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Abu Bakr Sadiq was born in Minna, Niger State of Nigeria. Growing up as a son to a father who was an educator and instructor, it felt natural that he had to frequently engage in intensive close reading and writing in English language in his formative years. His proximity to the written word instilled a desire for books, reading and learning new things. Being a teenager that was often described as being inquisitive, he spent most of his leisure time reading things that were outside his schoolwork. He developed a passion for books that were about the mechanics of things and this in turn, fueled his desire for science and learning how the innumerable components of the universe worked.

Abu Bakr introduction into the poetic language came at a later time, after completing his secondary school education. Before then, he had engaged with and consumed arts and literature in other forms, including rap, essays and creative writing compositions, which he did almost effortlessly. Despite being a science student and never really having the opportunity of engaging closely with poetry, he had always felt there was a strong creative force within him but he did not how it wanted to be conveyed or how to wield it.

Abu Bakr was the type of teenager who would draw sketches of science related objects (spaceships, hourglasses, rockets, etcetera), and write rap lyrics in the back of his notebooks. Sometimes, he even let his friends who were into music rap the lyrics on their songs. There was a time he did consider himself a ghostwriter.

After picking an interest in poetry, Abu Bakr buried his face in textbooks owned by his cousin who was an English Language and Literature Major in college at that time. The texts were where he began to formally learn about language and African poetry. He was fascinated by what he was learning about the various tools used in poetry, its interpretation, techniques and critical analysis. His fascination for language grew deeper when he experienced the emotional capability of poetry which he hadn’t seen in his science books. He tirelessly read every piece of poetry he could lay his hands during that period and overtime, began working towards writing his own poems.

In the budding period of becoming a poet, Abu Bakr writings were greatly influenced and inspired by accomplished poets such as: George the Poet, Harry Baker, Suli Breaks, Sophia and Thakur. Abu Bakr once dabbled into spoken word/performance poetry during which he performed poems on stages within and outside Minna, including TedXMinna in 2020. His first journal publication was “After Escaping Fire” appearing in Rockvale Review.

In 2021, Abu Bakr decided to explore the speculative sphere of poetry where he experimented with materials from his science background and that was where his writing began to gain the attention of a larger audience. The first poem that introduced readers to his speculative approach was “Mona Lisa’s Abecedarian to Leonardo da Vinci“, published in Uncanny Magazine. He took his exploration of speculative poetry further when he decided to put his first manuscript together.

Propelled by the sheer desire to experiment with and try out the things he had learned about putting poetry collections together after he had studied the works of Ilya Kaminsky, Franny Choi, Kaveh Akbar, Dominique Christina, Henri Cole, Safia Elhillo, and Ocean Vuong, Abu Bakr actively began writing towards the manuscript that will become Leaked Footages in late 2021. He wrote the draft of the manuscript between his hometown, Minna, and Zaria, where he was attending University.

In 2023, Leaked Footages was named winner of Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets. At that time, , he was in his penultimate year in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, studying Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Within a span of four years, Abu Bakr published several magazines and journals across the world. He has also received global recognitions for his poetry, including an IGNYTE Award for Best Speculative Poetry, Paulann Petersen Award for Poetry, Margaret Gibson Poet Laureate Poetry Award, and a finalist for the Evaristo Prize for African Poetry.

His work has also been nominated for the SFPA Rhysling Award, Pushcart Prize, Best New Poets, and is published in Boston Review, Poetry Ireland Review, The Fiddlehead, MIZNA, FIYAH, Uncanny Magazine, Augur Magazine, Fantasy Magazine, and amongst many others.

Building on his debut collection, in his subsequent books, Sadiq hopes to continue the work of exploring how poetry can serve as a bridge between the past, present, future, personal and communal experiences. He hopes to use poetry not just as a means of self-expression, but as a tool for understanding and shaping the world.

Leaked Footages is due for release on November 1, 2024, and can be purchased here.