Prof Wole Soyinka

By Nehru Odeh

Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has said slavery is not yet dead but rife on the African continent. Soyinka made this assertion on Saturday 21 March at the 6th edition of the  World Poetry Day, which held at Terra Culture, Victoria Island in Lagos.

“So Cuba is here both as a reminder, a tragic instance of our history on the African continent but also as a spur to the continuing recollection that the task is not yet over, that that aberration known as slavery is still very much with us not only externally but internally on the African continent,” Soyinka noted as he referenced the significance of the  participation of Cubans in this year’s event in Lagos, Nigeria.

The World Poetry Day celebration in Nigeria was organized by Providus Bank in conjunction with Professor Soyinka. While Jahman Anikulapo and Culture Advocates Caucus curated the programme.

In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.

The theme of this year’s edition was “Sand Dune and Ocean Bed: The Template of Dispersal.” And It spoke to issues of migration, displacement, evolution, resilience and growth.

Dr Kafayat Quadri

However, what made his year’s programme special was that Nigeria and Cuba collaborated to make it an eventful one, what with the array of stars both countries paraded. Another highpoint, which was symbolic enough, was when Soyinka presented a book to Ms Miriam Morales Palmero, Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria.

The Cuban government was not only represented by its strong delegation,  poets from both countries held the audience spellbound and stirred emotions with their dramatic thought-provoking and soul-searching performances.

Rotji Gokir, a staff of Providus Bank, presented his poem, “Sand Dune and Ocean Bed: The Template of Dispersal”  to open a floodgate of performances. Soyinka also read his poem entitled “Image in a Month of Abstinence.”

Notable personalities at the event included  Ms Miriam Morales Palmero, Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria; Professor Wole Soyinka; Sir Walter Akpani, Managing Director, Providus Bank; and  Ms Indira Fajardo,  Cuban Deputy Minister of Culture.

Prof Wole Soyinka and Ms Miriam Morales Palmero

Ms Lizette Martinez Luzardo

“I should remind you that this particular commemoration is being done in honour, first of all, of the United Nations Decade of Remembrance for the Enslaved people. Simultaneously, the commencement of a second decade of the United Nations programme for the descendants of enslaved people,” Soyinka said

“Hence the title, the theme, which we tried to wrap around today’s presentation, ‘Sand Dune and Ocean Bed.’ I’m very glad that the curators began, shall we say, with the positive side of migration, of dispersal. It’s not all negative, it doesn’t end always in a cul-de-sac.

Mr Walter Akpani

“However migration takes several forms, voluntary migration and there is violent migration, violent dispersal with no volition at the beginning,.the middle and the end. Hence the global recognition of the great harm that was done to the African continent, the hard-core resource centre of slavery, of that criminal tendency of humanity to enslave other people.

“European culture and civilization owe a lot, far more than is generally acknowledged, to the African continent. The route by which this cultural exchange took place is of course one of anguish. But again it is also a reminder of the resilience of humanity. .

“We should remind ourselves also, when we talk about dispersal, which is what slave trade, slavery, has in common with the word, migration. Dispersal . We ought to ask ourselves from time to time how does it begin. Not where does it begin, but how,” Soyinka averred.

L-R: Ms Miriam Morales Palmero, Prof Wole Soyinka, Mr Walter Akpani

With his characteristic sense of humor, Soyinka said the event was supposed to be tagged “An Evening with Cuba” rather than an “An Evening with Wole Soyinka”. That, indeed, spoke volumes about the uniqueness of the event and the import of the huge presence of the Cuban delegation.

Mr Walter Akpani, the Managing Director of Providus Bank, expressed his appreciation to Professor Soyinka for coming up with the idea of the celebration and to all those who made the continual hosting of the event possible.

“When we started this we weren’t even sure if we were going to have the next edition. But after the first edition, I promised Prof that we we would not stop it

“Today, the World Poetry Day 2025 is the day when voices converge to remind us that poetry is not just a nudge, it is a force of nature, it’s a movement and in its purest form an echo of the human spirit

“The theme of today, ‘Sand Dune and Ocean Bed: A Template of Dispersal’ speaks to the internal forces of change : migration and evolution. Like shifting dunes sculpted by the wind or the ocean beds ever changing but grounded with depth, poetry moves with currents of time, carrying voices across borders, shaping minds and fostering unity in diversity.

“Today as we celebrate poetry in our discourse, let us also celebrate the power of dispersal in ways ideas travel and the way change, though sometimes unsettling as it may be, is the bedrock of renewal.

“Let this be a call to everyone, to the poets, to keep writing, breaking new grounds with work. Seek to touch the world with your words, take on new adventures with your art and leave a lasting impression for future ambassadors.

“As the dunes shift and the tides rise  and fall, let us remember that dispersal is not disappearance. It is an expansion. It is the spreading of influence. It is the promise that every word, every effort, every thing has the power to reach distant shores

“Let poetry continue to be one of our bridges, one of our beacons and our boldest expression of what it means to be alive,” Akpani maintained.

Israel Dominguez

Camerata Cortes

Amb. Miriam Morales Palmero, for her part, said it was an honour to address the gathering “in this beautiful city of Lagos.” She then expressed her deepest gratitude to Professor Wole Soyinka  Providus Bank and Walter Akpani the Managing Director of Providus Bank “for giving us the opportunity to be here today, sharing his faith in our future and brotherhood. This gathering symbolizes the renewal of ties between two nations, Cuba and Nigeria, united by history, tradition and blood,” Palmero noted.

Ms Indira Fajardo, Cuban Deputy Minister of Culture, also expressed her appreciation to Nigerians for making the Cuban delegation feel at home.

“When we arrived at the airport two days ago, we were greeted with ‘Welcome Home’. And it’s true. We felt like that. Nigeria is also our home  What unite is  knowing that we are part of a legacy that persists regardless of language differences. We must speak the language of the soul, which, in essence, is the language of poetry,” she said.

Ms Miriam Morales Palmero

It was an evening of poetry, music, dance and strengthening of historical  ties between Nigeria and Cuba. The atmosphere was not not electrifying, it was charged.

Wole Alade, multi instrumentalist, composer and Jazz musician set the tone with his saxophone and drums. Camerata Cortes, a Cuban music group spiced up the evening as it performed a string of  Cuban, Latin American and International music back to back.

Evelyn Osagie

Nigerian poets who performed at the event were: Yusuf Balogun (Aremo Gemini), Kafayat Quadri, Chinelo, Nwora, Tijani Usman and Evelyn Osagie. While Cuban poets included Alex Pausides, Edelmis Vega, Israel Dominguez, Sinecio Verdecia Diaz and Emiliano Sardinas.

“Officially titled “ProvidusBank World Poetry Day Cafe: An Evening with Wole Soyinka”, the past editions have explored themes relating to humanity’s existential concerns, among them preservation of the environment, education, youth and female empowerment, migration and socio-cultural pluralism.

“The celebration of the 2025 edition of the day, which is the 6th in the series, is dedicated to commemorating the beginning of the United Nations Second Decade of African Descendants (2025-2034). Hence the theme: “Sand Dune and Ocean Bed: The Template of Dispersal”.  The theme is also in the context of the ongoing UN Anniversary for Enslaved Peoples and Preparatory Justice.”