Rupert Moultrie East:

It is a known fact that many pre-colonial and colonial Hausaists have contributed immensely to the development of Hausa literary works including creative writing. So far, to my knowledge, few of these contributions have been studied at postgraduate level. This work essentially digs into the biography and contributions of one of the colonialist, Dr. Rupert Moultrie East, to the development of Hausa Literature, or in essence creative writings in the language. The work traces the history of Hausa creative writing, especially its evolution through literary competitions organized virtually/principally by Dr. East. This work was able to demonstrate and conclude that it is through Dr. East¿s initiative that many Northern Nigeria Hausa Elites acquired skills in creative writings. Thus it was through his efforts that Hausa indigenous literature (drama and novels) geminated and grew. The work also establishes that it is not only in theory that Dr. East thought his lessons but also demonstrated them in practice. He was able to compose what was popularly regarded as the first Hausa drama written in the language, i.e. the Six Hausa Plays (1936).