Interview with the President of Christopher Okigbo Poetry Club

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Oyedokun Agnes

Christopher Okigbo Poetry Club is an important creatives group in the Faculty of Arts which focuses on poetry, its appreciation, and elevation. Since her resuscitation in 2021, the club has progressed to having more members, gaining more stand and attention through various contests and performances on campus. Currently, the club is preparing and planning for their upcoming event, The Poetry Festival which comprise discussion by poetry scholars, competition, and awards.

In our conversation with Olubunmi Badru, a 300 level student English and President of Cristopher Okigbo Poerty Club, we discuss the Poetry Festival and other topics including the progress and challenges of the club.

Correspondent:
Could you please, tell us about yourself?

Olubunmi Badru:
Prolific writer that touches the depth of nature, while putting creativity on the surface of both living and non-living through the art of poetry. Oluwabunmi Badru is my name.

Correspondent:
Could you please, tell us about the club?

Oluwabunmi Badru:
Christopher Okigbo Poetry Club is one of its kind in the University of Ibadan. Matter of fact, it is the very palace that houses the creative poets on campus.

Spoken word artists, poetry writers and readers, and even people who just love the existence of this essence (Poetry) are the members of this great community. And, just like poetry delves into divergences of world concepts, our members are not limited to a particular department, members of the club come from different walks of faculties and college(s).

What we do?
Training poets to be better poets, research and teaching on what makes a poem one, training on how to win national and international competitions, group reading and discussion of poetry, spoken word training, inter-universitites competition and awards, publication of anthology, opportunities to important forums just to mention a few are what we do at Okigbo Poetry Club here in UI.

Correspondent:
Speaking of training members how to win, do you organize poetry contests regularly or collaborate with other poetry clubs?

Olubunmi Badru: Yes, we do. We organise internal competitions among our members where the winner ends up with values worthy of their creativity and artistic prowess. We also participate in inter-university competitions where our members, besides getting rewarded, get enlightening and momentous exposure. We even have another one coming up at Dominican University on the 7th of May.

More so, we go for poetry outings some of which include the Ile-Ife Poetry Festival and Professor Aderemi Raji-Oyelade Birthday Celebration where poetry was given the chance to entertain as well as educate both the young and mature minds.

Correspondent:
When did you become the President?

Oluwabunmi Badru:
I became the club’s president in 2021.

Correspondent:
What are the challenges you face and how do you tackle them?

Oluwabunmi Badru:
We have couple of challenges but I’ll be discussing the leading ones. 

Human Resources is a big challenge. Bringing people of different opinions together to work for a cause or a set goal is something that is not easy. There is also financial constraint. Financing competitions to motivate people and providing refreshments for every gathering of the club and all other financial needs. These two are the major challenges among the many.

Correspondent:
How has the club evolved since you became the President?

Oluwabunmi Badru:
Well, when I became the president, the club was almost no longer functioning. This, I will say is attributed to the few number of poets ready enough to resuscitate the club through awareness and articulate works of poetry.

Now, the club is flourishing in what a poetry club should deliver to the university community and even beyond. The club now produces creative poets, poetry readers, spoken word artists, passionate poetry lovers and even more, now have members from the Post-Graduate School. Thanks to the effort of executives of the club.

Okigbo Poetry Club has been given the necessary publicity and awareness. From 2021 till date, we have been invited by different schools as well as organisations seeking to collaborate with us in poetry events, some of which include the company hosting IBADAN BOOKS AND ARTS FESTIVAL. The other executives and I have been able to give a structure to the club and encourage poets from different levels to be passionate enough to move the club’s heritage forward.

And as well, we are organizing Okigbo Poetry Festival on campus this semester which has not happened in a while. This Festival is a poetry celebration where poets from University of Ibadan and other universities will come together to showcase the beauty of art through poetry.

Correspondent:
How do you accept new members into the club?

Oluwabunmi Badru:
As for how we accept new members, entry is free and most importantly, members must be from the University of Ibadan. However, acquiring the club’s identity card qualifies them as legal members of the club.

Correspondent:
You mentioned the Poetry Festival which will take place soon. What are the things we should look forward to?

Olubunmi Badru:
For the Poetry Festival, there will be poetry discussion being held by some of our distinguished lecturers and poetry reading and recitation by students. Winners of the poetry competition which goes hand in hand with the occurrence of the festival will perform their poetry. Awards will be given and their poems will also be published.

Correspondent:
Finally, as a Poet and the President of a Poetry Club, do you think literary citizenship is important?

Oluwabunmi Badru:
If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk farther, walk with people. Being a part of something unique like this great community is important for the growth of everyone that is reaching out to the world through poetry on our campus. On this note, I will say it is very important and if you ask me further, I will say it is in fact, necessary.

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