By Editor
THE United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has officially partnered with Christopher Okigbo Foundation to host a high-level commemorative event in honour of one of Africa’s most influential poets, Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo. The event is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, August 28, 2025, from 11 am to 2 pm, at the UNESCO Nigeria Office, UN Building, Constitution Avenue, Abuja.
Scheduled to be held in collaboration with the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), the gathering has as theme, ‘The Importance of Christopher Okigbo’s Nomination into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register and Its Impact on Nigeria’s Cultural Heritage and Literary History.’
This event is organised to celebrate Okigbo’s recent nomination into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, a prestigious international recognition that highlights the significance of his literary manuscripts and contributions to world literature. The commemorative event will feature a keynote address, a thought-provoking panel session moderated, a spoken word and poetry performances inspired by Okigbo’s work, an exhibition showcasing rare manuscripts, photographs, and visual tributes and reflections on Christopher Okigbo and Igbo spirituality.
“This partnership between UNESCO and Christopher Okigbo Foundation reflects our shared commitment to preserving and promoting Africa’s literary and cultural heritage,” said a representative of UNESCO Nigeria, Ifeanyi Ajaeggbo. “Okigbo’s work is not only a national treasure but a global legacy.”
This celebration reaffirms the role of literature in preserving identity, promoting cultural dialogue, and advancing collective memory.
Okigbo (1932–1967) is widely regarded as one of Africa’s most original and profound poetic voices. Born in Ojoto, Anambra State, Okigbo was not only a gifted poet but also a symbol of literary courage and cultural consciousness. His poetry, rich in Igbo spirituality, Greek mythology, and modernist technique, stands as a powerful bridge between the ancestral and the avant-garde. Okigbo would tragically die in battlefront after he abandoned his pen for the gun to defend his ancestral land during the Nigerian Civil War at the Nsukka front at Opi Junction. He was one of the early casualties of the war.
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