KADUNA, Nigeria – Mediaage NG News – Made in the North Festival, an event poised to redefine the cultural and creative of northern Nigeria. It’s a platform that promises to shape a vision that transcends regional borders in the country.
The festival to be held in Kaduna, seeks to celebrate the rich cultural diversity and creative brilliance of northern Nigeria.
A platform for building connections and fostering unity, facilitating exchange of ideas and collectively achieving regional and national goals, its goal is to create an environment that offers educative entertainment, bringing many together and promoting love and the products coming out of northern Nigeria.
The organizer of Made In The North Festival, Muhammad Ashraf heads a team of exceptional and dedicated professionals across different backgrounds.
Mr. Ashraf, widely recognised as MC Ashraf – an influential figure in the business of professional hosting, entrepreneurship, youth advocacy and philanthropy, said the mission of the project is to transcend boundaries, fostering cultural exchange and collaboration that transcends geographical constraints.
He said numerous reasons drove him into organising the event, which he pointed out to be a product of three years planning drawn from the information he had, based on the industry, even the global industry.
“I saw that there is a problem. It’s not the absence of talents that’s stopping our people from eradicating or alleviating poverty, it’s the lack of utilisation. I thought of how do we bring creatives together through an event to showcase ourselves? I’ve been privileged to work with creative, talented minds from the north, he said while speaking to Mediaage NG.
“Recently, we’ve been having conversations on how to contribute and make things work. Through these, we’ve been gathering momentum and support in getting to know outrightly, who to work or not to work with, and who to approach when the project is on.
“It’s quite broad, but the whole thing is making that bold step and put the north on the map.
“There are lots of problems we intend to solve. There’s the issue of undervalued ethics. We have over 120 million northerners, it is not reflecting on our creatives. There’s no platform to develop or boost our creativeness.
“I’ve been an accounting graduate for nine years, an MC for seven years, but there is no single platform in the north that could have helped me grow and help me sell my craft as an MC. There’s a very big problem.
“I want us to just take the bold step and close that gap. We have talented painters, artists, musicians, calligraphers, etc, we have a lot. It pains me a lot when I see people with their talents and are not making it, simply because there are reasons visible to me.
“Most persons see it, but are not ready to take that bold step to help solve it. They are only interested in bringing out the problems. This is a template, we intend to make a statement and make the world understand that we are ready and have the people”, MC Ashraf stated.
He also said young persons need to be helped to develop their talents, to bring themselves out through the event meant for creative northerners to come out in troops, en masse to celebrate and showcase their talents in any field.
“We intend to make awaiting billionaires.It’s a very big project and we intend to visit every northern states subsequently, with very good presentation and preparations, a very good roadmap and action plan to actualise this project. It’s more than just the festival. We want people to also come for the fun and memories, he continued.
“We are trying to create magic and do a lot of things that day, like showcasing our royal durbar – food and fashion expo, runway. It promises to be the largest northern festival.
“In 2022, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu presented N200 million cheques to 37 beneficiaries of the special interest free loan to film makers, under the State’s Creative Initiative (LACI), an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
“This is a means of identifying struggling filmmakers that could be empowered with grants and seed fund for film production purposes.
“In 2023, he initiated the commencement of the $100 million Lagos Film City project, set to transform the landscape of Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
“You can imagine the investment that is going into the Lagos film industry, covering the west. So, what’s happening in the north?
“I just decided to be that one that will pull an event and bring everybody on board and we will have that sense of direction. It comes with networking, discovery of talents, making the northerners understand that we need to work as groups, having associations of creatives, giving them a chance to express their talents and culture.
“We are in partnership with the best media team in the north. They are ready to shoot, produce and document from the setup to the finish.We are ready to have a talent hunt, to display and groom them for exposure.
“We intend to have prominent people that have made it out of the north, especially the humble ones to come and give speeches, like the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creativity and other prominent persons to give some sort of endorsement and mentorship.
“Our vision is to establish a dynamic force that not only showcase the rich tapestry of northern Nigeria creativity, but provide a sustainable platform for northern youth to thrive, he said.
“The whole idea is about selling northern creativity, talents and cultural history to the rest of the world. We intend to attract local and foreign investors.
“Basically, Made In The North Festival is that platform that the government should be looking to partner with.
“I’m the brain behind this project and I’ve been fortunate to have creative minds contributing their ideas and agreements sealed. The vision is clear and crystal. We are going all out to bring interested and creative minds on board
“We want to set new standards in event organisation, ensuring professionalism, transparency and ensuring best international practice in every facet of the Made In The North Festival. Our mission is not just to organise an event, but curate an experience that resonates with the global creative community, leaving an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of not just northern, but beyond”, MC Ashraf added.
He is the Chief Executive of MC Ashraf Ng and Co-founder of North Stars Festival, El Regalo Gallery Nigeria Limited and El Regalo Foundation.
The Made In The North Festival is designed to celebrate northern creativity and contribute to the cultural and economic development of the region. It also aims to become a beacon of community engagement, creatively showcasing the cultural heritage of northern Nigeria.
Persons expected to grace the festival cut across the film industry, artists, comedians, tik tok influencers. They include Soja boy, Ahmed Musa, Ali jia, Namenj, Morell, Youngcee, Badman Binladen, Kinal ,Khengz, Auta Waziri, MC Raheena, Don Yass, Feezy, Ali Nuhu, Ice Prince, Scales, Classique, Bush Kiddo, amongst others.