Beyond The Page & The Stage: Lokoja Colloquium To Revisit Olu Obafemi’s Power Of Literary Criticism

FEDERAL University Lokoja is preparing to place a fundamental question before Nigeria’s literary and academic communities: how can creativity become a powerful instrument for questioning society and imagining change?

The university will explore this question at its fourth annual colloquium in honour of Emeritus Professor Olu Obafemi on Wednesday 11 November 2026. Scheduled for 12 noon at the Multi-Purpose Hall, Felele Campus, the event will form part of activities for the institution’s 2026 convocation ceremony.

Organised in collaboration with the Department of English and Literary Studies, the colloquium will focus on “Creativity as Criticism in Olu Obafemi’s Works.” The theme places the relationship between imagination and critical inquiry at the heart of the gathering, inviting scholars to examine how literature can do more than entertain or preserve cultural experiences.

Indeed, creative writing often provides a distinctive way of confronting social contradictions. Through plays, poems and other literary forms, writers can question authority, expose injustice, explore cultural identity and challenge assumptions that shape public life. Accordingly, this year’s colloquium will consider how Obafemi’s works contribute to these conversations and what contemporary scholars can learn from his intellectual approach.

Obafemi occupies a distinguished place in Nigeria’s literary landscape. A National Merit Award recipient, he has built a reputation as a literary scholar, playwright, poet and teacher whose contributions have helped shape the development of literature and theatre in the country.

His career also provides a valuable basis for discussing the relationship between artistic practice and social responsibility. Rather than separating creativity from the realities surrounding it, the colloquium’s theme encourages participants to consider how writers transform lived experiences and public concerns into critical artistic expression.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Gbenga Solomon Ibileye has described the annual gathering as a living forum for celebrating an outstanding scholar, writer, teacher and mentor. For Ibileye, the occasion carries personal meaning because Obafemi has served as a mentor and an example of intellectual and ethical commitment.

Yet the Vice-Chancellor has made clear that the event’s significance does not rest solely on this personal connection. Its wider value lies in the discussions it generates about education, power, justice, artistic responsibility, cultural identity and shared humanity.

Those subjects give the colloquium relevance beyond literary scholarship. For instance, questions about power and justice extend into political and civic life, while discussions about education and cultural identity speak directly to the responsibilities of universities in shaping public understanding. By bringing these issues into the study of literature, the programme can connect creative expression with the wider experiences of Nigerian society.

The university established the colloquium in 2023 under the leadership of former Vice-Chancellor Professor Olayemi Akinwumi. His administration recognised that Obafemi’s intellectual contributions warranted sustained academic engagement rather than occasional commemorations.

Consequently, the inaugural event established a platform through which scholars could examine the honouree’s works, ideas and influence. The second edition followed in 2024, and the third took place in 2025, consolidating the programme as an annual gathering.

The fourth edition will now continue that tradition while placing a sharper emphasis on creativity as a form of criticism. This approach invites participants to explore how imaginative writing can interpret social experience, reveal contradictions and open up possibilities for change.

It also raises important questions about the purpose of literature. Must a creative work merely reflect the society in which it emerges, or can it challenge that society to reconsider its values and institutions? How do writers balance artistic freedom with the ethical implications of the subjects they explore? And in what ways can literary criticism deepen public understanding of the realities represented in creative works?

These questions provide a framework for the expected presentations and discussions. More importantly, they offer an opportunity to assess the continuing relevance of Obafemi’s literary and intellectual contributions to contemporary debates.

Professor Abiodun Adeniyi, Vice-Chancellor of Baze University, Abuja, will chair the event. The anticipated presenters are Professor S. T. Babatunde of the University of Ilorin; Professor Sola Adeyemi of the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom; Professor Ofure Aito of Federal University Lokoja; and Dr. Funke Aliyu of the University of Ilorin.

The organisers will conduct the colloquium in a hybrid format. As a result, participants will be able to join the proceedings either in person or remotely, extending opportunities for academic engagement beyond the Felele Campus.

Beyond the paper presentations, the gathering is expected to draw principal university officers, academics, literary scholars, students and other invited guests. Their participation will bring different perspectives to a conversation that connects literary creativity with questions of social responsibility and intellectual development.

Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo will attend as Special Guest of Honour. Other invited university leaders include Professor Wahab Egbewole of the University of Ilorin; Professor Abdulrahman Asipita Salawu of Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara; Professor K. I. T. Eniola of Kogi State University, Kabba; and Professor Solomon Ajayi Adebo of Adeleke University, Ede.

Representatives of major literary and cultural organisations are also expected. They include Professor Andrew Haruna, President of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, and the academy’s Vice-President, Professor Sunday Enessi Ododo. Dr. Usman Oladipo Akanbi, President of the Association of Nigerian Authors, and Dr. Wale Okediran, Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers Association, are also among the distinguished invitees.

Furthermore, the programme will welcome Dr. Adedapo Gbadega, Chairman of the Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria (REPRONIG), and Dr. Sonny Echonor, Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

The breadth of the expected attendance reflects the event’s ambition to connect literary inquiry with the wider institutions that support scholarship, writing and cultural development. It also reinforces the place of universities as spaces where ideas can be examined critically and intellectual traditions can be passed on to younger generations.

Ultimately, the colloquium will offer more than an opportunity to honour a respected Nigerian scholar. It will create a platform for examining how creative works engage with the world, challenge established thinking and encourage alternative ways of understanding society.

By sustaining this annual initiative, Federal University Lokoja will continue to recognise Obafemi’s contributions while inviting scholars and students to engage with the questions his work brings into focus. The central challenge, however, extends beyond the event itself: to ensure that the critical spirit celebrated in the colloquium continues to inform literary scholarship, creative practice and public discourse.

For enquiries, interested participants may contact Dr. Peter Okpeh, Head of the Department of English and Literary Studies; Dr. Abba Abba, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee; or Dr. Grace Olarewaju, the committee’s secretary.