10th Quramo Festival of Words revisits Nigeria Civil War trauma with Obasanjo as headliner
By Godwin Okondo
FORMER Nigerian President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo will lead opening conversations at this year’s Quramo Festival of Words (QFest) scheduled to hold October 1 – 3, 2026 at its traditional home, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. After the opening address by festival convener, Mrs. Gbemi Shasore, the former Nigerian president will give the keynote and engage with former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olasupo Shasore (SAN) in a revealing Fireside Chat. Obasanjo, an author of many critical books, including his civil war memoir, My Command, is expected to provide insight into aspects of the war and chart path towards genuine national reconciliation and brotherhood that many, especially those in the Eastern states, believe have eluded the country and which still fuel ethnic and political polarisation.
With the festival’s ‘Pieces of Us’ as telling theme, Chief Obasanjo will speak on ‘When Brothers Fight’ – Civil War (1967 – 1970): History, Identity & Nation Building. This is as Nigeria celebrates 66 years after independence and 56 years after the bloody war ended. Obasanjo’s account of his role in the war narrated in My Command provides a vivid account about the war. And for the second year running from 2025, QFest has dwelt on the Nigerian Civil War theme with ‘When Brothers Fight’ conversations designed to engender the elusive spirit of national reconciliation, unity and identity. Mrs. Shasore insists that enough conversation about the civil war was yet to be had for national and personal closure. She says that silence about the war was no longer an option, as many still suffer from the trauma it inflicted on them a nd the national psyche.
Chief Obasanjo’s intervention this year will possibly initiate the process of national healing. As a frontline soldier and commander during the war, QFest believes Nigeria’s former president still has much to do to accomplish the needed reconciliation and national unity.
Two more expository conversations that focus on the civil war will follow Obasanjo’s Fireside Chat. The firsts is a panel session titled ‘The Nigerian crisis (1967 – 1970: An Honest Path to Resolution and National Reconciliation’. Panel members include Deji Olatoye, C. Don Adinuba, Richard Mammah and Kadaria Ahmed, with moderation from Nze Ed Emeka Keazor. Keazor was among the panel members in last year’s conversation on the civil war subject. Thereafter, another panel on the war titled ‘The Nigerian Civil War: A Dialogue on Justice, Reconciliation and Healing’ will have Chief Chuck Nduka-Eze in conversation with Mr. Ibrahim James Pam.
The day closes with Maria G. Dyrvik’s Hope is a Word film show. All festival sessions are free-to-attend.
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
Quramo Writers Prize (QWP) will be awarded on Day Two followed by workshops and masterclasses by Kenyan culture journalist James Murua and ‘For the Love of Books’ panel session on ‘African Reading Culture & Building a Stronger Literary Ecosystem’ will feature Rovingheights founder, Mr. Dotun Eyinade, Dutch-based writer, Vamba Sherif, Sade Onabowale and Murua, with moderation from Nimotalai Oki. ‘The African Storyteller: Stories, Publishing, Success & the Writing Life’, a Book Chat between Nnamdi Ehrim and Elohor Egbordi will follow. Then a panel discussion on ‘Storytelling as Cultural Preservation’, presented by Loving Lagos, featuring Omofolarin T. O. Animashaun, travel writer and tour guide, Mr. Pelu Awofeso, James A. Anago-Osho and Babatunde Afolabi. It will be moderated by Akinlawon Adams.
Saturday, October 3, 2026 will start with workshops and masterclasses facilitated by Zukiswa Wanner. This will be followed by a conversation inspired by ‘Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes’ on the return of stolen African artefacts titled ‘Loot, Restitution and African Heritage’. Panel members include Barnaby Philips, Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Mr. Olugbile Holloway and the Director-General of the Centre for Black Art and African Civilisation (CBAAC), Aisha Adamu Augie. ‘Scroll. Click. Read: Digital Publishing, Changing Reading Habits and the Future of Storytelling’ follows immediately. It has Richard Ogundiya, Lola Alaka and David I. Adeleke as panel members while Temilade Adeyinka will moderate.
Morayo Afolabi-Brown will be in conversation wiwilmedia entrepreneur and author of How Depression Saved My Life, Chude Jideonwu while Vamba Sherif will read from his novels, Land of My Fathers and The Emperor’s Son. The festival will close with the launch of two novels by the winners of the past two editions of Quramo Writers Prize (QWP) and recently published by Quramo Publishers Ltd – The Inheritance of Days by Hubaidat Ishola and What Dreams Are Made Of’ by Chiziterem Chijoke.
Quramo Festival of Words has consistently held in the last nine years. This year’s is the celebration of its 10th milestone in festival organisation that brings some of the best culture makers from home and abroad. Last year, QFest had ‘A Brave New World’ as theme and hosted the internationally acclaimed Kenyan writer, Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Screen and stage diva, Joke Silva, featured in the Q-Conversation that takes the form of Fireside Chat this year.
