…calls for Government recognition, support
By Udesinanna Stephen, Akubulu Ngozi
Poets in Nigeria, PIN, in partnership with Association of Nigeria Authors, ANA has taken poetry to the Ekiti State University, EKSU, as a means of encouraging creativity amongst Nigerian Youths.
The Cross Country Celebration of Poetry tagged “A Country on the Wings of Poetry” as organised by PIN took its bearing today at the State’s University in Ado-Ekiti.
Speaking at the Programme, the Former Chairman Association of Nigerian Authors, now Patron, Poet In Nigeria (PIN) Yemi Adebiyi, asserted that, poet is coming to command relevance in Ekiti soon.
He said, “Spoken words poets are now doing very fine. Look at the likes of Dike; they are making money through poetry, although they are passing messages in entertainment form. It is clear it will become something here in Ekiti very soon that you will invite poets to come and perform.”
Speaking on the impact of poems on the society, he stated, “Poets say so many things in few words, You know, poets change the world like the Wole Soyinka, when they use poetry, they use it to change the world.
Similarly, the Former Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Ekiti, now the Pioneer Chairman of the ANA, Ekiti, Akogun Tai Oguntayo, noted that poetry is technical in nature, leading to minimal focus on other genre, adding that, there is an increasing recognition of poetry
in Nigeria.
The Chairman, who doubles as a Lawyer, noted that “Poetry needs a lot of technicality, and I think that is why it is not given too much attention, and people are rising now. Poetry is not given the supposed attention in Nigeria, and that is one of the reasons why this is organized.”
More so, one of the founding members of Poetry In Nigeria, PIN, Funke Awodiya while speaking on the inspiration behind the conception of PIN in Ekiti, revealed that, the concept was built out of passion and support for intending poets, owing to the number of increasing poets in Nigeria and the need to make their piece known.
She said “Poets in Nigeria, PIN are the organisers of this occassion and it’s going on simultaneously in 44 locations in different parts of Nigeria for the celebration of poetry and this venue was powered and supported by Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, Ekiti State Chapter.
“The reality is that so many people are writing poetry across the country and we know they need a platform to showcase their works either spoken words poetry or page poetry and Ekiti is a fertile ground for such young people. We come across them everywhere and even on social media and as a founding member of PIN who also passed through this University, I felt the onions is on me to bring what I have been doing in Lagos, Calabar, Enugu and other parts of Nigeria to Ekiti State that we are here.”
Sequel to this, she advised potential poets to engage the social media to show case their skill, revealing that, PIN has created an online platform where poetic piece can be critic, as such, called on the Government for high publicity and support to further the initiative.
She advised, “Almost everybody uses social media to project what they are doing and for us in PIN, we connect with people on social media, we have a website where we showcase our Nigeria students poetry which is specifically for undergraduates. We also have a facebook page where people can write and their work get critic for feedback.
“As a poet as you write, you meet people on social media, learn to meet new people we are all learning, Rome was not built in a day.
“The reality is that, “Art” generally is not given the right attention from the Government, for example, this Programme you just witnessed was sponsored from goodwill, I told you 44 different locations, they didn’t get sponsors from Government neither from corporate bodies, but in the future we believe that writers, creatives should be able to access grant to support this kind of event.”
Moreover, some of the students who displayed their piece include: Olufemi John, who presented spoken words; “Bread and Bullet”, “African Anthem”, and “Ajala the Hungry Lion.”