By Sunny Onyekwere – December 8, 2025
Two nights before one of the biggest nights of his creative0s career, Serial Creative Adetimilehin “Vic’Adex” Inioluwa wasn’t celebrating… He was awake at 12:30am, staring at the ceiling, paralyzed by every single, terrifying question.
It wasn’t about whether the microphones would work. It wasn’t about whether the books would arrive on time. It was something more personal.
“I was having anxiety,” Vic’Adex confessed to the hushed audience at the close of his book launch on Friday. “I woke up – ask myself: do people really love me? Do they cherish me enough to come here and part with their hard-earned money?”
The Struggle to Believe
For the “Village Boy”, turned Management Consultant, the fear was rooted in a history of doubt. He recalled 2009, when he considered publishing his first book for just $1,000 (#70,000 at the time). Back then, the voices in his head were loud: Do people read poem anymore?
Will anyone buy this?
Fast forward to 2025, despite his success, those old ghosts returned. In an economy where every naira counts, asking people to invest in art seems more like a gamble and total waste of time and resources!
“I know the value of money – he said, his voice thicken with deep emotions. “I know what it mean to work for it. So, asking you to spend it on my words, that terrifies me!
Interestingly, it was overwhelming. However, as he stood on the stage at Dunadura Restaurant, looking out at a room that was standing room only, a room that had just witnessed a historic one million naira(#1,000,000) opening bid and countless other donations, the answers to his midnight question were undeniable!
“Seeing you here has been an overwhelming answer: Yes,” Vic’Adex told the crowd.”
The night wasn’t just about selling books; it was a referendum on impact. The friends, mentors, and strangers who filled the room weren’t just buying paper and ink, they were investing in a boy who dared to leave the village. A boy who wrote love letters which eventually got him in trouble, and the man who now writes to heal others.
Dare to Dream.
In his closing remarks, Vic’Adex shifted the spotlight from himself; towards what his success represents for others.
He said: “You are the reason a village boy can dare to dream. You are the reason I can tell someone else that dreams do come true. If you dare to dream, you will find people to support you.”
As the event wrapped up, the anxiety of 12:30am was gone, replaced by the certainty of a community that showed up, paid up, and stood up for one of their own.
By reason and experience,
Adetimilehin “Vic’Adex” Inioluwa may have started the week questioning if, he was loved enough. He ended – knowing that his village is not only watching, but cheering him to victory.
Glaringly, poetry as All My Pain and Love is a tender map of a village boy’s becoming. The poems trace his wounds, his little joys, his questions about love, faith, and identity, and the quiet courage it takes to grow.
And, aach piece is a memory turned into meaning, childhood, heartbreak, resilience, and hope woven into verse. It is a book for anyone who has carried pain in silence or tries to make beauty from the broken parts of their story.
