Foot-Soldier of the Word: Mal. Denja Abdullahi on Power, Poetry, Memory, and the Burden of Service
In the crowded landscape of Nigerian letters, where voices often rise and fall with seasons of acclaim, Mal. Denja Abdullahi has remained a constant, steady, principled, and uncompromising in purpose. Poet, playwright, cultural administrator, public servant, and literary foot-soldier, Abdullahi belongs to that rare lineage of writers whose influence is felt not only in books and performances, but in institutions, policies, and the quiet architecture of national memory.
For over three decades, he has walked the delicate line between creativity and governance, between the freedom of the imagination and the discipline of public service. From the folkloric cadences of Mairogo to the enduring dramatic power of Death and the King’s Grey Hair; from shaping the ideological soul of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) as erstwhile President to interrogating the politics of power, betrayal, and history on stage, his work reveals a mind deeply rooted in culture and unafraid of truth.
In this expansive and reflective conversation with AbdulHafeez T. Oyewole, Mal. Denja Abdullahi bares it all with uncommon candour. He speaks as a writer who understands the weight of voice, as a cultural worker who has seen institutions rise through sacrifice, and as a patriot still convinced of Nigeria’s salvageability. There is no posturing here: only clarity, conviction, and the measured wisdom of a man who has paid his dues in both art and service.
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Opening: The Man Behind the Public Persona
1. Many know you as a stalwart of Nigerian letters, but what is something about Mal. Denja Abdullahi that few people truly know and that you would like to place on record for posterity?
Is there really anything about me that people do not know about? I have lived a public-spirited life all my adult life. I hardly hide anything about me from the public as I have nothing to hide.
Beyond being a writer; what people should know too is that I am a closet academic, from an ethnic minority group, a public servant of over three decades of service to Nigeria in the culture sector and a patriot who has received the highest honour for productivity and service to Nigeria (as in the National Productivity Order of Merit -NPOM ) in 2023.
I am a team player who can work well under any circumstance as long as the objectives are noble.
2. How did your early experiences, from growing up in Idah and being educated in English and Literature, shape your commitment to writing and cultural stewardship?
I can call myself a thorough bred writer and cultural administrator because l studied such before I ventured fully into their practices. I learned the ropes adequately and went on to play the turf. That kind of background helps as you have the training that makes you to inject competence and efficiency into whatever you do.
3. Throughout three decades of literary engagement, what personal values have consistently guided your creative and administrative life?
I am honest, sincere and selfless. I do not allow biases, prejudices and pettiness to come into anything I do for others or for the public. I am like a soldier- I believe in achieving given good objectives and can sacrifice anything to deliver on that.
I was thus not surprised when the editors of a festschrift on me released in 2021 typified me to be a foot-soldier. A foot-soldier is often goal-driven and focused on the essential. Their reading of my person in line with what I have done in the literary and cultural communities was prescient.
On His Literary Works and Inspirations
4. Your poetic volume Mairogo: A Buffoon’s Poetic Journey around Northern Nigeria bears a distinctive narrative voice. What inspired its thematic focus and folkloric style?
I was inspired in style by the undercurrent voices of the otherworldly slightly insane itinerant mendicants and jesters that roam Northern Nigeria. The themes are essential for a true assessment of life in Northern Nigeria.
5. Your play Death and the King’s Grey Hair was shortlisted for the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2018. Could you reflect on the genesis of this play- its ideas, its universality, and why it has endured on stage and in academia?
The seed of the play was sown in me at an undergraduate Sociology class at the University of Jos decades ago. Basically, it explores a quaint myth that speaks to power and its excesses in the human community.
The play was written in 1994, published in 2014, won the SONTA prize in 2015 and nearly got the NLNG prize in 2018. It has been staged across Nigeria on over 30 stages in the last 5 years.
It has endured because of the universality of its theme, the language deployed and its dramatic possibilities.
6. What is your philosophy on the role of drama and theatre in reflecting and transforming society? How do you see the relationship between politics, power, and dramatic art?
Life itself is dramatic as it is full of deceptions, posturings; conflicts and drama draws heavily from the lived environment.
Power and politics are often not comfortable in the presence of drama as drama often disembodies, satirises and unmasks those entities.
The dramatic (art) has a role in shaping and reshaping power and politics.
7. Many of your works traverse tradition, politics, spirituality and survival. What inspires these recurring themes in your creative imagination?
I am a culturally grounded person and I think by the trainings I have received and the work I have done, I have what you call cultural intelligence. Therefore, my works, creative and otherwise, must have those elements seeping in.
8. Your more recent works, including Love-songs in a Pandemic, suggest experimentation with form and subject. How did the pandemic shape your approach to poetry and human relationships?
The pandemic period of the lock-down provided me with an opportunity to examine the seamy-side of marital romance. I reached out to another writer of the female species digitally and did a poetry versus prose duet with her with a focus on sexual tensions and the societal hypocrisy that were prevalent during the pandemic.
On Writing About Mamman Vatsa and Literary Heritage
9. You have written and directed plays that intersect with historic figures such as Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa. What compelled you to dramatise Vatsa’s life, and what message do you hope contemporary audiences take away?
Military life can be compellingly dramatic. You find patriotism, heroism and paying the ultimate price attached to such a life. When you add all those to ambition, friendship and betrayal that were the stuff of the story of Vatsa, then you have a drama yelling to be enacted.
Vatsa was like a tragic hero and I felt I should tell his story in a drama. Those who watched the play when it was staged at the ANA Convention in 2025 left the auditorium with all sorts of emotion: pity, exultation, catharsis, fortification, understanding of human nature and many more.
The general takeaway can be that power always has a vicious ring to it; it knows no family or friend and should always be watched closely or else it can destroy anything in its path.
10. What role should literature and theatre play in preserving national memory and honouring cultural benefactors like Vatsa, whose legacy includes the Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village?
Memories of individuals and things are best preserved in literary materials and the theatre. Beyond mere history, most of the things we know or are etched in our minds come from the literature we have read and the plays and films we have watched.
We, writers, should delve more into literary reflection on the life and times of historical figures and cultural personages,not merely to sing their praises, but to interrogate their actions and inactions, and in doing so, we condition the contemporary society to draw lessons therein. Enough of “that is not being done at the moment”, neither is there support from the government or the private sector to do that.
Leadership, ANA, and Literary Administration
11. You have served ANA in nearly every executive capacity over more than two decades. How did you first meet ANA, and what kept you committed to its mission through the years?
I met ANA first through reading around in the late 80s and early 90s about Achebe and other first generation Nigerian writers. Later I established an arm of ANA in Kebbi State in 1995 even before I fully joined the Association around 1997-1998. What kept me committed to ANA throughout the years I was very active in it was that it was a platform of praxis and observatory for the theories of literature I learned in school and through reading. When I joined the public service in 1998, literary administration was part of the mandate of where I was working, so being in ANA was just doing my day job.
Not many people out there know that the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), where I worked for close to three decades, was the government institution that assisted in the establishment of ANA in 1981. This is a fact and you will find that in Chinua Achebe's inaugural speech at the founding of ANA in 1981. That explains my commitment to the organisation.
12. During your tenure as ANA President, what were the pivotal decisions or initiatives that you believe reshaped the organisation’s trajectory?
I did a 5 year strategic plan on becoming the President of ANA with inputs from all strata of the Association. The document was published and circulated to all chapters of the Association. That strategic plan was the blueprint I followed strictly throughout my tenure. I had a 15 point agenda when I was campaigning for the presidency of ANA which I called "the pragmatic deliverables". I delivered on all except one - which was the upliftment of the literary prizes.
I left legacy projects and programmes which effectively changed the Association's trajectory for the better such as: giving the Association an interactive website, moving the Association headquarters from Lagos to Abuja, doing an audio-visual documentary on its history and achievements, establishing an electronic membership database, publishing books in the Association's name and the biggest of all, ensuring the building of the writers village, thereby setting the Association on the path of respect and self- sustainability.
There is a creeping misconception which I need to correct here. People often glibly say today that the foundation of the writers' village was laid during my presidency. The executive under my leadership did much more than that. We laid the foundation quite all right in 2017 and ensured the building of all the main structures standing there today to about 70 percent completion by the end of my tenure. This process was well documented in written reports published in newspapers and presented to the Congress of the Association at AGMs, and there are other available facts, photos and videos.
13. There have been strains in the past, including controversies around ANA land, and moments of internal dissent. In your view, what has sustained ANA through challenges, and what lessons might future leaders draw from those times?
As the Association gained respectability and a whiff of self-sustainability due to the doggedness of successive leadership, selfish contentions rose from some quarters. It is what looks good that people fight over; no one will jump on a sinking boat. Many of the controversies people tie on the neck of the Association are shallow and unfounded. ANA members should appreciate the resilience of its leadership to always live up to expectation. The well-meaning members should also be appreciated for their vigilance.
What has sustained the Association all these years in spite of all its troubles and put downs by even those who have benefitted greatly from it is its democratic spirit and accountable leadership.
Future leaders should know that once you are accountable, altruistic and developmental in your dealings, you can weather any storm and posterity will be kind to you.
14. What advice would you give to the current leadership of ANA, and what vision would you like to see for the association in the next decade?
The present leadership should remain accountable, transparent, democratic and innovative.
In the decade to come, the Association should run like a system, be a hub for literary creativity and should focus on the real business of improving the lots of its members. The Association should proclaim and occupy its space in the Nigerian, African and world literary communities.
15. What is your perspective on the proliferation of literary organisations in Nigeria? Should writers’ associations collaborate more closely, and in what ways?
ANA cannot be the only organisation in the business of literary promotion in Nigeria. The proliferation is bound to happen as the world has diversified beyond everyone's imagination. In spite of the proliferation, ANA still occupies an unassailable place.
The proliferation you talk about can still be traceable to ANA. Many of the people at the heads of most literary organisations in Nigeria today cut their teeth in ANA.
What we should be talking about today is collaboration and partnership to draw more attention to the funding of literary activities and the institution of enduring structures to promote literature, authors and a knowledge-based society.
On Writers, Creativity, and the Future
16. Many emerging writers today struggle with visibility, platform, and readership. In your view, what are the crucial ingredients for a writer’s longevity and impact in the 21st century?
Developing an original voice and dwelling on novel themes delivered in unique styles will make whatever a writer writes to endure for a long time. Writers should also know that in this 21st Century, networking and being in the right places and engaging in the right causes also help in keeping people close to the writer and his or her works.
17. As someone deeply invested in both artistry and policy analysis, how do you see the interplay between culture, governance and public policy in advancing literature and the arts in Nigeria?
Our culture is yet to be fully used to drive governance and public policy in our country and that is why there is dysfunction all over; literature and the arts inclusive. Our culture is so rich and encompassing that anytime we are fully ready to engage it to drive our polity, there is bound to be marked progress across spheres.
18. What role should governments, private sector and international bodies play in supporting the literary arts beyond occasional benevolence?
By instituting support structures like regular grants, endowments, capacity building, residencies and funding for literary research and publications.
On AI, Technology, and the Writer’s Craft
19. The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents both opportunities and anxieties for writers. How do you perceive the role of AI in literature- as a tool, a collaborator, or a disruptor?
I do not believe AI can disrupt real literary creativity. It can enhance creativity though, but a real writer will not cede his or her agency to a machine. A writer is known for the uniqueness of his or her own voice. AI panders towards uniformity, similarity and typicality. AI can be a good tool to fact check, set the mood and force out inspiration. It cannot even become a worthy collaborator if a writer is to be honest.
20. In an era where AI can generate text, how can writers preserve originality, voice, and human depth in their work?
I have tried to generate texts with AI with specific prompts and the outcomes were amazing. But those outcomes were not mine and I cannot honestly lay claim to them. The only way the writer today can preserve all what you listed is to be honest.
It is easy to detect a work generated using AI. I have recently read a couple of books which on mere glance at a few pages I knew were written fully with the help of AI. AI can never be original, cannot throw up a unique voice and clearly cannot appropriate the full depth of human emotions.
21. What advice would you offer to writers seeking to remain both relevant and sane amidst the rapid advance of AI technologies?
Be rooted in something; evolve a personal writing ideology, be innovative and do not be averse to nascent technology that can enhance productivity.
On Politics, Society, and Personal Aspirations
22. You navigate worlds of cultural leadership and public discourse. How do you view the current state of Nigerian politics and its impact on creative expression?
Politics has become too selfish an agenda to care about creativity and its expressions. Politicians are increasingly desperate to capture power or hold on to it because it is the pathway to the plundering of our national resources.
Creatives are as usual left to their own devices without any tangible support from the government or the politicians.
When politics is played largely as service to the society then we can start talking of its positive impacts on creative expression.
23. What are your thoughts on international politics and its influence on global literary exchange?
The Unipolar world that America under Trump is building will ultimately affect global literary exchange. When travels become difficult, it is not only people that will be affected, ideas too will suffer. Tariffs may be raised to stop the flow of books across the world. Critical writers and intellectuals will be targeted and denied visas into some countries. Residencies, conferences and scholarships will be cut. All these will affect global literary exchange.
We should by now be having a freer world but some kind of isolationism and unbridled nationalism are settling into places all over the world. We in Africa that have for long been unable to look inward to drive our world may be worse off for it.
24. Have you ever considered pursuing elective politics in the near future, and how might your literary and administrative experience inform such a pursuit?
With the kind of political system we have now in Nigeria, someone like me cannot play obvious partisan politics. I cannot play politics without ideology or play politics of mere struggle for state resources.
That does not mean I am giving up on how I may contribute to enthrone the right kind of politics as pure service to the people. I can at the moment lend my expertise as a technocrat to the right political movement and wait for the time I can team up with like minded people to do the politicking for the masses.
Reflections and Legacy
25. Looking back, what would you identify as the definitive moments: personal, creative or organisational, that shaped your journey?
Personally, studying what I studied in school broadened my mind and gave me the right tools to engage with society. Creatively, my first published work "Mairogo" has so far defined my literary image. Mairogo is the existential man that understands the ephemerality of life and who does not take things too seriously. My joining the public service at the national level and in the sector I found myself made me a complete Nigerian. All these together has made me a proud Nigerian who wholeheartedly believes in the salvageability of this country.
26. What enduring wisdom do you hope young writers will carry forward as they build the future of Nigerian literature?
They must be committed to something. They cannot be loose canons without an aim or purpose. Writing is not a thing you do just for yourself; you do it for yourself and others. You cannot also write from a void; your writing must be informed by something and will ultimately impact on some other things.
An Archival Interview Series is a series for The Words Finesse (TWF) in partnership with Factual Naija News (FNN).
