Niyi Osundare Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at 10th Lagos Poetry Festival

Yinka Olatunbosun

In a moment of tribute, the Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFest) bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on Professor Niyi Osundare during the festival’s 10th-anniversary opening ceremony. The honour, presented alongside performances and the festival’s inaugural Decennial Awards, affirmed Osundare’s towering presence in African poetry and his enduring influence on global literary culture.

Tade Ipadeola, himself a laureate of the NLNG Literature Prize, introduced Osundare with a poetic flourish, describing him as “born of songmakers and farmers,” a lineage that has fuelled a lifetime of work rooted in the rhythms of the land and the resilience of its people. 

Osundare, he noted, is “Africa’s foremost eco-poet, whose voice has become all the more urgent amidst today’s climate crises”. Ipadeola eulogised Osundare’s vast influence, adding that: “If you see a page or stage poet in Nigeria today, one way or the other, that poet has been touched by Prof. Niyi Osundare. He has shown that talent and tradition can go hand in hand and advance the course of human life on the planet.”

Although joining virtually from Serbia, where he simultaneously received the “Golden Key of Smederevo” at the Serbia Poetry Festival, Osundare expressed gratitude to the LIPFest team. He lauded the festival’s decade-long effort to “keep the fire of poetry burning”, championing both the literary arts and the intellectual rigour that sustains them.

This award is one of many laurels in Osundare’s distinguished career. He was also recently the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Furious Flower Poetry Center in Virginia — at the world’s largest gathering of Black poets. 

Osundare’s work continues to transcend borders, languages, and disciplines. His prolific output includes collections such as The Eye of the Earth and Green: Sighs Of Our Ailing Planet, both seminal works that blend ecological advocacy with the lyrical traditions of his Yoruba heritage.

Osundare’s recognition anchored an evening of honours that also celebrated two other literary luminaries. Sage Hasson received a Special Recognition Award for pioneering spoken word poetry in Nigeria. His headline performance at the festival exemplified the raw power and immediacy that have characterized his career. Jumoke Verissimo was also honoured for her genre-defying contributions to contemporary Nigerian poetry, a body of work that continues to resonate across generations.

The festival continued across four days, with interdisciplinary conversations and performances bringing poets, scientists, artists and public intellectuals from around the world to Lagos. Themed The Science of Things, the festival explored the intersection of poetry and scientific inquiry in a rapidly changing world. Highlights included panels such as Does Climate Science Need a New Language?, which examined how poetry can reframe urgent climate debates, and Parallel Lines: Poetry, Science, and the Pursuit of Truth, a dialogue between molecular biologist, Dr. Ify Aniebo, and poet, Wana Udobang.

Performances enriched the programme, with shows like Heaven is a Lonely Place, a one-man spoken-word production addressing trauma and resilience, and Quantum Poetics, a command performance featuring an eclectic mix of local and international poets. Community-focused events, such as The People and Poetry, brought grassroots energy to the festival, while a dynamic poetry slam saw young talents competing for recognition and rewards, underscoring LIPFest’s commitment to discovering new voices.

Reflecting on the festival’s decade-long journey, Festival Director Efe Paul Azino remarked: “The harsh political climate and culture wars of the moment underscore the centrality of poetry and art in helping us navigate and make sense of the times. For 10 years, LIPFest has been committed to preserving a space for dialogue and co-creation. Our goal, as we look to the next decade, is to create ecosystems and supporting infrastructure that reflects poetry’s enduring ability to inspire, connect and provoke meaningful change.”