Meet Kaltume Gana, The First Female Artistic Director Of The National Troupe Of Nigeria

Last month, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sacked all the heads of parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, and replaced them with new Chief Executives.

Following the shakeup in the Ministry, Kaltume Bulama Gana emerged as the Artistic Director/CEO of the National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN).

The appointment of Kaltume Gana did not come as a surprise, even though she is an artist who has been using Pencil, colour, acrylic, paint brushes, palettes, art papers and similar substances, as opposed to music, dance, drama, and dance-drama and other genre of performance art to promote our cultural values.

There is no gain saying the fact that Kaltume Gana is prepared for this job.

One good thing that gives her an edge and stands her out from the crowd is her confidence and belief in her ability to turn things around, even in the most difficult circumstances. To prove that she did not place a limit on her career path, she ventured into creative art, a field thought to be an exclusive preserve of men. She is today a facesster and a role model who is being looked up to by women who are driven by the desire to succeed in life.

At home and in the office, Kaltume values all people and treats everyone with respect. She is as comfortable at a casual gathering with friends as she is with her colleagues in the office. She possesses a strong work ethic and a positive workplace culture that boosts commitment, engagement, and performance. To her subordinates in the office, she is a team player and a reliable, dedicated, self-disciplined, and humble boss.

She is a typical northern woman who is often cladded well in her usual lafaya Kanuri attire. She carved a nitch for herself not only as a successful artist, but a celebrated one whose works have been exhibited beyond the shores of Nigeria.

She is the trustee of the Herwa Heart of Art initiative, a good cause she found to bring succour to children traumatized by Boko Haram to help them learn life skills through art.

Not long ago, Kaltume was in the national news following the demolition of her pet project, The Golden Gate", which won the state-sponsored competition organized in 2017 to commemorate the Kano Golden Jubilee.

The new artistic Director has received many awards both in Nigeria and in other countries of the world. Worthy of mention here is the First Prize in the "International Year of the Child" Art Competition in Lagos, Nigeria (1980), Best Fine Art Student at Queen's College, Lagos, Nigeria (1981), and recipient of Fellow titles from the Society of Nigerian Artists (FSNA) in 2017, as well as global art in medicine Fellow in 2022.

The LinkedIn page of the National Troupe of Nigeria stated that the works of the Artistic Director have been showcased in over forty-seven group and solo exhibitions across the globe, adding that she has undertaken significant commissions and assignments, including creating mosaics, murals, and paintings for the Nigeria High Commission in Islamabad, Pakistan, and the embellishment of various mosques in Nigeria.

Kaltume Bulama Gana was born in December 1964. She is an indigene of Yobe State. She has a masters in Fine Art and Painting from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. She also went to Mimar Sinan University in Turkey where she read Islamic art. After having worked with Kano State History and Culture Bureau for many years, she then opted to work as a freelance artist. This allowed her to go outside Nigeria to exhibit her works in foreign countries. She was appointed as the Artistic Director of the NTN last month while heading the North-West Zonal Directorate of the National Gallery of Art. (NGA).

The staff of NTN should be ready to work hard because the new boss is an achiever, focused and a no-nonsense woman who does not want to be associated with failure. She solicited the support and cooperation of the entire staff to work as a team in order to chart a new course for the National Troupe of Nigeria.

Saleh Ibrahim Bature wrote in this piece from Limpopo street Maitama Abuja. He can be reached via email baturesuba@yahoo.com

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