Meet Zainab Alkali, First Woman Novelist, Prominent Bayero University Kano Graduate
She rose to prominence in academic circles, eventually becoming a dean in the Faculty of Arts at Nasarawa State University in Keffi, where she taught creative writing.
Binye-lum 
Zainab Alkali, born in Tura-Wazila, Borno State in 1950, is a renowned Nigerian novelist and the first woman novelist from Northern Nigeria. A proud graduate of Bayero University Kano (BUK), she earned a BA in 1973 and later obtained a doctorate in African Studies from the same institution.
Alkali's career spans education and literature. She served as the principal of Shekara Girls' Boarding School before becoming a lecturer in English at two Nigerian universities. She rose to prominence in academic circles, eventually becoming a dean in the Faculty of Arts at Nasarawa State University in Keffi, where she taught creative writing.
Her marriage to the late Professor Mohammed Nur Alkali, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, was blessed with six children. Alkali is celebrated not only for her literary achievements but also for breaking new ground as a woman writer in the region.
Among her notable works are *The Stillborn* (1984), *The Virtuous Woman* (1987), *Cobwebs & Other Stories* (1997), *The Descendants* (2005), and *The Initiates* (2007).
Currently residing in Keffi, Zainab Alkali’s legacy as a pioneering writer and educator continues to inspire many.
