FEMALE WRITERS: BINTA RABIU SPIKIN

BINTA RABIU SPIKIN
Writing is one of the vocations that women can do even when employed or have large families and from the number of books on the streets a popular vocation; but how can the average woman venture into the writing profession and make a success of it?
There is a Hausa saying, ”Da dan gari a kan ci gari” which loosely means that it is with the help of an insider the town can be conquered. With the help and recommendation of one of the Nigerian literary worlds rising stars and National executive council member of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Richard Ali; I was able to contact Hajiya Binta Spikin and this is how our interview went;
RL: Tell us about Hajiya Binta
My name is Binta Rabiu Spikin and I am a writer, I am also a public servant
I am from Kano state. I am also based in Kano, my hometown.
RL: In our fast paced society how do you balance home and work?
 It’s not easy, I am a mother therefore I give a lot of support to my family and vice versa. The challenges of writing, working and attending to family are many because running a home with kids and pursuing 2 careers is not easy. But Alhamdulillah we are still managing fine.
RL: What are your academic qualifications?
I have a  Bsc Mass Communication (2011); a Diploma in Public Administration, Secondary School Certificate, Primary School, plus other courses to enhance my career. I have recieved alot of trainings, some Foreign based like the BBC and DFID, others internal. I just came back from an International Writers Conference in Niamey, Niger Republic.

RL: How costly is it to write and publish?
I started out with very little money, skill and determination.
 RL: Do you have a staff or assistants?
I employ help when I need it, like when I am on a vast research. otherwise i work alone.

RL: What major challenges have you faced in writing?
None really, just the usual every day challenges, especially for a woman in a male dominated world.
RL: How hard is it to get success as a writer in for example the kano society?
Well one starts by writing, publishing is generally self publishing that’s what most people do. The problems are more in distribution and breaking into the market as an unknown writer people go for the books written by established writers. Their’s also the problem of piracy.

RL: Do you have a brand name?
My business name is BSIKIN Concepts
RL: Have you trained others or have students?
I don’t have any students or trainees. I do advise those that ask
I didn’t train to be a writer, all the trainings and workshops I’ve attended came after I started writing.
RL: Whats your personal growth rate in writing?
Growth rate in writing cannot really be quantified, I cant really say.
RL: Whats your professional ambition?
My professional expectation is that my company will be a brand name some day, like Nokia, personally I aspire to be good

RL: what are you working on at the moment?
I run a page on Weekend Triumph, "The Cybergist", I have unfinished projects im still working on. There is no specific time frame for completion for my personal projects .

RL: How long have you been writing?
I have been writing for over ten years
Some of my works:Books: Ribar Rayuwa 1 and 2- published 2004.
Sultan and Sultana Published 2006.
Muryar A Daidaita Sahu (a biography of Abdullahi Sani Makarantar Lungu, a renowned journalist, sponsored by Kano Sate Government) 2008.
A page in Weekend Triumph; 'Cybergist' from January 2012 to date. It focuses on the Nigerian Context and happenings in the political arena
Script Writing: 'Yanci na’ for DFID it touches on the rights of women in Shariah.
Jingles on HIV/AIDS for BBC in 2009
Radio Script on Garin Muna Fata, SFH.

RL: You said, “Women are not only writing for pleasure, no, we are writing because we are seeing what is happening in the society and we want a lot of corrections,We want amendments made. That’s why we write.”
What’s the difference between what you told Associated press in 2008 and now?
It’s still the same.
RL: Any pointers for aspiring writers?
People can see this as a home business and self employment but once success comes it cannot be so contained.Ones career grows beyond your expectations but it depends on the attempt one makes to keep things controlled.