Kano Poetry Festival Puts Indigenous Languages at the Centre of Nigeria’s Cultural Preservation Drive

By Simpson Global Media News Desk

KANO, Nigeria The third edition of the Kano International Poetry Festival, known as KAPFEST, is bringing writers, poets, performers and cultural enthusiasts together in Kano in a renewed effort to preserve indigenous languages and celebrate Nigeria’s diverse cultural identities. The festival, running from October 15 to 17, 2026, is being held under the theme “Reclaiming Languages,” with poetry, translation, creative writing, traditional music, cultural presentations and conversations about the future of African languages forming key parts of its programme. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

Organised by the Poetic Wednesdays Initiative, the festival has emerged as a platform for exploring the relationship between language, literature, history and cultural identity. Its programme brings together different forms of creative expression, giving participants opportunities to present their heritage in their own languages while engaging with audiences from other linguistic and cultural backgrounds. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

The festival’s central message is that language preservation requires more than documenting words or recording historical expressions. Languages remain relevant when people continue to speak them, write in them, translate them, teach them to younger generations and use them to describe contemporary experiences.

KAPFEST’s activities are therefore designed to place indigenous languages within active creative practice rather than treating them only as relics of the past. Its programme includes literary discussions, poetry performances, workshops, book conversations and cultural presentations, alongside opportunities for young writers to develop their skills and reach wider audiences. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

A festival built around language and identity

The theme “Reclaiming Languages” places language at the heart of the festival’s cultural agenda. Language carries stories, proverbs, memories, names, social values and ways of understanding the world. When a language weakens, communities can also lose access to important parts of their intangible heritage.

For Nigeria, where numerous languages coexist across regions and communities, the issue extends beyond literary expression. Indigenous languages are closely connected to family histories, traditional knowledge, oral storytelling, music, community relationships and the transmission of cultural practices from one generation to another.

KAPFEST provides a setting in which these connections can be explored through creative work. Performers and writers can use poetry to communicate the experiences of their communities, while translation and discussion allow audiences who do not speak the same language to engage with those experiences. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

The festival’s organisers have emphasised that reclaiming a language should not mean freezing it in an imagined historical period. Instead, languages must be able to grow alongside the people who use them. Contemporary writing, performance, translation and experimentation can help keep them useful to younger speakers and relevant to modern life. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

This approach is particularly significant for young people whose daily lives may involve multiple languages, including those used at home, in schools, in workplaces and across digital platforms. Cultural preservation does not necessarily require choosing between indigenous languages and international languages. It can involve creating opportunities for people to become comfortable using both, while ensuring that local languages retain a meaningful place in education, public life and creative expression.

The festival’s emphasis on multilingual participation also recognises that Nigeria’s cultural diversity cannot be represented by a single language or literary tradition. A gathering that includes different linguistic communities can encourage participants to learn about one another without requiring them to abandon their own identities.

According to reporting by the News Agency of Nigeria, participants at KAPFEST are presenting cultural practices and ancestral traditions through languages including Hausa, Igala, Yoruba and Igbo, alongside other forms of expression. The wider programme described by literary publication Brittle Paper also includes artists working in Fulfulde, Kanuri, Nupe, Shuwa Arab, Ebira, Tiv and additional Nigerian languages, as well as Arabic, French, German and English. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

From an online community to a literary gathering

KAPFEST is the product of a longer effort to create spaces for poetry and literary engagement in Northern Nigeria. The festival grew out of the Poetic Wednesdays Initiative, which began as an online hashtag a decade ago before developing into a broader cultural and literary platform. The 2026 edition marks ten years since that beginning, according to the festival’s announcement published by Brittle Paper. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

The initiative’s development illustrates how creative communities can begin through relatively informal channels and gradually establish a presence in physical cultural spaces. An online gathering can help writers share their work, find audiences and develop connections; a festival can then bring those relationships into workshops, performances, exhibitions and direct conversations.

The first edition of KAPFEST, titled “Kalamai,” reportedly attracted more than 500 participants and helped popularise Engausa poetry, while its poetry slam reached more than one million views on social media, according to Brittle Paper’s account of the initiative’s history. The second edition, “Poetry in a Time of Crisis,” explored the role of poetry and the arts in responding to issues such as insecurity, climate change and censorship. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

The progression between those editions and the current theme shows how the festival has sought to connect artistic practice with wider questions about society. Poetry can entertain and offer aesthetic pleasure, but it can also preserve memory, challenge assumptions, record experiences and create space for difficult conversations.

The 2026 edition shifts particular attention to language itself: who uses it, how it changes, how it is transmitted and what communities can do to ensure that their languages continue to thrive.

The anniversary also provides an opportunity to consider the importance of sustaining literary organisations beyond individual events. Festivals can generate enthusiasm, but the long-term impact of a literary initiative depends on whether writers continue to receive opportunities to learn, publish, perform and connect with readers after the programme ends.

For a growing cultural platform, the challenge is to convert festival participation into lasting relationships between writers, educators, publishers, cultural organisations and audiences.

Young poets take centre stage

Young writers are a prominent part of this year’s programme. One of its headline activities is a poetry slam involving 24 young poets competing for a grand prize of ₦1 million. The festival’s schedule also includes a performance night led by poet and performer Bash Amuneni. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

A poetry slam provides an opportunity for performers to present original work before an audience, often combining literary craft with voice, rhythm, timing and stage presence. For emerging poets, such a platform can help develop confidence, performance skills and a stronger understanding of how spoken literature can connect with listeners.

The competition also offers a visible recognition mechanism for young creatives whose work may otherwise circulate within relatively small communities. Awards and public performances can encourage participants to continue developing their craft and expose their work to audiences beyond their immediate networks.

However, the broader significance of youth participation extends beyond a single prize. Young poets need continuing opportunities to write, receive constructive feedback, publish their work and establish professional relationships. Festivals can help open those doors, particularly when they connect emerging artists with experienced writers, editors, educators and cultural practitioners.

KAPFEST’s programme also incorporates workshops and writing support intended to strengthen participants’ creative abilities. The first day included a creative nonfiction masterclass with Vamba Sherif, a women-only masterclass facilitated by Fatima Bala, and a writing clinic covering fiction and Hausa writing. The clinic’s listed facilitators included Ismail, Abdulrahim Hussani and Safiyyah Jibril. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

These activities address different stages of the creative process. A masterclass can introduce writers to techniques and approaches, while a writing clinic can provide more focused support for participants who want to develop specific pieces of work.

The inclusion of a women-only masterclass also provides a dedicated space for women writers to engage with creative practice. Such opportunities can be valuable when writers need an environment in which to discuss their work, develop confidence and build professional connections.

A workshop for secondary school students, facilitated by Hidaya Mahmud and Hafsat Ismail, was also listed in the festival programme. Bringing students into a literary event can introduce them to poetry and writing before career and educational choices narrow their exposure to the arts. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

If sustained beyond the festival, this type of engagement can help young people see their languages as tools for intellectual development and creative expression, not merely as informal ways of communicating at home.

Why indigenous languages matter

Language preservation is often discussed as a cultural concern, but its implications reach into education, social inclusion, community knowledge and the creative economy.

A language can carry knowledge that is difficult to transfer fully into another language without explanation or interpretation. Proverbs, idioms, oral histories, traditional songs and locally developed expressions often depend on cultural context. When these forms are no longer widely understood, communities may lose some of the detail and nuance through which their experiences have historically been communicated.

Poetry offers one way to preserve and reinterpret that knowledge. A poet can draw on inherited expressions while responding to contemporary questions, allowing traditional forms to remain part of an evolving cultural conversation.

The value of this work is not limited to older generations. Young people can use poetry, music, theatre and digital media to explore identity in forms that reflect their own experiences. A language can remain alive while its vocabulary, themes and styles change.

KAPFEST’s emphasis on translation is important in this respect. Translation can help a poem travel beyond its original audience, introducing readers to ideas and experiences they might otherwise never encounter. It can also create a space for discussion about the meanings that words carry in different cultural settings. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

Translation is not always straightforward. A phrase may carry humour, historical memory, religious meaning or social significance that has no direct equivalent in another language. Translators must often make decisions about rhythm, imagery, tone and cultural references.

These difficulties do not make translation less valuable. Rather, they demonstrate why multilingual literary events can contribute to cultural understanding. The process of translating a poem can reveal how different languages organise meaning and how much cultural knowledge is embedded in everyday expression.

For a country as linguistically diverse as Nigeria, such exchanges can help audiences appreciate that cultural difference is not an obstacle to communication. It is also a source of artistic possibility.

Kano’s place in Nigeria’s cultural landscape

Hosting the festival in Kano situates the event within a city with a long history of trade, scholarship, religious learning, crafts and cultural exchange. Kano’s role as a meeting point for people and ideas provides a meaningful setting for conversations about language, identity and literary expression.

The festival’s programme includes activities at Gidan Dan Hausa and the Amani Event Center. The opening day’s cultural showcase was scheduled for Gidan Dan Hausa, while the main programme included discussions, performances and poetry activities at the Amani Event Center. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

The Kano State History and Culture Bureau has also been associated with the festival. Its executive secretary, Ahmed Yusuf, described culture as a foundation of identity expressed through traditions, language, literature, music, arts and historical monuments. He encouraged participants, particularly young people, to take pride in their identities and preserve their heritage for future generations. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0"]}/>

Institutional participation can help cultural initiatives reach beyond their immediate creative communities. Public cultural bodies may contribute knowledge, networks, venues or other forms of support that connect artists with a wider public.

At the same time, literary events can bring fresh attention to a city’s cultural life by encouraging visitors to attend performances, explore exhibitions and engage with local creative communities. Whether those benefits translate into lasting economic or tourism gains depends on attendance, partnerships, local spending and follow-up activity; the available reporting does not establish the festival’s total economic impact.

The cultural significance of hosting a multilingual festival in Kano also lies in the opportunity for different communities to share their experiences. The programme’s emphasis on languages beyond Hausa reflects an effort to create space for voices from other parts of Nigeria and from international linguistic traditions. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

Such a gathering can broaden the understanding of Nigerian identity by presenting it as a collection of interconnected cultural experiences rather than a single, uniform tradition.

Music, dance and cultural presentation

Although poetry is central to KAPFEST, the programme is not confined to printed texts or spoken-word performances. Traditional music, dance, fashion and other cultural presentations are also included, giving the festival a broader performance dimension. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the programme featured a dance performance by the Koroso Troupe, alongside poetry recitals, spoken-word performances and a best-dressed contest with a ₦20,000 prize. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0"]}/>

The inclusion of these activities reflects the connections between literary expression and other cultural forms. Poetry can be performed with musical accompaniment, interpreted through movement or presented alongside clothing and visual arts that communicate aspects of community identity.

Traditional performance can also make cultural experiences more accessible to people who may not routinely attend literary events. A programme that combines music, dance and poetry can attract different audiences and encourage participants to explore forms of expression beyond those with which they are most familiar.

The festival’s cultural showcase was described as an open celebration featuring traditional music, poetry, drama and fashion. The programme also includes an exhibition featuring artists such as Qalb Salim, Rebi Hueman, Fatima Goni Usman and Umar Farouq. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

Bringing these forms together creates opportunities for creative exchange. Visual artists, writers and performers can draw inspiration from one another, while audiences can experience cultural expression through several different mediums.

The challenge for organisers is to ensure that the variety of activities strengthens the central purpose of the festival rather than turning the programme into a collection of disconnected performances. KAPFEST’s theme offers a unifying idea: language can be explored through poetry, music, visual art, translation and the stories communities tell about themselves.

Honouring literary contribution

The festival’s programme also includes a lifetime achievement award for Professor Ibrahim Malumfashi, in recognition of his contribution to supporting young creatives in Nigeria, according to reports on the event. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

Recognition of established literary figures can connect younger participants with the history of the fields in which they are working. It also offers an opportunity to acknowledge the less visible forms of labour involved in sustaining a literary culture, including teaching, mentoring, criticism, publishing and support for emerging writers.

Literary ecosystems depend on more than celebrated authors. They require people who help writers improve their work, develop audiences, preserve manuscripts, facilitate debate and create the conditions in which new talent can emerge.

An award presented within a festival can therefore serve as a reminder that cultural development is built through sustained contribution over time. Its long-term value depends not only on the ceremony but also on whether the recognition helps encourage further mentorship, collaboration and investment in the next generation.

KAPFEST’s inclusion of training sessions, student workshops and a poetry competition places that recognition alongside activities designed to support emerging voices. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

The role of archives in preserving languages

One distinctive part of the festival’s programme is its poetry archive, which returns in a new form after being previously known as the Poetry Dispensary. The project is intended to gather and present poems in as many languages as possible. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

An archive can help preserve creative work that might otherwise be difficult to find, particularly when poems are performed orally, circulated through informal networks or written in languages with limited publishing infrastructure.

The preservation of poetry can also support future research and education. Teachers, students, translators, writers and cultural historians may be able to draw on archived works to explore language, literary style and the experiences reflected in particular poems.

But archiving requires careful practice. Material should be recorded with appropriate attention to the author’s permission, attribution, spelling, translation and cultural context. Digital records also need long-term maintenance if they are to remain accessible as technology changes.

An archive is most useful when it does not simply store work but makes it discoverable and understandable. That may involve recording the language of each poem, identifying the author, providing translations where appropriate and preserving relevant explanations of cultural references.

The available festival announcement establishes the archive’s role in gathering poems across languages, but it does not provide a full account of its long-term preservation arrangements or public access model. Those details would be important in assessing how the initiative will support researchers and language communities after the event. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

Nevertheless, the inclusion of an archive signals that the organisers are looking beyond the immediate experience of a performance. A poem heard on stage can make a powerful impression, but a preserved version can continue to reach readers and listeners long after the festival ends.

Language, modernisation and the next generation

The question of language preservation is particularly relevant in societies experiencing rapid social, technological and economic change. Migration, urbanisation, schooling, media consumption and digital communication can influence which languages people use most frequently and which they pass on to their children.

These processes do not automatically lead to the disappearance of indigenous languages. They do, however, create circumstances in which some languages may be used in fewer settings than others.

A language that is rarely used in formal education, published literature, public services or digital content may have fewer opportunities to develop new terminology and attract younger users. Cultural initiatives can help respond by creating spaces where speakers are encouraged to use their languages creatively and publicly.

At KAPFEST, the focus on writing, performance and translation suggests one approach: making indigenous languages visible within contemporary artistic life. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

The festival’s programme can also encourage participants to see multilingualism as an asset. A young writer who moves between Hausa, English or another Nigerian language may be able to communicate with different audiences and bring distinctive perspectives into their work.

For that potential to be realised, language preservation must not be reduced to symbolic celebrations alone. Communities need practical opportunities to use their languages in everyday life. These may include reading materials, writing workshops, local publishing, school activities, audio and video content, community archives and opportunities for speakers to tell their own stories.

Creative festivals can help draw attention to these needs, but they cannot meet them on their own. Long-term progress depends on collaboration among writers, families, schools, publishers, cultural organisations, technology platforms and public institutions.

Connecting literature with education

The inclusion of a workshop for secondary school students is an important element of KAPFEST’s wider educational potential. Young people who encounter poetry in an interactive setting may gain a better understanding of how language can be used to express ideas, tell stories and explore personal or collective identity. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

Literary workshops can also help students understand that creative writing involves skills that can be learned and improved. Reading, revising, listening to feedback and experimenting with style are all part of the process.

Where indigenous languages are concerned, such activities can help challenge the perception that a language is suitable only for informal conversation. Students can discover that their languages can support complex arguments, humour, emotional expression, historical reflection and imaginative storytelling.

The value of this approach is not that every student must become a poet. Rather, it can help build confidence in using language and encourage greater respect for the cultural knowledge carried by different communities.

To achieve lasting results, school workshops need follow-up opportunities. Teachers and organisers could, for example, encourage students to develop poems after the festival, share them at school events or contribute to carefully managed youth literary projects. Such activities would require planning and resources, and there is no evidence in the available reports that a specific follow-up scheme has already been announced.

Even so, KAPFEST’s decision to include students in the programme creates an opening for a wider conversation about how festivals and educational institutions can work together to strengthen literacy and cultural understanding.

Creative work as an economic opportunity

The festival also takes place within a wider discussion about the opportunities and challenges facing Nigeria’s creative economy. Writers, performers, translators, visual artists and cultural organisers all contribute to an ecosystem that can generate paid work, build audiences and support related services.

A literary festival may create opportunities for facilitators, venue operators, designers, technical crews, booksellers and other service providers. It can also help artists build networks and make their work visible to people who may support future projects.

However, cultural value and economic returns are not identical. A festival can make an important contribution to language preservation even when its immediate commercial impact is modest. Conversely, attendance figures alone cannot establish whether artists receive fair compensation or whether a cultural programme produces lasting benefits for local communities.

The organisers’ work in developing KAPFEST from an online initiative into an annual gathering demonstrates one route through which a creative community can build a public platform. Its longer-term sustainability will depend on continuing partnerships, audience development, funding and opportunities for artists to keep producing work throughout the year. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

Brittle Paper reported that the 2026 edition has support from the Open Society Foundations, which is sponsoring the festival for a second year, alongside the Embassy of the Netherlands and partners including the Kano State History and Culture Bureau, Open Arts, Third Space, CITAD, Bridge Connect Africa Initiative and the National Gallery of Arts. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

Such partnerships can provide important support for cultural programming, although the published information does not establish the value of individual contributions or the festival’s total budget.

A sustainable creative economy also requires transparency about how resources are used and how artists benefit. Opportunities for training, public performance, publishing and professional collaboration can be important outcomes alongside ticket sales or sponsorship.

A broader conversation about Nigerian heritage

KAPFEST’s focus on languages has implications beyond the literary community in Kano. Nigeria’s cultural heritage includes many forms of expression that depend on language: oral histories, praise poetry, traditional songs, folktales, proverbs, community narratives and forms of public performance.

These traditions can be affected when the people who understand them become fewer or when opportunities to transmit them to younger generations diminish.

A multilingual festival creates a setting for communities to present their heritage to others and to consider how it can be carried forward. Participants do not need to share a common mother tongue to appreciate the creative choices, emotions and social experiences communicated through a performance.

The festival’s reported presentations in Hausa, Igala, Yoruba, Igbo and other languages demonstrate how a shared cultural platform can accommodate different identities. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0"]}/>

That approach is relevant to a country whose cultural diversity is sometimes discussed primarily through political or regional divisions. Artistic exchanges can provide another way to encounter difference, emphasising the value of listening, interpretation and mutual curiosity.

The aim is not to erase distinctions between communities. It is to create opportunities for those distinctions to be understood and respected.

Poetry can play a particular role in this process because it often condenses personal and collective experiences into memorable language. A poem can communicate grief, joy, displacement, belonging, hope or criticism through imagery and rhythm that remain meaningful even when audiences need translation to understand the words.

When such work is preserved and shared, it can contribute to a broader record of how people experience their communities and their changing world.

What happens after the festival?

As KAPFEST reaches its final day on October 17, the long-term significance of the gathering will depend partly on what follows the scheduled performances and discussions.

The festival has brought together literary training, youth participation, cultural presentation, translation and archiving under a shared theme. Those activities offer several possible routes for continued engagement, from writers developing new work to audiences discovering unfamiliar languages and students taking an interest in creative expression. <Cite refs={["turn970804view1"]}/>

The next challenge is continuity. Writers benefit when workshops lead to opportunities for further development. Languages benefit when cultural celebrations are complemented by regular use in homes, schools, publications and digital spaces. Archives benefit when their material is organised, maintained and made accessible. Emerging artists benefit when exposure is followed by fair opportunities to work.

The available reports do not establish whether KAPFEST will launch new programmes following the 2026 edition, nor do they provide a full assessment of the festival’s audience numbers, budget or measurable language-preservation outcomes. Those questions remain important for evaluating its longer-term impact.

Still, the festival’s current programme offers a clear statement of intent. It treats languages as living forms of expression that can be sustained through creativity, exchange and participation rather than simply admired as part of the past.

The reported combination of poetry, writing clinics, student workshops, visual art, traditional music and cultural performances gives participants several ways to engage with that idea. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

A celebration with a lasting message

The Kano International Poetry Festival’s third edition places indigenous languages at the centre of a conversation about identity, creativity and cultural continuity. Its theme, “Reclaiming Languages,” invites writers and audiences to consider how languages can remain active in a changing society and how creative work can help preserve the experiences they carry.

The festival’s evolution from the Poetic Wednesdays Initiative, its emphasis on young poets and its multilingual programme demonstrate the importance of creating spaces where established and emerging voices can meet. Its poetry slam, workshops, cultural showcase, exhibition and archive all contribute to a wider effort to make literary expression accessible to different audiences. <Cite refs={["turn970804view0","turn970804view1"]}/>

For Nigeria, the broader lesson is that cultural preservation requires participation. Languages endure when people continue to use them, create in them, teach them, translate them and share their stories with others.

KAPFEST cannot by itself resolve every challenge facing indigenous languages, and its long-term impact will require sustained effort beyond a three-day programme. But by bringing diverse linguistic traditions into a common cultural space, the festival offers a platform for conversation and creative exchange.

As the gathering concludes in Kano, its central message remains relevant: preserving a language is not simply about remembering where a community has come from. It is also about ensuring that the language can express where that community is going.