I want to revive performance poetry in FCT – Dike Chukwumerije

Unknown to most people living outside the Federal Capital Territory, literary activities have been flourishing there for some time now. Within the last few years, a number of literary and cultural organisations, including the popular Abuja Literary Society and the Association of Nigerian Authors, as well as theatre production outfits sprang up  in the city with a single mission: to resuscitate intellectual principles. One of those who have been in the forefront of this campaign is one of the sons of late Senator Uche Chukwumerije, Dike.

Although trained as a lawyer, Dike Chukwumerije is a novelist and poet. He is also a 2013 winner of the Association of Nigerian Authors Prize for Prose Fiction, with a penchant for literary activism and advocacy is well known to members of the literary community in Abuja.

With four books to his credit, including the award-winning novel, titled Urichi Ndere, Chukwumerije has, no doubt, earned a place for himself in the history of Nigerian literature. But, it seems that not enough attention has been given to his efforts to improve the quality of poetry performance and bringing it to larger and more sophisticated audiences beyond the FCT.

Apart from winning the 2011 edition of the Abuja Literary Society Poetry Slam, the author has since 2013 hosted an annual poetry event titled Night of Spoken Words in the city. The next edition of the event is scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 11 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. Announcing this, in a meeting with journalists recently, he said that beyond the simple recitation of poems the event would focus on a modern form of poetry that combines elements of traditional poetry with an energetic dramatic performance.

“We are doing it because we are trying to bring a bit of intellectualism into entertainment. It is highly intellectual and also highly entertaining. We have managed to fuse poetry with danceý, drama with music. It is an entire stage performance that involves collaboration across many arts forms,” he said.

Chukwumerije said the Night of Spoken Words event would also chronicle the historical landmark of Nigeria from 1914 till date using poetry.

He said, “We have been organising Night of Spoken Words since 2013. Two times in a year, we invite performance poets from different parts of the country to Abuja to showcase their talents. Last year, we took the event to another level when we introduced a stage play based on performance poetry. It was titled Made in Nigeria.

“This particular production tells the story of Nigeria from 1914 till date, using poetry, dance and drama. We held the show for the first time last year. The production ran for three days at the Merit House in Abuja. The reception was very good. We are planning to bring it back to Abuja soon.

“Made in Nigeria is like a musical. It is essentially based on 20 poems that are seamlessly linked by dance drama and music. We just came up through the decades telling different Nigerian stories that all together give you a feel of Nigeria’s socio-cultural political landscape over the years.

“The production brings to life certain events that took place in the 1970s, including the politics of that period and the anti-Apartheid struggle in South Africa. Also, it tells the story of the military era in governance across Africa, especially the period of military coups. It focuses on the 1980s and 1990s. There is also a poem about student unionism, which we have titled Aluta and which dramatises students protesting against the introduction of tuition fees in our tertiary institutions of learning, among others.” punch