Akilu Aliyu

Who was Akilu Aliyu?

Aliyu Akilu was a Nigerian poet and writer and one of the greatest Hausa poets of the twentieth century. Aliyu was born in Jega, in present day Kebbi State. For his early education, he was trained in a Koranic school in Kano, under the Tijaniyya brotherhood, and later went to Borno to study under prominent Islamic scholars from the northeastern part of the country. He was an erudite poet who wrote in Hausa and Arabic, and his recitals drew great acclaim among many Hausa speakers. He started writing Arabic poems in the 1930s.

Aliyu Akilu was a Nigerian poet and writer and one of the greatest Hausa poets of the twentieth century. Aliyu was born in Jega, in present day Kebbi State. For his early education, he was trained in a Koranic school in Kano, under the Tijaniyya brotherhood, and later went to Borno to study under prominent Islamic scholars from the northeastern part of the country. He was an erudite poet who wrote in Hausa and Arabic, and his recitals drew great acclaim among many Hausa speakers. He started writing Arabic poems in the 1930s. Alhaji Ak'ilu Aliyu was a prolific poet working in the written tradition. He was a well-trained Koranic scholar, and particularly in the days before and after Nigerian independence, he was highly active in promoting the causes of the Northern Elements Progressive Union, one of the more left-leaning, anti-traditionalist parties. Alhaji Ak'ilu's large body of published work covers many religious, social, and political themes. He combined biting critiques of those whose behavior he disapproved or whose opinions he did not share with poetic virtuosity, playing with sound and meaning. He was an imposing public performer of his own work, with both a powerful voice and a strong rhythmic feel more akin to performers in the oral tradition than to his peers in the written tradition.