The Words Finesse

It was a darling outing for artistes and art enthusiasts last Saturday in Ilorin, Kwara state, Nigeria, as a house of young talented 'gods' hosted poets, spoken word and entertainment artistes to a memorable session of becoming the gods on MIC and connecting with one another afterwards for future opportunities and greatness.

The Open MIC and Writers' Connect sessions organized by Pen Warriors Inc was a well charged synergetic scene that saw the convergence of young stars in the arts and literary space as well as in the music and entertainment industry, showcasing their god-given talents to the delight of all and sundry at the event.

The Open Mic session handled by Penwarlord and an upcoming model, Sophia Elias, captured the young talents seizing the free moment to perform their pieces that revolved around various themes such as love, lust, politics, youth, tradition, nature, emotion, life, city, nation, reformation and natural phenomenon.

The event which recorded impressively dynamic arts pours and musical flows from all the young talented performers, also welcomed an inspiration and motivational talk by a young storyteller,  Stephen Adedoyin.

Members of Pen Warriors such as Ahmad Saliu Toyin (Penwarlord); Jalaludeen Assayouti (Jalal Poetry); Sakeenah Jatto (Tranquil Pen); Muib Shefiu (Sagacious Ink); and Lateefat Suleiman (Golden Thought) were not left out in airing their views on the MIC, through poetry and spoken word.

Members of Pen Warriors Inc

Other poets and spoken word artistes that graced the event with their series of mind-blowing poetry and spoken word were: Abdulhafeez T. Oyewole (Prince H.T.O); Umar Saidu Isa (The Dynamic Galvanizer); Shehu Abdulsalam Aladodo; Akanbi Habeeb Oluwadamilare (Damilare Mapper); Koyum Kolade Afolabi (KK Awesome); Ahmed Durojaye; Bamishe Ibrahim; Sakeenah Abdulkabir;  Optimistic Smart; Aminat Abdulsalam (Talented Sense); Naimah Raji; and Awoseni Adegoke Israel.

There was also distinct musical performance from: a singer, drummer and a musical producer- Temitayo Daini (Bass Billy); an artiste- Borlex; a rapper- Jam Shan aka Gangstar; and an artiste- Ayantola Ayobami Ahmed (H-wise).

Ealier speaking on behalf of Pen Warriors Incorporation, one of the organisers, Miss Sakeenah Jatto, thanked everyone for making time out to attend their one of a kind event, adding that it takes courage, love and kindness to write, rise and come forward to celebrate with fellow humans.

She said that the event was conceived by their organisation as a way of preserving arts, saying, "We are doing this in an Aristotelian way: Art for Art Sake."

"Regardless of the resources on ground, we are breaking bounds. Solely for one purpose: so that our voice and your voice will be heard," she added.

Angle shot of audience at the event

According to Jatto, in reaching out to the world around them, some people don't need much, they only need somebody to show them love to be able to be on top of their world.

Speaking about Pen Warriors Inc, another member, Mr Muib Shefiu said Pen Warriors Inc is a writing house that consists of distinguished like minds with the intention of reinvigorating literary creativity through honing writers' skills and providing guidance in the literary world.

The writers organization headed by Ahmad Saliu Toyin (PenWarLord), has Jalaludeen Assayouti (Jalal Poetry); Sakeenah Jatto (Tranquil Pen); Lateefat Suleiman (Golden Thought); Muib Shefiu (Sagacious Ink); Aisha Muhammad (Umairah) and Zainab Oluwakemi Adewale (Chemodiva) as members.

Below are other shots from the event.

Wole Adedoyin is the President of the Society of Young Nigerian Writers (SYNW) and the National Publicity Secretary, South, of the Association of Nigerian Authors  (ANA). In this interview with ABDULHAFEEZ T. OYEWOLE, he speaks on his writing  and how it becomes  the source of his selfless service to the growth and development of literature especially among young Nigerians. 

The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has said that the recent gale of defections and shenanigans by politicians coupled with the brazen display of impunity by security services are being done within the narrow confines of individualistic concerns, This Is Lagos reports.

President of the Association, Denja Abdullahi, and its Assistant General Secretary, Maik Ortserga, made this known in a statement released today.

“As the 2019 general elections beckons, the media has recently been inundated with news of Nigerian politicians switching lines, disconnecting and connecting new political cables and raising new convertors to ignite their political luminosities. The panic sown by politicians rationalising their conducts, yelling so loudly about biases meted out on them has led many to wonder whether the leadership class in Nigeria will ever get it right,” said the statement.

ANA went on to ask, "where does the recent activity leaves the people?"

This question, is stated, is very apt because one does not need a crystal ball to see that the recent gale of defections and shenanigans coupled with the brazen display of impunity by security services are being done within the narrow confines of individualistic concerns instead of the broader concerns of the people.

Further explaining that the bad news is that these political inadequacies are stretching our democracy to a breaking point, the statement said it is sad that politics in this country is still not in the interest of the people several years after the country’s return to democracy.

“Now, the politicians have squandered the credit they won in the hey days of this administration. Instead of reforming Nigeria, they now choose to fight over power, blocking each other’s personal ambitions at the expense of the common good. Corruption and impunity are still rife and institutions are still dysfunctional. The current defections are not driven by fundamental ideological consideration. Thus the practice of politics by our leaders has fallen short of the standards of democratic governance,” said the statement.

ANA said further that as the umbrella body of writers in this country, it is not just important that it points out the unprogressive nature of these defections and shenanigans by politicians, it also feels bold to remind the actors in the new direction of events in the country to be wary of the anger of the people, which has been inflated to a bursting point.

To further emphasise this point, ANA quoted Chris Okigbo who said, “…Let them remember thunder when they share the meat,” adding that the politicians should remember that they are accountable to the masses and that the day of account will soon come in 2019 when they will realise how impossible it is to say no to the thunderous will of the people.

Also quoting Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “When an individual no longer feels a sense of responsibility to his society, the content of democracy is emptied”, the statement concluded that a word is more than enough for the wise and for those who will listen and act true to the trust given to them by the masses.

All is set to host all arts and literary enthusiasts to a soul lifting Saturday show in the city of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, as a body of young self-motivated artistes and artists, Pen Warriors Incorporation, invites all and sundry to its event.

The event tagged, "PEN WARRIORS OPEN MIC SESSION and WRITERS CONNECT" is to hold on Saturday, 11th of August, 2018 at No 245, Citadel International Educational Consultant, Beside Forgo Battery, Taiwo road, Ilorin by 3:00pm.

According to the organizer, microphone "is open to Artistes: Poets, Spoken Word artistes, Rappers, Singers, Comedians, Instrumentalists, Writers of other genres, Karaoke Lovers," and many more, to do what they love to do best on the MIC.