Poetry as a Bridge: An Evening with Wole Soyinka Unites Cultures
In celebration of World Poetry Day 2025, Providus Bank hosted An Evening with Wole Soyinka on March 21 at Terra Kulture, Lagos. The event brought together poets, intellectuals, and dignitaries from Nigeria and Cuba, highlighting poetry’s power to bridge cultural divides and celebrate human universality.
With the theme “Sand Dunes and Ocean Bed: The Template of Dispersal,” the evening explored the historical and cultural ties between Nigeria and Cuba, acknowledging the forced displacement of Africans centuries ago and the poetic and musical homage paid by their descendants. The event aligned with UNESCO’s global theme, “Poetry as a Bridge for Peace and Inclusion.”
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, Cuban Ambassador Miriam Morales Palmero, and Providus Bank CEO Walter Akpani were among the distinguished guests. Akpani praised Soyinka’s dedication to poetry, calling it “a force of nature, a movement, and an echo of the human spirit.” He encouraged poets to continue using their words to foster change, shape minds, and celebrate diversity.
Soyinka, unveiling his new musical poetry work-in-progress, “Image in a Month of Abstinence,”emphasized the enduring impact of displacement and migration, drawing parallels between historical slavery and modern displacements like the Maroko eviction in Lagos. He stressed that slavery still exists in different forms, making Cuba’s presence at the event a powerful reminder of both past injustices and the ongoing fight for freedom.
The evening was filled with mesmerizing spoken word and lyrical poetry performances from both Nigerian and Cuban artists, reinforcing poetry’s role as a universal language of identity, memory, and resilience.