The Naija Spirit Campaign, a nationwide theatre tour from the Simply Poetry Foundation, made its South East stop in Enugu on Saturday, July 25, bringing acclaimed spoken word artist and playwright Dike Chukwumerije’s satirical stage production The Naija Spirit to the BON Hotel Platinum. Billed as a blend of music, poetry, drama, and dance, the show is part of a six-part series touring Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, funded by the Ford Foundation, with each stop reimagined for its regional audience while carrying the same core message: a call for civic courage and national reawakening delivered through satire.

The Enugu edition drew a notable crowd, including veteran Nollywood actor Chika Okpala — best known to generations of Nigerians as Zebrudaya — whose presence alongside Chukwumerije underscored the show’s cross-generational reach. Among those in attendance was Prof. Joy N. Ezeilo (SAN, OON), former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who described the performance as brilliant, bold, and deeply satirical, adding that it held up a mirror to the country’s national reality and reminded her that art can awaken civic courage. She went further, urging Nigerians to recognize that silence is no longer an option and that a new Nigeria remains possible.

True to Chukwumerije’s long-running project of turning performance poetry into mainstream theatre, a body of work stretching back to Simply Poetry’s Night of the Spoken Word series and earlier productions like Made in Nigeria, The Naija Spirit leans on satire to deliver its message about unity and peaceful coexistence across Nigeria’s diversity. Attendees described flawless performances from Chukwumerije and a cast of seasoned creatives, with the show weaving spoken word, drama, dance, and music into a single narrative arc rather than treating each form as a standalone act.

With Enugu now behind it, the Naija Spirit Campaign continues its tour of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, each stop functioning as both performance and provocation, asking audiences to move from watching the state of the nation to actively demanding the country they deserve. For a project built on the premise that art can do civic work that politics alone cannot, the reception in Enugu, measured in testimonies rather than just applause, suggests the campaign is landing exactly as intended.

Photos Taken from Dike Chukwumerije’s Facebook Page.