On Saturday, January 31st, Kinora Restaurant by the Assembly in Ogbomoso hosted the first-ever slam poetry competition in the city. Branded the Motoni Olodun Slam, the event marked the 4th anniversary of the rebirth of Open Mic Ogbomoso, a community that has steadily grown from casual expression into a more intentional creative space.
Hosted by Czar Wex, with Poethick Mayor and Savvy Bolu serving as judges, the slam featured ten poets, most of them LAUTECH students, who took the stage to wrestle with themes of resilience and the political and economic realities of the country. For Ogbomoso, this was not just another open mic night. It was a declaration that the city was ready to test its voice under competitive pressure.
One of the most telling revelations of the night was that creativity in Ogbomoso is not confined to arts students. All three winners of the Motoni Olodun Slam are medical students, a reminder that poetry often emerges where intellectual pressure seeks emotional release. This echoes an earlier moment in Nigerian slam history, when Clemency Green dominated the Lagos scene in the mid-2010s, proving that discipline in one field does not preclude excellence in another.
The competition itself unfolded across three intense rounds. Energy filled the room. Metaphors cut through the air. Arms moved with urgency. The judges had their work cut out for them.
Yet the slam also revealed the limits of the current moment. Political commentary often stayed on the surface. Language played it safe. There was timidity in uniqueness, a reluctance to take real risks with ideas, form, and voice. The passion was evident. The depth is still in progress.
This is not unusual for a growing scene. Open Mic Ogbomoso is maturing, but maturity is not measured by enthusiasm alone. Depth, earned through wide reading, brave thinking, and disciplined writing, is now the currency required for the next phase.
When the dust settled, three voices rose to the top:
Their emergence marks an important milestone in the community’s history, not as a final verdict, but as a signal of direction.
If Open Mic Ogbomoso is to stand confidently on national stages in the future, the work ahead is clear. Poets must move beyond over-centralizing personal worldviews and begin engaging themes with greater reverberance, relatability, and recall. That journey demands reading widely, encountering diverse poetic traditions, and taking creative risks that may not always land cleanly but will always push the art forward.
The Motoni Olodun Slam was an investment into a community still finding its competitive voice. The journey is just starting. There is more mileage for your pen.
Keep writing.
