By Henry Akubuiro
The Committee for Relevant Art, CORA, promoter of Lagos Book and Art Festival, has announced the date and theme for the 27th edition. This is in keeping with the tradition of the festival since it was born in 1999 in the cusp of Nigeria’s transition from military rule to civilian governance, said Mercy Timilehin Kelani from LABAF Communications desk. The date and theme for next year’s festival was unveiled at the closing day of the weeklong event last Sunday.
Toyin Akinosho, CORA Secretary-general, while making the announcement, stated that LABAF 27.0 would hold November 10-16, 2025, with the theme, “CHANGE: Imaginings Alternatives.”
Speaking before a full room audience, which included Chairman of CORA Board of Trustees, Chief Kayode Aderinokun; members of the CORA Volunteers Corps, CVC, and other guests, Akinosho reminded all that the past few editions had been critical of the systems that run affairs of Nigeria, and the continent; thus, the next edition would be making vital contribution to national discourse by offering a platform for people to explore possible alternatives to what currently operates.
According to Akinosho, LABAF 26.0’s theme, “BREAKOUT: Hope Is a Stubborn Thing”, examined the grievances and deterioration in major sectors in Nigeria: “aside from the issues of ethnicity and bad governance, hope becomes a coping mechanism and survival technique for everyone.” Akinosho also revisited the themes of LABAF 24.0 and 25.0, relating how such addressed the worrisome developments in the social and political fabrics of Nigeria, and by extension, Africa.
Explaining further the theme for 2025 LABAF, Akinosho stated: “While the just concluded festival is on Hope as a stubborn thing, we are wondering whether the way the world is going, the eruptions that are happening all over the place and the state of things do not make people to begin to think about the idea of change. The idea of change is not just ’change’ as it is but ‘imagining alternatives’, whether at a personal level, or at the national level, or at the global level.
The CORA Secretary-general added that “the books that speak to imagination about alternatives will be major books of the festival.”
Chief Kayode Aderinokun, a father figure to CORA and staunch supporter to LABAF, appreciated all participants at the festival, the CORA Board and most especially, the volunteers, who he referred to as “my young friends.”
Speaking in the plenary room, 1st floor of Kongi’s Harvest Art Gallery, Aderinokun reiterated that CORA was passionate about the future of the country and the progress of the continent, “that is why we gather intellectuals in diverse fields of human endeavours, creatives and other well-meaning Nigerians to contribute ideas on how to effect change and impact positively on the life of our beloved country and, welfare of its people.”
Paying special tributes to the 27-members of the CORA Volunteer Corps (CVC), Aderinokun stated that “we are unofficially handing over to the younger generation. We are so impressed by what you did in this past exercise and I hope that you keep it up.” Jubilation erupted amongst the CVC and the audience, and with this, the curtain fell on LABAF 26.0.
LABAF 2025’s theme was also unveiled via a giant screen on the Main-Stage of the Festival venue, Freedom Park, which hosted the very last act of the week-long 73-events festival, Freedom Vibes, staged by CORA partner-organisation, Unchained Vibes Africa, UVA.
Programme chair of CORA, and Director of LABAF, Jahman Anikulapo, was called onto the big shimmering stage, and urged the full house of mostly youth guests, to “lock down the date in your calendar, and don’t make the error of putting your own culture project in same week – as it happened this year.”
Anikulapo also asked the full house of enthusiastic guests to spend time ruminating on the theme, and be free to suggest “ideas about books, visual arts, theatrical, film and other contents that could lead to the full exploration of the theme: CHANGE: Imagining alternatives.”