Cavemen Africa: The story behind the story

What does it really mean to be a storyteller? What does it take to wield such power? A tool? A skill? Or just a point of view?

I have always been fascinated by stories — how they are told, why they are told, and, more importantly, who is telling them.

So, when people ask me about the origin of Cavemen and what it is supposed to mean, I say to them:
“Just as stories are powerful and require authenticity to be told, we need a league of storytellers who are original, resilient, resourceful, and who find strength in collaboration. We need Cavemen.”

Creatives who have the ability; to create a mind-space nurtured by reality but not limited by it; who have the power to appreciate narratives told across timelines and also impact timelines through narratives.
Artists who understand who they are and how to create impact in their communities — and the world at large — through storytelling while staying rooted in faith and purpose.

When I first had the epiphany to create a community that would live by this philosophy (one I neither fully knew nor understood at the time), I admit that I did not know what I was doing.

I was inexperienced in how the business of creativity worked, and so I often failed to get value for my work as a creative. I tried many times to preach this half-baked philosophy of a world where we creatives could collaborate and leverage each other’s strengths, but failure was inevitable — even I was not fully convinced. There was simply no framework I could rely on. (In truth, I didn’t even know what a framework meant at the time.)

I did a lot more failing — even the failures that happened before I tried — but mostly the ones that happened when I dared to create projects that drained a lot of my resources, only to end up seeming too unfamiliar to the realities of northern Nigeria for anyone to appreciate their value.

For every glorious and indigenous failure, I never failed to understand and believe that we needed creatives here — creatives with enough self-awareness to bring value to the table and collect value too; who understand their origins and how to tap into their power; whose tools are an extension of their imagination.
We needed Cavemen!

Alhamdulillah, our story has just begun. It is being built upon the stories of others, like the continuity of an uncomfortable ellipsis.

You can stay by the entrance — or come into the Cave.
We are just getting started, but it already feels warmer in here!

Yours Creatively,
Founder
Cavemen Africa