By Sa’id Sa’ad
“Silence is really golden. For many years, I have respected you as a great actress, but after listening to you speak for once, I lost all respect for you. Silence is, indeed, golden.”
These were the exact words shared by a fan after watching one of the popular Kannywood actresses’ podcasts.
Recently, a podcast went viral in which four Kannywood actresses sat, warming their chairs, sharing opinions about relationships. While many criticise the podcast, I find myself wondering just how ‘golden silence really is.’
From Talk with Feezy by northern Nigerian artist Feezy to the highly criticised The Social Spotlight by Kannywood actress Nafisa Abdullahi, podcasts are slowly becoming the North’s new thing. Famous faces with thousands of followers are tapping into this audio-visual world and, irrespective of the content, are reaching a wide audience thanks to their massive followings.
Podcasting is the new cool in the North. Content creators, entertainers, film producers, actors, actresses and wannabe influencers are all jumping on this new wave. Everyone’s got something to say. But the unifying factor is they are all saying it in Hausa. This not only makes it content by creators from northern Nigeria but also for northern Nigeria and the broader Hausa-speaking population.
Now, let’s not be mistaken. Podcasting isn’t exactly new. Like most things, it just arrived in the North late. Young audiences are now tuning in, eager to consume original opinions from faces they admire beneath the thousands of Instagram followers.
But here comes the twist. While popular faces trend with podcasts that often miss the mark, there’s a whole storm of lesser-known creators. Just as hungry. Just as passionate. Diving into podcasting, hoping to go viral. Few get it right. Many get it wrong, and most are just aiming to create controversy.
It’s great that young creators are speaking up. It’s refreshing to see new northern voices adding their two cents to conversations about relationships, religion, family, entertainment, and society. But even at that, when done poorly, this new podcast culture is more dangerous than beneficial.
I’m an avid fan of vodcasts, particularly those produced by Nigerians. I also strongly support consuming content from Northern Nigeria. However, just because it’s from the North doesn’t mean our standards should be low. We owe it to ourselves to demand quality.
Upon close observation, it’s clear that many of these podcasts bring ‘more face’ and ‘less value.’ In the first few minutes of an episode, you can already tell the host isn’t fully prepared. They ramble. They say empty phrases. And you’re left wondering: What am I supposed to take away from this? These podcasts often fail to provide value, and let me remind you, that’s the very foundation of podcasting: Value.
It’s a strange thing. Really. The lights are bright, the makeup is on point, and the guests are ready. The studio setup is perfect. Yet, after all that effort, the conversation feels empty. It leaves you craving more, but in a bad way.
This reflects the current trend in both public and private Hausa-speaking media, where a designated show for Kannywood stars is often featured. These shows rarely extend beyond inviting the stars for views and likes, failing to address the critical questions of why these shows exist in the first place.
But this isn’t just happening among famous creators. A new wave of young creators has emerged; unfortunately, many of them, without doing their homework, are merely copying the same format used by the stars, eager to replicate the same model:
Create podcast → Talk carelessly → Create controversy → Get views and likes.
While this model keeps some people in the limelight, it doesn’t do the North any favours. It’s as if we’re holding a mirror to the region’s weaknesses and saying, ‘Here, look at us, this is what we’ve got.’ It’s reinforcing the negative stereotype that we can’t produce quality.
Whether we like it or not, the digital presence of these creators who act as our representatives shapes how the world perceives us.
But let’s not ignore the few non-popular creators producing quality content in Hausa for the region. Many of these are tech-driven podcasts that, although still growing, offer substantial value. Unfortunately, these high-quality contributions are often overshadowed by the more glamorous but shallow content produced by popular stars or emergent ones desperate to trend.
The question we must ask ourselves is: Which popular Hausa-speaking podcast from northern Nigeria truly offers real value to its audience? How much of the value is visible? Is the content truly for the audience or just for the producers? What narratives are being sold, and can we, in terms of quality, truly compete with podcasts from other regions in the country?
Until we get it right and have the right people behind the mics, with the right knowledge and intentions, these creators will continue to podcast about northern Nigeria’s weaknesses for likes. The unfortunate truth is that this will only serve to bury our efforts to challenge negative stereotypes six feet under.
Ultimately, every creator has the right to produce what they want. In this case, the power is in the hands of the audience.
You and I decide what should be popular.
Sa’id Sa’ad is a Nigerian writer and journalist currently residing in Germany. He is the author of the podcast-play “Gangare”. He won the Peace Panel Short Story Prize in 2018 and the NFC Essay Prize that same year. He presently works with the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
So true.I’ve watched and listened to some Arewa podcast and observed so many mistakes,from lacking motive/purpose,proper planning,understanding audience,cultural sensitivity to understanding what podcast is all about.
Podcast isn’t something you just place camera and say things the way you want just because you have access to social media and followers.
There are guidelines for conducting it,but how do you expect them to know that when they are not willing to learn?are they fully ready and prepared for that?are they willing to accept their mistakes,take correction and do better?what’s critism in their own view?how do you expect them to inprove when the they view critism as hassada?what efforts are they making to sustain the podcast?
Have you ever watched Nedu wazobia podcast?now,that’s not a podcast that promotes education,culture or an important aspect of life,but you can hardly skip without watching it completely. You’ll be amazed by how they ask open-ended questions,how they make the interviwee feel comfortable, the way they don’t interrupt the other speakers throughout the podcast and how they tailor the message to satisfy their consumer,because that’s the kind of content /gossip the audience want to consume.this clearly shows it’s carefully planned and they know exactly what they are doing unlike ours.
When I watched the ones you highlited in your write up,I was confused .the question I asked was “why are they making it all about themselves?because almost all the episodes is about them discussing what they like,their marital expectation,stories about their lives and relationship,with excessive use of English language to communicate with Hausa audience.This alone would make you realize that they don’t know what a podcast is all about.
I’m glad that educated people like Nasir,Rayuwata talkshow is changing the narrative.i suggest you watch one or two of his clip,you’ll understand what I’m saying.
Thank you for sharing your view on this,I enjoyed reading it