Ogun Marks 2024 Cross Country Poetry celebration with funfair

.World has moved from STEM To STEAM – Sanyaolu 

It was like a poetry festival at the USC (Cathedral) Hall, Abeokuta, Ogun State, last weekend, as poets and students across the state converged to commemorate the 2024 Cross Country Poetry Celebration.

The event, held in various locations in the country simultaneously, and in its third edition, saw presentation of poems in various forms, with a Certificate of Participation given to each attendee who presented a poem, hosted by Mr Babatunde Sanyaolu and Mr Adeṣọla Adenẹkan, as co-host.

The yearly event is an initiative of Poets in Nigeria (PIN), whose President is Mr Eriata Oribhabor. For this 2024 edition, with the theme: The Power and Pleasure of Poetry, the National Moderator was Basira Rabiu Idris from Kebbi State.

In his welcome address, the host, Sanyaolu, said poetry cuts across the board in the field of education, as it is not limited to the arts as erroneously believed by some people.

He emphasised that the world have moved from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics).

His claim was confirmed with a few of the presentations at the event, which were based on science.

In his goodwill message, a Judge of Ogun State High Court, Hon Justice Martins A. Akinyemi, said he: “Poetry as we all know, is one of the genres of literature that sustains, gives blood to it. I say blood because withdrawing that aspect of literature is like coughing life out of it. It is on this precipitate, that I say PIN in its voyage of choosing a theme for this year’s Cross Country Poetry Celebration hits the nail on its head.

“The power and pleasure of poetry is indubitably reminding the world at large, the reality that literature portrays. As a student of literature, I am proud to say that no aspect of human endeavour or discipline is not reflected in literature.

“Dear friends, in a world that often rushes past, literature invites us to pause, reflect, and explore the depths of the human experience. It opens doors to diverse cultures, ideas and emotions, allowing us to walk in the shoes of others and see the world through different lenses.”

He credited his current status to literature, noting that his style of writing, the way he speaks and relate mostly derived from the subject. “As a student, literature makes one understand the rudiments of living a good life. Little wonder, literature is an unassailable subject requirement in the study of law as a profession.

“Literature takes you through different tastes and experiences of life, which tames your perspective on what content life is made of. I should say therefore, there is no theme of life you will not find in it. To forget one of the poems that now stares reality on my face, to say the least, will be doing a disservice to literature.”