FREEDOM RADIO: INTERVIEW WITH NASEEBA SANI BABALE AND BELLO SAGIR IMAM OF LITERATURE AND THE WORLD

I am Abdussalam Sani sitting in for Kabiru Musa Jammaje.

"Your work is going to fill in large part in your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what only the thing you think you can do with love and what to do, if you haven't found it yet, keep looking don't settle as with all matters of the heart you will know when you find it". This is a famous quote by William Shakespeare.

On today's episode of the program, 'Creative Writing', we are going to host, guests from literature and the world, a group on Facebook. And together with me on the programme, are: Malam Bello Sagir Imam and along side Nasiba Sani Babale.

Abdussalam: Wellcome to creative writing.

Bello and Naseeba: Thank you.

Abdussalam: May I start with Bello Sagir Imam? Literature and the world is the group on Facebook and you have avalanche of members, that we want to know more about the group literature and the world in other words, the history of the group, how did you come about it?

Bello: Well, Hello the people of Kano and its environs, and hello the members of Literature and the World. Thank you very much Malam Jammaje and Malam Abdussalam, not forgetting Freedom Radio for giving Literature and the world this opportunity to showcase herself to your teeming audience, and to answer your question directly. Literature and the world came into existence in 2012 and that was 1st Fabuary of the year and it was conceived and birthed by Huzaifa Sani Ilyas and that was following a number of requests by his fellow facebookers that his contribution to literature should extend from physical world to the electronic world. And that's Facebook, especially considering the growing linguistic and literary disorder in the social network.
Malam Huzaifa intervened by creating the group and made Rabi'u Shamma an admin, later myself that's how the number of admin kept growing up to the level we are in now, and to balance the administration of the group and to make it smoothly going, we applied the principles of division of labour which divided and shared responsibilities among us and I ended up with Secretary General and Nasiba by my side as a Vice Chairman. Now we have ten thousand members or so.

Abdussalam: The listener would want to know the aims and objectives of the group. I think Nasiba Babale...

Naseeba: Literature and the world was created to achieve these aims and objectives. Promotion of literature in Nigeria and in the world generally. Because we have members across the globe.

We want to inculcate reading culture because you know we have a poor reading culture. For writers to express themselves on how to write, so that we can correct each other.

Inculcation of critical thinking and improvement of unity and peace among members.

Entertainment aspect is entertained as well. We present poems, short stories, riddles, sometimes jokes, proverbs and the likes

Creating political awareness among members, for example before this election there was a post we requested members to put their entries on peace before, after and during the election and we received a lot of write ups, with even some members suggestion that we should compile them into a book, but because there was no funding to do this and we unable to do it.

Improvement of communication skills.

Abdussalam: When a member makes a post it can be criticized? Naseeba: Exactly.

Abdussalam: I think some posts could be error free...

Bello: May be posts by people like professor Ibrahim Bello Kano aka. (IBK) (laughs) could be error free, because he is (was actually) a member of the group.

Creation of literary awareness among members and then, there is a posts like, Tijjani Muhammad Musa writes on poetry, Rabi'u Shamma presents a book of 100 most influential people in history and then myself I present Notes from Atlanta that's a column from Prof. Farouq Kperogi.

Abdussalam: Malam Bello Sagir Imam, The group Literature and the world, are there rules and regulations, guiding principles?

Bello: Of course, every reasonable environment is governed by certain rules and regulations and our group would not form an exception and that's why we have alot of them, let me go to the info section of the group, where we expect every member to go and read before he settles in the group. It was posted by my former Assistant Secetary of the group Zainab Y. Abbas. Let me also use this opportunity to tell our teeming members that the seat of my assistant is now vacant as Zainab is very soon getting wedded.

The cardinal ones are:

1. English language is the medium of communication here, all other languages must be accompanied by English language translation.

2. No wrong spelling, post, comment or ungrammatical construction could be not allowed.

3. No multiple post by any individual member more than 3 times a day.

4. No short message services or rather cyber language, which is the order of the day on social media.

5.Critique to benefit, do your critic that will benefit readers and authors alike.

6. You should accept your mistakes.

Abdussalam: Naseeba what would say are the achievements of the group so far...

Naseeba: So far we've achieved most of our aims, promotion of unity through write-ups to members from different part of the world.

We have succeeded in improving members language and communication skills, because sometimes if somebody make a post you effect correction, next you will recognise an improvement in his post. We are also working to compile an Anthology to be published from entries of members of the group. The use of cyber language has reduced, people reacting personally to criticism has also reduced.

Abdussalam: You mention some of the activities of the group, like writing, corrections, improving communicating skills, are these only the activities of the group or there some more?

Bello: There are some more, apart from these daily postings, short stories, articles, poems, short dramas etcetra,there is also monthly presentation by the members, we do select a topic and give to a particular member to go and research on it, and we fix a time for his presentation and the presenter presents. Members would be online to participate in the presentation. We also have a radio program at Radio Kano 2, we appreciate that, we do hold the program on every last Saturday of the month.

Abdussalam: What are the challenges facing the group?

Bello: The challenges are many and the worst ones from the side of the admin is that, all the admin are committed with academic, work and family activities, so this makes it very demanding and rigorous upon us to administer the group sometimes to such an extent that one of us has to seek for leave, like myself when I demanded it, I was granted a leave of three months when I was facing exams.

Abdussalam: Malam Bello Sagir Imam, I am afraid we are running out of time, what is your special message to your members?

Bello: My special message to the members is that, we appreciate your contribution which keep the group afloat and please don't give up, continue doing that despite all challenges, and my message to people who are not members of the group is that, if you are not a member please don't hesitate join the group now!

Abdussalam: I am afraid this is where we draw the curtain of the programme, our guests were Bello Sagir Imam and Naseeba Sani. Babale, on behalf of my associate presenter Kabiru Musa Jammaje, I remain sincerely yours Abdussalam Sani from the Association of Fiction and Non Fiction Writers (AFINOW). Thank you.

Transcribed by Rabiu Shamma
Publicity Secretary
Literature and World.
10/04/2015.