By Idongesit Essien
One of Nigeria’s most popular Gen-Z slam poets uses the power of word to convey the realities of African girls and women. Streamed more than 200,000 times on Spotify, her socially-conscious poetry, has the potential to add value to Nigeria’s creative economy, which is worth an estimated $31.2 million USD and aims to generate $100 billion USD to Nigeria’s GDP by 2030. Nigerian poets are now tapping into that creative economy to amplify their art and propel the country’s soft power.
It’s a warm, humid Saturday in Abuja. Hafsat Abdullahi is prepping for a film shoot on location in a quiet neighborhood. The cinematographer waits for the director’s call for action. Hafsat takes a deep breath to get into character.
After a few moments, she emerges, not as Hafsat, but as Havfy, a virtuoso spoken word performer (which can also be referred to as a slam poet) who is making waves in Nigeria’s poetry scene. She performs on stage as well as online, filming her recitations for social media platforms. Havfy has more than 700 videos across online multiple platforms.
Depending on the brief, location and concept, a typical one-day shoot could cost between $400 USD and $1000 USD. Crew size also varies between 5 and 15 persons. It’s all part of a trend that has seen poets, like Havfy, adding value to Nigeria’s creative industry, also known as the orange economy.
A growing number of Nigerian poets are releasing their work as spoken word albums on streaming platforms or as visual poems on social media. Alongside Havfy, Nigerian slam poets like Ibquake and TheGlobalPoet have sizeable streaming followers. Havfy said her net worth as a poet and spoken word performer is more than 70 million naira (about $50,000 USD).
In 2025, TheGlobalPoet, a 22-year-old Nigerian poetess whose real name is Deborah Johnson, won a ₦30-million- cash prize (about $21,400 USD) on De9jaspirit Talent Hunt, a Nigerian contest show that features musicians, comedians and dancers competing on the same stage.
The developments speak to the rising appeal of spoken word in Nigeria’s creative and entertainment sectors. Slam poets are frequently employed by civil society and human rights organizations to perform for large audiences, including at events and commemorations organized by the United Nations. Havfy was named as a 2025 Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN.
“Before now, I was just a regular girl from northern Nigeria living my life battling school. I was a fresher in Ahmadu University. I do poetry but it was more of like something I do as a passion and a side hobby,” she told bird.
Havfy’s creative journey began in northern Nigeria where she was raised in an interreligious home by parents she described as “two adults who are truly in love with each other.” She said her father, who is Muslim, and her mother, a Christian, taught her to appreciate tolerance.
It was a tough lesson, particularly in northern Nigeria where strife between Muslims and Christians is rife. Inspired by the illustrious Nigerian poet, Niyi Osundare, she began to hone her performance skills by interacting with poets at the Abuja Literary Society, which regularly organizes slams. The competition is usually fierce and judges announce winners with slim margins.
“I didn’t think too much into what I was doing, but I knew for a certainty that I used my poetry to tackle societal vices, I’ve always done it. I didn’t know why I did it, but I did. Whenever I see something I’m not comfortable with, from rape to any form of injustice that has happened within my small locality, I speak up about it and the reason I use poetry at the time is because that was the only way that people could actually listen to me. Because it was more like a colorful and a catchy way to get people’s attention,” she said.
Havfy has garnered attention not only among fellow poets, but by creatives in other spaces. Nigerian music executive and producer, Don Jazzy, reposted a video of Havfy reciting one of her poems on anti-colonialism, and the re-post went viral. He described her as his “new obsession” and invited her for a meeting. The endorsement from one of Nigeria’s biggest entertainers validated the value of poetry.
Dr. Bash Amuneni, one of the organisers of the recently-held national Slam of Champions, remarked on the leverage that young poets have garnered using social media to amplify their art.
“A lot of them are doing great numbers online. You see a poetry video, and it’s doing 10K views, 20K views up to 100K views, and it’s amazing to see,” he told bird. “So, I’m very grateful for what’s going on, and I think it should be something we should look at and encourage, you know.”
Despite the growing visibility of Nigerian poets, poetry is not featured in the country’s tourism and creative metrics. In the third quarter of 2025, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy released a Creative Economy Report that captured and mapped the broad spectrum of the creative industry in Nigeria. Spoken word was overlooked.
The Nigerian government introduced the term “creative economy” in its national policy framework in 2014. Following the rebasing of the economy within the same year, creative economy indices began with tracking the contribution of the cultural component as a key non-oil revenue to the nation’s GDP.
By 2019, The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy was launched with a resultant impact seen in the attention it drew to the digital creative skills.
In 2023, the federal administration of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu created the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy. The agency aims to promote and harness the economic potential of what is known as “Nigerian content.”
Within Africa and beyond, Nigerian music, films and fashion drive pop culture and attract millions of dollars in investment. The Nigeria Creative Economy Report of 2025 revealed that Nigeria has improved its position on cultural diplomacy when its “Global Soft Power Ranking” rose 16 places from 93rd in 2023 to 77th in 2025.
On the economic front, the same report values the formal measurable creator economy at $31.2 million with fashion, music and Nollywood’s box office contributing the largest chunk. Other emerging categories, according to the report includes gaming, immersive technology experiences and homegrown streaming platforms.
The country is marshalling its plans to grow its creative economy to contribute $100 billion to its GDP by 2023. The plan entails a transformation of the sector from a low-contributing industry to a major economic pillar. It aims to create more than two million jobs in the creative sector yearly, by leveraging Nigeria’s music, film, fashion, and digital content.
However, poets say they are not being regarded by the government as useful contributors to the economy.
“I think that’s a mistake,” Amuneni told bird. “The poets, they need to be encouraged. It’s a struggle just being a poet itself because people don’t really take you seriously, but we are making a lot of efforts, and we are adding some sense of value. Because if poets are not adding value, then you wouldn’t have brands coming around to say, come and be my brand ambassador. Do a commercial using poetry,” he said.
Abdulmalik Yahya, a Nigerian author, poet, social entrepreneur and UN SDGs advocate with more than seven years of experience in advocacy and community development, is the founder and president of Sahel Scribes Poetry Club, where he mentors over 300 emerging poets in northern Nigeria. He is passionate about harnessing the potential of slam poetry as a burgeoning industry that can help drive growth in Nigeria’s economy.
“They [poets] are publishing, if you like me to use that word, on platforms like, Spotify, and what have you. And if you look at the data of 2025 alone, Nigerian creatives received royalties as Nigerian creatives,” he said, “You can actually tap into it and get something from it.”
According to the World Bank report, cultural and creative sectors generate 30 million jobs globally and account for 6.2 percent of all employment. In 2022, the share of people employed by the cultural occupations in low-income countries stands between 25.3 percent in Uganda and 27.1 percent in Ghana, and 33% in Pakistan, according to the World Bank.
Nigeria’s slam poetry ecosystem captures not only the poets themselves, but includes other creatives such as cinematographers, makeup artists, production managers and event organizers. It is a grassroots community that was built about twenty years ago, mainly in Abuja where it was led by the cherished Abuja Literary Society.
Other local organizations like the Sahel Scribes Poetry Club and Naija Poetry Fest in Lagos are leveraging the power of the collective to build a momentum that is slowly propelling what has largely been an “underground” scene into the mainstream creative sector.
The Slam of Champions traveled nationwide. Jeremiah Priest, one of the 15 slam contestants, travelled more than 620 kilometers to reach Abuja for a chance to participate in the national championship. He speaks highly of Havfy.
“I know quite a lot of people that look up to Havfy,” he told bird. “So, I personally think she’s doing well in her field. I think I think she’s an inspiration, and it’s a pathway, really. She opens pathways, and it’s a really good thing to see.”
Oreva Olujimi, was one of the judges at the Slam of Champions. She is also a finance expert, poet, author and spoken word artist with two albums on Spotify and Apple Music. She believes that there should be a firm handshake between investment and the arts.
“I think poetry is already contributing as much. Events like these, like the Slam of Champions is one of the ways where we discover art and talent. The beauty of our poetry, and the beauty about words is that you can paint stories and paint colors and paint realities in people’s minds that otherwise would have not been seen. And I think there’s a place for that. I think there’s a market for that,” she said.
“There’s a bridge that needs to be built between the people who need to recognize us and the talent that we have and being able to cross that bridge, and for example when the winner goes to South Africa. If they do well, that’s a win for Nigeria as a whole. Think of what it will do for just our creative economy.”
Nigerian poets are not only collaborating with big brands to promote products. They are filling venues. In Abuja’s popular Transcorp Hilton where diplomats and international celebrities lodge, a hall is packed full of spectators who eagerly wait for the next slammer to appear. Havfy walks up and delivers a rousing poem that dazzles the audience.
Bird story agency
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