The Minister of Arts and Culture – MINAC represented by the Secretary General granted audience on January 14, 2026 to a delegation from the Haoussa community led by Souleman Issa GARBA. The purpose of the audience was the presentation of the Haoussa cultural house and the results of a 10 years research work on the Haoussa people and their culture, compiled and published in 9 different books.

The said cultural center will serve as a platform to centralize, valorize and promote the Haoussa cultural heritage. It will equally serve as a hub to educate, sensitize and train the younger generation on traditional cultural practices through workshops.

Like every other cultural heritage faced with threats of extinction due to urbanization and modernization, the rich Haoussa cultural heritage is not left out. There is need for its preservation, valorization, promotion and transmission to future generations. This urgency is what birthed the opening of the Haoussa cultural center.

The delegation equally presented the results of a 10 years research work on the Haoussa people and their culture. This was summed up in 9 books. A compilation of the results of the research, were gifted to the Minister through their representative, Souleman Issa GARBA Issa who expressed his gratitude to the ministry for the subvention that enabled him to engage the research projects which led to the publication of the books.

The Minister’s representative applauded the work done so far and encouraged the delegation to work with the department of books and reading, the literary and publishing art poles, the department of cultural heritage, the national archives, the department of entertainment and creative industries and the department of cinema and audiovisual production for the valorization of the Haoussa cultural heritage.

The SG equally assured the delegation of the continuous support and accompaniment of the ministry to enable the cultural heritage of the Haoussa community to be valorized not just at the national but international scenes through book fairs, cultural festivals and other fairs.

The Haoussa people, who count for about 150 million inhabitants scattered around the world, are very faithful to their culture; their craft, dances, traditions, music, language and are a true reflection of living together. They are equally known for their migration spirit motivated by their main activity which is cattle rearing, they move from one place to the other, multiplying their settlement thereby expanding their culture.

The audience which lasted for 1h45 minutes was attended by senior personnel and staff of the ministry of Arts and culture.