Paper presented at the 1st National Conference on Perspectives on Elections and the Challenges for Democracy in Nigeria, organized by the Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria on 9th January 2013.
Poetic Barbs: Angst, Voter
Mobilization and Urban Musics in Kano State 2011 Elections
Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu
Department of Mass Communications
Bayero University, Kano – Nigeria
(Vice-Chancellor of the National Open
University of Nigeria)
auadamu@yahoo.com
Abstract
The
political climate of the Kano State partisan political administration from
2003-2011 reveal a state of constant
clash between the Kano State government regulatory agencies and the indigenous
entertainment industries. This resulted in banning, for instance, the
Hausa video film industry for sometime, and
the jailing of many entertainers on
the pretext of contravention of one censorship law or other. The result of these government activities created an
atmosphere of angst in the entertainment industry, leading to the virtual collapse of the entertainment
industry as a result of the exodus of many entertainers from Kano. When the 2011 elections came up, the
biggest group of youth mobilizers were those from the entertainment industry who through music and lyrics
created a message tunnel to youth to vote against the then current government in power. Situated within the
theoretical frame of voter mobilization, this paper therefore analyses the feelings of angst and
expression of anger towards the political class in 2011 Nigerian elections and politics by non-partisan Hausa
urban electronic musicians in the northern
Nigerian city of Kano.
Introduction
According
to Weinstein (2006) protest songs can be classified on several dimensions. One,
is the type of authority that is
deemed unjust. Songs in this category tend to criticize authoritarian regimes and generally call for a rebellion
or countermeasures. Another is the specificity of the injustice – whether
it is power in general,
some particular policy or a specific instance
of abuse of power. The songs in the last category often concentrate their fury on a single act on injustice. A third dimension for classifying protest
songs is their impact. There are two extremities in this. The first are songs that are protest, but
not seen as such by the song’s publics. The second are songs that inspire
action from their publics. These latter songs are the ones often seen as subversive
to the establishment, leading to arrests and prosecutions. An obvious category
of songs that address this issue are
war songs. This categorization provides a convenient framework around
which the protest songs in Kano between 2007 to 2010
could be understood.
Political
messages in popular music clearly matter to the musicians who produce them and
the audience that consumes them.
Music and politics have always had some connection in many countries. There are different dimensions
to this connection. The first is when music influences political movements, while the second how musicians promote the
idea of a particular political ideology,
even without the accouterments of election. My main focus is on the former
dimension in which I look at how music becomes
one of the factors influencing shifts in voter behavior.
In the
United States, the link link between music and politics has usually involved a
connection between progressive political movements such as labor or civil rights and folkloric musical
forms generally associated with the black church, agricultural workers,
and the urban proletariat (Garofalo
1992). Further, mass culture has been regarded, certainly until the late 1960s,
as being fundamentally incompatible with a progressive political agenda. This perspective was challenged with the explosion of musical genres in
the 1960s. Folk musicians such as Bob Dylan, Country Joe and the Fish; avant-garde artists such as Frank Zappa,
Velvet Underground; RnB exponents such as MC5 and James Brown,
all became associated with the political
turbulence of the decade.
It thus became increasingly difficult to dismiss mass music as aesthetically or
politically bankrupt.
When hip-hop1
emerged in the 1980s as music of predominantly urban young Blacks, it reveled in revolutionary lyrics and imagery.
Every rapper, regardless of their style, managed to incorporate a political
message into their songs.
As McKee (2004:
106) noted,
Many rap artists have a
political intent in their songs. Not all rap music is political — gangsta rap
is often accused of forgetting rap’s political and social roots.
But much of it, including
the work of many of the most popular rappers, is explicitly so.
The songs of groups like Public Enemy, Run DMC, NWA, and KRS- One are political both in the
traditional sense of critiquing government policies, and in the expanded sense…of
addressing power relations between white and
Black Americans.
In this
context, Collins (1992) points out that there are many differing views held by
social and developmental scientists on the role of popular
culture, art, and music in relation to the expression and consolidation of social
power, and that recent history of African popular culture highlight the anti-hegemonic side of
popular culture. This paper is contributing to this anti- hegemonic
stand of popular
culture within a deeply conservative and traditionally Muslim
African society.
Hausa Societies and Political Poetics
The
connection between music and politics, particularly political expression in
music, has been seen in many
cultures. Although music influences political movements and rituals, it is not
clear how or even if, general
audiences relate music on a political level. Time has shown how music can be used in anti-establishment or
protest themes, including anti-war songs, although pro- establishment ideas are also used, for example in national
anthems, patriotic songs, and political campaigns.
Political
meaning is hard to pin down in a song, even when focusing on lyrics. People
react as much or more to the ‘feel’
of a given song as to the manifest meanings of the words; thus giving the musical composition an equal significance
to the lyrics. However, in Hausa societies, whose musical structures are based on oral theater, the lyrics of the
song are more important than the musical
forms. Thus while Western protest songs rely on the script of both the lyrics
and music notations to communicate
the message, Hausa musicians use metaphors, sarcasm and satire (or ‘zambo’)
to communicate a message to their publics.
As Furniss (1998: 136) points out,
Figurative language may cloud the meaning such that
the characterisation of the topic allows a variety of interpretations, but in Hausa poetry rarely does irony muddy
the waters as to the evaluative intent of the
writer, certainly where the poetry taps into the
long tradition of didactic or laudatory writing.
1. The words
‘hip-hop’ and ‘rap’ are often used interchangeably to refer to the same thing.
They are different. Hip- hop refers
to an urban youth lifestyle, while rap refers to the poetics of the musicians.
Not all rappers are hip-hop, choosing to have a different lifestyle
than the one portrayed by the hip-hop
imagery of fashion and graffiti art.
The Jihad of 1804
in northern Nigeria perhaps provided an articulated use of poetics in political protest. This is because one
characteristic of the Jihad had been the extensive use of poetry to convey the messages of the reformers. The
rise of the reformed Sufi brotherhoods
in Kano during the 1950s was also
accompanied by an increase in the use of written pamphlets, including poetry. Such poetry was sung on the
streets on special occasions and was an extremely popular medium of expression. Five of the leading political
reform figures in the Kano area were outstanding Hausa poets: Sa’adu Zungur, Mudi Sipikin, Aƙilu Aliyu, Abba Maikwaru and Aminu Kano.
Mudi Sipikin for
instance used his poetry to attack the system of colonial rule. Aƙilu Aliyu
wrote poems directly attacking the NPC. Abba Maiƙwaru wrote a 10-line
NEPU poem for which he and
Aminu Kano were arrested in the mid 1950s. Zungur used his poetry originally to
warn the emirs of the north of the
necessity for reform, as illustrated in his central work, Jumhuriya ko Mulukiya [Republic
or Monarchy]. In this work, he called for political and social problems to be solved on the basis of the existing
Islamic institutions, rejecting
alien political concepts
(Pilaszewicz, 1985: 212).
He later used his poetry
to appeal directly
to the common people.
In a
similar vein, one of the earliest poems written for a northern political party
was by Aminu Kano, and called ‘Waƙar
‘Yancin NEPU-Sawaba’ [Freedom poem for NEPU-Sawaba], and published in 1953 and put in the final form by Isa Wali. It was
one of the earliest statements of Nigerian nationalism. As Paden (1973:
295) noted,
The manner in which these poems
were circulated and sung is relevant to the social
communications network that developed in the
north among those who where trying to
reform.
However, while the mainstay
of these traditional poetics tended to be written
poetry with intellectual bent, my discourse
looks at the relationship between
mass-mediated popular musics—that is, musics which share an intimate relationship with mass communication technologies—and youth voter mobilization in the Islamicate city
of Kano, northern Nigeria. In using
the term ‘Islamicate’ I borrow the term from Hodgson (1974:1:58-59) who coined
the term to refer to societies
which maintain and/or have consciously adopted at least the public symbols of adherence to traditional Islamic
beliefs and practices. Thus the implementation of Shari’a in Kano in June 2000 made it an ‘Islamicate’,
rather than ‘Islamic’, precisely because despite the Shari’a, the State sill follows the secular
Nigerian constitution in its governance.
Popular Culture, Censorship and Voters in Kano
In
considering the role popular culture plays in voter mobilization in the Kano
State 2003 and 2011 elections, I
would base my arguments on the events and happenings as they affected the Hausa video film industry first. This is
because while my content analysis is on music and its mobilizing power, nevertheless the Hausa urban electronic music industry is a direct derivative of the
film industry – in fact it was established exclusively to serve the film industry.
In its
edition of 29th April 2011 on page 32, the Daily
Trust (Abuja, Nigeria) newspaper published a cartoon that summed up the
raging battle between purveyors of popular culture and the political establishment in Kano, and how popular
culture industries perhaps,
but not exclusively, tipped the elections of that year towards
a rival party.
The two parties
in contention were All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) which had ruled Kano from 2003 to 2011, under Mallam Ibrahim
Shekarau, an almost ascetic Islamic scholar who shunned any title for himself
beside ‘Mallam’ [teacher]. It had previously taken power away from
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which ruled Kano from 1999 to 2003 under
Engineer Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.
In 2011 the PDP took over power again under the previously defeated Dr. Kwankwaso, with a narrow
margin of some 47,000 or so votes – reflecting a keenly contested fight between the two parties. There were many factors
responsible for this defeat of ANPP in 2011. Some deal with the internal
implosion of the party which created camps,
defections and ‘anti-party’ activities (in Nigerian political parlance).
The most colorful, however, were
the impact of the ANPP government’s implementation of the Kano State Censorship
Board laws under the leadership of Alhaji
Abubakar Rabo Abdulkareem.
The Daily Trust cartoon depicted the newly
re/elected governor of Kano under PDP, Engineer Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso waving goodbye to a coterie of departing,
apparently loathed projects labeled,
‘ex gov’, which referred to the previous governor Mal. Shekarau, drawn with two
facial tribal marks on his cheeks to
reflect his ‘Babur’ ethnic status; ‘Hisbah’, the Shari’a moral police that worked in enforcing partnership with
the Censorship Board, and ‘Sahu’ – referring to the social re-orientation program of A daidaita Sahu. Behind the
drawn PDP governor was a crowd led by
the a character labeled ‘Ibro’ referring to the slapstick video film comedian,
Rabilu Musa Ɗanlasan, whose stage
name is Ɗan Ibro. Someone in the crowd is shown holding a placard labeled, ‘Kannywood’, which refers to the
Hausa video film industry. It was clear that in the defeat of ANPP by PDP
in 2011, popular culture
played a significant role.
This is
ironic, because the same argument was equally valid in the defeat of PDP by
ANPP in 2003 when the PDP first introduced
the Kano State Censorship Board Law in 2011. The Hausa video film industry based in Kano, northern Nigeria was
established in March 1990 with the release
of Turmin Danya (dir. Salisu
Galadanci) in Kano. By 2000 the industry had become the biggest meeting point for the new mass-mediated creative
industries of urban electronic popular culture
facilitated by the availability of what Jibril (2003: 66) calls ‘cheap,
affordable, portable and highly accessible form of domestic home video technologies.’
At the same
time, the transglobal media flows of popular culture to northern Nigeria
especially from Indian film industry
created what I refer to as ‘creative intertextualities’ that saw these global entertainment forms providing young
urban Hausa with scripting ideas in both visual and musical spheres. Part of the baggage this intertextuality
carried was the liberal interpretation of the visual imagery of the female body form, particularly in films. Hausa video films subsequently adopt a strong
soft sell seductive messaging in their
films and choreography of their musics
through dressing female actors in skimpy tight Western clothing that served the function of titillating male youth
audiences. This became instantly popular in a society in which the sexes are strictly segregated due to
the influence of Islam that stretched to1380 when Islam was first introduced
in the city of Kano by
Malian Wangara merchant-clerics.
The new
entertainment form created new urban superstars and starlets. However, soon
enough, the culturalist establishment
started reacting to this with constant complaints in the media and inappropriateness of such mode of dressing
of essentially Muslim female stars in the public domain of the video film. This had little effect on the volume sales
of the Hausa video films
which, if
anything, became even more popular, drawing hordes of young women who aspire to instant
stardom.
In 1999 Nigeria returned
to civilian democracy
after years of military rule. The Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, the main national party, won the elections which
saw the emergence of Engineer Rabi’u
Musa Kwankwaso as the Executive Governor. In nearby Zamfara State, the elected governor under ANPP made the
re-implementation of the Islamic Shari’a his biggest election mobilizer, leading
to his implementation the Shari’a
rule in the State in 1999 (Badamasiuy and Okene, 2011: 148). The
government of PDP in Kano followed suit with the Governor signing into Law the Shari’a Penal Code Bill on the
28th of November, 2000. This provided
the government with a legal mechanism to ensure that all aspects of the Kano
State public sphere conforms to
Islamic provisions.
It was at
this point that the continuous calls for the regulation of the perceived
excesses of the Hausa film industry
became more strident. For instance, in a letter to the Kano State History and Culture Bureau (HCB), the Office of the
Special Adviser to the Chieftaincy Affairs in Kano noted:
We
have noted with concern the proliferation of the production of local Hausa
films. This may be a welcome
development, as it will help in the general development of indigenous film
industry. However, we have received
many complaints regarding some of this films (sic) and the way they are
corrupting our religion, culture and
good traditions and eating deep into our social fabric. The impact of these
films unfortunately are more devastating on the vulnerable members of our society, children,
youth and women.
The HCB
was consequently requested to provide a report ‘regarding this new phenomenon’
that should focus on statistics on
the number of these film producers, distribution outlets, number of films produced, cinema
houses (official and unofficial) these
films are shown for a fee; the nature
of the regulatory environment and its effectiveness, and assessment of the
social impact and behavior change among the vulnerable
groups.2
Soon after the
Shari’a announcement in June 2000, the Kano State Government set up a publicity committee to hold dialogues with
producers of Hausa video films to discuss the modalities for regulating the contents of Hausa video
films produced and distributed in Kano. On 29 June 2000 the committee held a roundtable meeting with film makers in Kano
to discuss the issues. It was a heated
meeting, with government team insisting on regulating the industry according to
Islamic rules, and based on the
constant complaints of parents and other community leaders about the contents of the storylines in the videos.
At the end of the roundtable meeting, it was resolved that the film makers would submit a memo to the government showing
their intentions on cleaning up their
acts, as it were.
It was
clear that even before the government team had time to study any submission
from the Hausa video film producers,
the Government was heading towards creating conditionalities that would lead to censorship in a Muslim polity. After the roundtable meeting with Kano government officials
to regulate the industry on 6th July 2000, the Kano State Filmmakers
2 Special
memo from the Office of Special Adviser on Chieftaincy Affairs, Office of the
Executive Governor, Kano State, to Executive Director,
History and Culture
Bureau, Kano, Ref SAC/ADM/4/1 of 19th January,
2000.
Association, together
with Cassette Dealers met to discuss their ‘assignment’ of coming up with a proposal to ‘clean-up’ Hausa video film
production in Kano and make it more
‘Shari’a- compliant’. It was decided
that opinions of other members of the industry should be sought and three days were given for various opinions
to be heard. This took place from 9th to 12th July 2000. At the end of this brainstorming exercise, a joint memorandum was produced and submitted
to the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Religious Affairs on
Thursday 13th July, 2000. It was not
clear whether this memorandum had any
significance, because without warning,
on 13th December – about two weeks after the Shari’a law became official
– the Kano State Commissioner of Information addressed a press conference in which he stated that the Kano State Government has banned production, sale, public showing
(including in cinema houses) of Hausa video films. According to the Press Release:
Disturbed by the apparent incalculable damage and nuisance constituted by local films in our society, and in
particular, its affront on the scared teachings of the Sharia Legal System, the
State Executive Council directed the immediate withdrawal of all the licenses of Film Producers,
Distributors and Video Centres. By this decisions
(sic), therefore, shooting,
production, distribution and showing such films anywhere
in the State is prohibited.
Meanwhile,
the Council instructed the State Ministry of Information to articulate
modalities for censorship of films in
accordance with the socio-religious and cultural interest of the good people of
Kano State, and further directed
interested film Producers/Operators wishing to operate
within the confines
of new guidelines to apply and obtain new licenses.
Kano
State Executive Council Secretariat Press Brief, signed by the Commissioner of
Information Internal Affairs, youth,
Sports and Culture, Alhaji Nura Muhammad Ɗankadai on the Outcome of the Meeting
of Kano Sate Executive Council Held
on Wednesday, 13 December, 2000. A full report of this was also published in ThisDay (Lagos), December 15, 2000.
It is instructive
of course that the press release statement says that the government withdrew
the license of local filmmakers. The overwhelming interpretation was that Hausa video films were affected, even though the press release did not specifically refer to Hausa
videos, although the prohibition could also affect ‘Nigerian’ films produced in English and other non-Hausa
languages. It was also not clear whether
Hausa and other ‘Nigerian’ videos produced in neighboring
states would be sold in Kano markets – the biggest Hausa-language home video market
in West Africa.
Almost immediately after the announcement, police teams went around Kano metropolis confiscating heaps of Hausa video cassettes. It was not clear whether they were
responding to specific directives
from the government or were simply implementing their mandate of seizing contraband materials which the Hausa video
films have now become.
These
developments caused some consternation among the Hausa video film producers in
Kano since it was clear the
government would enforce these directives, and thus the consequences of non-compliance can be dire. At the
forefront of pressurizing the government to lift this ban were Alhaji
Auwalu Isma’il Marshall
as the Chairman of the Kano State Filmmakers’ Association, and Alhaji AbdulKareem Mohammed, the Chairman
of the then newly formed
Motion Picture
Practitioners
Association of Nigeria, MOPPAN,3 who kept shuttling between the
producers and the government
officials, specifically the Special Adviser on Religious Affairs. They pointed
out that a joint committee of
producers and cassette dealers had earlier submitted a report to the government on the Hausa video film industry in Kano, and that it was too soon for the government to issue a ban
without properly studying the report of the
joint committee.
Eventually the
government agreed to listen to coordinated response of the members of the video industry on the ban. As a result, MOPPAN
called for a meeting of all stakeholders on 23rd December, 2000 to discuss the issues. Virtually
all the industry stakeholders attended,
but nothing much was
achieved. The meeting, however, gave the government representative, Salisu Galadanci, an official in the Ministry of
Information (and the first cameraman, the director, and also producer in the first commercial Hausa video film, Turmin Danya in 1990) an opportunity to allay the fears of the stakeholders and
hint that the State Government will soon issue definitive directives on the future
of the Hausa video film in the
State in the form of a
Law.
In any
event, when it was clear that the government itself was saber rattling (what
some insiders called barazana) and had no real enforcement
mechanism to ensure the ban of production and
sale of Hausa video films in the state (beside the initial raids by the
Police on some cassette dealers around the town), those affected
simply continued with business
as usual.
This was
more so because suddenly different interpretations started appearing about the
ban. The then Chairman of the Kano
State Artistes Council, Shehu Hassan Kano, went to the government to seek further
clarification, and in an interview
with Fim the Chairman
reiterated his understanding that the government had not banned the Hausa video film in Kano,
just revoked all the licenses of producers (including
theaters) until new Shari’a-friendly guidelines have been issued. So it was a halt, rather than ban. (See
interview with Shehu Hassan Kano, Fim,
January 2001, p. 23).
This was
the same interpretation given by Hamisu Lamiɗo Iyan-Tama, then the Chairman of the Arewa Film Producers Association in the
same issue of Fim (p. 24) in which he
added that if the Kano State
Government did not revoke the ban, the producers will mobilize their supporters
to vote for a rival political party
at the next general elections in the State (due in 2003). Further, according
to him,
‘…Frankly we were better off
during military rule, because they looked after us well, and at least, gave us freedom to practice our vocation without
hindrance. Surprisingly, now in an era of democracy, we see nothing
but harassment and saber rattling.
We know they want to improve the business (of Hausa video film
production). But it is not proper for them to publicly announce in press
releases that the industry has been
banned. This makes the generality of people to look down on us as if we are
armed robbers…’ (Hamisu Lamiɗo
Iyan-Tama, Interview with Fim magazine, January 2001, p. 24).
As a result
of the government ban, some artistes decided to lead a peaceful demonstration
to the Kano State Government House to
protest the ban – thus giving wider publicity to their cause, and since
they attract a legion of admirers wherever
they go, it was anticipated to be a
huge success.
3 MOPPAN was created specifically to serve as an
umbrella agency to represent the coalition of the various guilds of filmmakers in Kano. Thus it sought to
mediate between government the filmmakers, a situation the government welcomes,
rather than dealing with individual guilds or the filmmakers themselves.
However, MOPPAN stepped in quickly to prevent the planned peaceful
march (allegedly organized by Hindatu Bashir, a leading
actress of the period) and on 14th January 2001 the organization called for a sensitization meeting of the industry
stakeholders to douse feelings and stop
future planned peaceful demonstrations. During the meeting, the stakeholders
advocated for media campaigns to get
the ban on Hausa video films lifted. Some also suggested that their more prominent members should form a rival
political party and contest for various positions – thus gaining political control to protect the industry. Indeed this
underscored Iyan-Tama’s stand in the Fim interview
in which he further stated that:
‘The Kano State Governor
(Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso) seemed to have forgotten that he was elected, and yet he is harassing us in our legitimate
business. Do you think if Kwankwaso (the Governor) wants contest re-election at the next election Hausa
video film producers will cast their vote for him? Unless he shows concern for us, we will support the rival
parties…His Government does care about us. Do you think even if I, Iyan-Tama, cast my vote for him, other
producers will do the same? (Hamisu Lamiɗo Iyan-Tama, Interview with Fim magazine, January
2001, p. 24).
Iyan-Tama
did made good his promise by joining a political party in 2006, New Democrats,
and was elected by the party as its
Kano State governorship candidate in 2011 elections. This was to prove his
undoing subsequently.
Similarly,
Ibrahim Mandawari, former Chairman of the Kano State Filmmakers Association
also urged for the political solution
to the issue of continuity in the production of Hausa video films where at
the MOPPAN meeting, he stated that:
‘There is no doubt that we
will not again vote for any political party which is insensitive to our lawful means of earning
income. Therefore those
who are interested in any elected post should start
preparing now, and we on our
part will empower them in any way we can.’(‘Yan Wasa da Masu Shirin Fim Za su Tsunduma
a Siyasa? [Artistes and producers may enter deeply into politics], Mumtaz, February
2001, p. 15).
This
particular interview with Iyan-Tama and Mandawari – both highly respected
actors and producers – seemed to have
sent some signals to the Kano State Government: the fact the government could lose the next election
(in 2003) if the filmmakers mobilize support from the most significant portion
of the voter population: the youth.
Since a
volte-face on the ban was out of question, so a face-saving strategy was
adopted in the non-strict enforcement
on the ban, and at the same time, give the Government some time to tighten up the censorship laws then being
passed through the State House of Assembly. The draft Law and the subsequent Regulations were written by a committee
made up of officials from the History
and Culture Bureau and the Ministry of Information Legal Drafting department.
Indeed what the HCB proposed
initially was to start off with a
Censorship Committee before a full Board is established. According to an internal memo from the HCB:
In this regard and out of
great concern to the quality of Hausa films in Kano and to protect the values
and norms of our religion
and culture, the State Bureau proposed the establishment of State Censorship Committee as part of its function according to the Cultural
Policy of Nigeria Article 8, section 5, sub-
section 2, ‘promoting an effective film Censorship policy that reflects
Nigerian values and national interest’. The proposal for a State Censorship Committee
was an urgent measure before the steady establishment of the State Censorship Board, to pave way for the implementation of Shari’a in Kano State.
(The implementation of Nigerian Cultural
Policy in Kano State – A memorandum by the Kano State History
and Culture Bureau, March 2001).
By the time this
particular memo was released, the Kano State government had already finished all the groundwork on a new censorship
law. Thus the Kano State Censorship Film
Board Law 2001 was approved by
the legislators in the State and issued with effect from 1st February 2001. The implementation agency of the Law was
the newly-constituted Kano State Censorship Board in 2001, the first of its kind at a regional level in Nigeria.
The Censorship Board was given the full
mandate the censor films and ensure conformity with the Shari’a law. A
magistrate court was also attached
to the Board to prosecute any erring filmmaker with fines or jail sentences.
This further created the divide between
the PDP government and the filmmakers.
Just before the conduct
of the next round of elections in April 2003,
the PDP government decided to solicit the support of all groups in its bid to get
re-elected. The invitation was informally
extended to the Hausa video film industry during which the PDP government
sought support – from the same
industry which felt it was prosecuted. In any event, the PDP lost to rival ANPP in the April 2003 elections. It was
not exactly clear how the Hausa video film industry contributed to this failure, although a Mandawari Enterprises
video, Mahandama [The Corrupt dir. Ibrahim Mandawari], a scathing attack
on the alleged corrupt PDP government was produced and released to a wide acclaim, at least from purchasers. The
new governor of Kano State in May 2003
was Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, an Islamic scholar who proceeded to implement the
Shari’a with greater gusto.
Road to Nowhere
– ANPP, Censorship Board and Popular
Culture
The new
Kano State government from 2003 created more uncertainties in the already
unsettled minds of the film industry
concerning the future of the popular culture industries in the State. However, it would appear that the ANPP
government had more things on its agenda than the entertainment industry; as such while censoring of films was
quietly going on, there does not seem
to be much antagonism between the government and the industries. This, in fact,
was what led to the general feelings that the law was more enforced in the breach,
than the observed,
and as result, the film
industry broke out of the frozen state it entered prior to the 2003 elections
and pretty soon, things reverted back
to pre-Shari’a status—more soft sell sexuality in the mode of dressing of the female actresses and
vigorous female-focused dance choreography. The strident calls for ‘something’ to be done on the film industry
returned, with the feeling that the Censorship Board was not doing enough to
clean up the system. This, however, was about to change drastically.
In July
2007 a cell phone video clip privately recorded on Nokia NSeries GSM mobile
phone surfaced among the Hausa film
industry practitioners in Kano transmitted via Bluetooth – a mechanism that came to reflect the
ultimate urban cool among youth. It was titled ‘Hiyana’. It lasts for 8 minutes 37 seconds. Its impact
lasted for much longer. It shows a very popular Hausa video film actress, Maryam Usman, engaged in raw penetrative sex
with her boyfriend, later identified
as a ‘currency dealer’ (some kind of local bureau de change personnel) called
Usman. The actual clip was recorded
towards the end of 2005, and kept private within the handset of the owner. It was allegedly distributed when
the owner took it for repairs. For almost a year after its public discovery, it remained restricted
within a small group of voyeuristic fans of cell porn, predominantly the currency dealers in Lagos where the event took place and where Usman lived,
and later, Kano.
A Hausa video film actress who apparently was at odds with Maryam Usman became aware of its existence and having
obtained a copy, brought it to various members of the Hausa video film industry – from whence it
became a viral public property.
What made its appearance so electric was that it came at a time when the Hausa film industry was accused by the Hausa public and
critical space as getting increasingly Westernized and immoral. The Hiyana clip provided a perfect ground for reactions
and backlash against not only Hausa filmmakers, but also the entire industry
itself which, with its direct
appeal to youth, is seen as
a surefire way of getting into Hell-fire.
Focusing on, and accusing
actresses as sexual conduits, however,
was not an exclusively Islamicate knee-jerk reaction. Tracy Davis (1989:295) quoting a British
Victorian era research
on actresses and Victorian pornography, notes that in 188
The
youth . . . becomes more or less enamoured of a ‘singing
chambermaid or the ‘leading lady,’ both of
whom display their personal attractions with more regard to them being fully
comprehended than to any
old-fashioned ideas of modesty; and when the latter appears in some thrilling
scene clad in a white robe, her hair
flowing loosely in extravagant luxuriance down her back, her white arms bared
to the shoulder, her neck and bosom
by no means jealously guarded from the vulgar gaze, he loses his head in the enchantment of her presence, and
carries away a mental impression of her which can do him no good and may do
him much harm.
Thus as in
the case of Victorian era British pornography, the Hiyana case became a pointed display of how Hausa women in the
typically urban public theater – film, in this case – are seen as baits. Further, the youth fascinating
with the ‘singing chambermaid’ in prudish Victorian era Britain translates as the same youth fascination with the
‘singing Hausa video film actress’ in Shari’a
state of Kano in 2007. The moral prudence of both societies merely seem to
escalate the desire for the illicit,
such that the stage fantasy
of the actresses became ultimately their fundamental realities
– as evidenced by the way the Hausa video film industry
banned about 18 of
its members from appearing in any film for some months because of their
‘immoral behaviors’ (Fim Hausa
magazine, September 2007, Kaduna,
Nigeria).
Indeed as
Margaret Hauwa Kassam (1996:112) pointed out Hausa women had always dabbled in expressions of sexuality at the popular
culture level as either as producers or performers. This is because
This
expression of sexuality is observable in the content as per the language use as
well as the performance of the art
itself, especially in the songs composed by women, some of which can be
regarded as 'protest' literature or
performance art. I use the word 'protest' here, because contemporary popular
culture from northern Nigeria shows a
shift from the more conservative traditional form to one which incorporates some elements of radicalism especially in the
content and performance or presentation. The innovation added to Nigerian popular culture by women from
northern Nigeria indicates an aesthetic accomplishment on their own part.
This
medial shift – from protest literature to the sexuality expressed in the Hausa
video film medium – thus resulted in
experimentations with other forms of what I call ‘media radicalism’ – especially in a traditional
society.
The reaction to
the Hiyana video clip – expressed mainly in the media in northern Nigeria –
took two different dimensions. The
first reaction was expected – from a civil society not used to hanging out its dirty laundry. Soon after
the appearance of the clip, urban male youth in Kano took to threatening Hausa female video film stars – such that
quite a few of them, already non- indigenes
of Kano – run away to their own states. Maryam Usman herself disappeared from public view and went into hiding. The
local newspapers and FM stations became awash with comments condemning not only
the appearance of the
porn clip, but also the entire film industry.
The second was a
knee-jerk reaction from the government policy makers on popular culture as well as the film industry practitioners.
The film industry’s banning of filmmakers as well as the government of Kano’s banning of Maryam Usman from any film (or to be precise, the government
will not give license to any film in which she appeared for the next five years
from the date of the public
appearance of her phone porn clip) were moves aimed at showing public support – even before such support was measured – at moral cleansing of the Hausa video film of
its urban-sexual imagery. The Kano State Censorship Board – responsible for
censoring video films and other creative
works to ensure compliance with the Shari’a
legal code – was immediately re-organized with newer, tougher mandate
and guidelines on Hausa video filmmaking
at least within the borders of Kano aimed at strict compliance with what were perceived
as cultural and religious
values of media consumers in Kano State.
Urban Musics and the Public
Sphere in Kano
The
indigenization of modern African popular music can be linked to the
geographical diffusion of Western
ideas. Since the term ‘Hausa music’ is not exactly what is assumed, it is
necessary to understand it. It is
therefore important to understand the radical transformation of Hausa music which suddenly makes it attractive
to Hausa youth. The urban beats common in the radiosphere in northern Nigerian cities are not
generated by the more traditional acoustic Hausa musical instruments, but by sounds generated by Yamaha PSR series of
synthesizers which are interfaced with
PC music software predominantly Sonar series from Cakewalk by Roland, and
fairly cheap mixing consoles to record and edit the
final composition.
These portable
keyboards have the perfect convenience of a large stored sample of genre music beats and sound effects with are then
sequenced to produce the melodies sessions musicians wanted. That is not their point, though. They were designed to
be used with other instruments to create
more symphonic sounds from multiple sources, rather than the stored samples.
However, lacking the ability to play
other instruments due to the visible absence of accepted social musical culture, Hausa session musicians focus
their energies on mastering the sequencing of these samples to create
their melodies.
The ease with which the melodies
are generated led to a massive boon in music
industry such that hundreds of recording studios were
established from 2007 to 2010 in Kano, manned by session instrumentalists who mastered the synthesizers. The
singers usually come to the studio and
voice out their songs, and the session musician then finds appropriate beat
(which almost always was based on the
vocal harmony of the song). When the session musicians realized that international genre music forms could be
created from the stored samples, they started producing what they call R’n’B music forms. In this way, Hausa singers
can overlay their lyrics on soul, jazz, funk or rap beats, producing
what is really Technopop (or Synthpop), rather than creative
efforts are re-creating the antecedent genre music forms,
since they rely almost exclusively on the samples
to generate the beats, without
introducing any additional instruments, whether electronic or acoustic. In fact, for the
most part, the compositions are based on synthesized doodling on the synthesizer which creates a melodic template on
which the session ‘musician’ then overlays
the vocal tracks to create the song.
The sequencing of
the music genre samples in the Yamaha PSR keyboard adopted by Hausa musicians and singers give them what they
feel is ‘modern’ music form, even if retaining the traditional song structure
of Hausa vocalists. Eventually, almost without
any exception, the Hausa session musicians also transform into singers.
The 2007 crisis in the Hausa film industry
created a massive
vacuum for the playback singers
and studio musicians who relied almost exclusively on the film industry
for their own trade. The vacuum
created two effects. The first was the ascendency of Islamic Gospel groups who
sing devotional songs on the praises
of the Prophet Muhammad. These were urban electronic Sufi musicians
who have principally abandoned the traditional bandir (frame drum) usually associated with Sufi performances. They remained untouched by the Censorship Board due to the religious
nature of their lyrics—which the Islamicate governance and publics finds acceptable.
The most prominent of these Islamic devotional singers included Rabi'u Usman
Baba (Babu Tantama), Bashir Ɗan Musa (Salli
Ala), Bashir Ɗandago (Sannu Uwar
Sharifai), Kabiru Ɗandogarai (Ɗandogarai), Kabiru Maulana (Kabiru Maulana), Sharif Saleh Jos (Sheikh Ibrahim Inyass) and Naubatul
Qadiriyya (Sheikh Mustapha Nasir Kabara).
The second
impact of the 2007 film scandal in Kano was the emergence of independent
lyricists who prefer to be called ‘mawaƙa’.4 These secular singers
were of three different musical
structures.
The first,
and earliest is ‘Nanaye’. These evolved from the film industry (and which saw
the emergence of playback singers
like Misbahu Ahmad, Rabi Mustapha, Mudassir Kassim, Sani Yusuf Ayagi, Sammani Sani,
Yakubu Mohammed), and followed the pattern of Hindi-film music, with romantic themes delivered through male and female
vocal performances. It the presence
of female voices, often enhanced to create a high-pitched soprano effect,
coupled with rhyming chorus that gives this category of songs a ‘girlish’
feel—because it follows the pattern
of songs used by traditional Hausa girls on community playgrounds. After
the film industry went into a
comatose stage in 2007, new, independent singers emerged, although using the
same melodic pattern as the Nanaye
video film playback singers (indeed, some of them also provide lyrics and music for Hausa video films).
These new independent Nanaye singers included Binta Labaran (aka Fati Nijar), Abubakar Sani, AbdulRashid I. Aliyu,
Umar M Sharif, Sunusi Anu, Mahmud Nagudu, Nazifi Asnanic and Nazeer Misbahu
Ahmed.
The second
structure of Hausa urban musics is ‘Technopop’ containing lesser amount of
female accompaniment, and mainly focused
on social issues,
but with a strong dosage
of romance. These include lyricists
such as Kabiru Sharif ‘Shaba’,
Abubakar Usman (Sadiq Zazzaɓi), Aminuddeen Ladan Abubakar, aka ALA or ‘Alan Waƙa’, and hosts of others. Both the Nanaye
4 Hausa
‘musicians’ are predominantly lyricists, since the prominent singer rarely
composes the tune, relying on professional studio
musicians to compose
a tune which in most cases follows
the vocal pattern
of the song.
and Technopop
singers often also sing for politicians and other ‘big’ people in the society
for payment. The two categories are
sufficiently self-sufficient enough to release their own ‘albums’ (as CDs are referred to in Nigeria). Quite
a few Technopop Musicians, especially those without female vocal accompaniment and whose subject matter is mainly social
issues or romantic, often see
themselves as R’n’B artists, especially those who do not mix their vocal
performances with female voices and
follow more international structures in their musical composition. Examples include
Billy-O, Funkiest Mallam and Soultan Abdul.
Both Technopop
and Nanaye Hausa singers usually adopt the verse-chorus-form structure of musical composition and performance. In a
typical verse-chorus-form structure, the chorus often sharply contrasts the verse melodically, rhythmically, and
harmonically, and assumes a higher level
of dynamics and activity, often with added instrumentation. In Hausa music, the
higher dynamics is reflected in the
chorus which often gathers all the voices in the composition (or employs additional voices) to create a
contrast with the verses. This therefore approximates call- and-response, rather than verse-chorus-form
structure.
The third
is Rap which is more recent and is predominantly based on American hardcore rap structure, and contains only male voices
singing about mainly social issues. Examples include K- Boys, Kano Riders, K-Arrowz, Freezy Boy, IQ (the only one who
sings exclusively in English), Lil’ T, etc.
It is
these groups of singers who would provide a strong youth-base for mobilizing
support against the ANPP
government through their music and lyrics
Poetic Barbs – Protest Music and Voter De/Mobilization
During the
period that the Hiyana porn scandal broke out, Adam A. Zango, a studio
musician, who also appeared in many
Hausa video films as an actor, in his search for a new direction in Hausa filmmaking, released an MTV-style
music CD of six songs he composed and produced as an album, Bahaushiya. The VCD was mastered in Lagos, and Adam Zango
imported a few copies
for sale in August 2007. One song, Lelewa,
created an immediate public reaction and was
labelled ‘obscene’. A particular scene in the dance routines showed the
bellybutton of the female dancers,
and with lots of vigorous body shakes, including the derrière. Indeed a line in
the song urged the dancers to ‘twist your a**, twist your a**’ referring to the derrière, which they did with
great gusto. He was invited to the Censorship Board and admonished on the VCD,
and was advised to withdraw it from the market.
Despite
warning from the Censorship Board, the VCD continued to be sold at traffic
lights in Kano. It was at this moment
in time that the Censorship Board was re-organized, and a new Executive Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Rabo
AbdulKareem, formerly of Hisbah (the Islamic
police). Alhaji Rabo, as he was referred
to took his new position
with what some called ‘Talibanistic ‘ gusto. The first thing he
did was to halt the entire Hausa video film industry from August 2007 to January 2008 in order to
‘sanitize’ the industry (as he stated in an interview with Leadership newspaper of Wednesday 12th September 2007, p. 43).
His next act was to cause the arrest of Adam A Zango on 18th September 2007 and charge him to the magistrate court on two accounts: releasing
a film without a Censorship Board certificate,
and the sale of a
film during a period in which film production (including marketing) has been suspended. The Board also explained that
‘the type of dressing and dancing portrayed in one of the videos contravened the teachings of Islam and Hausa culture
as well, adding that the dressing in
the video portrayed nudity to a certain degree.’ (Ibrahim 2007). Based on this,
Zango was jailed three months on each
account, but the sentences were to run concurrently. In the event, Zango served for barely two months from
18th September to 15th November 2007 (Hausa Leadership, 29th November 2007) and
only after he made a radio announcement apologizing for releasing Bahaushiya. Banning the VCD and the attendant publicity
on the song merely increased its demand, and before long the
offending song was uploaded on YouTube—which, if anything, proves the futility of censorship; since it now has
wider audience than it would have if it did not lead to the arrest of the
musician.
After Zango
was released from prison, he migrated back to his home State of Kaduna, after recording a farewell barb in the form of
an invective song, Kan Mai Uwa Da Wabi [‘On
No Particular Target’] which criticized his jailing, as well as heaping abuses on un-named
‘government leader’ – an euphemism for the ANPP Governor of Kano State,
Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau (2003-2011).
In the first of a series of analyses of various verses from some of the songs, I will analyze how the songs use
poetic barbs to draw the attention of the publics of the singers to the plight they faced—and subsequently, created a
favorable atmosphere for voter mobilization
towards a more liberal political dispensation. Kan Mai Uwa Da Wabi [On No Particular Target], is briefly analyzed in Case Study
1.
Case Study 1 – Kan Mai Uwa Da Wabi [On No Particular
Target], Adam A. Zango, Bluetooth download, 2008; later, Oyoyo
CD
Composed in three verses,
interlaced with a chorus, the entire song contained only one male voice
– that of Adam Zango. Unusually for Zango’s usual Nanaye or ‘Makossa’ style,
this song was Technopop, containing
single vocal element and a melody that is independent of the vocal structure. Lyric Sheet 1 presents an excerpt from the song.
Lyric Sheet 1 – Kan Mai Uwa Da Wabi [Hausa;
On No Particular Target]
Verse 1 Translation
Bisimillah Allah,
ni za na waƙe mugun bawan nan/ In the name of Allah, I will sing a song about
that horrible servant
Jaki mai harbin nan, ya
fake da cin addinin nan/ Jackass,
who hides behind the façade of Islam Ɗan magajiya
jikan Abu, na fari ɗan Titi nan/ Son of Madam5, grandson
of Abu, light-skinned
bastard
Barau ni ne yaron
nan, ban mace ba ga ni da rayi na/ Barau6,
I am that kid, still alive, still kicking Sarƙa zancen
banza, a kwan a tashi yaro ango ne/ Chains are useless, eventually the young lad
5 The
Magajiya here is usually the name given to the brothel Madam – insinuating that
the target of the barb is illegitimate
or born in a brothel. The line ends with other attacks on the target –
light-skinned when the target is actually very dark-skinned.
6 The Hausa
personal name ‘Barau’ (from Arabic, Bara’u - saved) is usually given to a child
born after many of the mother's
children have died in infancy (thus ‘saved one’). However, in Kano, during the
1960s and 1970s there existed an
extremely infamous social miscreant called Barau, whose notoriety in almost all
areas of criminal behavior and social
nuisance earned him the nickname of ‘ƙwallon shege’ [bastard to the core].
Subsequently, the barb Barau is used
to refer to a person who can be considered a real bastard – which Adam Zango
used to refer to the governor
of Kano, Ibrahim Shekarau in this song.
becomes married7
To Barau ka
kama ni, kuma ka je ka kulle ni/ Well, Barau, you have arrested me, and locked
me up
Ƙarshe ma ka ɗaure ni, ni na ji daɗin ɗaurin
nan/ In the end
you jailed me , and I
am happy for it
Shi ba ɗaurin Allah
ba, ba ɗaurin Manzon Allah
ba, ba kuma ɗaurin musulunci ba/
This is not Allah or His Prophet’s jail sentence, nor is it ordained
by Islam
Barau in dai ɗaurin ka ne, ka sa alƙali ya ɗaure ni/ Barau, if it is your jailing,
well command the
judge to incarcerate me
Ko alƙali ya yanka ni, ko alƙali ya harbe ni, ƙarshe shi ne sisi
kwandem/
Or slit my throat,
or shoot me, or in the end totally condemn me
Verse 2
Jama’a duk ku saurara
ku ji zancen Malam zangon nan, People, listen
up, and hear my story
Musulmi har dubu ɗari, gwamnatin ka duk ta tsaida su, A hundred
thousand Muslims, all stopped by
your government
Wasu na ci da iyaye, wasu na makarantar bokon nan, Some feed their parents,
some pay their
own
school fees
Wasu na neman
aure, wasu abinci za ci wa kansu, Some
earn to get married, some feed themselves Allah ga kukan mu, ya Allah ba mu yafe ba Oh, Allah, we beseech you, we will not forgive
this (injustice)
Ya Allah ba mu ƙyale ba, kuma ya Allahu ka saka min, Allah, we will not allow this, Allah punish my
tormentors
Gwamnati ta kama ni, to ya Allahu ka kama ta, The government has arrested me, Allah please
arrest them
Gwamnati ta kulle ni, to
ya Allahu ka kulle ta The government has locked me up, Allah
please
lock them up
Gwamnati ta ɗaure ni, to ya Allahu ka ɗaure ta a ƙiyama,
sannan ka saka min,
The government
has jailed me, Allah please jail them in
the Hereafter, and reward my patience
Duniya kyakkyawa ce, budurwa ta nigga da bebi ce, The world is
a beautiful maiden to Niggers8
and
Babes
Duniya in ka duba yanzu gaskiya
ita ce ƙarshe, In
the world today, truth is the ultimate Wata motar mota ce, wata motar
sai an tura ta, Some cars are classy,
others are lemons
Wani daktan dakta ne, wani daktan
ɗan yi aboshin ne, Some doctors
save lives, while others are
abortion butchers
Wani telan telan ne, wani telan fidda tsiraici
ne, Some tailors
sew for decency, while others sew
only to show nakedness
Wani malam malam ne wani
malam bokan iska ne Some Islamic
teachers are pious,
while others
are just
Shamans
Wani gemun gemun taure ne. Some beards
are honorable,9 while others are just Billy goat’s beards
This song
was spread virally through mobile phones via Bluetooth technology and was only released formally as an audio CD album in
April 2011, titled ‘Oyoyo’ [non-Hausa, ‘welcome’] when the results of governorship elections in Kano showed that
the candidate anointed by the outgoing ANPP governor had lost to Engineer Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso,
of the People’s
7 Before his arrest,
Adam Zango, like all Hausa modern cultural
industries practitioners, had become extremely
wealthy – this line refer to his wealth, which enabled him to get married; a sign of financial stability.
8 The n-word
is very common among urban youth in northern Nigeria who describe themselves as
‘niggas’ to indicate their street credibility and ultimate cool.
9 The beard
is seen as a symbol of piety among elder Islamic scholars. The Kano State
Governor referred in the song has a beard
typical of Muslim teachers of his age
Democratic Party
(PDP) whom virtually the entire film and music industry supported. Rabi’u Kwankwaso was of course the same PDP
governor who introduced the Censorship Board and banned filmmaking for some months created the Censorship Law in
2001, thus creating the first feeling
of angst among popular culture practitioners in Kano. Thus Oyoyo CD was not censored for sale in Kano, but sold as ‘kokaine’ [from ‘cocaine’, thus illegal].
Case Study 2 – Matakin Tuba (Maryam A. Baba), Kano,
Bluetooth download, 2008
The banning
of film activities following the ‘Hiyana porn case’ and her subsequent banning
from appearing in any film for five
years, and the arrest of Adam Zango merely set the stage for the subsequent culture wars under ANPP in
Kano. In January 2008, just about when the ban on the film industry was to be lifted, another viral song appeared in
download centers in Kano. It was titled
Matakin Tuba [Step to Repentance].
Written by Aminuddeen Ladan Abubakar, popularly referred to as ALA (from the initials of his name), it was
performed by five prominent Hausa female
singers, with a chorus refrain from the male voice of Sadi Sidi Sharifai,
another popular singer. In Case Study Example 2, I present and analyze excerpts from the composition.
Matakin Tuba has
a total of 13 verses interlaced with chorus. It was recorded
at Hikima Multimedia Studios, Kano. The four main
performers and the verses they sung in Matakin
Tuba were Maryam ‘Sangandali’
Baba (7), Maryam ‘Fantimoti’ Sale (3), Murja Baba (1), Fati ‘Nijar’ Labaran (2). Sadi Sidi Sharifai, the lone
male voice lent chorus support. The central arguments of the song are in verses 1, 3, and 13, as indicated in Lyric
Sheet 2.
Lyric Sheet 2— Excerpted Verses from Matakin Tuba
Verse 1 – Maryam
‘Fantimoti’ Saleh Translation
Rabo rabo rabon mara aibu Providence,
Providence, not corrupted Providence Ba rabo rabon wahala
ba Not Providence of suffering
Mu yi nazari da duban duba Let us analyze this closely
Mu yi nazari da duban duba Let us analyze this closely
…
Verse 3 - Maryam ‘Sangandali’ Baba
Mai ƙarfi da ƙarfin mulki/ Those using the power of [should
know]/
ba ka fi fa ƙarfin
Allah ba/ Allah’s power is higher than yours/
Mai ƙarfi da ƙarfin
iko/ You have authority now/
ba ka fi fa ikon Allah
ba/ but Allah’s
authority is higher
than yours/
Mai ƙarfi da ƙarfin kaki/ You have dictatorial uniform
now/
bai wuce tasrifin Allah ba/ but
Allah can transform you in any way He wants/
Mai ƙarfi da ƙarfin jama’a/ You have people
behind you now/
bai wuce rundunar Allah ba/ but
Allah’s army is stronger than yours/ Allah kai mu
ke wa kuka/ Allah, it is
you we beseech/
zalunci ba zai ɗore ba/ (this) tyranny
will never last/
…
Verse 10 – Maryam ‘Fantimoti’ Saleh
Halin Ɗan Adam da butulci It’s human nature to be ungrateful
Halin Ɗan Adam nukufurci It’s human nature to be unforgiving
Halin Ɗan Adam muzanci It’s human
nature to look for faults
Halin Ɗan Adam ninanci It’s human nature to be selfish
Ai laifi, ba zai yafe ba You
commit a misdemeanor, and he refuses to forgive
The song was
intended as part of track listings for a proposed album by one of the singers, Maryam ‘Sangandali’ Baba to be titled Hikima Taguwar
Mumini [Creativity Clothes
the Believer]. Matakin Tuba was pure Technopop, also unusually departing
from the Nanaye structure the five singers
are usually associated with. In a sheer poetic
license, the song starts with ‘Rabo, Rabo’ – a Hausa word that
means ‘providence’; and at the same time, is also used as a nickname, which happens to be the
official nickname of Abubakar ‘Rabo’ AbdulKareem – the then Executive Secretary of the Censorship Board (later to
become Director-General of the Board).
The song therefore was a sly dig at him, but in an emotionally appealing way,
to forgive the culture industries
being human, since everyone makes mistakes. The song was actually composed in support of Maryam ‘Hiyana’
Usman10 and berates the Censorship Board of heavy- handedness.
This
heavy-handedness, referred to in verse 3, draws the attention of those in
power, especially uniformed power, of
the superior power of the righteous which is with God. The reference to the uniform was another dig at the Executive
Secretary’s former tenure as the Deputy Commander in the Kano State Hisbah (the Shari’a moral police) before being
appointed to the Censorship Board to
‘sanitize’ the culture industries. The change in uniform, from a paramilitary
to a civilian is what ‘tasrif’ (transform) means in the verse.
The next dimension in the war of words between the culture industries and Kano State Censorship
Board was political. Of all the politicians in Kano, Sani Lawan K/Mata of the
ANPP was the most colorful. Strongly
rooted in youth welfare, he was able to convince financiers to establish a recording studio, Hikima
Multimedia Studios in Kano. The Studio attracted the rising crop of singers,
especially the then rising Aminuddeen Ladan Abubakar and instrumentalists. The goodwill Sani Lawan enjoyed among
singers in Kano saw a variety of compositions subtly suggesting his political ascendency and often enjoining his
candidature as the next Kano State governor
under ANPP. Thus popular singers such as Abubakar Sani, Yakubu Mohammed, Adam Kirfi, Maryam Sangandali and Fati Nijar
all released songs—both viral and market—outwardly promoting the party, but really advocating for Sani Lawan. This
did not go down well with the main
ANPP party machinery that had other designs concerning the successor of Mallam
Ibrahim Shekarau, the then incumbent
governor who was on his second and final term. It is important to realize that Sani Lawan was the main focus
of these singers, rather than ANPP or its politics— and precisely because they saw him as their patron.
Singing for
politicians in Hausa societies is as old as the struggles for colonial freedom
in Nigeria. Furniss (1998) points out that many freelance
singers in the successive political
republics of Nigeria served one political party or other, whether it was
the Nigerian People's Congress (NPC)
or its successor, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), the People's Redemption Party (PRP), or the Greater
Nigerian People's Party (GNPP). Further,
‘political song during such periods
has tended to operate, as with
praise-poetry, to laud the leadership of the one party and vilify the
leadership of the other. Political poetry has played an important
part in the political process
in northern Nigeria.’
(Furniss 1998:131-132). However, my focus in this discourse is not on
singers who sing for particular political parties or politicians; but on singers
who subvert the process of censorship
10 Fieldwork
data in an interview with the composer
of the song, Aminuddeen Ladan Abubakar, Kano July 2011.
and sensitize
their publics to take a more decisive action when election comes, using scripts
that are couched in spirituality and use metaphoric language.
Being too early
in the Censorship Board’s Executive Secretary’s tenure, Matakin Tuba, which included
singers who support Sani Lawal, neither attracted nor warranted attention from
the authorities, despite its caustic
barbs. In any event, it was doubtful if the singers could have been prosecuted, since they were all women,
highly popular, usually associated with good clean- singing; plus the song itself structurally made sense as a call
to order for those in positions of power
and authority not to abuse their privileged status. The Board however phoned
Radio Freedom and instructed it to
stop airing the song, which it did. But when the General Manager, Umar Sa’id T/Wada,
who was away on secondment to VOA in Washington, US, returned in June
2009, he insisted that it should be aired since there was nothing wrong with
its lyrical contents.11
However,
the main focus of the Board, so far, was on filmmakers, not singers.
Subsequently, on 10th May 2008 the
Censorship Board ordered the arrest of Hamisu Lamiɗo Iyan-Tama and arraigned
him before its mobile court. The charge sheet accused
him of contravening the Censorship Board’s laws in two places:
first, releasing an uncensored film, Tsintsiya
[The Broom/Togetherness], a Nigerian remake of Westside Story (dir. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961) sponsored by the U.S.
Embassy in Nigeria. Second, he was accused of operating an unregistered company. During the court case, Iyan-Tama’s
lawyers presented full registration details
of the company which were ignored by the prosecution lawyers. The defense
lawyers also argued that the film, Tsintsiya had a label on its cover
jacket declaring that it was not for sale in
Kano—thus Iyan-Tama had no distribution network for the film in Kano.
Again this was rejected by the prosecution. Based on these charges, Iyan-Tama was jailed for three months and fined
over NGN300,000 (US$ 1,900) by the Kano State Government. The general
public view was that Iyan-Tama was
arrested for daring to contest against the then current ANPP governor. This was because in 2006, Iyan-Tama joined a new
political party, New Democrats, and was elected as its Kano State governorship candidate in 2011 elections.
Iyan-Tama’s
arrest signaled the beginning of a long drawn-out battle between Iyan-Tama, the Kano State Government and the Censorship
Board which took some two years to resolve in
2010—and only then because elections were around the corner in 2011. The
high profile case, leading to human rights campaigns on the Internet
on ‘Free Iyan-Tama’ at http://freeiyantama.blogspot.com/ drew further attention to the culture
clashes in Kano and caused further electoral damage to the
ANPP government among youth. As stated in the blog by Iyan-Tama in an
interview:
The whole issue of my arrest
is political, designed to humiliate me. You know, I contested the election against Mallam Shekarau [ANPP governor]
last year. Since then I have openly opposed some of his policies, which is in the interest of the good people of Kano State. And they know I still intend to contest
the governorship election in 2011…But even though I disagree with them
over the censorship laws, I refused
to break any law. I shot the movie in Kaduna to prove that I am law-abiding.
The US embassy premiered it in Abuja.
And the film is not on sale anywhere in Kano. My production company was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. I decided not to renew my registration with the state
11 Personal communication with Umar Sa’id Tudun Wada, December 2009, Kano.
censorship board because I have secured an office in Abuja, where I am planning to move. Interview
with
Leadership Newspapers, Nigeria, 11th May 2008.
It is significant, of course, that Iyan-Tama had earlier, in 2001, expressed
that the Kano entertainment industry
would support any rival party to the PDP since the latter imposed censorship regulations and started
prosecuting specifically filmmakers through its mobile courts. Thus the expectation that the ANPP government would provide an antidote to the PDP’s culturalist
approaches to the popular culture were not realized—leading to Iyan-Tama
seeking to contest on an independent
party platform to wrest power from the same ANPP government the culture
industries supported in 2003.
The next
high profile arrest by the Censorship Board was that of Rabilu Musa Ɗanlasan, a slapstick comedian who went by the stage
name of ‘Ɗan Ibro’ and who was arrested together with an associate, Lawal Alhassan Ƙaura, on the orders of the
Board in October 2008. They were charged
and sentenced to two months imprisonment for allegedly operating an
unregistered film production company
and appearing in films that expose nudity and ‘immoral
acts’ in contravention of the Kano State censorship
laws. The films were Ibro Aloko and Ibro Ƙauran
Mata. The specific portion of Ibro Aloko that was considered
‘immoral’ was a song-and-dance routine
with a lot of derrière-shaking by women, crotch humping by men, with lyrical
contents refraining ‘Mamar, Mamar’ –
words that do not have any particular meaning. The two actors were released after serving their jail
sentences—creating a bitter Rabilu Musa Ɗanlasan, who, with the return of PDP to power in 2011, was made a member of
the Kano State Censorship Board!
However,
soon after the Ɗan Ibro court case, viral songs started appearing in Kano using
his vocal style and skewering the
government over his jailing. Rabilu Musa Ɗanlasan as a comedian, often distorts his voice to produce a
high vocal range, even in his film scripts. Noting his popularity, some singers often mimic the same voice pattern to
sing—giving the impression that it
was Ɗan Ibro singing, which was not case because Ɗan Ibro himself has declared
many times that he is not singer and could not sing. He is in fact happy that his voice range is used in comedic songs. The singer who usually
mimics his voice was Sani Sidi Sharifai, an independent singer in his own right, and who was one of the earliest Nanaye
singers for the Hausa video film industry
in the 2000s.
With
increasing prosecution of popular culture artistes in Kano in 2008—and Adam
Zango’s incarceration sent a strong
signal to the music industry—musicians decided to take their cases to the court of public opinion. Thus on 30th
April 2009, a motley crowd of some 50 musicians from Kano found their way to Kaduna, a neighboring State, and
recorded a video song which they called Haɗakar Mawaƙa [Musicians’ Collective]. This collective is different from another collective, Haɗakar Mawaƙa Ta Sa'adu Zungur Entertainment Group established in
2007 as a broad-based platform
for musicians to interact with each other.
The video of Haɗakar Mawaƙa
was the first
organized call for voter rebellion against the existing ANPP government in Kano. It sent
ripples throughout the political sphere in Kano because of its advocacy for the governorship candidature of Sani
Lawan K/Mata. The song was also
sponsored by Hikima Multi-Media, a commercial music production studio for which
Sani Lawan K/Mata was the ostensible Managing
Director. This video
song, containing as it does,
verses calling
for a change in governorship in Kano unsettled the usually unperturbed ruling political class in Kano—comfortable in the
acceptance of Shari’a rule among Muslims, and
public governance by the guardians of the Shari’a. The video song was
recorded to express the musicians’
collective appreciation of the efforts of Sani Lawan K/Mata in the sphere of
youth empowerment, particularly as a patron of the music industry
(Fim magazine, June 2009, p. 23).
Haɗakar Mawaƙa video merely opened the
floodgates. By the end of May 2009, as many as 11 songs were in circulation in Kano criticizing the ANPP government in Kano in many ways. Since none of these songs were released via any official
public channel, and since the government was unable to determine the singers in most cases, it therefore
had no one to arrest
on charges of contravening any law. The Censorship Board therefore took
a one-law-fits-all approach and
issued a banning order on the songs through its magistrate. As stated in a news report in the Kano-based Triumph newspaper of Thursday 4th June 2009,
The
Kano State Film Censorship mobile court has banned
the sales of some 11 Hausa songs it describe as obscene in the State. The court is going to prosecute anyone found selling
the songs, playing
it, downloading it by any
means in accordance with section 97 of the state censorship board law 2001 cinematography and licensing regulation of the same year.
The list of the banned songs, modified to include their meanings possible
singers and music styles is as follows:
S/N |
Song List |
Song Details |
Music Style |
1. |
Kan Mai Uwa Da Wabi |
‘On No Particular Target’ listed as ‘Oyoyo’ – Adam A Zango |
Nanaye |
2. |
Bama Yi |
‘We are not
in it’ listed
as ‘Martani’ – Bello ‘Bill-O’ Ibrahim |
Rap |
3. |
Girgiza Kai |
‘Shake Your Head’
– Naziru ‘Ziriums’ Ahmad Hausawa |
Rap |
4. |
Ibro Sauka
a Babur |
‘Ibro Get
Off the Bike’ – no author, using the mimicked voice of Ɗan Ibro |
Nanaye |
5. |
Ibro Sanƙarau |
‘Cerebrospinal Meningitis’ – Ɗayyab Mai Ɗa’a (using
the mimicked voice
of Ɗan Ibro |
Nanaye |
6. |
Hasbunallahu |
‘Qur’anic – Allah is the disposer of my affair’
– Aminuddeen Ladan
Abubakar and four others |
Technopop |
7. |
Walle-Walle |
‘Deception’ – Aminuddeen Ladan Abubakar and
Misbahu M Ahmed |
Technopop |
8. |
Wayyo Kaicho |
‘Oh My’, no author |
Nanaye |
9. |
Gari Ya Yi Zafi |
‘This Town is too Hot’ –
no author, using the mimicked voice of Ɗan
Ibro |
Nanaye |
10. |
Kowa Ya Ci |
‘F**k Y’all’, MP3
file name is ‘Manta da Dre’ – ‘Forget Dre’,
no author |
Rap |
11. |
Auta |
‘Youngest Child’, no author |
Nanaye |
Surprisingly,
Matakin Tuba, the first of the
protest songs, was not included in the banned list— but that could be because it was already banned by the
Censorship Board from being played on the
Radio. Using musical styles that cut across the three main genres of Hausa electronic
urban musics, the songs range from Nanaye,
Technopop, R’n’B to Rap – although the Rap song, ‘Manta da Dre’ is a long skit, lasting 1.08 mins.
Listening
to the songs, it was clear that the Censorship Board decided to use the ‘big
stick’ in banning all of them, as
many use metaphors as a critique of the ANPP government’s approach towards
cultural censorship. Indeed
only Kowa Ya Ci uses abusive
language against unnamed
‘big’ men in the
society. Similarly, Auta was
inspirational, in which the singer thanks God for giving him the gift of singing as a young
(‘auta’) singer, and has no verses that provide any social commentary. Bama Yi by the Rapper/R’n’B singer,
Bello Ibrahim (Billy-O)
did have social commentary; but the singer merely
relates that youth have no jobs, nor any social welfare dole and how the youth leave everything to God. Banning the song
would seem to be part of a larger
agenda to muzzle public expression, regardless of whether it is a critique of
governance or not.
Three of the
banned songs use the mimicked voice of Ɗan Ibro – Ibro Sauka a Babur, Ibro Sanƙarau and Gari Ya Yi Zafi. Gari Ya Yi
Zafi was a direct attack on the government of Kano on Ɗan Ibro’s jailing.
While the charge sheet accused
Ɗan Ibro of running an unregistered entertainment company and performing
obscenely during a song and dance routine in Ibro Aloko, the main
song in the video ‘Mamar’ was used to refer to striped clothing material
favored by the then Kano State
Governor. The use of the word during a bawdy dance routine therefore was seen as a mockery of the clothing material,
and of course the Governor. Urban legends in Kano relate that as a result of the song, stripped clothing
became shunned, leading
to loss by fabric merchants in the State who imported it. In
Gari Ya Yi Zafi the protagonist
relates that the label, Mamar, was
actually coined by the fabric merchants, not Ɗan Ibro, since other fabrics also
have ‘merchant’ names; for instance,
varieties of brocade are labeled ‘tajalli, ‘veken’, ‘saka’, etc., while ordinary fabrics have labels like
‘toyobo’, ‘kofilin’, ‘senator’, ‘chairman’ etc. What was even more ironic was that according to Sadi Sidi Sharifai,
well-known for mimicking Ɗan Ibro’s voice,
the voice on Mamar was created by Maidawayya, another Hausa video actor/singer,
not any of those mimicking Ɗan Ibro’s
voice (Interview, Fim magazine, July 2011,
p. 42). It was ironic, therefore that
Rabilu Musa Ɗanlasan was jailed Ɗan Ibro was partly jailed for an offense Ɗan Ibro, his alter ego, did not commit.
Ibro Sanƙarau relates further episodes of Ɗan Ibro’s conviction and incarceration. It uses onomatopoeic device in its title by
altering the ANPP governor’s name, Shekarau, to Sanƙarau, which is the Hausa word for cerebrospinal meningitis—the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, a debilitating
condition that leads to stiff necks, and even death. The song therefore
relates the rigidity of the Censorship Board regime in comedic
skits. Two songs, however, were likely to draw the ire of the Censorship Board.
These were Walle-Walle and
Hasbunallahu, both with strong writing and vocal input from Aminuddeen Ladan Abubakar (ALA). Walle-Walle means ‘deception’ and it was
composed in 17 verses by ALA and Misbahu M. Ahmed. The critical verses are shown in Lyric Sheet 3.
Case Study 3 – Walle-Walle [Deception, Aminuddeen L.
Abubakar and Misbahu M. Ahmed], Kano,
Bluetooth download, 2009, later, Tsangayar Kura CD, 2009
Lyric Sheet 3 – Excerpted Verses
from Walle-Walle
Verse 4 Translation
Idan mu ne yau, mu gane gobe ba mu ne ba/ If
it is our time today, it not be our time tomorrow/ Kenan mugunta, domin ba
za ta kai mu ga ci ba/ Thus cruelty
will not take us anywhere/
Dukkan mai mulki, idan ba zai yi adalci
ba/ If
rulers are not fair and just/ Watan watarana, akwan a tashi ba shi ne ba/ One day, they will fade
away/
Verse 5
Idan ka lura, ai wa’adin
ka zai ƙare fa/ In
case you don’t know, your rule will finish/
Bai ƙare ba, ka tabbata
akwai mutuwa fa/ Even if it doesn’t,
you will certainly
die/
In kai zalunci, a lahirar ka za ka gani fa/ If you are unjust,
you will see it on the day of judgement/ Ka san walakiri, ba za ya ƙyale
zalunci ba/ You know the Hell Enforcer, will not allow injustice/
Verse 6
Mutum mamugunci, bai yi kama
da jagora ba/ A
cruel person does not behave like a leader/ Idan ya samu, ba za ya tausa al’umma
ba/ When
gets it, he does not pity his people/ Burin sa kawai shi, ya tara arziki don zamba/ His desire
is only to amass wealth
deceptively/
Raba waɗan su,
da sana’ar su ba kishi ba/ Deny some people their vocation, without
patriotism/
…
Verse 8
Idan burin ka, kai taƙamar ka shuka mugunta/ If all you desire,
is to plant booby-traps/
In ka shuka,
ai dole ne ka je girbe ta/ Remember, you will harvest
what you sow/
Ai idan ba ka nan, ‘ya’yanka
za su je girbe ta/ If you don’t
personally harvest, your children will/ Abin da ka girba, wannan ba za ya zarce guba ba/ Whatever you show, would
therefore be poisonous/
…
Verse 10
Shugaba mamugunci, wannan ba za ya san rahma ba/ Unjust
leader will never receive God’s blessing/ Shugaba marar kirki, ba za ya samu alhairi
ba/ Unkind leader,
will never receive
kindness/
Shugaba mai hila, ko fajiri ba zai
yi daraja ba/ Deceptive,
blasphemous leader will never have value/ Shugaba mai ƙarya, mai bin sa ma ba zai ƙima ba/ Leaders who lie, will only
have useless followers/ Ƙwarai, ƙwarai!! Yes,
indeed!/
Walle-Walle therefore is a metaphor for
how leaders deceive followers and how they end up ignominiously. However the song that drew the greatest ire of the Censorship Board was Hasbunallahu
(shortened from ‘Hasbunallahu Wa Ni’imal Wakil’ or Allah (Alone) is
Sufficient for us, and He is the Best
Disposer of affairs (for us).' [from Holy Qur’an, 'Ali-'Imran, 3:173]. A very powerful prayer used by Muslims in
dire straits, it is invoked during period of extreme danger which further places the adherent’s fate with God. It is
an expression of total faith in God. The
song was actually released early 2009, but it was only in July of the same year
that the Censorship Board took a decisive action against the song’s ‘spiritual’
attack.
The song
sought to re-create the ‘super-group’ template of Haɗakar Mawaƙa by gathering a group
of super singers in Kano to take the case of their prosecution by the
authorities to the higher authority
of God.12 By then the arrest and jailing of Iyan-Tama had converted the filmmaker
into an icon of freedom—thus leading to a rallying of sorts by all the popular
culture industries. Again
this reflects the unintended outcome
of the raging censorship wars by the ANPP government; for instead of dividing the industry, it make it coalesce into one—all aimed at fighting
the government and sensitizing youth consumers of popular culture
against government policies. I
will now look closely at how the composition Hasbunallahu presents its case.
Case Study 4 – Hasbunallahu [Qur'anic, God is
Sufficient for Us, Aminuddeen L. Abubakar and others],
Kano, Bluetooth download,
2008, later on Tsangayar CD, 2009
Hasbunallahu was performed by a
super-group of five well-known and well-respected male singers in Kano—and provided a perfect gender balance to the earlier
Matakin Tuba, performed
12 According
to my informants, musicians tried to talk to Sani Lawan to mediate on their
behalf with the ANPP government since he was part of the core party to stop the prosecutions, but despite all efforts, he was not successful.
by another
super-group of four well-known and well-respected female singers in Kano. The
two performances are spiritually
linked—as well as physically, since both were recorded in the same Hikima Multimedia Studios in Kano—in that Matakin Tuba beseech rulers to forgive
infractions (essentially to forgive
Maryam Usman since she has repented), while Hasbunallahu
invokes Allah’s wrath on those who made life difficult, particularly for popular
culture practitioners.
The song was
composed in 24 verses distributed among the five musicians: Rabi’u Taka-Lafiya (5), Misbahu M. Ahmad (5), Aminuddeen ALA
(6), Bashir Ɗandago (3), and Adamu M. Kirfi (5). It was recorded
at Hikima Multimedia Studios where Aminuddeen ALA was the Administrative
Manager at the time. The excerpts of the performance as reproduced in Lyric Sheet 4.
Lyric Sheet 4 – Excerpted Verses from Hasbunallahu
Verse 3 – Aminuddeen ALA Translation
Allah Ka na gani maƙiya za su kassara
mu/ God,
our enemies are about to destroy us/ Ka jefe su da cuta Allahu
duka su samu/ Afflict them all with pestilence/
Ka kama kawunan su Ka ruguza
su Al-Karimu/ Create chaos among them/
Allah Ka maida su bebaye da sun gane mu/ God, make them mute
when they see us/ Haɗa su rigima Allah su da Jibrilu/ Let them face the wrath of [Angel] Gabriel/
…
Verse 4 – Bashir Ɗandago
Mai ƙin mu ko’ina ya ke Allah Ka jarrabe
shi/ God,
set he who hates us on travails/ Da balbalin
bala’i sa a cikin jikin
shi/ And pestilence in his body/
In ya yi addu’ar
kuɓuta Rabbih Ka shirye shi/ If he repents, God reform him/
In ya ƙi yai nadama
Allah Ka murƙushe
shi/ If he is recalcitrant, God suppress him/
Ka rusa tanadin
sa na sharri Al-Muzillu/ Destroy his evil intentions [to us], O Dishonorer/
Verse 5 – Adamu M. Kirfi
To wanda duk ya ke ƙin sana’ar mu nannaɗe shi/ To whosoever hates our vocation, [God] twist him/ In miƙaƙƙe
ne shi Allah Ka rankwafe
shi/ If he is
straight, bend him down/
In mai gani da ji ne, Allah Ka kurumta shi/ If
he can hear and see, God, make him deaf/ Ka ɗauki wata cuta ka sa cikin jikin shi/ Afflict
him with a disease deep in his body/ Ka hallaka
shi don Ibrahimul Khalilu/ Destroy him for the sake of [Prophet] Ibrahim
…
Verse 7 – Misbahu
M. Ahmad
Allah Ka hallakar da daƙiƙin da ya tsane
mu/ God destroy
the dolt who hates us/
In yai aniyar cutar
mu sa shi kar ya gan
mu/ If he
intends to hurt us, let him not find us/ Kifar da maƙiyan mu don kar su hallaka
mu/ Destroy
our enemies before they destroy us/ Ya Al-Mughni, Ya Shafi ka taimake mu/ God, The Enricher, The Healer help us/
Don martabar
Muhammadu mai suna Jamilu/ For the sake of Muhammad also called Jamilu/
…
Verse 9 – Misbahu
M. Ahmad
Mun zama sai
ka ce jemagu ga iyalan
mu/ We are like bats to our families/
Mun zama mujiya a cikin jinsin
yaren mu/ We have become
owls among our people/ Su na ta
cin amanar bayin Ka cikin hammu/ They are betraying your servants/
Sun shiga inuwar al’adu,
addinin mu/ They have
taken refuge in culture and our religion/ Allah don isar Ka da mu, Kai Ka ƙage mu/ God, our savior, our creator/
Ka ba mu
kariya don ƙaunar Abu Batulu/ Protect us for the love the Prophet/
…
Verse 15 – Bashir Ɗandago
Ka bar su da ran su amma lafiyar Ka kwace/ Make
them living dead, and unhealthy/
Su gan mu
mu na yi, cuta Kai mu su tazarce/ So that they can see
us, active, and prolong their
sickness/
Allah Ka samu hanyoyin arziki mu dace/ God enrich us in the proper
way/
Su su na gadon asibibit can su na a kwance/ While they are in hospitals, incapacitated/
Su ji ayyukan mu na
yawo, ya Zul-Jalalu/ To
hear the spread
our of creativity, Oh Lord of Majesty/
…
Verse 17 –
Aminu ALA
Cutar gonorrhea har
cholera gami da tension/ Diseases like gonorrhea, cholera and tension/ Cutar
hawan jini har typoid in addition/ High
blood pressure and typhoid, in addition/ Cuta ta kuturta da makanta a conclusion/ Leprosy, blindness in conclusion/
Cuta ta ƙanjamau
mai hana ɗan Adam emotion/ HIV/AID which prevents emotions/
Kowa sai ya amsa, ‘Amin, Zul Jalalu’/ Everyone say, ‘Amen to the Lord of Majesty’/
This performance, containing as it does,
a spiritual script further
drove the thin edge
of the wedge that separated the culture industries and their publics
against the government. Performed by super-groupings of singers, and from the same music stable as Matakin Tuba, it was guaranteed to be a lighting rod
which will attract the wrath of
the Censorship Board.
This it
did, because on Sunday 6th June 2009, the offices of Hikima Multimedia Studios
in Kano were raided by gun-wielding
security agents with warrant to arrest the Administrative Manager, Aminuddeen ALA. While he went into hiding,
he was eventually arrested on 4th July 2009 and taken to court, while Hikima Multimedia Studios was closed down
by the government. The charge sheet
against Aminuddeen ALA stated:
‘That
you, Aminu Ladan Abubakar, a.k.a. Ala, sometimes around the 1/3/2009 at Gandun
Albasa by Zoo Road in Kano Municipal
Local Government which is within the jurisdiction of this court, released your produced song titled ‘Hasbunallahu’ for
public exhibition from the state censorship board, contrary to section 16 of the Kano State Censorship
Board Law 2001, and is punishable under section 16 (b) of the same Law.’ (Reproduced in Fim (Kaduna, Nigeria)
Magazine, August 2009, p. 19).
In the first
instance the charge sheet wordings do not make sense, especially where it says,
‘for public exhibition from the state
censorship board’. Secondly, it was not clear how the charge sheet came across a release date of 1st
March 2009 for a song although recorded in late 2008 and was never released officially in any public form. In any
event, Aminuddeen ALA denied the charges on the simple
ground that although
he and other did record
the song, it was never released
commercially, and therefore was not subject to the Censorship Board which
covers only creative works meant for
public exhibition. The case eventually fizzled away due to lack of any concrete evidence, even though Aminuddeen
ALA was briefly jailed for periods from few hours to a day during
the period the trial lasted.
Few weeks after this incident, a CD appeared
in Kaduna markets
titled Tsangayar Kura [Hyena’s Den]. Some independent
marketers imported a few copies and sold them in Kano markets. The CD includes two banned songs from the list of 11
issued by the Censorship Board in
June: Hasbunallahu and Walle-Walle. Thus the ALA court case
merely drew attention to the songs which hitherto were restricted to memory cards of GSM phones. Their inclusion in Tsangayar
Kura was intended
to present them to the larger audience
– to tremendous success. For instance, the title track,
‘Tsanagayar Kura’, unusually lasts for almost 10 minutes in which the original four singers extorted
their ‘tsangayar kura’,
a substitute for ‘ramin kura’ [hyena’s
den].13
‘Tsangaya’ usually refers to a residential college in the Hausa Islamic
learning system. The four singers
therefore equated their profession to a college of learning, and warn all dogs
to keep away; as the refrain states:
Rakumi ya bad da sahun giwa/ The camel
wants to camouflage itself
Yazo zai shanye ruwan kaso/ It wants
to drain the water from the trough
Gayawa kare ya bar sa ran kai talla
a tsangayar kura/ Tell the dog to stop dreaming
of getting a market in the
college of learning
In this, the four
singers clearly indicate that theirs is a structured, almost academic
(collegiate) profession since it
requires thought and diligence—therefore government ‘dogs’ should keep away. The
prosecution of the musicians
The
appearnace of the CD drew the attention of the Censorship Board to the CD, and
this time, one of the original
singers of Hasbunallahu, Bashir
Ɗandago (who sung three verses), was arrested
on 6th August 2009 and charged with releasing an uncensored musical work. Again
it was difficult to determine how the
prosecutors determined Ɗandago’s guilt since his name – or any other
name – was not written anywhere on the cover of the CD.
Ɗandago
denied the charges on the defense that the said album was not released for
public in Kano, but in Kaduna, and
therefore those who imported it to Kano markets did so illegally and should be prosecuted for distributing a contraband, not the singers
– echoing the similar arguments by defense lawyers when
Iyan-Tama was also arrested on the charges of releasing an uncensored film.
Arrested
with Ɗandago was another singer, Kabiru Maulana, a post-modernist devotional
singer for the Sufi Tijaniyyah order.
It was only during the court case that it was revealed that Maulana was arrested because the Censors thought
they heard his voice on the Hasbunallahu track.
This was because his vocal range and
style of lyrical composition was similar to that of Rabi’u Taka- Lafiya, one of the singers of Hasbunallahu (and who, together with the
two others singers on the song, were never arrested). Maulana was therefore
released, while Ɗandago
was detained, although eventually released too when
the case was dismissed for lack of evidence towards December 2009.
While the court
cases against musicians dragged on, the Censorship Board took the war against musicians to a higher note on 29th October
2009 by ordering a raid on an office block in Kano along Zoo Road, often referred to as Rima House. This block
houses as many as 30 music studios.
The Board closed down the studios whose Administrative Managers could not
produce certificates of registration
of the business. This further serves to alienate the culture industries from the ANPP government. The feeling of angst among the various
filmmakers, singers, lyricists and choreographers was
extremely strong. This because in the absence of a viable film industry,
and with too many session
musicians and lyricists
coming up everyday,
the studios
13 The full
proverb from which this expression was taken was: ‘ramin kura sai ‘ya’yanta’ –
only the children of a hyena can
enter its den. To wit, therefore, only intelligent people would enter into
singing profession, therefore singers should
not be prosecuted as they were being done by the ANPP government.
become ‘media
consultants’ producing radio jingles advertising as diverse products as
mosquito repellants and airline tickets.
The case of
banning 11 songs which were seen as subversive to the political establishment
by the ANPP government in Kano created an international interest on many fronts. In the fist instance, it attracted two student filmmakers from
the University of Florida’s Documentary Institute, Alex Johnson and Saman Piracha, to travel to Kano in 2010 and shoot a
documentary about the banning which
they called Recording a Revolution.
It gave many musicians an opportunity to voice
our their feelings about censorship and about government. The film’s anchor was
Naziru Ahmed Hausawa, a Kano-based
Hausa rapper, who uses the stage name ‘Ziriums’ and whose song, Girgiza Kai [Shake your head] was
one of 11 banned songs.14 Similarly, the website, ‘Project Muse’ also carried the story,
with the full listing of the songs—further emphasizing how musical
freedom was muzzled
in northern Nigeria
during the ANPP regime in Kano.
PDP Reloaded – The
Cult of Kwankwaso and Popular Mobilization
By 2010 the
culture industries in Kano had declared their general support for the opposing
PDP party. As explained by Rabilu
Musa Ɗanlasan, aka Dan Ibro,
We
have to go back to the PDP…True enough we have supported ANPP, but the
suffering, ostracization, hatred for
our profession we endured forces us to abandon ANPP and support PDP. (Interview
in Fim magazine, March
2010, p. 22, translation
mine).
To make
things worse for the ruling ANPP, by March 2010 the party had entered into an
internal crisis, leading to loss of
confidence in the party machinery which sees mass cross-carpeting from the party to other parties, mainly the
rival PDP.15 This gave the entertainment industry in Kano the perfect opportunity to pitch its camp. Perhaps
not surprisingly, the overwhelming support
was for PDP governorship candidature of Engineer Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso
who was re- contesting again for the
post in Kano in 2011 under his old party, PDP. The failure of ANPP in 2011, even
though by a narrow margin, can be attributed
to the lack of cohesion in the
opposition
– too many
political interests and internal ‘anti-party’ activities within the opposition
gave the PDP a more unified front.
The PDP itself, however also split into two,16 ‘Garkuwa’ (‘shield’ representing the traditional mainstream party) and ‘Kwankwasiyya’ (coinage, ‘the cult of Kwankwaso’); however, despite these internal camps, the PDP party machinery
remained virtually unified
in electing PDP governments, whether
in Kano or in neighboring Jigawa State.
The Kwankwasiyya
faction of PDP became the new youth party. Adopting colorful vocabulary that alludes to urban gang-violence insouciance such as ‘wuju-wuju’ (scatter) and ‘ɗan-ujule’
14 Ziriums relocated to New York in 2010 and pursued
his rap career.
15 As part of
the series of disenchantments Sani Lawan K/Mata, a stalwart of the party and
patron of singers declared a year
later in January 2011, that ‘ANPP is now a dead party which nobody with
legitimate interest can afford to hang
on to…as from today (Wednesday 12th January 2011), I, Sani Lawan Kofar Mata has
(sic) withdrawn my membership from the ANPP, and will make my new party known very soon.’ http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnews/43811/1/kano-deputy-governor-others-quit-anpp-for-acn.html. Accessed 18th April 2012.
16 In January
2013 another PDP splinter appeared in Kano which called itself ‘PDP-Jam’iyya’
[PDP Party] formed by the old stalwarts of the original
PDP as an attempt to cleanse the party of the cultish
persona of ‘Kwankwasiyya- Amana’ and refocus on core political philosophy of the Party.
(bloody lip),
they appeal to the new ‘boyz in the hood’ mentality of urban youth. Right in
the middle of this vocal visibility,
and just before the April 2011 elections in Kano, more musics of various categories appear in support of
one party or other – although predominantly composed in favor of PDP.17 The most popular
and which became
adopted as an urban anthem
of the PDP was composed by
Nazifi Abdulsalam Yusuf aka ‘Asnanic.’ It was catchingly titled, Rabi'u Musa
Kwankwaso Dawo Dawo (Kwankwaso return,
return). The excerpts
of the performance is reproduced in Lyric Sheet 5.
Lyric Sheet 5 – Excerpted Verses
from Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso Dawo Dawo
Verse 5 Translation
Mun ƙyale zuma a yanzu mun kama maɗaciya/ We
ignored the sweet, and have embraced the bitter/ Mun saki tattabara
mun raini hawainiya/ We lost the speedy
and cultivated the slow/
Ga shi ta rikiɗe
a yau ta na yin halin tsiya/ It has now turned
into something bad/
A Kano kuka muke mulki na tsumagiya/ We are
crying in Kano because of the harsh rule/ Kawo mana agaji, zo Kwankwaso dawo/ Come to our aid, come Kwankwaso, return/
Verse 6
Abun mamaki
'yan uwana ku ji zan faɗa/ This
is surprsing, brother, so listen/ Zan tausa sa murya ta a yau ba yin raɗa/ I
will openly say it, not whispher/ Wani sirrin
ɓoyen ne na ke so na yi bankaɗa/ I
will reveal a well-hidden secret/ Don na gaji ne salo na mulkin 'yan bar-baɗa/ I am tired of these superficial rulers/
Kullum sai yaudara ci baya sun ka kawo/ The keep deceiving us and usher in no progress/
Verse 13
Kwarkwasa mai hanin sakewa
a cikin gida Tiger-ant, that does not allow one to relax in his
home
Munyo shuka girbinta nai mana gargada We
planted (him), yet we are unable to harvest (him) Aike mun yiwa kunkuru mun kyale gada We
sent somone slow, while it should be one faster Mu mun sake agola ya zama mulkin
gida We have become too relaxed, the step-son has taken
over the house
Mai hana ƙarya Kwankwaso dawo dawo True one Kwanwaso, return,
return
Less
philosophical than previous protest songs, Rabi'u
Musa Kwankwaso Dawo Dawo actually reproduces the lyrical structure
of an earlier protest song by the same performer, and simply titled Dawo, Dawo in which the protagonist relates to how he suffers as a
singer in Kano and wants to leave the
State due to prosecution. The original Dawo
Dawo was, on its own, extremely popular,
although never banned by the Censorship Board, enabling it to acquire a
cult-status. It was this that
informed the commissioning of the new format, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso Dawo Dawo,
by Hajiya Baraka Sani who later came the Kano State Commissioner for
Agriculture and Natural Resources, after April 2011.
The new version uses compositional oratory common to Hausa
traditional musicians, and departs from the other protest
songs, in the sense of being a long praise
song (‘waƙar maroƙa’)
and
17 During the
fieldwork for this paper, I was able to collect as many as 350 MP3 songs from
Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna and Bauchi
States all praising one politician or political party or another. The process
of party politics therefore provides
massive opportunities for modern Hausa singers to perform the same functions
traditional acoustic musicians performed
when singing for Nationalist politicians in the 1960s.
which is usually
paid for.18 Inserted within the stanzas are barbs aimed at the ANPP
government in Kano in the form of
both personal and political critique. For instance, in verse 13, a line states that ‘Mu mun sake agola ya zama mulkin
gida’ (We have become too relaxed, the step-son has taken over the house) alludes to the ‘non-Kano’ origin of the
family of the former Governor, Mallam
Ibrahim Shekarau, who traced his roots to Biu, in Borno State. Verse 5 and 6
lyrics have double meaning – for both
musicians and popular culture industries generally, as well as for the civil society in that the protagonist
narrates the social condition in Kano in the eight years between 2003 to 2011. For the popular culture industries, it was
‘a Kano kuka mu ke mulki na tsumagiya’ (we are crying in Kano because of the harsh rule).
Although this
song was subversive, carrying similar caustic lyrics to others banned two years earlier,
especially Walle-Walle, yet it remained
untouched, and Nazifi Asnanic was never arrested or harassed by the Censorship
Board. The reason may not be unconnected to the sudden awareness by the government machinery that a line had been
crossed by the Censorship Board and
which could cost popular support. This was more so as in addition to the
internal implosion of the ANPP, the
filmmakers started to fight back against the Censorship Board outside Kano. For instance on 13th Mary 2010 the
Executive Secretary of the Board was almost lynched in Kaduna after he participated in a discussion program on the film
industry and which did not go down
well with Kaduna-based filmmakers. It was indeed a turning point because from
then onwards up to the elections in
April 2011, the Censorship Board stopped prosecuting filmmakers and singers in Kano.
In any
event, it all came to pass. On 21st April 2011, Engineer Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso
of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
was declared the winner of the governorship elections in Kano with 46% of the votes cast as against 43.5% of the ANPP candidate. The most visible
demonstrations of support was from angst-driven popular culture
industries, as captured by many bloggers
through pictures of wild celebrations posted on many sites including Facebook.
This brings to end, for the meantime,
a long drawn-out battle between the popular culture industries in Kano and the political class. I
emphasized ‘meantime’, because the law is the law. This was demonstrated by the arrest and jailing of
Sani Musa Danja—a filmmaker and musician, who was the most vociferous supporter of PDP politicians at both
national and Kano State level. He was arrested
on 12th November 2012—over a year and a-half after the PDP returned to power in Kano on a significant wave of support from
filmmakers’ fans—for releasing an uncensored film, the mantra the Censorship Board always gives out in such
situation in the previous political dispensation.
And in a twist of
irony, in January 2013 an MP3 music track started making viral rounds in GSM handsets in Kano. It was titled,
‘Saura Ƙiris Ta Watse, Kwankwasiyya’ [Kwankwasiyya will soon end, Anon]. Echoing sentiments that
are directly opposite those in Nazifi Asnanic’s Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso Dawo Dawo’, ‘Saura Ƙiris’ is an acerbic
indictment of the cult of Kwankwasiyya
and urging the cult members to quit before cult self-destructs – using the same musical
infrastructure used by PDP youths that mobilized youth voters against
the ANPP.
18 However, in an interview
with reporters of the Blueprint newspaper (Abuja), the singer
Nazifi Abdulsalam insisted that he did not make any money
out of the song. See the full story at http://blueprintng.com/2012/08/i-didnt- make-money-out-of-my-song-for-kwankwaso-says-nazifi-asnanic/, retrieved 25th August 2012.
Conclusion
Throughout
societies, protest songs have served as a rallying points against what are seen
as oppressive governance policies.
What has never been made clear, however, is the extent to which change was brought about by these songs.
In the United States, the protest song was one of the main symbols of the sixties
youth culture and was aimed at awakening
public awareness of social issues,
particularly the Vietnam
conflict. The songs provided the soundtrack to demonstrations against
that War. Yet although the songs inspired
creativity and raised consciousness,
they did not stop the wars—because the theater of wars kept coming, from Vietnam
down to Afghanistan.
In
Algeria, the modern music form that developed as protest was Rai (from the
Arabic, ‘ra’ayy’, or view). Rai
evolved from native Orani-Algerian music with provocative lyrics sung at local cafes, bars, and bordellos to the most
popular and controversial music in North Africa today. It was banned from the Algerian broadcast
media because it was considered subversive by the Algerian government until the 1980s (Al-Deen, 2005). The music
then became available only through
Algerian-French community radio stations in southern France in the early 1980s.
It was so popular in Algeria
that the government was forced to lift some of the earlier restrictions placed on it. The music therefore came to be regarded as music
of rebellion and the symbol of cynicism, emerging
as an outlet for voicing
the frustrations of youths and placing greater
emphasis on freedom and liberty. Similarly, in Thailand,
the rise of politicized popular musics is closely tied to the political turbulence of the early and mid-1970s
(Lockard 1998). Yet oppression continues in these countries, with musicians being hounded.
On June 11, 1988,
the first Mandela Tribute was staged at Wembley Stadium in London. The 11- hour extravaganza featured a remarkably
diverse roster of first-rate talent – all aimed at drawing attention to the political plight of
Nelson Mandela, then a political prisoner in the Apartheid South Africa. While Mandela eventually
became free and ruled South Africa, the contribution of the hundreds of rock stars composing songs in defense
of African political
freedom rarely swayed
the racist regime
of South Africa.
Change came because
it had to, or as Bob Dylan wrote, ‘…how many years can some people exist/before they're allowed to be free?/’
(Bob Dylan, 1963).
In the West African Sahara desert, political
marginalization in the various nation-states exacerbated the problems of severe drought and economic hardship
that have struck the Tuareg since the
1960s. This created a generation of young Tuareg exiles known as the ishumar, who fled Mali and Niger to pursue better opportunities in North
African cities. During this time some of
the ishumar discovered the guitar and began to form bands where they sang songs
about their experiences in exile,
their memories of home, and their political ambitions for better Tuareg rights (Kohl and Fischer 2010). The music of bands such as Tinariwen, Tartit,
Terakaft and Toumast became the major
tool for mobilizing rebels in violent rebellion against Niger and Mali in the 1990s. In the end little was
achieved in uniting the various forces to create sustainable peace in
the region.
Similarly,
while it might be assumed that there is a link between desire for change and
popular culture, it must be pointed
out that at least in African societies, popular culture purveyors might only provide a philosophical reflection
of unjust, but not action scripts for social transformation
through their
lyrics. The late Nigerian Afro-beat musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti emerged in
the 1960s and 1970s as the most vocal
critic of the Nigerian military authorities (Olaniya 2004). In song after song, he urged revolt, not
solely against military tyrants and exploiters (‘Zombie’, ‘Army Arrangement’, ‘Coffin for Head of
State’) but against self-damaging prejudices and assimilationist alienation (‘Yellow Fever’, ‘Colonial
Mentality’, ‘Teacher, Don’t Teach Me No Nonsense’, ‘Gentleman’, ‘Lady’). He chastised
the West (‘International Thief Thief’, ‘Underground System’) and the local elites that fronted
for multinationals (‘Beasts
of No Nation’, ‘Government of Crooks’). Each of these songs, performed
decades ago, contain lyrical social
scripts that are relevant today. Yet nothing has changed in all these years,
despite bouts of democratic
elections; if anything, the Nigerian State in 2012 remained more corrupt than
ever according to every
international index.19
My final
argument therefore is that protest songs can
have the power to mobilize at least, but it is doubtful if by themselves alone
they are capable of causing a system-wide change in the polity. Their mobilization power, more visible in
African countries, is effective where the electorate has the liberal and democratic freedom
to exercise constitutional rights to cause regime change.
Thus, as Graham Furniss points out, ‘artistry and skill in Hausa
poetry…lie in a variety of dimensions - in the consistency of metre/rhythm; sometimes
in the deployment of arcane vocabulary,
sometimes in clarity of expression; sometimes in the deployment of imagery and
of proverbial reference; sometimes in the symmetries and patterning of parallelism and recursiveness’
(Furniss, 1998: 136). The protest singers in Kano employed all these strategies
in voter sensitization about the need
for change in the political leadership of Kano in 2011. Thus although the ANPP government in Kano
failed to win the 2011 election for so many reasons, the lyrical power of musicians who were harassed, intimidated,
ostracized, banished, marginalized, demonized,
arrested and jailed provided a strong ingredient toward the mix that brought
about change in the government structure.
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Discography
Abdulsalam, N. Y.
Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso dawo dawo.
[Viral MP3 file]. Kano: Nazifi Asnanic Hausa Musical
Studio, 2011.
Abubakar,
A. L. and Ahmad, M. Walle-Walle. On Tsangayar
kura [Audio CD]. Kano: Rabo Entertainment, 2009. Abubakar, A. L. et al.
Hasbunallahu [Recorded by Abubakar A.L. and
five others]. On Tsangayar kura [Audio CD].
Kaduna: Rabo Entertainment, 2009.
Abubakar, A. L. Limamin
juyi juya ta. On Allah Kai muka sa a gaba [God, Lead Us][Performed by Aminuddeen Abubakar Ladan and 49 others, Music
video]. Kano: Hikima
Multimedia Studios, 2008.
Abubakar,
A.L. Matakin tuba [Recorded by Maryam A. Baba and four others]. Viral MP3
Download. Kano: Hikima Multimedia,
2007.
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B. Blowin’ in the Wind. On The
Freewheelin' Bob Dylan [Audio CD]. New York: Columbia Records, 1963. Townsend, Pete. Won't Get fooled again.
On Who's next. [7"
Vinyl record]. Performed
by The Who. London:
Polydor, 1971.
Zango, A. A. Kan mai uwa da wabi. On Oyoyo [‘Welcome’, Audio CD]. Kaduna: Prince Zango Production Nig.
Ltd.
Zango, A. A. Bahaushiya [‘Hausa
girl’, Audio CD]. Kano: FKD Records, 2007.
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