gun da ti Guntso”. It treated the theme of nemesis. It also received a huge reception but also lasted just for a while. A prolonged silence ensured between 1995 and 2005.
The Link between Theatre and Film
Theatre and film are related. Theatre is the platform by which a film achieves its primary aim of being viewed. Film is the action. Theatre is where the action comes alive either by the actors or by electronic means. In a broad sense, theatre and film are by-products of drama. Drama is the act of make-believe. The attempt to visualise an idea, thought or message in a way that it is seen happening and not being told ordinarily, is drama. Theatre being a place where films can be viewed or plays staged is a component of drama. Film, on the other hand, is the electronic package of a play; screenplay. Hence both film and theatre are products of drama. Theatre actually descended from the Greek festival of Dionysus. It differs from a film in the sense that it is performed live, connects with the audience directly, unique and sacrosanct as it adheres strictly to author’s work. Film, on the other hand, originates in the early 20th century. Performance is recorded. Intimacy is achieved through camera angles and close ups. There is no direct connection with the audience. The screenwriter’s work may be continually reworked throughout the filming process for a highly specialised cadre of creative and technical purposes.
Nupe Films; The Genesis…
What started like an expression of sort in 2004 is far assuming a larger-than-life frame in the hierarchy of global motion pictures. Today, Nupe films are conventionally becoming a world-class phenomenon. First, it is a truism that Nupe nation, before 2004, is enmeshed in the viewing tradition and leisure of India and Hausa films, although, the latter is a product of the former, but appeared closer to the people who came to cherish it like addiction. Hausa films became the favourite of Nupes between the late nineties to early parts of 2004. No one ever thought a replacement could come anytime near this inclination. And like a persistent flash of lightening, a rather heart-stirring movie of the Nupes hits the screen in November, 2004, entitled “Teacher Yekondunu”. It is worthy of note to affirm that efforts preceded ‘Teacher Yekondunu’, but came one analogue or VHS formats. They were also made on linear editing formats with stage-like patterns. As resounding as people’s reception of the efforts were, it did not last. Poor quality in production and weak distribution network were responsible for that decline. The memories of “eye ga go Enawu wo and other titles still linger on amongst Nupes, especially those who are now 30 years and above.
Those efforts in reality set the pace for Nupe motion picture. Along break that lasted over a decade ensued. This period, 1987 to 2004, witnessed a non-activity in motion picture. The pioneers were possibly not encouraged with the total lack of financial benefits that greeted their experiment. They summarily gave the venture a befitting burial and returned to their noble professions of farming and blacksmithing. Like Abiku, motion picture returned in Nupeland in the twilight of 2004. This time titles like “Zawangi, Ndabako, Gbatawo, Nyizagi, Kodari, Manko, Dauda Manza” and a few others were produced on VCD. There was scepticism and little interest from the Nupes over the idea of the venture. Some hold a feeling of it-will-be-too-sub-standard and cannot stand the test of time. It was strange to some as they will ask questions like; what medicine are they selling?, when they see film distributors.
THE FILM: ‘Teacher Yekondunu’
The unenthusiastic attitude of the Nupes towards Nupe films died naturally with the release of “Teacher Yekondunu”. The film is arguably the first to arouse interests from all quarters of Nupeland and beyond. It came out almost ready-made. The film, tells the story of a school teacher, Teacher Yekondunu 9played by Sadisu Mohammed), in a society that puts material possession as the chief measure of a man’s relevance. The teacher fights many battles for himself and the Pkatadzuru community who are beguiled in material pursuit and to whom avarice and corruption is not an aberration. For his person, Teacher yekondunu challenges rival Kodondo (played by Ahmed Chado) in their many antics and superiority contest to woo the hand of the village spinster, Ladidi, in love and marriage. While the hero flaunts intellect, his thieving antagonist Kodondo boasts about his level of education and wealth he possessed. Away from his personal struggles, the incorruptible teacher who hails from the leftist Nigerian politician, the late Mallam Aminu Kano, as his ideal politician “who died without a kobo in his account”, discovers the school headmaster’s tricks to have him complaint in misappropriation of fund about to be disbursed from the Ministry of Education. In spite of the struggle, the film reveals how money breaks honest cause of activism as the teacher almost succumbs to complicity in corruption – blinded by his desire to marry the material Ladidi – on the headmaster’s false claim that the fund meant for reconstruction of the school is paid. Together with his trained pupils, they shame the undesirable elements of corruption.
The film boasts of role interpretation, twists and intrigues laced with calculated natural humour on contemporary issues. The impact of the film is adjudged to be a life time impact and relevance on the society and humanity. At a time and since the release of ‘Teacher Yekondunu’ every home in Nupeland has a Teacher Yekondunu character in it! The film became the floodgate of contemporary Nupe audio-visual productions. Bank-rolled by Barrister Ahmed Maiwada, Abuja based poet, critic, lawyer and publisher. The film attracted tremendous attention of the Nupes and non-Nupe alike. The production of the film had in its think-tank BM Dzukogi, Kamar Hamza, Hussaini Yusuf Kodo, Jibril Bala Yikangi, Alkasim Abdulkadir and Ahmed Maiwada.
The Boost that Turns Things Around
The coalition of those creative minds gave birth to what Alkasim Abdulkadir described as the fastest growing Indigenous Film Industry in the world. And indeed, the Nupe film entertainment industry is! To be sure, while Hollwood’s first production appeared on world stage in 1994 and now rank third after Hollywood and Bollywood of United States of America and India respectively. Nupewood (as it is now called) is rated the fastest growing in the world within a decade of professional existence. It was Ibrahim Sheme who described the Nupe Film Industry in his “Still Living in Bondage” article of 20th November, 2012, (Leadership Newspaper) “… as the miniscule and silently but fastest growing Nupe movie industry…”.
Internationally, things have changed even further than how Sheme viewed it then. The Nupe Industry keeps expanding not only in viewership or fan base, but expertise and skilled investors. The latter being what even Nollywood lacks at the moment.
The Influence of Nupe Films
It is important to view Nupe entertainment industry from the point of view of influence. These movies, which come alongside musical albums of the Nupe rich cultural heritage in terms of originality and uniqueness, have penetrated the nooks and crannies of Nupe speaking areas of the world. They also appear to be attracting and uniting Nupes in the Diaspora. The era of foreign films’ influence on youths and adults alike is now very alien to the Nupes. This is made more glaring by the fame of some key actors of Nupewood. Names like Yekondunu, Yikangi and Salamatu Sibombo can now wrestle fame with Jackie Chan, Sharu Khaan and beyonce in many states of Nigeria and other places of the world. The issue of language has also not being in favour of Nupewood as Nupe remained the medium of communication in the films. This is why it is commendable.
Aaron Ong, Asia’s filmmaker, describes the production quality and English sub-title of Eba Be Nyimi (a Nupe mivie) as “better than that of the Indian”. Nupewood has sustained a moving influence of winning the hearts of non-Nupe speakers. In 2010 at the festival of indigenous African Language Films from the 3rd – 9th to be precise, Nupe films shine above any other Tagged FIAT 2010, the festival held in the beautiful capital of Ondo State, Akure with attendance from various film makers across the country. Initiated by Remdel Optimum Communications, the week-long event, jointly organised by the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) is a delight for all stakeholders in the industry.
In her summation of the need for the annual event, frontline filmmaker and producer, Mrs Biodun Ibitola, FIAT is initiated because “Africa has a lot of culture to offer other civilisations and the best way to project that potential is in the diverse indigenous languages of African nationalities”.
This apt remark spun my decision to grace the event. In between the intellectually engaging paper presentations that centre on film business were film exhibitions, screenings and sales. The appearance of sixteen Nupe films at the festival attracted many attentions and provided useful catch points in several quarters.
Chief Yemi Ogunyemi, ace broadcaster and veteran actor on seeing Bayele – A Nupe film, screamed, “This is my old friend”, referring to Usman Baba Patigi – the internationally acclaimed soldier-humorist known as Samanja who starred in the film.
Sam Uche of NANTAP (National Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners) expressed surprise at the quality of the Nupe films and thus philosophised that Nupe films industry is a budding talent about to explode: “You guys are doing a great job”, he approved, waxing that, “with what I have seen, great surprise will soon come from the Nupe axis. And when it comes, many of us over here will have to sit up to have desired positions”.
Nupewood versus Nollywood
There are two sides to Uche’s prophecy. First, is lack of professionalism in Nollywood. The second is abundance and application of professionalism in Nupewood. Dwelling on the first aspect will invoke recent ranking of Nollywood by UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics as number one in the world. Sadly, these rankings are in production volume, rather than quality. Nollywood movies are shot on shoestring budgets with cheap equipment. Professionalism is rare because stakeholders lack proper training, hence the insensitive portrayals of Nigerian Society as a haven of crime, fetish and exposed flesh. Little surprise, then, that only a few Nollywood movies are of value to foreign audiences aside Nigerians in the Diaspora.
Nupewood aims at producing a movie that will hit the world in no time. Consider Tsotsi, the South African movie. Tsotsi was shot on a $3 million budget and it grossed about $10 million. It also won an Oscar and Gold for best foreign language film in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
In terms of being prolific, Nupewood has churned out over a thousand titles in two years. This feat was not celebrated but called for self-examination. The score-sheet wasn’t encouraging enough to warrant quantitative continuity. Instead, a retreat that clamoured for quality was held. And the South African style became a model, Nupewood is poised on beating. It is our considered opinion that those feats were attained with little or no consideration of language, but strength in story, depiction and craft.
Professionalism in Nupewood
It is the enthusiasm for quality that triggered a serving lawmaker, Hon. Sani Idris Kutigi to sponsor the trio of Nupewood Practitioners; Sadisu Mohammed, Adamu Abdullahi and Ndako Kutigi on a study of digital filmmaking at the Inetrnational Animation and media Academy, Malysia. The Nupewood ambassadors left Nigeria in September, 2011 and returned in February, 2012. The six-month crash programme prepared them in new trends of film techniques, lightening, audio-visual effects, 3D and short film production. A short film with limited budget was shot in Malaysia. Kinden is the first Nupe film shot in Asia. And the only indigenous film from Africa shot in the part of the world. At the moment, the Nupewood is charting a roadmap towards shooting a movie that will win Oscar.
Nupe Music Genre
The Nupe music industry started way back in the Ancient times. Actual dates, trends and growths of activities are lost to paucity in the documentation of oral tradition. Professionally, the Nupe music hits limelight in Nigeria in 1980. The Shagari-led democratic government requested Hajiya Lolo Bida of blessed memory to chronicle, in her song, the history of Bida Royalty. She did and performed it live on the occasion of the president’s visit to Niger State in 1983. The reception that greeted Lolo’s performance first placed Nupe music on national consciousness. Since then, other singers like Ndanuwan, Nnazdwa, Kulu Lafiagi, and a host of others reigned and made significant landmarks.
Modern Nupe music started with Sadisu Mohammed. He wrote a soundtrack for Teacher Yekondunu and voiced it with computer generated beats. Then, a five-track album entitled Lati followed in hot pursuits. This effort, which was received with so much enthusiasm, stirred so many other artistes like Prince Ahmed Chado. Yahaya Shehu, Fati Hussaini Amshi, Isah Mohammed Afege, Isah Asali Majingari, Babaja Tsaragi, Musa Kalamu and Tanimu Sheikh, Tsadu Alfa Kutigi and Abubakar Ndako Kutigi.
A significant milestone came in form of Sibombo. Sibombo remained uniquely ambiguous subject amongst Nupes and non-Nupes today. It is synonymous with Nupe music of contemporary times. It is commonplace to heaer an Igbo man or a Yoruba man singing sibombo yiyo/sibombom yiyo/sibombom yiyo/alawan ya gin a yebo yina/… without really knowing the meaning of what he is singing. The seemingly ambiguous term is much loved by millions who ever listened to it. The song was written by Isah Mohammed Afege, sang by Hauwa Kulu Sibombo and performed by Salamatu Sibombo. The influence of this song cannot be fully expressed. It has been remixed for many political campaigns. President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2011 presidential campaigns, could not resist the melodies of Sibombo. He danced elatedly at the Niger State’s Trade Fair Complex when the song was being performed by the Sibombo Nupe Dancers. After that encounter with the song, the President said to the Chief Servant of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, OON, Talban Minna, “I want this song performed in Abuja again”. And since 2011, Sibombo has become a national asset. Every event wants to have the tunes of Sibombo. It is currently a caller tune of many phone users in Nigeria and in many parts of the world.
The Impacts of Nupe Films on Community Development
The socio-economic impacts of Nupewood across Niger, Kwara and Kogi States of Nigeria cannot be exactly quantified, although those states are just the major places where the Nupewood activities operate. Places like Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan, Onitsha and Edo States are witnessing thriving activities of the Nupe entertainment industry at the moment. Aside bridging gaps of dialectal and communal differences amongst the Dibos, Kakandas, Basanges etc – who are all components of Nupe – the industry provides an interesting means of livelihood to the teeming unemployed youths. Being a compartmentalised field with areas like cinematography, lighting, non-linear editing, set designs, make-up, management, acting, costumes, screenplay, miming and dances, sales and distribution, etc, a large number of people are required. This is where the Nupewood has done wonders by meaningfully engaging more than 500 young men and women in Niger State alone!
Intellectual Impacts of Nupe Films…
The very first intellectual exercise in Nupewood came in the arduous task of filming Usman Idris Gwarjiko’s Novel, Echoes of Fulfilment. Prose and screenplay are not the same. The former is narrative while the latter is active. Bringing narration into action is no less an intellectual task. The screenplay was headed by Ibrin Bala Jibrin who’s a playwright laureate. Sadisu Mohammed directed the film. That intellectual alliance was applauded by many in the motion-picture industry. Akume Akume, famous Nollywood actor, who starred in the film, expressed utmost satisfaction about the screenplay and pattern of technicalities. “What I have seen here so far does not show that you guys are beginners”, wondered Akume before he left Mina after the production of Echoes of Fulfilment.
The activities of the Nupe entertainment industry have triggered intellectual attention in recent times. In Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai for instance, more than a dozen of students in the department of languages and Linguistics have used Nupe films and musicals as reference materials in their final year projects. Sadisu Mohammed in particular, wrote his B. A. Thesis on themes and styles of contemporary Nupe songs. The thrust of the research was on the Nupe entertainment industry. This year (2012) has in the offing many researchers and scholars working on Nupewood.
Also in the works is an intellectually ambitious book on Sibombo and the emergence of contemporary Nupe songs by Professor Yahaya Kuta and Sadisu Mohammed. The idea according to Professor Kuta, “is to give the Nupe entertainment industry a scholarly outlook that will bring about quality and core professionalism”. The Don who is an entertainment education expert added that, “it’s only through intellectual assessment and critiquing that the industry can entrench healthy and creative competition amongst its practitioners that will in turn place it on global stage”.
Nupewood’s Agenda of Leading the World
The current Nupewood tilts towards entrenching a contemporary black African expression through the film medium. The rationale for this dream is a chronological fidelity to the evolution of earlier attempts in the entire Africa that have not taken this part of the continent (west) anywhere.
Africa is of course a west continent and the diversity and heterogeneity of its social formations and national socio-political realities cannot, must not be ignored; consequently, a critical discourse which adopts a continental expanse as its field of analysis and investigation lays itself open to the vagueness and diffusion which come from over-generalisation. But it remains true also that there are great affinities of ideological and cultural expressions which derive from the common aspirations of the African peoples to win genuine independence from imperialist domination and to resume the course of self-directed development. I have in this movement tried to match the concrete placement of dramatic and visual art phenomena within specific national contexts with attentiveness to the continuities and affinities which justify the overall continental purview. It is this vestige of our diversity cum unity of our aspirations that will be packaged and sold to the world in its original but fine-tuned form. While this integrated approach is more clearly evident in the central themes of our new scripts, it is hopefully not absent in others which deal more exclusively with aspects of some specific national contexts.
In this latter category of scripts, the predominance given Nigeria is to be regarded as the circumstantial effect of having, in virtually all cases, first presented these scripts in Nigeria as one aspect of a more general political cultural praxis which also includes teaching, directing scripts for the screen, and editing some for textual publications. It is indeed this general political cultural praxis which explains the polemical thrust of many of these intended films as well as the unwavering ideological partnership which in the first place animated the impulse to write and present the scripts through this movement. Good budgets and uncompromising expertise will inform the movement primarily. It is my hope too that polemics and partisanship have not sacrificed the kind of perceptive and sensitive analysis which are always demands and which in particular, the cultural expressions of a transitional period of crisis and security lapses eminently demand. This vision will in no time translate into an agenda and audio-visual thrust that will reposition Hollywood as subordinate to Nupewood. Yes. We can!
Conclusion
Nupe films, no doubt, have reached a vehicular stage of being transported by intellectualism to develop communities and be documented for posterity. If ignored by the intellectuals, it will dwindle into crudity and be stagnated. This is why it is paramount that it joins the bandwagon of functional and scientific assessment. It is hoped that the HILL-TOP ARTS CENTRE will sustain this tempo with efficiency.
