Leave something of sweetness and substance in the mouth of the world.
–Anna Belle Kaufman
His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr.) Yahaya Abubakar CFR, ETSU NUPE, Chairman of the Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers bestowed on me a great honour in his telephone call to congratulate me for the six years of research and promoting crafts in Bida, Nigeria, that helped to highlight the crafts and folk art in Nupeland.
From 2015, my journeys to Bida began as a broad interest in material culture and blogging about the experience to researcher of Nupe heritage, particularly, the study of glassmaking. All of which evolved into becoming an honorary member of the Masaga glassmaking community.
These rich and rewarding journeys culminated in the month of November 2019, during the completion of the documentary, The Lost Legacy of Bida Bikini, and the honoured title of Jikadiyan Gargagiya, Ambassador of Nupe Traditions from His Royal Highness.
Watch The Lost Legacy of Bida Bikini , hosted by British Museum
The documentary can be found on the repository here: https://drs.britishmuseum.org/articles/media/Lost_legacy_of_Bida_Bikini/14535420
and on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTRxORja4Ik&t=1s
Articles and posts can be found throughout my website. Here are a few posts:
Between Two Rivers Bida City of the Nupe
Bida Glass at Muséo Parc Alésia, France
Bida Bracelets, The Ancient Art of Glassmaking
Indigo and the Durbar
Instragram: bida_glassmakers or https://www.instagram.com/bida_glassmakers/?hl=en
nomad4now 
Such great news!
Thank you!
Of course you deserve to be congratulated not only by Nupe community, but Nigeria as a whole, for making such a documentary. May you have the courage to explore Nigerian culture.
Sallam Allakum. Always so good to hear from you! Thank you for caring and commenting. L.
Congratulations, Lesley! An amazing accomplishment!
Thank you SO much for taking the time to comment. It means a great deal to me. L.
Oh Lesley, you shall be so happy and proud about this. You are doing a remarkable job for Bida and this is a well deserved recognition. Hat off!
I am so proud to be a part of the Nupe community and to have had the rare opportunity to delve into their heritage through their patient guidance. I hope that this designation will bring more employment opportunities and encourage the youth to take up heritage crafts and folk art rather then looking elsewhere. Thank you so much for your continued enthusiasm and support. L..
Congratulations dear Lesley! I applaud you for your significant contribution to the world of arts and crafts. I appreciate your blog information and look forward to more.
Hugs, Mary
Thank you, Mary. I certainly appreciate your comment/
More strength and courage we pray for you ma.
God will continue to empower you as you’ve started putting Africa on the world map on exploration of the hidden arts and crafts.
I appreciate your encouragement! I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Nupe heritage preservation. Thank you!