Retired Professor of English and Literary Studies, Tony Afegukwu, has emphasized the importance of using poetry to document current events in Nigeria for future generations.
Speaking on the occasion of this year’s World Poetry Day in Benin City on Thursday, he encouraged poets to follow in the footsteps of iconic writers whose works have expanded poetry’s influence across cultures.
According to him: “If there’s is anytime to celebrate Poetry, it is actually now especially in Nigeria, where everybody today in Nigeria is experiencing one burden or the other, one stress or the other, one depression or the other.
“Infact, the time we are in Nigeria is a very desperate one and we need poetry to illustrate this. We need poetry to record what is going on in Nigeria and also in several parts of Africa.
“So let’s record what’s happening now for posterity, there’s no happiness anywhere now in Nigeria, and poetry must play it’s role not just leaving it for Historians to record.”
In addition to Mr. Afegukwu’s thoughts, journalist and literary enthusiast Mr. Hendrix Oliomogbe shared that poetry should be promoted as it remains one of the most effective forms of self-expression. Mr. Aliyu Aliemna-Ozurumbva, a former Scribe of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council, described poetry as the “science of the art world” and lamented its current state in Nigeria due to people’s declining reading habits in the age of New Media.
World Poetry Day, which is celebrated every year on 21st March, was created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to increase the visibility of endangered languages. Its goal is to encourage the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry worldwide.
Poetry is a powerful tool, particularly in Nigeria, where people are facing various challenges such as stress, depression, and burdens.
Professor Afegukwu, who is also a poet, emphasized the importance of celebrating poetry, particularly during these trying times in Nigeria. The country is experiencing unprecedented challenges, and poetry can serve as a means of expressing the emotions and experiences of individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole.
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