NAPARI: A Northern Voice Rising from Code to Couplet

In a digital world dominated by codes and commands, Yakubu Humu Salma Napari is crafting a new syntax one of voice, verse, and vision.

At just 18, Napari is more than a tech student at the University of Professional Studies, Accra she’s an emerging poet with roots in Tamale and wings ready for the global stage. A proud graduate of Tamale Girls Senior High School (PAGNAA), she played a lead role in the school’s 2023 Debate and Poetry Club, helping redefine what it means to be a young Muslim woman in the arts.

What sets Napari apart isn’t just her talent it’s her dual fluency in both technology and emotion. As she pursues a BSc in Information Technology, she simultaneously uses poetry to navigate identity, gender, community, and the challenges of a generation in transition.

Her journey from the North to the national stage is more than personal it’s representative. She stands as a symbol of young, intelligent, and culturally grounded female expression, determined to script a future where art and intellect are not separate paths, but twin pillars of progress.

On August 9, 2025, Napari steps onto the Ehalakasa National Poetry Slam Prelims stage, ready to represent more than just herself she carries the voice of a region, a people, and a promise.