Ibadan – A Creative Capital: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
ÌBÀDÀN, a city with its own heritage of masquerades, monarchs and literary giants, is undeniably central to Nigeria’s cultural history. It is the city where writers, scholars, and artists came together to rethink what it means to be African as the continent rewrites its story, and where modern African literature found its footing. With the founding of the Mbari Club and the rise of publishing houses and poetry circles, Ìbàdàn became more than just a geographic location. It stood as a beacon of both creative ambitions and intellectual freedom.
But cities, like people, go through seasons. The golden years were followed by economic decline, political changes, and the slow drift of resources to other centres. Today, Ìbàdàn finds itself at a turning point. Now, the question is not whether it was once great, but whether it will rise again.
This panel brought together three voices who know Ìbàdàn in different ways: Professor Aderemi Raji-Oyelade, a poet and critic who grew up in the neighbourhoods of Ìbàdàn; Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi, a scholar who came to Ìbàdàn because of its literary reputation and stayed to help develop its film industry; and Olubunmi Familoni, a contemporary writer who returned to Ibadan to pursue his creative work. Together, they traced Ibadan’s journey through memory and prophecy, through past glory and future possibility. They spoke about what the city was, what it has become, and what it might yet become.