Poetry enriches the dialogue that catalyzes all human progress, and is more necessary than ever in turbulent times – Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General
“You cannot extinguish the poetry of existence, not even if you pave the streets with the body of poets. Poetry has survived millennia of corruption, hate and destruction. It will outlive all enemies of the freedom of thought and imagination. Even in the dankness and despair of torture chambers and dens of hangmen.”
POETRY is one of the arts’ most common genres of expression. Man has since creation used and continues to use it to express his feelings. However, the art of poetry and celebrating it has in the last few years been undergoing some level of ‘flight’ because of its perceived tough nature and the increasing nature of the world we live in.
Of the three most known genres of literary expressions – prose, drama and poetry. Poetry seems to be the one that is not much celebrated. It is perhaps in recognition of this that the UNESCO decided to make March 21 of every year World Poetry Day. According to the world body, the aim of declaring the day as such was to celebrate “one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.”
It added that, “World Poetry Day is the occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.”
This was exactly what Providus Bank in collaboration with the Culture Advocates Caucus, CAC, and with support of the The Wole Soyinka Foundation, WSF, did on that day at the Grand Ball Room of Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. It was a night of fun, music, drinks, poetry and more poetry.
The celebration this year in Nigeria was with a different touch. Providus Bank which has since 2019 powered the celebration with the involvement of the Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka decided to let the day tally and carry the colour of women by linking it with the March 8 celebration of International Women’s Day. About time. This, more than anything, made the day to be rich and colourful. The theme ‘Restating Humanity with the Woman’ captured the mood in the expansive hall of the hotel.
The graceful singer and performer Yinka Davies and her accompanying band , Five & Six, gave the audience a good folk treat with songs laced with poetry and power celebrating women and children.
Mr Walter Akpani, the debonaire managing director and chief executive of the bank, in explaining the bank’s involvement in poetry and arts in general said, “It was designed to be a cross-generational endeavour, one where established, mid-level and budding writers could share one big stage.”
This was indeed achieved on this night as the young poets, who cut across all ages and educational attainments were able to stand on the stage with one of the world’s most celebrated poets – Soyinka.
From where I sat that night, I could glimpse the aura of light and excitement oozing out of some of these young poets sharing the dais with Soyinka. It was a lifetime dream that many would give an arm to attain. But seeing this gesture by Providus Bank was enough boost to many of the poets.
Students from selected secondary schools came on stage to read their poems int he segment tited, ‘Ode to Leah Sharibu,’ dedicated to their colleague Leah Sharibu, who was kidnapped in 2016 and still remains in the net of the invidious Boko Haram despite the release of her other mates who suffered the same fate!
But a few might ask what has poetry got to with this? It is a way of verbalising the frustration of the world with politics and political leaders who have continued to fail the populace; leaders who promise security but deliver insecurity. The secondary school girls in their simple words of poetry salute the courage of Leah and denounce those murderous university students in Sokoto who gleefully massacred Deborah Samuel in the presence of security agents who could not save her life. Such impunity. The upcoming poets gave their voices in support of freedom and in celebration of womanhood, denouncing all forms of terror and attempt to cage freedom at home, in Afghanistan and other parts of the world that have banned women from getting an education or a fair share of life.
Through the sponsorship of the bank, eight women poets were also enlisted in the celebration to read their various works. These include Nathalie Handal (a French-American), Vuyokazi Ngemntu (South Africa), and Emma Ofosua (Ghana). Others are Dr Jumoke Verissimo, Achalugo Chioma Ilozumba, Amrah Aliyu, Wana Udobang and Kemi Bakare (Nigeria). They all read stirring poems to the delight of the audience who soaked in the deep messages of hope contained in their words.
Soyinka used the occasion to state unequivocally that the world must continue to allow free expression of opinions and ideas because that is the tonic of life. In fact, he on that day declared that from his new outpost in Abu Dhabi, he is ready to mount a new campaign: to ensure that all those who promote religious violence or intolerance are denied visas not only by the West but by all nations of the world. He said if such people are boxed in the West and other parts of the world where they usually travel, they would think twice before fanning the ember of religious intolerance at home.
In all Providus Bank provided an avenue for these young women to vent their talents and show how much they can affect their society positively.
THE bank’s Poetry Café also saw to the publication of a volume of poems which was mediated by it through the mentorship four individuals — Eriata Oribhabor, Segun Adefila. Chisom Ohuaka, AJ Dagga Tolar, coordinated by Jahman Anikulapo of CAC, who is director of the ProvidusBank Poetry Cafe project. The result of this is the publication of JOURNEYs… (40 Poems from 4 Poetry Hubs in Lagos). A collection of poems sketching around migration, dislocation and displacement; a very topical issue among young Nigerians who have continued to japa from their homeland in search of comfort and new places to call home when where they see as one is no longer looking like a home!
These forty young poets have put on paper what they think of migration and dislocation which is man’s most essential part and what makes us human.
With this act this year, Providus Bank has once again stamped its feet on very firm ground as one of the strongest supporters of arts in this clime, and this is hoping that other corporate organisations are going to follow suit.
In closing, I like to quote from the FOREWORD of the programme events, “You cannot extinguish the poetry of existence, not even if you pave the streets with the body of poets. Poetry has survived millennia of corruption, hate and destruction. It will outlive all enemies of the freedom of thought and imagination. Even in the dankness and despair of torture chambers and dens of hangmen.”
We must tell that to the kidnappers of Leah and the killers of Deborah. Long live poetry. Long live freedom of expression.
Comments are closed.