By Editor
As Nigeria joins other countries of the world to Mark this year’s ” World Poetry Day” a retired Professor of English and Literary Studies, University of Benin City, Mr Tony Afejeku has urged poets to continue to use poetry to record current happenings in Nigeria for posterity.
He stated this in an interview with newsmen in Benin City.
Professor Afejeku who is also a poet, explained that ” if there is anytime to celebrate poetry, is actually now especially in Nigeria, where we have all kinds of burdens. 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 its role not just leaving it for historians to record”.
Speaking on the theme,”Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”, Professor Afejeku urged poets to emulate iconic writers of the past whose trailblazing works enlarged poetry’s footprint across cultures.
Also speaking, a literary enthusiast, Mr Hendrix Oliomogbe, says poetry should be promoted as it remains one of the best way of one expressing oneself.
On his part, a one time scribe of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council, Mr Aliu Ozioruva who described poetry as the science of the art world, decried its current state in the country, following people’s inability to read these days due to the emergence of new media
World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 March, and was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO in 1999.
Its aim is to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.
Its purpose is to promote the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the original UNESCO declaration says, to “give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional, and international poetry movements.
World Poetry Day is not just about poems; it’s a worldwide celebration of the incredible power of words. Whether you’re a poetry fan or just curious, take a moment on March 21 to enjoy the beauty of poetic expression.
