BY: NEWS DESK, OCTOBER 12, 2026/ 07:28PM
Yerwa Express News has announced plans to establish a digital newsroom dedicated exclusively to reporting in Kanuri language, in a move aimed at preserving and expanding the influence of the centuries-old language.
The plan was unveiled on Sunday by the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, Abdulhamid Al-Gazali, during an audience with His Royal Highness, His Eminence, the Shehu of Borno, Alh. Dr. Abubakar Umar Garbai Al-Amin El-Kanemi.
Al-Gazali, who described himself as a historian raised by Borno's famous historian, Prof. Muhammad Nur Alkali of blessed memory, said the visit was to seek the royal blessings of the Shehu for the new initiative, just as the paper did ten years ago before its take-off.
He informed the monarch that Yerwa Express News marked its 10th anniversary last week, on October 2, 2026, noting that the paper has survived numerous challenges, including COVID-19, while many businesses closed down, due to the Shehu's blessings.
According to him, the new initiative is driven by concern over the state of the Kanuri language, which UNESCO has listed as a vulnerable language under massive pressure from other languages.
'UNESCO has listed our centuries-old language, the blessed Kanuri language, as a vulnerable language, and it is under massive pressure from other languages,' Al-Gazali told the Shehu.
He expressed confidence that with the Shehu's prayers and those of his blessed forebears, the language will continue to exist until the end of time, but stressed the need to ensure it is not only preserved but its influence expanded.
'Our intention and plan is to establish a newsroom dedicated exclusively to reporting in the Kanuri language—but this time on the internet, which will make our initiative the first of its sort ever in the digital space,' he said.
Al-Gazali explained that the proposed multimedia and text-driven digital newsroom will connect Kanuri-speaking people across the world, with speakers in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Sudan, Ghana, Saudi Arabia and other diasporan communities estimated in the tens of millions.
Appealing to the Shehu as the revered father of the Kanuri people and nation, Al-Gazali requested the monarch to champion the cause through his magnanimity, network, guidance and blessings.
Responding, the Shehu of Borno congratulated the organisation for marking 10 years in operation and assured them of his full support.
'I assure that my doors are always open and I will support you to start the digital Kanuri newsroom,' the Shehu said.
He encouraged the Yerwa Express team to continue what they are doing and assured them of his continuous prayers and blessings.