Amanze Chinonye
The 27th Lagos Book & Art Festival (LABAF) concluded on Sunday with a powerful and emotionally charged Grand Finale dedicated to honouring the memories of late cultural icons who helped shape Nigeria’s literary and artistic heritage.
The festival, organised by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), had opened on November 10 with a thematic focus on “Change: Imagining Alternatives.”
After a week of 62 literary, artistic, and cultural engagements across Freedom Park and the J. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, the closing ceremony offered a reflective counterbalance to the festival’s intellectually vibrant week.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe finale blended spoken word, poetry, and music in a curated tribute session that brought the audience to repeated moments of silence and applause.
Spoken word artist Grace Oni set the tone with a gripping performance exploring themes of memory and influence. Poets Sarah Adeyemo and Kehinde Ayeni followed with poignant readings that deepened the emotional atmosphere.
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Musical interludes by Lekan, and later Tanitoluwa and his band, added soulful layers to the evening, offering gentle transitions between the reflective performances.
The centrepiece of the night was the Official Reading of Tributes, a solemn segment in which selected readers honoured six departed cultural figures whose contributions spanned journalism, literature, visual arts, and cultural activism.
The tributes were delivered as follows:
- Nathaniel, for Evelyn Osagie
- Eniola, for Oreoluwa Shonibare
- Ebuka, for Mabel Segun
- Oromide, for Raymond Bola
- Grace, for Olu Ajayi
- Lateef, for Deji Rhodes
In one of the evening’s most touching gestures, organisers presented framed portraits of the honoured icons to some of their loved ones immediately after each reading.
The commemorative gifts drew visible emotion from families and attendees, reinforcing LABAF’s identity not only as a platform for literary celebration but also as a community anchored in shared memory.
The closing event marked the end of a festival described by CORA’s programme chair, Jahman Anikulapo, as a “feast of ideas and life,” advancing the movement for literacy, cultural engagement, and societal transformation through the arts.
With partnerships from over a dozen cultural bodies, youth-led operations under the CORA Volunteers Corps, and an expanding presence at the J. Randle Centre, LABAF 2025 reaffirmed its status as a major force in Nigeria’s cultural landscape culminating in a finale that paid heartfelt homage to the icons whose legacies continue to inspire.
Amanze Chinonye is a Staff Correspondent at Prime Business Africa, a rising star in the literary world, weaving captivating stories that transport readers to the vibrant landscapes of Nigeria and the rest of Africa. With a unique voice that blends with the newspaper's tradition and style, Chinonye's writing is a masterful exploration of the human condition, delving into themes of identity, culture, and social justice. Through her words, Chinonye paints vivid portraits of everyday African life, from the bustling markets of Nigeria's Lagos to the quiet villages of South Africa's countryside . With a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of the complexities of Nigerian society, Chinonye's writing is both a testament to the country's rich cultural heritage and a powerful call to action for a brighter future. As a writer, Chinonye is a true storyteller, using her dexterity to educate, inspire, and uplift readers around the world.
