Why Northern Nigeria must tell its own stories — Suchet Baba

By Ayo Onikoyi

Kaduna-born writer, painter, and cultural entrepreneur Suchet Baba has stressed the importance of Northern Nigeria telling its own stories through art, literature, and creative expression, saying authentic narratives are vital to preserving the region’s cultural identity and challenging long-held stereotypes.

Baba, who is the founder and festival director of Arts and Vibes, has built her work around amplifying underrepresented voices and creating platforms for young creatives across Northern Nigeria to share their experiences on their own terms.

According to her, the region’s stories are often overlooked, misrepresented, or filtered through external perspectives, making it essential for Northern artists and storytellers to take ownership of their narratives.

Driven by a commitment to reframe perceptions of Northern Nigeria, she uses contemporary art and storytelling to document, preserve, and reshape cultural identities while encouraging young people to explore creative expression beyond traditional and ethnographic boundaries.

Her initiative, Arts and Vibes, was established in Kaduna in 2021 as a creative hub where artists, writers, and young people collaborate, exchange ideas, and showcase their talents. Over the years, the platform has grown into a cultural movement promoting dialogue and artistic innovation within the region.

Her literary work has also gained recognition, with features in publications such as Brittle Paper, Kalahari Review, Afritondo, and Punocracy, where she explores themes of identity, memory, culture, and belonging. She has been longlisted for the 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and shortlisted for the 2023 Alinea Prize in Nonfiction and the 2018 Okada Books Campus Writing Challenge.

Beyond writing, Baba is also a visual artist, with exhibitions including Young, Fresh n New by Wunika Mukan Gallery in 2026 and The Artists Commune in 2025.

Through speaking engagements and media appearances on platforms such as Microsoft Afriweek, Channels Television, TVC News, Premium Times, Leadership Newspaper, Pulse Nigeria, and Voices of Nigeria, she continues to advocate for greater investment in Northern Nigeria’s creative ecosystem.

For Baba, telling Northern Nigeria’s stories is not merely about representation but about ensuring that future generations inherit narratives that reflect the truth, complexity, diversity, and richness of the region’s people and cultures.

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