Geneva, Switzerland held the world together in Peace. In a world wrestling with displacement, conflict, and loss, poetry found its voice and its audience at Geneva Peace Week 2025. The Sahel Scribes Poetry Club (SSPC) and other formidable organizers led a moving session titled “Poetry as Peace Praxis: Narratives of Hope from the Sahel,” bringing together poets, peacebuilders, and advocates for an afternoon of reflection and shared humanity.
Broadcast live from Geneva and streamed across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other parts of Africa and the world, the event pulsed with languages, laughter, and longing. Participants joined from Taraba, Abeokuta, Kano, Lagos, Borno, Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, and several other Nigerian states, weaving a dialogue that transcended geography and identity.
Abdulmalik Yahya (The Punsmith), Founder and President of the Sahel Scribes, delivered the opening remarks, welcoming participants and setting a tone of hope and creative expression.
The performances opened with Sajuda Mahmud Isa, whose multilingual poem in Hausa and English rippled through the virtual space, evoking both pain and persistence. Her verses soft yet unyielding captured the emotional rhythm of the Sahel: a terrain both wounded and wondrous.
Two poetry exhibitions followed. Alafia by Adesewa Alagbala offered a contemplative reflection on peace and femininity, while Canvas of Freedom by Lanre Sonde explored liberation and resilience through the fusion of imagery and verse. Each blurred the line between art and advocacy, revealing poetry as both vessel and voice for peace.
The panel discussion, moderated by Nankpak Cirfat, deepened the dialogue with thought-provoking questions: How can women in the Sahel use poetry to tell their stories? How can African poetry foster solidarity across borders? These questions opened space for heartfelt reflection among panelists and participants alike.
The co-organisers, Naija Poetry Fest Community (NPF), Connected Development (CODE), Mentminds, and the Arewa Peace Ambassadors Forum, emphasised the participatory power of poetry.
“Poetry is used as a tool of solace in the Sahel,” noted panelist Godson Osarenren, adding, “Writing in local dialects carries a quiet rebellion against erasure.”
That spirit of resistance echoed throughout the event. The fusion of Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and other Nigerian languages revealed a deeper truth: language itself can be a tool for resistance, and rhythm can be reclamation.
Safiya Alkali Ajikolo, a peace advocate and UNICEF collaborator, underscored the importance of inclusion. “Young people should be brought to the decision table,” she said. “Sharing poems of hope allows others to understand their views and affirm solidarity.” Her work in IDP camps has shown that storytelling, when nurtured, becomes both therapy and strategy.
For women in the Sahel, poetry offers something more, a platform for visibility. “Through social media, women can speak freely, be heard, and encouraged,” added Godson Osarenren, echoing the session’s theme that peace begins with being seen.
In the breakout sessions that followed, participants co-created poems around themes of peace, justice, tolerance, and coexistence.
Ambassador Nura Ali Abubakar led the group on understanding and coexistence;
Lanre Sonde guided the session on peace;
Asem Martina Biankie facilitated the group on tolerance;
Amina Halliru Isma’il moderated the session on justice.
Each room became a creative workshop, transforming shared experiences into lines of hope and resilience. The resulting poems will be compiled into an anthology, giving participants due credit for their contributions.
The event was gracefully moderated by Blessing Iyare, who connected participants across continents and encouraged spontaneous verses and heartfelt testimonies that built upon the collective heartbeat of the Sahel.
As the session drew to a close, Blessing reflected on the power of art to bridge silence. “It is not just about visibility,” Godson Osarenren remarked in conclusion. “It is about vitality.”
When Geneva faded into twilight and the Sahel’s sun dipped below the horizon, one truth lingered: hope from the Sahel is not only spoken, it is sung, written, and lived. And once again, Nigeria, in flying colours, stood proudly among nations, proving that peace can indeed begin with a poem.
