Ibquake: The Lagos Poet Whose Words Reached Africa’s First Olympic Stage

From a church class in Lagos to a stadium in Senegal, spoken-word artist Ibukunoluwa Ajagbe has turned a simple love for words into a national voice.

On Saturday, October 31 2026, more than a thousand performers filled the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, Senegal. They were there to open the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the first Olympic sporting event ever held on African soil. Among them stood one Nigerian woman with a microphone and a poem: Ibukunoluwa Aramide Ajagbe, known to her fans as Ibquake. It was a big moment for her and for Nigerian spoken word, but the road to that stage started in a much smaller room.

Ibquake says her love for spoken word poetry began around 2013 or 2014, during a class at House on the Rock church in Lagos. She did not plan it as a career. In an interview with our source, she said no single childhood event pushed her toward the art. She simply kept going. More than ten years later, she is one of the most recognized young voices in the field. Her poems explore faith, identity, and the everyday struggles and aspirations of Nigerians. Her style is energetic and clear, which is why audiences from churches to corporate events have welcomed her.