Award-winning poet Ogaga Ifowodo said he chose Leah Shaibu as the central figure in his book, Why Does God Need a Gun, to preserve her story and those of other terrorism victims.
Ifowodo, who won the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature for the book, spoke in Lagos on Sunday about the role of literature in documenting violence, challenging extremism and preserving the identities of victims.
Shaibu was abducted alongside her schoolmates in 2018 and became a symbol of resistance after reportedly refusing to renounce her Christian faith while in captivity.
The poet said he transformed her experience into a literary voice that challenges the perpetrators’ claims to religious authority while highlighting the human cost of extremism.
He described Shaibu as a poetic persona representing not only herself but also other victims of terrorism, including the Chibok schoolgirls, abducted schoolboys and families displaced by violence.
“For all we know, the account we are giving today of Boko Haram, or the religious terrorism that is confronted in literature, will be what will endure,” he said.
Ifowodo argued that literature could serve as a lasting historical record by preserving experiences that might otherwise be forgotten or distorted in official accounts.
He said his writing was inseparable from his history of activism and his belief that art should engage with societal experiences and injustices.
The poet added that winning the Nigeria Prize for Literature offered both financial reward and recognition of his work, strengthening his resolve to continue writing.
His book emerged as the winning entry from 223 submissions, earning him the $100,000 prize.
However, Ifowodo cautioned writers against making awards their primary motivation, stressing that a genuine commitment to literature should go beyond accolades and financial rewards.
He maintained that writers should focus on the value of their work and its contribution to society rather than allowing the pursuit of recognition to determine their creative direction.
Also Read:Â Uzoigwe, Adejare clinch inaugural poetry prize titles
Abiola highlights gaps in Nigeria’s music archives
Another awardee, filmmaker Feranmi Abiola, who won $20,000 in the literature category for her documentary, Mara Mania, highlighted the lack of documented archives on emerging Nigerian music genres.
Abiola said the absence of historical records and archival materials on Mara music posed a major challenge to researching and documenting the country’s evolving music culture.
She explained that she began the filmmaking process by spending time with the community behind the genre, interviewing its practitioners and studying their experiences before filming.
The approach helped her understand the people driving the sound and the cultural experiences shaping its development.
Abiola described Mara as an emerging Lagos sound that blends street music with soulful, emotionally driven elements, distinguishing it from other popular street music styles.
She said the genre incorporates diverse musical influences, including sounds associated with Brazil and India, alongside instruments such as violins and horns.
The filmmaker said the title Mara Mania captures the genre’s high-energy, frenzied atmosphere, particularly its popularity on social media platforms such as TikTok.
She explained that the documentary explores the sound’s appeal and the community surrounding it, providing a record of a developing musical movement.
Abiola added that her approach to documentary filmmaking involves building relationships with the people at the centre of a story, understanding their lives and experiences, and conducting further research to establish context and authenticity.
She emphasised the importance of thorough research and engagement with communities in producing documentaries that accurately represent their subjects.
The experiences shared by both awardees highlight the role of creative works in preserving stories and cultural expressions that might otherwise be lost, from the experiences of terrorism victims to the development of emerging Nigerian music genres.
NAN
