Balaraba Ramat Yakubu
Balaraba Ramat Yakubu (born 1959) is a Nigerian author who writes in Hausa. She is a leader in the genre of littattafan soyayya or "love literature", and one of the very few Hausa-language writers whose work has been translated into English. She has also worked as a screenwriter, producer, and director of Kannywood films.
Balaraba Ramat Yakubu
DzHaruna · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Balaraba Ramat Yakubu
- Occupation
- Writer
- Birthplace
- Kano, Northern Region, British Nigeria (now in Kano State, Nigeria)
- Born
- 1959
- Nationality
- Nigeria
- Known for
- Alhaki Kuykuyo ne · Wa Zai Auri Jahila? · Budurwar Zuciya
- Languages
- Hausa · Nigerian Pidgin · English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Balaraba Ramat Yakubu (born 1959) is a Nigerian author who writes in Hausa. She is a leader in the genre of littattafan soyayya or "love literature", and one of the very few Hausa-language writers whose work has been translated into English. She has also worked as a screenwriter, producer, and director of Kannywood films.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Balaraba Ramat Yakubu (born 1959) is a writer, of Nigerian nationality. The writer was born in Kano.
Among the works are Alhaki Kuykuyo ne and Budurwar Zuciya. Languages used include English, Hausa and Nigerian Pidgin.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Balaraba Ramat Yakubu. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q4850076 · wikipedia · Balaraba Ramat Yakubu
In this article
Biography
Biography
Her stories have focused on issues such as forced marriages and women's education.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Balaraba Ramat Yakubu • Occupation — Writer • Birthplace — Kano, Northern Region, British Nigeria (now in Kano State, Nigeria) • Born — 1959
Early life
Early life
Balaraba Ramat Yakubu is the younger sister of General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, who briefly served as the military ruler of Nigeria from 1975 until his assassination in 1976. At the age of 13, she was taken out of school and forced into an early marriage. She has said that this is the reason she writes in Hausa rather than English.
Career
Career
Balaraba Ramat started her career as the only woman member of the influential Kano-based writer's club Raina Kama. Her first novel, Budurwar Zuciya ("Young at Heart"), was published in 1987. Her second and third novels, Alhaki Kwikwiyo Ne... ("Sin Is a Puppy That Follows You Home") and Wa zai auri jahila? ("Who Will Marry an Ignorant Woman?"), followed in 1990. Alhaki Kwikwiyo Ne... was adapted into a film by Abdulkareem Muhammed in 1998. An English translation of Alhaki Kuykuyo Ne..., Sin Is a Puppy That Follows You Home, was published in 2012 by Blaft Publications, an Indian publishing house, to positive reviews. There is a literary prize named after her, the Balaraba Ramat Yakubu Literature Prize for Hausa Drama.
Films
Balaraba Ramat started producing film in 1990's with Wata Shari'ar and recently she wrote and produced Juyin Sarauta, a film that won about ten awards and received positive reviews from scholars and film experts
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Femke van Zeijl, "From illiterate child bride to famous Nigerian novelist", Al Jazeera (Features), 8 March 2016.
- 2.Zeijl, Femke van. From illiterate child bride to famous Nigerian novelist. www.aljazeera.com.
- 3.terrific. THE ROLE MODEL SERIES - HOW BALARABA RAMAT YAKUBU, - GEN. MURTALA MUHAMMED’S JUNIOR SISTER PERSEVERED TO EMERGE A SUCCESS AFTER FORCED MARRIAGE AT AGE 13 YEARS. Terrific Headlines. 2020-02-18.
- 4.Malumfashi, Sada. A History of Hausa Feminist Writings. The Republic. 2019-12-13.
- 5.I write in Hausa ‘cos I didn’t get Western education - Says Murtala Muhammed’s sister. NigeriaFilms.com.
- 6.Graham Furniss. Hausa popular literature and video film: the rapid rise of cultural production in times of economic decline.
- 7.Carmen Mccain. Hajiya Balaraba Ramat Yakubu’s novel Alhaki Kuykuyo Ne/Sin is a Puppy Published in translation by Blaft. 22 October 2012.
- 8.Subashini Navaratnam. 'Sin is a Puppy That Follows You Home', a Popular Hausa Novel, Is a Fast-Paced, Riveting Read. 6 December 2012.
- 9.Deepa Dharmadhikari. Book Review: Full Hausa.
- 10.Awaal Gaata. CATCHING THEM YOUNG: School gives prizes to students in Kano.
- 11.Juyin Sarauta – Ramat Productions Ltd. ramatproductions.com. July 2025.
- 12.Juyin Sarauta.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Kabir, Hajara Muhammad,. Northern women development. [Nigeria]. ISBN 978-978-906-469-4. OCLC 890820657.
- Balaraba Yakubu: Nigeria's Feminist Writers. Deutsche Welle.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 26 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,319 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Balachandra RajanAuthor
- Balachandran ChullikkaduAuthor
- Balai Chand MukhopadhyayAuthor
- Balamani AmmaAuthor
- Balarama DasaAuthor
- Balázs BerkeAuthor
- Balázs BirtalanAuthor
- Baldassarre BonifacioAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Balaraba Ramat Yakubu?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.