HCAF STAR SERIES, May 2025: INTERVIEW – Adamu Yahuza Abdullah

Question: The Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation is known for its central role of nurturing creativity in youths across the country. How has being a member contributed to your growth as an artist, and what opportunities or experiences have been most impactful for you?

Answer: Before becoming a member of HCAF, I had always envied its members for the numerous opportunities the organisation provides them. Upon becoming a member, I learned that the organisation is more of a family than a collective. With HCAF, there’s no dull moment. There’s always something to learn and unlearn. At HCAF, I have met colleagues who have become friends, brothers, and mentors. My most impactful experience with HCAF is the opportunity to be among the pioneer fellows of the Muktar Aliyu Art Residency. My time at the residency was my most productive yet. I was paired with Michael Oladosu Emerald, whose versatility equipped me with the intricacies of the stylistics and themes of poetry. I never knew that at any point in my life, I’d develop an interest in visual arts until I met Michael. My joy knew no bounds on the first day I created visual arts. HCAF made that possible.

Question: What themes and experiences push the creativity behind your work, and what part of the creative process poses a challenge to you? 

Answer: My works explore the theme of sociopolitical happenings in my immediate environment. But before that, there is the theme of loss, longing, and displacement. Those who are familiar with my poetry know that I write mostly about the absence and presence of my brother, Mubaraq. Nothing pushes my creativity more than that. I write to keep the memories of my brother alive. Nowadays, in this crucial time when every day is a matter of survival, there seems to be a myriad of reasons to write; being a Nigerian is one of them. As a Nigerian, chances are that you’ll wake up on most mornings mourning. It’s a terrible time to be a writer, and the creative process of remembering these incidents before writing about them overwhelms me. I used to be overly angry on such occasions.

Question: As a renowned creative, what advice would you give to emerging artists who are looking to balance the pursuit of artistic excellence with the desire for recognition and validation?

Answer: Be passionate about your art and craft. Nothing will sustain your dream in this part of the world aside from passion. The world is not kind to writers. Know this. You will break upon reading a headline. You will write what you call your best work, and an editor lying in the comfort of their bed will reject it. You will share your publication on the internet, and only your close friends will read it. There will come days when you’ll doubt yourself, days when you’ll swear nothing good could ever come from you, days when you’ll tell your friends that you’re a writer, and you’ll watch them crack up. If those days come, I hope you stay determined in your course. Again, let passion be your drive. Work on yourself. Be intentional about your growth. Strive for excellence. Do not go looking for recognition and validation; they will come knocking.

Question: What purpose fuels your creativity? 

Answer: I beg to answer this with a story. Four years ago, my brother sat me down and read me a love poem. It was one of the many love letters he wrote for his crush. He fell ill and weeks later, he died. He couldn’t even deliver the poem to her. I would later find, on his shelf, bundles of such undelivered love poems, rusting. And love quotes written all over the walls of his room. Whenever I think about him, I’ll sneak into his room, fetch a handful of the poems, and read. His poems and quotes became the only means by which I could touch him. One day, while I was away, my younger brother decided to move into his room. He discarded the letters and repainted the room. There were no poems to return to anymore. No quotes to read on the walls. It was at that moment that my practical engagement with poetry began. Thus, poetry is how I remember my brother, how I sustain his memories, how I touch him, and in touching him, I touch those who have lost as I have.

Question: Fifty years away from now, what do you want the literary world to perceive of your art?

Answer: More than anything, I want my art to be perceived as a voice. I hope for people to read my works and see in them what I saw, feel in them what I felt, hear in them what I heard, and experience in them what I experienced.

Question: Is representation a priority for you, and do you see a need for your writing to reflect your background or ancestral links?

Answer: Representation, in this context, is a necessity as much as it’s an obligation. Writing, as well as every other form of creativity, should reflect the cultural background of the author. There couldn’t be any greater motivation for my writing to reflect my cultural background than the current insurgency looming over the people of Kemanji, my ancestral home. I feel an urgent need for my writing to reflect more on the gruesome killings of my people. I have written about my home, metaphorically, most times. But the current state of time and circumstances warrant that I intensify my efforts. It’s only when our writing reflects our cultural links that the next generation will know well about the past generation. We need to write for posterity.