Bayo Oyagbola’s Poetic Search for Meaning

Yinka Olatunbosun

Lagos had a first taste of a debut literary collection the penultimate weekend when lawyer and poet Bayo Oyagbola launched his first poetry collection, The Sky’s Forgotten Prayer: Echoes of River, Drum and Heaven, at a reading held at the Metropolitan Club, Lagos.

Published by Bookcraft, the collection brings together poems written over several years, exploring memory, mortality, spirituality, Yoruba culture and the enduring human search for meaning.

Oyagbola is a graduate of University College London, where he obtained LLB and LLM degrees. He has more than 40 years of legal practice and is Managing Partner at Oyagbola Chambers. His literary work draws on Yoruba language, stories and oral traditions, alongside a broader interest in questions of human existence, meaning and culture. He is also involved in mentoring, cultural advancement and promoting peace through the arts.

At the launch, Oyagbola discussed the collection during a fireside chat, reflecting on his use of Yoruba and English, the relationship between poetry, music and dance, and the questions of existence and uncertainty that run through his work.

Speaking about his relationship with the Yoruba language, Oyagbola said that learning to read it only after leaving school deepened his appreciation of its richness and broadened his perspective. He also described poetry as a continuing search for meaning rather than a pursuit of definitive answers.

“The essence of life is to continue to seek, to search for truth, whatever that may be. To search for meaning, I think, is probably the most important.”

The conversation also touched on Man’s Sorrow Is Man, one of the poems in the collection, which reflects on humanity’s capacity to become its own greatest threat. It returned ultimately to the role of poetry in preserving memory and engaging with questions that may not have easy answers.

Also speaking at the launch, lawyer and poet Tade Ipadeola reflected on his understanding of Oyagbola as both lawyer and poet, noting the distinctive perspective that comes from moving between the two worlds. He also highlighted the collection’s engagement with Yoruba and Nigerian cultural heritage and encouraged attendees to read the new work.

The launch featured poetry readings by family and friends, who shared selections from the collection as part of the celebration of Oyagbola’s work.

The evening ended with Oyagbola reading “Why”, a poem dealing with Cosmological Relativity, which he described as his favourite in the collection. The poem considers questions of time, existence, consciousness, matter and the nature of reality, reflecting the philosophical inquiry that runs through The Sky’s Forgotten Prayer.

The Sky’s Forgotten Prayer: Echoes of River, Drum and Heaven is available locally and online through booksellers including Rovingheights and Quintessence. Internationally, it is available on Amazon and Kobo, among others.