When poetry came alive: My NIPOCON 2026 experience

By Efe Bello

I went to a poetry conference, and poetry walked home with me! It was a 2-day experience of words, wonder, wisdom and a wake-p call to write. For some gatherings you attend, you take pictures, applaud, and move on. But for others, you sit quietly in your spirit and begin to rearrange something within you. For me, the 1st Nigerian Poetry Conference (NIPOCON 2026) was the latter.

Held on Friday, 7th and Saturday, 8th August 2026, at Elders’ Place, Idi-Ape, Ibadan, and convened by the President of Poetry Enclave (POEN), Ibadan, Ebika Anthony, NIPOCON 2026 was a powerful conference of two unforgettable days under the compelling theme: ‘Poetry for Activism and Change.’ And honestly, what a conference! I arrived on Friday for the 1:00pm arrival/registration, probably thinking I was simply going to attend just a poetry conference and for the pleasure of the experience.

Little did I know that I was stepping into a room where words wore garments of many colours, voices carried different textures, and creativity breathed freely. By Saturday, which was Day 2 of the conference, I was no longer merely an attendee. I became a student of the world I had been observing from a distance; the fascinating world of poetry, creative writing, performance, literature, culture and the transformative power of the written word. I was impressed. I was mesmerised. I was stirred!

The gathering brought together an impressive blend of erudite scholars, poets, thespians, writers, intellectuals, creatives and lovers of culture and the literary arts. And then came the performances! Oh, the performances. Some words were spoken. Some were acted. Some were sung.

But every single word was felt, simply finding their way into that quiet place in the heart where inspiration is born. For me, one of the greatest revelations of NIPOCON 2026 was realising that those poetic thoughts that occasionally dance through my mind should not be allowed to disappear into thin air, but harvested and carefully curated to share with the world.

How many beautiful thoughts have I lost simply because I thought, “Oh, I will remember it later”! How many striking expressions, metaphors, reflections and little pieces of wisdom have passed through my mind, only to vanish because I failed to capture them? No more! NIPOCON sounded a gentle but unmistakable alarm in me:
WRITE IT DOWN!
Keep the journal close.
Capture the thought.
Record the phrase.
Preserve the metaphor.
Write the feeling.
Document the idea.
Because sometimes, a fleeting thought is carrying a message bigger than the moment in which it arrived.

And I left the 1st Nigerian Poetry Conference with a renewed consciousness to become more intentional about writing, especially those creative and poetic messages that keep bubbling within me about change, liberation, transformation, peace and love.

Then came the keynote address by a literary stylistician of the English Department, University of Ibadan, Dr. Akin Tella. What an intellectually stimulating session it was! Tella’s keynote address did not merely give us something to listen to; it opened doors for conversations, questions and deeper reflections about language, literary expression and the craft of writing.

The discussions that followed the keynote address were engaging, enlightening and, for someone like me, another reminder that there is always more to discover when words are treated not merely as sentences, but as instruments of change.

Mrs. Efe Bello (left); convener, NIPOCON 2026, Mr. Ebika Anthony and Ebiere Anthony at the poetry conference in Ibadan

Another particularly interesting session came from the Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria (REPRONIG) and especially from the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), which brought an important dimension to the gathering, the protection of writers’ rights and intellectual property. That session was a strong reminder that our words have value. Our creative works have value. Our intellectual labour has value. We must therefore not only learn to create; we must learn to protect what we create.

And then there was the networking, the conversations, encounters, laughter, exchanges and the sheer joy of being surrounded by people who understand the peculiar excitement of chasing a thought until it becomes a sentence, a stanza, a performance, a story or perhaps a movement.

Looking back, I realise that Mr. Anthony’s inspired NIPOCON 2026 was more than a conference for me. It was a wake-up call. A call to pay attention to the thoughts that visit me. A call to stop allowing beautiful words to escape. A call to keep journals and deliberately to write more. A call to sharpen my creative voice. A call to become more conscious of the responsibility that comes with words. And perhaps, most importantly, a call to remember that poetry does not have to remain confined to beautiful lines on a page.

It can challenge.
It can heal.
It can liberate.
It can awaken.
It can preserve memory.
It can confront injustice.
It can build bridges.
And ultimately, it can be a catalyst to change in society.

So, I thank Poetry Enclave (POEN), Ibadan, and I give kudos to the convener, Mr. Anthony, for bringing together a remarkable community of minds at the historic 1st Nigerian Poetry Conference (NIPOCON 2026). I attended as a participant. I left more alert, more inspired and perhaps, a little more intentional with a pen! Because now, when that poetic thought comes knocking at the oddest hour, I know exactly what to do. And who knows? Perhaps, somewhere between the pages of a journal, a poem is waiting to become a voice for peace, a spark for change, a message of love or a seed of transformation.

At NIPOCON 2026, I heard poetry, I felt poetry, and poetry walked home with me, urging me to write!

* Bello, a poet, is based in Ibadan