Entertainment

By Muhammad Sabiu

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro is set to leave Real Madrid for Manchester United for close to £60m after negotiations between the Laliga and the Premier League giants.

Fabrizio Romano, a journalist in the know of the deal, quoted Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti to have said, “I have spoken with Casemiro. He wants to try a new challenge. We understand his decision”.

“Negotiations are ongoing, but he has decided to leave Real Madrid”.

The Brazilian footballer has been playing at Santiago since 2013. He won 5 Champions League trophies, Laliga titles and other domestic trophies.

By Alkasim Harisu Alkasim

It is beyond exaggeration to say that marriage for money is a norm today. Repeating this amounts to a cliché. A great score of us want to marry money, and we hate to bring to mind poverty, never mind the difficulties accompanying it. That is why, today, many a family frown upon poverty-ridden dudes. Such families try to avoid poverty by marrying into monied families. They hold that, given the fact their homes are poor, they should, as a matter of fact, change their fates. Hence, by marrying rich men, they will be able to compensate for the difficulties biting them.

Unknowingly, there are difficulties that rehappen to destroy newly-built families. The first thing that throws a spanner in marriages is the recognition of the male spouse that his wife weds him thanks to his wealth. She also attracts for herself the despise of her in-laws who accord her and her family no respect. They disgrace and see them as a bunch of people that worship money. Also, the groom, who earnestly believes that the woman marries him because of his riches, ponders the fact that whenever he becomes poor, she will turn her back on him.

There are decisions we oftentimes take that we tend to regret after the passing of time. Because of our thirst for money, we take to cheapening and even slaving ourselves to attain the consideration of the haves. After throwing ourselves to the dogs, we then begin to think of a way to regain our good names. But the game is already over. This is a true definition of turning back the clock. Alas! Time never comes back once it is gone. What I imply here is that girls do themselves a disservice when they choose to be in love with undeserving fellows. What should you do when this happens, that is, when a girl sees nothing in you? I personally advise that whenever a girl hates building up a relationship with you, you should call it quits. Otherwise, you will be carrying a torch for somebody and nothing will expiate for you the time, energy and money you have expended.

Another thing that ruins relationships is poor moral standing. It is true that girls that idolise money quickly grow immoral. And boys with money seduce such girls for a quickie one-night stand. Yes, their sole desire is to hit it and quit it. Achieving this, they vanish into the thin air. As the girl conceives and becomes heavy with pregnancy, the world concentrates attention on her. Bad words from the public begin to weigh on her mind as well as her negligent family’s. People will antagonize her to the point of tears. Then, she will begin to regret her mistakes. Sadly, she has already got deflowered. And no amount of crying can return her virginity. The boy is gone. She and her family will try to get back at the missing boy, but they will just be carrying coals to Newcastle. At that very moment, the family starts to an afterthought. They will ruminate on ways to punish the boy or force him to marry the girl.

The problem of marrying money is mother to many immoralities that are currently occurring. It causes infidelity which is becoming the father of our ailing society and falling apart as a people. I was told about a wife that cheated on her husband. Albeit she was husbanded well, she did what only the baseborn do. The spouse catered for all her needs but she was notoriously infidel enough to practice adultery as though she did not subscribe to Islam. Whenever he left for market, this adulterous wife would take her children to her mother-in-law’s. She would then call her paramour. A faithful neighbour has often seen this thus he got devastated. Given the gravity of the issue, he was compelled to shut it. For he didn’t know how to let the husband know. Later, as the misdeed persisted, he locked the house on the two wrongdoers. He quickly called the husband who was already at market. The husband rushed it home and saw the nightmare of his lifetime. No sooner had he witnessed what his neighbour had been feeling indifferent to let him learn than he divorced her. Parting the way of unfaithful wives is the best decision no matter how one loves them. Because, if you don’t summon the courage to divorce them, they can mother you bastard children and pretend you are the one that fathers them. Was this woman fathered well? This is a question many people pose.

Another story is of a smart guy who triples as a husband, teacher and relative. He doctors for a living. Despite his running busy all time, he keeps house while his wife idles her hours away at the same home. She does not know how to even cook or do the house chores. It connotes a tragedy when you marry a woman that does not know how to prepare water that drinks well or food that eats well. This is one of the humiliating errors a wife can ever commit in her home. More telling is that the husband had excellently patched up many problems that came up. But, one horrible argument persisted. He tried his best possible to patch up things with his wife but she refused to forget the differences thanks to her stubbornness. He pressured her into buying the idea, but he could not make her let bygones be bygones.

To control how his children marry, I was told about a father who sons ten children. He also selects wives for his children. He is very responsible and commands obedience. The norm in this family is that the father wives all his children. He also schools his sons in respecting one another. That is why, they brother themselves extremely well. They reek charm and none of their actions sisters on disrespect, despise or fakery.

When you get broken-hearted, it feels as if your whole body was giving you pains. You will be long in healing before you bounce back to excellent health. You will be suffering terrible romantic ill-health too. You will keep wondering if you would ever be able to battle the condition. To you, such a situation is a small armageddon because nothing can purge you of harrowing thoughts. Living in solitude cannot not expiate the shock you will be going through nor will it cleanse the psychological trauma you are going through. Of course, mourning the loss of one’s one-time better-half is extremely painful.

Indeed, many of us do not see the value of those we marry ourselves with either in social, friendship, work or marriage commerce until they are no more or when the relationship goes south. We mourn and weep profusely for our relatives only when they close their eyes for the last time. When alive, we don’t see the world of them. Some people take betrayal lightly. But I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a person who reposes trust and confidence in me.

When a love relationship dies a death, responsible people, more especially those that are not the guilty party look like death warmed over. A times, the social intercourse that reigns among diverse social networks sours thanks to betrayal. As this happens, everybody swears distancing his fellow for an unimaginable period of time. People get wedded to a devilish thought. This dilemma abounds with the absence of peace and bad blood. I said earlier that we affix importance to material gains by devaluing virtue and celebrating infamy. All this plays out in marriage transactions.

I have a friend since secondary school who was schooled at BUK. He learnt medicine. Of late, he broke up with his long-time girlfriend who also doubles as his female cousin. His home neighbours the girl’s. At the morning of the misunderstanding, he sought the intermediation of his close friend. The friend tried to correct the situation, but he failed. The relationship, to sum it, has latterly met its waterloo. Another person, a close buddy of the boyf tried to talk her out of her intentions. Still, she turned a deaf ear. He too, failed to appease the tumult abounding in the relationship. Toward the end of the relationship, that was when turbulence overwhelmed everything, the girl grew the habit of talking back her boyfriend. Not only that, she most a times talked him down. Worst of all, she made him appear as if he were talking to the hand. “Am I talking to myself?” This is a question he oftentimes asked himself. She avoided his sight only to strike him dumb. Dharma has been crushed. We never feel duty-bound to things our parents did feel. But karma will have its toil on people that betray the confidence of those that trust them.

In situations such as this, if you try your best possible to mend a long-standing feud through intervention and things refuse to put to rights, what you should do is to take a backseat. Just put everything to bed and move on. It was amazing that when the relationship was booming, it put in the shade every other love commerce. But as the relationship spoilt, things failed to repair. The girl also helped in putting a spoke in the boyfriend’s wheel. Because she made all his attempts to get them back to talking terms impossible. Her father did his best to put a gun on her head, but she summoned courage and put a brave face on.

Recently, I have been neighbouring this guy. We break bread and move around. He discusses the girl a lot with me. What I gathered from the girl’s moves can be said to neighbour on deception and a total change of mind. She is not in two minds about the relationship. Because she has already taken her own verdict. Thus, I tell him to be a man since the girl considers mending relationship with him a non-issue. Everybody that receives the news of the break up pities the girl. People say she is a hundred years too early to change mind on such a highly educated, literatured and smart person everybody wishes loved his sister or daughter. That guy is the be-all and end-all when it comes to moral standing and knowledge. When he was at a tender age, grown-up females had wished he were marriageable to tie the knot with him. By turning her back to him and switching attention to another boyf, this girl is just riding for a fall. I am no stranger to break ups, but this one makes a novel exception. In truth, the girl will at the end become her own worst enemy.

More so, to me, what appears to be more worrying is that her mother chose to shut her mouth. She took the side of the girl because she often said she had never told her daughter to unlove the guy. But she is blamable because she did not try soft-soaping her daughter. This is what caused the girl to be her own man. The problem is no longer what I considered it to be. From beginning, I thought the problem would be as soft as a baby’s bottom. But it turned out to be as hard as a rock. Many a time and oft, many a boyfriend goes to a girl’s. But you can count on your fingers those of them that mean marriage. Girls such as this, don’t listen to admonishing. The best thing is to allow life to school them. “Experience is the best teacher”, says Socrates. It is true that every occurrence has a first. However, this is not the first time she had milked quarrels to muddy the waters. She capitalized on the singular wish of her boyf to throw the gauntlet to make him come the offender with her.

By Muhsin Ibrahim

Biyi Bandale’s death was announced via a Facebook statement signed by his daughter, Temi Bandele.

Born in Kaduna to Yoruba parents, Bandele, 54, was the director of the movie adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s classic novel, Half of a Yellow Sun; Blood Sisters, among other remarkable works.

Last month, Bandele, who also wrote novels and directed plays in the UK, Nigeria and other places, announced the release of his new film, Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman, a Netflix-Ebony Lifefilm production.

At the time of this report, the cause of his death is not yet clear.

“As Biyi’s daughter, I am heartbroken to share the sudden and unexpected death on Sunday 7th of August in Lagos of my father Biyi Bandele.

Biyi was a prodigiously talented writer and film-maker, as well as a loyal friend and beloved father. He was a storyteller to his bones, with an unblinking perspective, singular voice and wisdom which spoke boldly through all of his art, in poetry, novels, plays and on screen. He told stories which made a profound impact and inspired many all over the world. His legacy will live on through his work.

He was taken from us much too soon. He had already said so much so beautifully, and had so much more to say.

We ask everyone to please respect the privacy of his family and friends as we grieve his loss.”

By Muhammad Aminu

Directors in Kano-based Hausa film industry popularly known as Kannywood have reacted to the recent directive banning use of police kits in films by the NIgeria’s Inspector General of Police (IGP).

IGP Usman Baba, in a statement issued in Abuja earlier signed by the Police Spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, announced that filmmakers, comedians and skit makers have been banned from using police uniforms and other skits in their acts without explicit permission from the police as the law entails.

The Statement added that the actors stop portraying the Nigeria Police in badlight or ridiculing it in their activities.

A prominent director in Kannywood, Aminu Saira, told BBC Hausa that they will consider or study the directive if it is in line with the Nigeria’s laws they would comply with it.

Saira further said that if their findings reveal that they are not contravening any law of the land, they will join hands with Nollywood to challenge the directive in a court of law.

He said: “The Police and Filmmakers are all guided by NIgeria’s laws. All people residing in Nigeria must subject themselves to NIgeria’s laws.

“So, if NIgeria’s law prohibits use of police kits in films, we must abide by that, we must respect the law of the land. We have no alternative.

“But if the law doesn’t prohibit it, then we will do everything jointly with Nollywood to seek legal interpretation of the law whether or not police kits can be used.”

According to him, Kannywood has already been seeking permission on police-related scenes in their films from Kano State Commissioner of Police.

He said due to some incidents that happened in the past, they were ordered to seek for permission in any role relating to police in their films.

“Right now, there is a company that was certified by the Police which specializes in processing anything related to police such as guns, uniform etc. that would be used in films. You send the script to them and they will consider it and seek permission from the police,” the director added.

Another director, Aminu Bono, who said that there was little or no consultation from the IGP argued that it is globally not possible to restrict use of uniforms such as lawyers, soldiers or doctors’ by filmmakers because they are simply replicating realities of their respective societies.

He noted that in all their films, they acquire permit from the police.

“We in Kano State, there is a department that takes care of such things under Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO). The Police sometimes visit our shooting locations and guide us on how to do things related to police activities.

“We did films that affect the police directly where we used facilities of Kano Police Command Headquarters. In flms like ‘Kwana Casa’in and ‘Barazana’, we worked closely with the police.

He further revealed that the police have representation in Kano State Films Censorship Board where Kannywood films are sieved prior to their public debut.

He said that the IGP can still review this order with informed discussion with relevant stakeholders.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

British long-distance runner Sir Mo Farah disclosed that he was not who the world knew him to be.  

Sir Mo Farah revealed that he was a victim of child trafficking and was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child at the age of 9. He disclosed that his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin

“The truth is I’m not who you think I am,” Sir Farah said.

“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name, or it’s not the reality.”

According to him, the woman who flew with him to the UK told him he was being taken to live with relatives and to say his name was Mohamed as she had fake travel documents that showed his photo next to the name “Mohamed Farah”.

Sir Farah, the first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic golds, said his children motivated him to tell the truth about his past.

“I’ve been keeping it for so long; it’s been difficult because you don’t want to face it, and often my kids ask questions, ‘Dad, how come this?’ And you’ve always got an answer for everything, but you haven’t got an answer for that,” he said

Farah’s recent revelation is in sharp contrast with previous interviews he granted, in which he claimed otherwise.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The family of late Nigerian artiste, Olanrewaju Fasasi, popularly known as Sound Sultan, has released an album of the late artiste posthumously.

According to the family, he was working on the album before he passed away.

“We are having the one-year remembrance of Sound Sultan, iconic Nigerian singer and we are having his official listening party for the album, Reality CHQ. This was the album Sound Sultan was working on before he answered the call of the Almighty. This is a very special project.” The late artiste’s brother, Baba Dee, said in a video he posted.

Sound Sultan reportedly died of throat cancer in the United States of America on Sunday, July 11, 2021, and was buried there in line with Islamic teachings.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has joined millions of music fans to partake in the ‘Buga Challenge’, the development that took many by surprise. 

Bello was seen displaying several dance moves to the trending song of Nigerian Act, Kizz Daniel, after he alighted from a vehicle.

This was in a video he posted on his Twitter handle with the caption, “after a hard day’s work…. we buga,”

His dance had thrown his followers into wild jubilation as he danced in excitement.

The trending song is said to have been one of the most popular songs in Africa that continues to enjoy massive streaming from fans/followers at the moment.

By Sa’id Sa’ad

As a people of oral tradition such as folklores, stories and songs, modern poetry today – or what is otherwise called contemporary poetry – could still be traced back to the oral literary traditions which have, over centuries, served the purpose of cultural entertainment and preservation in Nigeria.

However, even with the consistent growth of poetry in some parts of Nigeria – mainly because of the existence of some of the most celebrated African literary giants in those parts: Wole Soyinka, Niyi Osundare, Gabriel Okara, Christopher Okigbo – poetry in northern Nigeria has continued to suffer significantly amongst the wanna-be-poets and growing poets, who are thirsty of platforms to put their arts out for the right audience. With no or few consistent literary communities, inaccessibility of literary mentors and workshops or festivals, this category of young people genuinely interested in the art has been in a dilemma between giving up their dream or continuing to breathe in water.

Six years ago, Poetic Wednesdays was built—a rescue mission run by young people for young people. Of course, they understood the challenges of their fellow youths so well. However, It is not surprising that a small team of young people from the under-represented communities in this part of the world would give birth to a literary community of sorts. But what is exciting is how – in six years – these young people Poetified most of Northern Nigeria. It was surprising how, in six years, they were able to achieve what will take others a decade-plus to achieve. This is a product of genuine passion for the course.

Thus, these are young people who – when they began – were never given a seat at any literary or poetry workshop, of any sort, as a way to propel or guide their growth as future literary stars. And this is, sadly, a coat-of-arm that Northern Nigeria, in almost all industries, has cursed itself with, which is ‘intentionally’ refusing to tap on the shoulders of their growing talents. Relatively, most of the young talents in this part who have grown to horn their talents were able to do that without mentorship. Accordingly, they are used to thorns.

However, against all odds, with Salim Yunusa, a young writer from the narrow streets of Zaria, to Nasiba Babale, a noble lab scientist with poetry all over her syringe and test tubes, to Abdulbasit Adamu, a passionate poet and spoken word artist wobbling on the highway between Kaduna and Kano, to Maryam Gatawa, a Kano poet turned entrepreneur, to Abduljalal Musa (AJ) and scores of others who pushed the lorry behind the camera, these passionate and talented people stood and birthed a poetry community run by young people – solely to promote literary arts, to give a platform to other young people especially the wanna-be-poets who are ‘only’ interested in seeing their forced-rhymed poems read by others, and the growing poets who have the dying needs to hear feedback about their art.

Excitedly, with fewer resources, Poetic Wednesdays has grown to do beyond a toddler literary organisation. Especially using digital media/social media platforms like Facebook, hundreds and thousands of young poets have access to sharing their poems with global audiences every Wednesday. With Poetic Wednesdays, in the last six years, one can say that the recent robust revitalisation of poetry, especially in parts of Northern Nigeria, can be directly attributed to literary organisations like Poetic Wednesdays. Now, the north is ‘poetified’ with excellent poets who have and are capable of creating some of the best poems in the country.

Accordingly, with these bold decisions, numerous literary communities have sprouted from some of the most unexpected parts of Northern Nigeria, which have continued to host literary functions and promote their local artistic prowess. From Borno Literary Society in Borno, Yobe Literary Society in Yobe, Sunshine Literary Society and in Adamawa State, literary communities in other northern states such as Taraba State, Sokoto State and Kebbi State sprouted as well. This occurs due to the hard work of a few young people who dared to take up the challenge and push beyond boundaries.

This doesn’t contextualise Nigerian literature based on geographical lines; I am solely a Pro-Nigerian-Literature irrespective of where it comes from. However, it is also essential to acknowledge the growth of particular people or at least point a green mark on an honest, passionate move. Moreover, Poetic Wednesdays or any literary community doesn’t only speak for the people of the north but speaks for every Nigerian artist. Whereas some are even growing to go beyond Nigeria to a broader African space, which is commendable in a way as well.

Today, northern Nigeria is Poetified. From Sabon Gari in Kano to Bulunkutu in Maiduguri, to Ribado Square in Adamawa, to Tudun Wada in Zaria, to Unguwan Dosa in Kaduna, Gidan Kaya in Sokoto, to Bunza in Kebbi, to Madobi in Jigawa, to Sardauna in Taraba, these and more thousands of streets in the north now breath poetry and are giving birth to the most talented literary giants in the country.

If they ask you about the north, tell them that the north is poetified.

Sa’id Sa’ad is a Nigerian writer and performance poet from Maiduguri. He won the Peace Panel Short Story Prize, 2018 and NFC Essay Prize, 2018.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Real Madrid have secured a place in the Champions League final. They will play against the English Premier League Giants, Liverpool, after crashing Manchester City out of the competition today, Wednesday.

City had their opener through Mahrez in the 73rd minute, while Madrid had their goals thanks to Rodrygo’s brace—the first one in the 90th minute and the second one in the 91st minute—and Benzema’s third penalty goal in the 95th minute. That made the match end 3-1.

The goal aggregate emerged 6-5 as Madrid made it to the final even after being beaten 4-3 by the City last week.

By Sumayya I. Ja’eh

Chorus/children: ‘Ka yi rawa kai mallam ka yi rawa.’

You’ve danced, oh! Mallam, you’ve danced

Mallam: ‘Ban yi ba’,

I didn’t

Chorus: ‘tsoho mai gemun banza.’

Old man with a useless beard

The call-and-response dialogue, accompanied by the beating of a drum, propped open my six-year-old eyes in my grandfather’s compound in a village in Katsina. It was one of those fuzzy moments when you wake up and don’t know where you are for a minute. I had slept off in the car, only to find myself in a dim room lit by a kerosene lamp. There was no electricity, and the young moon illuminated the compound. The young boys that woke me were beating a locally made drum from tins, nylon, and sticks. They looked like characters from the famous tale by moonlight series produced and aired by the national television station NTA, which I was obsessed with then. The main character, Mallam, had a costume: a babban riga, an old cap placed haphazardly, a white beard, attained by putting white cotton on a boy’s face, and his mimicry of an old Mallam thrilled me. It made me and their audience laugh. That was my first conscious experience of Tashe and one of the reasons I look forward to spending my fasting period with my grandparents in Katsina or Kaduna.

Tashe is an old-age traditional mimetic performance performed by children between 6 to 14. It is an annual cultural performance that takes place in the 9^th month of the Islamic calendar and is performed in the early hours of the morning or the evening before the pre-dawn meal or after the break of the fast. Tashe is a short play that challenges a social issue, accompanied by songs, dance, and mimicry.

Tashe can be traced as far back as the contact of the Hausawa with Islam. The word is derived from ‘tashi’, a Hausa word for wake up. Muslims are expected during the month of Ramadan (9^th) of the Islamic calendar to fast, and they are highly recommended to take the pre-dawn meal. So, some people feel the need to wake others up for Sahur, to replenish their empty stomachs and energy to see them through the rigours of the day’s work without much difficulty. So, a few community members took it upon themselves to wake people, to prepare and eat just before dawn. To lighten the frustration of struggling to keep awake with no alarms, these volunteers enact the games named wasannin Tashe. While the adults prepare the meals, children with nothing to do occupy themselves with games to help while away time. Another factor is the essence of Tashe, which is aimed at luring people away from un-Islamic leisure pastimes since the beginning of Ramadan.

Tashe is performed mainly by young children, who imitate adults. It is often satirical and full of humour but laden with moral lessons and socio-religious ethics of the Hausa community. Tashe is usually passed down orally from generation to generation. The characters fill the roles with costumes, makeup, and dialogues in call-and-response songs. It is social criticism and a mirror/lens to view the socio-religious ways of life in most Hausa communities.

The Almajirai also are volunteers that perform Tashe. The Almajiri’s source for their food, move from house to house, seeking food or alms. During Ramadan, the Almajiri sing a dirge in the late night hours, songs calling out to anyone with an extra plate to give them. Some musicians and drummers, along with young children, also began to imitate the activities engaged in by the adults. In time, these plays shifted to the early hours of the night. They sing, dance, dialogue, improvise and wear costumes. It is a comedy, but like all comedy, it is the presentation of serious matters in unserious ways.

One striking characteristic of Tashe is its didacticism; it doesn’t only entertain but emphasizes the Hausa cultural belief and tradition—Tashe projects social ethics. Therefore, many performances aim to ridicule those who deviate from correct social norms merrily.

One well-known Tashe passed down from generation to generation is that of naci na kasa tashi, meaning, ‘I’m so full, I can’t stand.” One of the young boys dressed as an older man puts cotton on his chin that looks like a beard and puts on some clothes to show his protruding stomach. When they are ready, they go from house to house. The lead character sings, and the other children chorus/reply.

Baba: na ci na kasa tashi!

Children: Baba zare gareka!

Baba: Tuwon da dadi yake!

Children: Baba zare gare ka!

Baba: kuma har da nama!

The above can be roughly translated as ‘I’m so full, I can’t stand’, and the children reply with ‘Baba, you’re greedy,’ while the Baba tries to justify his gluttony by saying the tuwo is sweet and there is meat.

For instance, Ga Mariama Ga Daudu, another Tashe, gives us a socio-historic glimpse of the Hausa laden with humour. It is a mimetic performance of the communal responsibilities/expectation of husband and wife, the type of staple food eaten by Hausas. Although a comic, the play is social criticism of the institute of marriage, which several people from both genders are desecrating. Girls stage the play. One of the girls puts on a costume, a long kaftan and a beard and tries to deepen her voice to sound like a man. It is a telltale that enlightens young women about what society expects from a married woman.

Due to the Hausa tradition that does not allow the two genders to mix freely, the girls and boys don’t mix to perform Tashe. Instead, each gender play switches roles with its unique performance type.

A very well-known Tashe is of Gwauro. It is a mime that consists of 5/6 boys. One of them is dressed in nothing but bante (a short nicker) Hausa traditional pants, a rope tied to his waist, a bundle of clothes with kitchen utensils like used tins, old, discarded radio, an old dirty kettle can be found in the bundle carried by the main character. The others hold on to the rope while the lead character tries to run and is being pulled by the rope, while they sing ‘gwauro gwauro, gwauro nuna mana yadda kake tsanawa’? Gwauro can be translated to as Divorcee or an old bachelor. ‘Show us how you cook?’ He goes on to put a tin can, wedged it between two stones, and mimics blowing air into the woods.

This is aimed at ridiculing the bachelor, and lessons deducted from this drama border on the irresponsible nature of the bachelor for trying to play the role of a woman, who in most Hausa communities is the one who cooks. Tying the rope around the waist of the lead actor is symbolic. The rope restraining the bachelor also portrays the image of someone in bondage. This shows that in Hausa society, marriage is given such importance that the bachelor/divorcee is considered a lesser being than the other community members.

One Tashe that has gone viral and is available on YouTube is the 2021 Ramadan Tashe ridiculing the state governor of Kano, who asked for 15 billion naira to tackle the issue of Covid 19, as well as a scandal video of him collecting kickback. The short clip shows a boy lying on the floor with a babban riga (an overflowing gown), a red cap, and a white beard. His friends, the crew call out, ‘Ganduje tashi,’ ‘Ganduje stand up,’ to which he replies, ‘sai an ba ni dollar Corona’ ‘not until I am giving dollars to fight Corona.’ The clip is a short comedy skit that not only cracks people up but also has an undertone that challenges corruption by government officials.

Though Tashe is basically performed to provide merriment, the reverse may occur. Sometimes, Tashe meant to ridicule certain personalities, which may not be acceptable to the person concerned. Here the object of ridicule will not find the performance funny, and it is pretty common to see the performers running helter-skelter, being chased by the target of the performance. At other times, the performance itself may be acceptable, but the attitude of the performers may be irritating to the target audience. To cap it up, these performers would taunt any house owner who refused to donate anything. Upon exiting, the actor would often sing, “mun taka tutu, maigidan nan ya yi shi.” “We have stepped on a heap of shit; the owner of this house must have excreted it”.  

Tashe emphasizes communal performance. My grandparents or parents always give out some loose change to the performers. This is the norm that the adults expected to give alms to the performers. These donations can be money or food items, primarily grains like millet and sorghum, the staple foods in any Hausa community. There is no fixed amount for alms, but donation largely depends on the social and financial status of the audience, as well as the extent of enjoyment of a performance.

The audience, primarily adults, also participates by correcting any misrepresentation in the texts, disguise, or dramatization. With globalization and urbanization happening worldwide, Tashe, as I used to know it, is fast becoming a relic of the past. The face of Tashe has evolved in urban cities. Few children or Almajirai go from house to house, entertaining people while seeking alms.

This long-old tradition of performance entertains and highlights the life of the Hausa folks and brings the fore societal expectation of a man/woman in Hausa society. Although it is a series of plays that comes only once a year as entertainment, it is full of dramatic content that reflects contemporary events. This mimetic performance encompasses most characteristics of a drama; costume, dialogue, improvisation, storyline, and purpose. These earliest Tashe performances are the precursor of modern Hausa drama.

Tashe tries to divert the community’s attention from the economic and political predicament. Tashe, like Macukule, which explores the Hausa stereotype of the Gwari man, is still dominant in contemporary Hausa movies. A renowned character Dan Gwari is not new to anyone familiar with Hausa movies.

Today, if you google Tashe on YouTube, a few children and young adults pop up on your white screen. The TV channel, Arewa24, created a short series of Tashe that they stream. While this is another means of preserving this long tradition, the thrill and euphoria experienced by the audience are reduced by the limited screen. Unfortunately, my children would most likely never experience this long communal tradition of Tashe as I did.

Sumayya I. Ja’eh wrote from Abuja via sumyjaeh@gmail.com.