Turkey-trained calligrapher decorates Nigerian mosques

A 50-year-old Nigerian man who learned calligraphy in Turkey is making a name for himself by decorating mosques in his country.

After five years of training in Turkey, Yushaa Abdullah returned to his country's northwest Kaduna and founded Al-Mihrab Calligraphy School to train his own students and to spread the art of calligraphy to other West African countries.

Abdullah started learning calligraphy on his own 29 years ago.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, he said he started searching for ways to get training in calligraphy in Turkey or Iran, as there were no courses in Nigeria.

"I started learning calligraphy by myself as there were no experts dealing with it in West Africa. Then the people around me liked my work, but I had to improve myself in this art and I wanted to receive training in Turkey or Iran."

Abdullah said he was admitted to Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul in 2007 and studied with calligraphy masters, including Hasan Celebi and Davut Bektas.

Abdullah said his parents had forced him to study in the field of science, but he dropped out of school to improve his calligraphy skills on his own.

He said: "In Africa, those who deal with art are generally seen as lazy or stupid people. This is why I studied physical sciences in high school and completed with very good grades. I didn't go to a university even though I got scholarships from many of them in Nigeria because I wanted to learn the art of calligraphy."

When he returned to Nigeria in 2012, Abdullah decided to open an art school to teach calligraphy in Africa.

"I live in the state of Kaduna in the north of Nigeria, where I have a calligraphy school. I have dozens of students studying in this school, and I now have 25 students.

Abdullah said he attended calligraphy exhibitions in many countries, including Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan and Malaysia, to exhibit his works.

Pointing to Turkey's help in the process of learning the art of calligraphy, Abdullah said: "With the help of the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture [IRCICA] in Turkey, the first calligraphy center in West Africa will be opened."

Abdullah said he decorated many mosques in Kano, Abuja, Lagos, Borno, Niger and Port Harcourt.

Recalling the five years he spent in Turkey during his education, Abdullah said he had felt at home during that period.

He highlighted that Turkey is among the world's most important countries in the field of calligraphy.

"If you want to learn calligraphy, you cannot find a better country than Turkey."