The greatest good that can be done to any society is giving its young people a sense of purpose. Purpose is the catalyst behind any chaos or productivity in any society. When young people have a sense of direction in their lives and an early realisation of their potential, society is spared youth restlessness, crime, and other vices. Philosophically, it is the strategic channelling of youthful energy and human ingenuity into positive actions that are relevant for human and societal growth and development. At the Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation (HCAF), this thinking becomes the nucleus upon which the ideology of the foundation hinges and thrives; the creative energy potentialities in teenagers are arrested, discovered early and channelled into the Arts: Literary, Visual, Performance Arts and others.
In the over two decades of the existence of HCAF, it has remained a hub for talent discovery, development and reward. Through its mentorship sessions, events, residencies, collaborations, and festivals, teenagers across Nigeria and beyond have been nurtured, and many have found their careers within the arts. The foundation has produced exceptional writers and literary critics like Saddiq Dzukogi, Paul Liam, Hauwa Shaffii, Hafsat Abdullahi, Zainab Iliyasu Bobi, Sadiq Abubakr and others. Also, these feats have not gone without the challenge of sponsorship, finance and sustenance. The foundation has had individuals sponsoring the events and publications at the Art Centre. Individuals like Ahmed Maiwada, Yahaya B Daudu, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu, and a host of other philanthropic individuals have supported these generous sacrifices of HCAF for the sake of posterity and the future of our young people.
In recent years, two individuals have stood out in terms of art philanthropy: Alhaji Bala Abdullahi Kwatu and Senator Sani Musa (313). There is no gainsaying that their impacts tower high in the minds of teenagers and young people across Nigeria. When Alhaji Bala triggered the establishment of the Hadiza Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festival (HIASFEST), little did he know that that little spark would become an inferno igniting many young people across Nigeria. The receipts of this spark include Abdulrazaq Salihu, Pacella Eke, Testimony Odey, Fortune Simon, Sunday Saheed, Isaiaha Adepoju, Yahuza Abdullahi, Mahmoodah Oyeleye, Emmanuel Umeji, Abubakar Auwal, and so many children who have found that HIASFEST has been the springboard for their current success in life. To buttress this, it is important to examine some of the individuals and their current standing in the literary world.
Abdulrazak Salihu:
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS (selected)
- RHYSLING award finalist (2026) • 1st runner-up: ANA poetry slam (2023)
- Winner: Art for Life Campaign poetry prize (2025) • Finalist: Defenestration lengthy poetry prize
- Winner: Collaborature Poetry Prize (May, 2025). • 1st Runner up: Artslounge Poetry Slam(2023)
- 2nd Runner up: Singapore Unbound Poetry prize (2025) • 2nd Runner Up: Alitfest teen Slam (2023)
- 2nd Runner-up: Idumase Alao Poetry Prize (2024) • Winner: Nigerian Prize for Teen Authors’ Poetry
- Sundress E-chapbook Prize finalist (2024). • Winner: BKPW poetry contest (2022)
- Winner: HIASFEST Star Prize (2024). • Winner: Masks Lit Mag Poetry Award (2022)
- 3-time Winner: Splendour of Dawn Poetry Contest. • Winner: MVC Award at HIASFEST (2022)
- Longlisted: BPPC Poetry Prize (2023). • Winner: Hcaf Excellence in creative writing
- Longlisted: EOPP Poetry Prize (2023). • 1st Runner-up, HIASFEST essay category
•Winner: LAP Poetry Contest (2023). • 1st Runner-Up, HIASFEST spoken words
Fellowships, Workshops, Residencies and Grants - LOATAD Black Atlantic Residency ( Ghana, 2025). • Grant Recipient: HWA Grant for horror (2025)
- Fellow: Frances Thompson Writers Studio (2024). • Fellow: Spring Writing Fellowship (2023)
- Fellow: Flame Tree Writers Workshop (2024). • Fellow: Building Bridges Creative Fellowship ‘25
- Nigerian Delegate: Heritage of Africa Festival (2025).
- Hiasfest Ambassador: Heritage of Africa Festival (2025).
- Resident: Imodeye Writers Enclave (2024)
Pacella Chukwuma- Eke,
She won the Cradle Poetry Contest, Abuja Duet Slam, and Splendours of Dawn Poetry Prize, was a two-time finalist for the BKPW contest, and was a Joint winner of the FOW Poetry Contest. She is the author of Love in its Bliss and Sins; runner-up of the 2022 Nigeria Prize for Teen Authors(Poetry). Some of her works have appeared or are forthcoming in the Eunoia magazine, Strange Horizons, The Brittle Paper, Rigorous magazine, Haven spec, Gyroscope Review, and elsewhere.
Testimony Odey
Her works have appeared in various magazines, anthologies, and websites, such as Brittle Paper, Paper Lanterns, Tilted House Review, Fiction Attic Press, Kepressng Anthologies, My Woven Poetry, Calabash Journal, Teen Lit Journal, Voice of Agape (VOA) Teens Magazine, and elsewhere. Her short story, ‘My Juicy Life’, was the winner of the inaugural African Teen Writers Awards (2022) and her essay titled ‘In My Country, A Woman’s Body is Forever At War With the Culture of Patriarchy’ won third place in the Give Girls A Chance (GGAC) Essay Competition. She judged the 2nd Edition of the African Teen Writers Awards, and she was shortlisted for the Writing Ukraine Prize (2023). She also received the HIASFEST Star Prize (2023).
Fortune Simeon
Her works have been featured in various publications, including IHRAF, Eunoia, Eboquills, and Rough Cut Press. In 2024, she took home the top prize in the February/April Splendours of Dawn Poetry Contest. In 2025, Fortune Simeon of HCAF Abuja emerged as the winner of the Benny Wanjohi Prize for Poetry.
Sunday Saheed
He is a Lagos State Youth Ambassador, a Star Prize awardee, a Pushcart nominee, a Best of the Net nominee, Best Small Fictions nominee, an HCAF member, and a poetry reader at Chestnut Review. He has been published in Palette Poetry, Strange Horizons, Lucent Dreaming, and North Dakota Quarterly. He is the author of a poetry collection: Rewrite The Stars. He was shortlisted for the Rachel Wetzsteon Chapbook Award, Wingless Dreamer Poetry Prize and The Breakbread Literacy Project. He has his works in The Deadlands, Shrapnel Magazine, Rough Cut Press, Map Literary, The Temz Review, Brittle Paper, Poetry Column, Off Topic Publishing, Eunoia Review, and elsewhere. In 2018, he was shortlisted for the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange.
Isaiah Adepoju
He is an Osogbo-born writer. A winner of the Donald E Waterfall Scholarship Fund, the Akachi Chukwuemeka Prize for Literature, and the Lagos-London Poetry Prize, he has been a fellow of Ebedi International Writing Residency and the UNDERTOW Poetry Fellowship, UK. He currently interns as an editor at 20.35 Africa Journal.
Sa’ada Isa Yahaya
She was named first runner-up of the inaugural Ladi Kwali Poetry Prize in 2025 for Deceptive Poem, as announced on northernwritersforum.ng. She is a Nigerian teen writer and spoken-word artist of Ebira descent from Okene, Kogi State. She is a multiple-time winner of the on-the-spot poetry prize at HIASFEST. Her work has appeared in Blue Marble Review, Kalahari Review, Còn-Scìò, IceFloe Press and elsewhere.
These young people are only a figment of the many exceptional young writers who have benefitted from the philanthropy of Alhaji Bala Kwatu, and have gone ahead to kickstart their literary careers. Likewise, Alhaji Bala’s partnership with Aliyu Trust Foundation as the sponsor of the festival facilitated the establishment of the Muktar Aliyu Art Residency, which is among the first five residencies in Nigeria, and the second in North Central Nigeria. As such, it can be said that figures aren’t the real measure of the impact of a man. The real measure of impact is in the heart of people, the possibilities they have been exposed to and the realisation of the power resident in them. These, Alhaji Kwatu has made happen.
On the other hand, Senator Sani Musa 313, the distinguished senator representing the Niger East Senatorial District, also stands in his own right as one of the greatest patrons of the arts in Niger State. In the last few years, his interventions in the area of local and international scholarships have remained indelible in the hearts of citizens of his constituency. He has remained a game changer whose decisions and support have continued to light hope in the hearts of the citizens. At HCAF, he facilitated the establishment of the headquarters of the foundation, which today has solidified the place as a talent discovery and refurbishing factory for teenagers. The building houses a creative writing class, a library, and a reception. This has made mentorship equally possible, making the foundation a strategic place for shaping the future.
Recently, Senator 313 launched the SEN 313 Teen Authors Publishing Empowerment Scheme. This strategic programme sits within the core of HCAF, which includes mentorship, publication and citizenship. When young people are published early, they are placed on the path of striving for excellence in their craft. Also, they become models to their peers. This is why this recent contribution of Senator 313 within the literary space of Niger State isn’t only timely but strategic. He has provided the building blocks for building socially conscious citizens who live by purpose and are on the path to becoming valuable and productive members of society.
To conclude, Alhaji Bala Abdullahi Kwatu and Senator Sani Musa 313 have etched their names in the golden book of memories; their impacts speak for themselves, and without the exaggeration of an amplifier, future generations can hear the voice of their impacts. Impact is a person at a time; sometimes, it can lighten an entire community, a generation, and even a whole country. Therefore, well-meaning individuals in Niger State, Nigeria and the diaspora should join this wagon, support the Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation, and build a beautiful future for our young ones.
