MONDAY Nov 10
YOUTH ASSEMBLY

10am: Seminar @ Kongi’s Art Gallery
Event: A workshop/conversation on literature, technology, human creativity intersects.
Theme: AI: A Silver Lining for the creatives?
Featuring: Hands-on session introducing participants to accessible AI tools — writing aids, research assistants,
design platforms | Demonstrations on AI for storytelling, publishing, education, and social impact
projects
(Anchored by Babatunde Odubanwo)

11am: The Mabel Segun Celebration @ Green Space
Event: Children Literary group pay tribute to Matriarch of Nigerian Literature
Feature: Children|pupils stage excerpts from the Readers Theatre
Text: Readers Theatre Series by Mabel Segun
(Produced by the CORA YCC with the Mabel Segun Foundation)

2pm: Ngugi Season Session 1 @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Review and Discussions
Text: Petals of Blood
Discussants: Folorunsho Kehinde, poet, educator | Ajelara Al-Awwal Seye, writer, critic | Uchechukwu
Deiperemo, poet, writer
Moderator: Evidence Ahiaho Writer, storyteller, arts scholar

3.30pm: Ngugi Season IB @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Mentorship
Theme: Language and Politics in African Literature
Guest Mentor: Kola Tubosun, writer, researcher, Director Olongo Africa

4.30pm: Open Mic/Do your Own Thing @ Basket Ball Space
Event: Participants engage in free creative expressions
Features: Music. Poetry. Dance. Drama. Monologues

7pm: Film Screening @ Foodcourt
Film: Who is Afraid of Ngugi; (dir. Manthia Diawara; 82mins; 2024)
(Produced by iREP & CORA)

Lagos Book & Arts Festival (LABAF) is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Theme: Change: Imagining Alternatives

Date: Nov 10 – 16, 2025
Time: 9:00am – 7:00pm West Central Africa

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83443405013?pwd=eqfDHcYqaYeMnDCfblBoAxElz2zMNn.1

Meeting ID: 834 4340 5013
Passcode: LABAF2025

---

TUESDAY Nov 11
LITERACY DAY 1

10am: Colloquium by CORA YOUTH CREATIVE CLUB @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Events: Discussion | Workshop
Theme: AI & Humanity
Subtheme: Beyond the Page: Imagining the Future of Reading in a Tech-Driven World – How digital innovation,
AI, and new media are transforming reading, storytelling, and literary culture.
Speakers: Paschal Onuorah, founder, ComplianceIQ.ai | Oluwasogo O, founder, Data Epic | Tijani Sule Usman, digital
artist, designer, and AI creative | Lede Adeniyi, host, The Pulse of Tech Podcast
Moderator: Sandra Alabi, media strategist, literary enthusiast
Workshop: AI for Readers and Writers: From Page to Performance
(Certificate of Internship for three best participants)
Mentor: Michael Orokola, software engineer, Founder & CEO, StoreBounty.com and TalkingData.ai

11am: The Mabel Segun Celebration @ Green Space
Event: Children Literary group pay tribute to Matriarch of Nigerian Literature
Feature: Children stage excerpts from the Readers Theatre
(Produced by the CORA YCC with the Mabel Segun Foundation)

2pm: Ngugi Season Session IIA @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Events: Reviews|Discussions:
Text: I Will Marry When I Want and The River Between
Discussants: Joyce O. John, writer |Aijinnahen S. Ludovic, historian |Ayeni Taiwo, writer, critic |
Ajelara Al-Awwal Seye, writer, critic |Ayeni K. Silas, writer, critic
Moderator: Lateef Odetunde, Writer, team lead at EduWrite Africa, political activist

3.30pm: Ngugi Season Session IIB @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Mentorship
Theme: Contents & Forms of African Classic Literature
Festival Guest: Dr Carl Death (USA), researcher-scholar on Climate Change and Social Justice

4pm: Exhibitions @Museum Building & Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Opening of Festival Exhibition projects
i. Timeless Memories: Elastic Effects of Wole Soyinka VIII @ Kongi’s Harvest
Theme: State Repression and Intellectual Defiance: Soyinka’s Struggle Against the Abacha Regime (1993–1998)

ii. Cartoon Association of Nigeria – CARTAN @ Museum Building
Theme: ‘A Life Well Drawn 2’: Celebrating dele jegede @80
Seminar: Political Cartoon in Nation Building
Discussants: Ebun Aleshinloye | Dr Akin Onipede | Morak Tade | Mike Asukwo | Chino Obasi

iii. Digital Illustration
Theme: Reflection: Water Knows My Name
A collection of experimental digital paintings by TJayWebmaster

iv. Anufotogirl Photo Exhibition
Theme: Mama Nike Gele – Crowning Grace
Special Guest of Honour: Chief Nike Okundaye, founder Nike Arts Gallery

v. Performance Art by Jelili Atiku @ FP Arena
Theme: Ọfẹrẹ’gẹ̀gẹ̀, Lets Peace Awake

4.30pm: OPEN MIC/DO YOUR OWN THING @@ Basket Ball Space
Event: Participants engage in free Creative Expressions
Features: Music. Poetry. Dance. Drama. Monologues

6pm: PERFORMING ARTS @Foodcourt
Event: Storytelling/SIAMSA session
Anchored by Aduke Gomez, poet, literary activist
Special Guest: Mr Peter Ryan, Irish Ambassador to Nigeria
(Supported by Irish Embassy)

Special feature: Bolanle Atitebi story moment

Acoustic music |Music from the Box
Features: Solo performer | DJ Valentino on the wheel

7pm: Poetry Nite @ Foodcourt/Amphitheatre
Event: Special celebration of Poets of Nigeria @10
(Produced by: PIN & CORA
WEDNESDAY Nov 12
READERS’ DAY

9am: CYCC @ Green Space
Event: Assemblage of students for various secondary schools engage in creative
Productions and expressions
Feature: Art & Craft workshop, performance art, speech making, etc
Special Feature: BookTrek: SEE, by Munirat Shitta-Bey
(Produced by Events by Nature & CORA)

10 am: Symposium @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Reviews|Discussions
Text: Echoes of Eko, by Adesokan Ridwan Opeyemi, writer, educator, pubic speaker
Moderator: Fadairo Olakunle, writer, journalist, and event host

11am: The Mabel Segun Celebration @ Green Space
Event: Children Literary groups pay tribute to Matriarch of Nigerian Literature
Feature: Children stage excerpts from the Readers Theatre
(Produced by the CORA YCC with the Mabel Segun Foundation)

12noon: Writing Workshop@ Kongi’s Harvest Art Gallery
Event: Guest Writer mentors young writers in the
Art and practice of writing
Instruction: Ola Majekodunmi of “Fighting Words” initiative

2pm: Ngugi Season Session IIA @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Events: Review| Discussions:
Text: Weep Not, Child
Discussants: Ojolowo Oluwatobiloba Ezekiel | Ajiboye Oluwagbotemi J | Fathia Omobolanle Yakub
Moderator: Adesokan Sodiq, writer, educator, academic researcher, pubic speaker

3.30pm: Ngugi Season Session IIB @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Mentorship
Theme: Contents & Forms of African Classic Literature
Guest Mentor: Prof Adetunji Tunji Azeez, theatre academic/practitioner, culture scholar, LASU

4pm: Kayode Aderinokun Poetry Prize (KAPP) 1st Session
Event: Preliminnary stage of the KAPP competition
Compere: Triumph Akinboye, TV and Corporate Presenter, Events and Red Carpet host

5pm: CORA-SONTA Dialogue @(Kongi’s Harvest Gallery)
Theme: Prospects of the Performing Arts in the Digital Age
Subthemes: Theatrical Performances/Performers: The Pains, the Gains, the Possibilities
Speakers: SONTA, NANTAP, GOND, SPAN etc
(Directed by Prof Tunji Azeez, President, Society f Nigerian Theatre Artists, SONTA

6pm: Performsnce Art @ Park Arena
Event: GARB
Anchor: Femi Morgan

7pm: Performances @ Foodcourt
Event: Drama|Dance|Skits performances

8pm: Film screening @ Amphitheatre
Title: Platter of Gold: Journey of An African Colony, (1”59:54”; 2019, Nig)
Written & produced by Olasupo Sasore
Director: BB Shasore
Producer: Quramo Productions

THURSDAY, Nov 13
LITERACY DAY 2
9am: CYCC @ Green Space
Event: Assemblage of students fromr various secondary schools engage in creative
Productions and expressions
Feature: Art & Craft workshop, performance art, speech making, etc
(Produced by Events by Nature & CORA)

10am: Publishers’-Readers Forum @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Theme: AI and the of Publishing, literary production, and consumption
Anchor: Samuel Osaze,
(Produced by CORA and NBRP)

11am: Storytelling Workshop @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Speaker: Karri Odidi, writer, digital strategist, and advocate for meaningful change

11am: The Mabel Segun Celebration @ Green Space
Event: Children Literary group pay tribute to Matriarch of Nigerian Literature
Feature: Children stage excerpts from the Readers Theatre
(Produced by the CORA YCC with the Mabel Segun Foundation)

12noon: Masterlass @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Workshop and mentorship for young/beginner writers
Theme: The Science Fiction Genre — Horror, Fantasy, etc
Instructor Dele Sikuade, author of ORISHA

2pm: Ngugi Season Session III @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Events: Review|Discussions:
Text: Devil on the Cross
Discussants: Oluwafemi Sanjo, AM Johnson, Kehinde Folorunsho, Oromide Olatunji, Oriola Ayanlaja
Moderator: Adedapo Victor, Writer, Founder/Executive Director, Devica Art Production

4pm: CORA-PEN Dialogue @ Esther’s Revenge
Theme: Reimagining Storytelling in Digital Age: How writers can balance natural creativity and AI-generated narratives
Panelists: Ralph Tathagata, poet, activist | C. M. Okonkwo, writer, literary enthusiast
Moderator: Dr Folu Agoi, poet, academic, literary activist
(Produced by CORA and PEN)

4pm: BookTrek I @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Author in conversation with audience on their books
Features:
• Chude Jidenwo’s How Depression Saved My Life
Reviewer:???
Moderator: ????
(Anchored by Mercy Kelani)

5pm: Kayode Aderinokun Poetry Prize (KAPP) 2nd Session
Event: Finals of the KAPP competition
Compere: Triumph Akinboye, TV and Corporate Presenter, Events and Red Carpet host

6pm: The Kayode Aderinokun@75 Celebration @ Mainstage
Event: Celebration of 75th birthday anniversary of CORA Chairman, Chief Aderinokun
Feature: i. Live Reading|Performance of poems from Inferno in the Rain
ii. Launch of Revised Inferno in the Rain
iii. Screening of Interviews

8pm: Festival Cocktail @ Foodcourt
Event: Wine | Dine | Live band

9pm: Spinning on the Wheel @ Foodcourt
Event: DJ Valentino thrills till last guest leaves

FRIDAY, Nov 14
CORA DAY

9am: Opening of GREEN FESTIVAL @ Foodcourt
Creative workshops and expressions by the children/student’s segment of LABAF

11am: The BOOK IN MY LIFE @ Green Space
A well-known public intellectual/actor/writer/filmmaker……cerebral celebrity, mentors
students on importance of reading and education. Session is also called MY ENCOUNTER WITH BOOK.
Guest of Honour:

1pm: Symposium @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Panel on climate Change:
Theme: Imperative of Tourism as Climate Change Agent
Special Guest presentation: Dr Carl Death (USA), researcher-scholar on Climate Change and Social Justice
(Produced by Let the Earth Breathe Initiative (NGO}

2pm: COLLOQUIUM @ JRandle Centre, Onikan
Festival Theme: Change: Imagining Alternatives
Festival Keynote: Waziri Adio, journalist, writer, ED, Agora Policy
Chairman: Kunle Ajibade, journalist, ED The News/PMNews; author, Jailed for Life

2.30 pm: SYMPOSIUM @ JRandle Centre, Onikan
Subtheme: They Won the Epic Struggle, But Is This What We Signed For?
Feature Books:
i. Adventures of a Guerilla Journalist; by Babafemi Ojudu
ii. Demonstration of Craze by Abdul Oroh
Discussants: Ogaga Ifowodo (PhD), poet, columnist-activist | Chinelo Nworah, poet, literary activist|
Nathaniel Olawoyin, actor, literary activist | Sylvester Akhaine (PhD), Scholar, activist
Moderator: Kunle Ajibade: journalist, writer, Executive Director, The News/PM News

4.00pm: SYMPOSIUM @J. K Randle
Subtheme: Rewriting This Apology?
Featured Books:
i. This Fiction Called Nigeria by Adewale Maja-Pearce
ii. Portraits, by Reuben Abati
Discussants: Toni Kan, writer, media entrepreneurs | Armsfree Ajanaku journalist, media executive|
Opeyemi Adesokan, writer, literary activist

5.00pm: READERS ASSEMBLY@ JR Centre
SubTheme: Securing Memory, Effecting Change
Feature: Performed readings of SANYA by Oyin Olugbile, winner of the $100,000 NPL 2025
Reader/Performer: Nathaniel Olawoyin, actor, literary activist | Aysha Abdullahi, writer, literary enthusiast
(Supported by NLNG)

5.30pm: BOOKTREK @ Green Space
Event: JOY of READING 1
Featured Books:
i. Juliet: Threads of Love and Betrayal by Matthew Simpa
ii. A Journey Back Home, by C.M Okonkwo
iii. See Morocco, See Spain, by Ndidi Chiazor-Enenmor
iv. Letters from Home, by Rukky Iniovosa
v. Years of Shame, by Obinna Udenwe

7pm: The KEN SARO- WIWA Prize for Review
Event: Presentation of the winning entries in the annual Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize for Reviews
Special Guests: Manager Corporate Affairs, NLNG with NPL Coordinating officers
(Supported by the NPL-NLNG)

8pm: FESTIVAL JAZZ CONCERT (Main Stage)
Event: Wild partying on the wings of Jazz Music | Feature: A variety of bands on showcase
SATURDAY, Nov 15
ICONS DAY

9am: MILESTONE CELEBRATING @ Green Space
Event: A commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Green Festival @20

10am: GREEN FESTIVAL @ Food court
Event: Creative workshops and expressions by the children/students segment of LABAF continue

11am: MENTORSHIP @ Green Space
Event: A well-known public intellectual/actor/writer/filmmaker……cerebral celebrity, mentors
students on importance of reading and education. Session is also called MY ENCOUNTER WITH BOOK.
Guest of Honour:

2.00pm: COLLOQUIUM 1 @ JRandle Centre
Subtheme: The Recalibration
Event: Reading and conversations around
 Yvonne Adhiambo Ovuor: Dragonfly Sea
Discussants: Akin Adesokan, writer, scholar | ????
Moderator: Tade Ipadeola, poet, literary activist, lawyer

3.30pm: COLLOQUIUM 1 @JRandle Centre
Subtheme: A Change at a Time
Event: Reading and conversations around
 Diana Evans: A House for Alice
Discussants: Oyindamola Olatokun, Literary enthusiast
Moderator: Akin Adesokan, writer, scholar

4pm: SEMINAR @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Gig for Creatives: Seminar on intersection of Creatives and Tech
(Powered by Fairchild Media)

5pm: AUTHORHOUSE CONVERSATION @ JRandle Centre
Subtheme: Cleaning the Crime Scene: Lagos Needs An Amaka
Event: Reading and Discussions around:
• Leye Adenle’s: Easy Motion Tourist
• Leye Adenle’s Unfinished Business
Discussants: Olakunle Fadairo, writer, literary activist | Mercy Kelani, writer, literary activist
Moderator: Kehinde Folorunsho writer, literary activist

5pm: BOOKTREK @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: Reading and Discussions
• Moonbeam: An Anthology of Short stories by Nigeria’s foremost Culture Journalists
Panellists: Top culture journalists/contributors to the anthology

5pm: BOOKTREK III (Joy of Reading) (Green Space)
i. Ayankola Ayanwuyi — Esu is not Satan
ii. Majekodunmi Oseriemen Ebhohon — The Great Delusion
iii. Dele Sikuade — ÒRÌSÀ: A Mother’s journey to reclaim her daughter from an ancient power
iv. Saheed Opeyemi Adebisi: AKANBI The Trilogy

5.30pm: CONVERSATIONS @ Kongi’s Harvest Art Gallery
Event: CORA ANA – Dialogue
Synopsis: Members of Association of Nigerian Authors Lagos in a mini-summit on:
Theme: The African Story and the Writer in AI age
Panellists: Nora Sanya, author & solicitor | Ifeanyichukwu Avajah, engineer & author | Olaoluwa Oluwarinde, author & PR
manager | Dr Usman Akanbi, ANA President
Anchor: Dr Olatubosun Taofeek, Chairman of ANA)
(Produced by ANA & CORA)

7pm: FESTIVAL PARTY @Main Stage
Event: Celebration of iconic figures in the culture house who attain milestone age in the outgoing age
Features: An Owambe-like cultural feast of wining, dining and paying tributes

SUNDAY, Nov 15
CORA DAY
9am: CORA Youth Assembly @Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Event: CORA’s Volunteers and CYCC in conference on the future of the country
Theme: Prognosis for the Future
Anchored by: Oyindamola Olatokun, Coordinator CVC
Special Guest of Honour: Chief Kayode Aderinokun, Chair CORA Trustees

11am: FILM SCREENING @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Theme: Reimagining the Future
Selected Film 1:
• The CORA Documentary
Selected Film II:
• Extra Time on Kondo Street; (14mins; Dir/Prod: Sam Umukoro; Nig/UK; 2022)
Synopsis: A poor single mother diagnosed with breast cancer must raise money urgently to begin treatment.
Her 17- old son wants to use his supernatural gift to raise the money for her treatment. But only to discover that this supernatural gift is a blessing and curse. It is the same gift that killed his father and can put them in danger !

2pm SYMPOSIUM @ @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Subtheme: The Refresh: Looking Back, Looking Forward
Readings and conversations around:
• Akin Adesokan: “South Side”
Discussants: Kehinde Folorunsho, literary enthusiast | Oyindamola Olatokun, writer, art enthusiast
Moderator: Kayode Mufutau Ogunbufunmi, journalist media executive

4.00pm SEMINAR @ Kongi’s Harvest Gallery
Theme: Keys To the Knowledge Economy
Readings and discussions around:
 Yans Varoufakis: “Techno Feudalism-What Killed Capitalism”
Discussants: Adaudo Anyiam-Osigwe, journalist, literary enthusiast| Benson Eluma, literary scholar, activist
Moderator: Kayode Komolafe, journalist media executive

530pm: ART STAMPEDE @ Foodcourt
Theme: The Creative Economy in the Renewed Hope era
Synopsis: The federal Govt has lannched serial Fund initiative:
Where are the funds? Who is accessing the funds? How can the fund be accessed
Features: Leaders of artists’ organisations and culture bureaucrats explore the funding infrastructure
available to the creative industry practitioners
Special Speaker: Babajide Ajibola, Ex-Federal Director of Creative Industries, Fed. Min. of Culture |
Segun Ojewuyi, theatre director, academic, Prof of Directing, Southern Illinois University, Illinois,
USA |

7pm PERFORMANCE @ Foodcourt
Event: Poetic feast to sign off 2025 Festival
Theme: 1000 Poets to the Future (Foodcourt)
(Produced by Samuel Osaze for CORA)

9pm TRIBUTE @ Foodcourt
Event: ARTHOUSE tribute to departed artistes/culture workers

10pm: 2025 Send-forth @ Foodcourt
• Festival Adjourns
• Announcement of LABAF 2026