Poet Odia Ofeimun, exhibits 42 books in a unique show that situates his love for literature and preservation of records for the future generation.
The 42 different books, which portray an exquisite symphony of struggle for justice and the poet’s love for literature, unfold the poetic bashing for military rulers and politicians who are allegedly responsible for running the country aground and understandably too, considering the polemic nature of the writer. The books remain sparkling with the desire to make Nigeria a beautiful place in reality.
The consensus of opinion at the exhibition, held recently at the Agip Hall, Lagos, was that a land of diverse cultural differences and ethnic upheavals like the contemporary Nigeria needs more writers like Ofeimun.
Unlike past years when he presented one book, the exhibition featured his 18 old works and 22 new books, as well as five copies of his old works were also on display. They are poems, anthologies, essay and letters, an icing on the life of a man who gave himself fully to literature.
Far from controversial appellations he has acquired from living on the front lines, the books captures intimate interventions from Ofeimun’s engagement with the Nigerian state. That, perhaps, is why Dr. Obari Gomba, literary scholar and the books reviewer described day as a sweet moment not only for himself but also for the writer whom he said has contributed to Nigerian literary growth.
Present were former Ogun State Governor, Chief Segun Osoba, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Communication and Technology, Dr Tunji Olaopa, Prof. Kole Omotoso, Chairman of The News Magazine, Mr Kunle Ajibade, and founder of Splendid Literature and Culture Foundation and the Women Writers Association (WRITA), Mrs Mobolaji Adenubi, among others. The former Minister of National Planning Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman who represented former President Goodluck Jonathan lauded Ofeimun, saying he has made significant contribution to the growth of Nigerian literature.
While commending Ofeimun’s contributions to the development of this country politically, Osoba revisited the issue of the leakage of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s letter to former President Nnamdi Azikiwe.
“I am here to honour Ofeimun and make clarifications of your good name you are making. Odia has served this country. He has shown tenacity and the ability to hang on to what he believes in despite the vicissitudes of life. And despite the fact that he is not making money, he has not given up. People talk about his writing but his contributions to this country, politically, are immeasurable,’’ said Osoba.
For those who do not know him, Ofeimun actually came to limelight when his earliest poems were published in the iconic post-civil war journal, Okike and in Poems of Black Africa (edited by Prof. Wole Soyinka).
Apart from being the only poet of his generation to feature in that anthology, he was also published in Opon Ifa, Idoto, theFestac Anthology of Nigerian New Writing (edited by late Cyprian Ekwensi) and many others. Most of the 42 books exhibited address several issues.
The Poet Lied, one of the books exhibited, shows how the writer was pitched against the more mature Prof. J.P. Clark, just as his creative works were about gaining international recognition when Longman Publishers released his first poetry collection in 1980. The book’s title, however, stirred controversy because it raised a critique on poetry’s involvement with the public space. Although, Longman, eventually, censored the book to prevent a legal dispute, the message around the book is that of challenge to what Ofeimun considered not as a truth. It is certain that The Poet Lied enjoys a prime place in Nigerian poetry. His poetry is deeply “implicated” in the struggles of society.
A Handle for the Flutist, another creative effort by Ofeimun, was also exhibited at the event. A rather colourful collection of poems, begins with a “Matriarchate” section that reveals the poet’s fascination with the mother-motif. The poems touch a number of subjects from Soyinka’s mother in “Our Wild Christian” to “Medina of Greece”. The rural woman is also extolled in “To Mother on Mothers’ Day”. A Handle for the Flutist mocks those who aim to “banish poets” from the People’s Republic”.
Go Tell the Generals, another collection of poems written during the military era, extends to subjects beyond that era. In After The Coup which is dedicated to Chinweizu, Ofeimun displayed his mastery of language, notwithstanding his famous disagreement with Chinweizu is still fresh in the minds of writers.
I Will Ask Questions with Stones If They Take My Voice is another book with five sections. It opens with the haunting poem in “The Returnee Section.” Its persona returns home at the moment of angst. The poems depict the atmosphere of uncertainty that characterised the reign of the late Gen. Sani Abacha. The subject matter connects with the personal history of the poet who “returned” from the United Kingdom “while so many were fleeing” from Nigeria as in “The Returnee”, only to find that he is “homeless” in his “own house”. As always in his poetry, there is a heightened sense of commitment in this book but it goes beyond the political.
A Boiling Caracas and Other Poems take its main currents from the capital city of Venezuela, a city in turmoil then, which the poet visited in 2004 and informed the images of confrontation in the collection, but, it is, essentially, a poetic journey.
London Letter and Other Poems has a title that gives primacy to an international slant but it begins with poems on Lagos. The first section has poems like “Lagoon”, “Full Moon”, “Demolition Day”, “Self Portrait of Lagosian” and “Eko, My City by the Lagoon”. The poet had come to Lagos in 1969 as a young man at 19 and had been in love with the city since then. It is the kind of love that is not blind to the minuses of the city.
Amongst other things, “Full Moon” speaks of “streets overrun by garbage mountains/ and soldiers and policemen collecting toll/ on the service lanes of life”. It also speaks of “winds that blow ill / in our dream-starved cement jungles”. “Demolition Day” speaks of a woman at Maroko undone by power and crass development and abandoned by “God”.
One Country is not Enough” is Ofeimun’s latest poetry collection. The central poem is entitled “For Tajudeen Abdulraheem.” It is dedicated to Abdulraheem who was the poet’s friend. Abdulraheem was a Nigerian Pan-Africanist who died in Nairobi, Kenya on a tour of duty. The poet uses this tragedy as a backcloth for his poetic discourse on nationality and Pan-Africanism.
Another related poem is “For Munira” which is based on Abdulraheem’s wife. The first two poems are different in texture from the others.
With the exception of two other poems towards the end, the rest of the poems are related on fundamentalism and violence. They are “Yan Boko”, “Alamajirai”, “ Almajirai Boko” “ Boko Almajirai” and “ Haram”. All of them dwell on the collapse of the society, a pattern of consistent descent that has finally culminated in a breakdown of law in Northern Nigeria. The scale of violence in the society has become a provocation for the poetry of engagement.
The last two poems are “Soldiers Rule as Soldier Know” and “Oronto.” Whereas the former resumes the poet’s quarrel with military rule, the latter is a dirge. It is a tribute to the late Oronto Douglas who was a key officer in the Goodluck Jonathan presidency.
Ofeimun’s writings are not restricted to poems. He also writes poems for dance drama such as Nigeria, the Beautiful, which highlights the challenges and prospects of Africa’s most populated country.
Others are Itoya, which is the story of black people from the Trans-Saharan slave trade, through the Pan-African Congresses from between 1900-1945 to the present and because of 1914 and it’s the poet’s engagement with Nigeria’s centenary. It examines a troubled history that runs from pre-colonial, through colonial, to post-colonial era. The picture is that of darkness but there is a Ray of hope in the capacity of Nigeria’s component units to work out a progressive system.
For those who do not know him, Ofeimun actually came to limelight when his earliest poems were published in the iconic post-civil war journal, Okike and in Poems of Black Africa (edited by Prof. Wole Soyinka).
Apart from being the only poet of his generation to feature in that anthology, he was also published in Opon Ifa, Idoto, theFestac Anthology of Nigerian New Writing (edited by late Cyprian Ekwensi) and many others. Most of the 42 books exhibited address several issues.
The Poet Lied, one of the books exhibited, shows how the writer was pitched against the more mature Prof. J.P. Clark, just as his creative works were about gaining international recognition when Longman Publishers released his first poetry collection in 1980. The book’s title, however, stirred controversy because it raised a critique on poetry’s involvement with the public space. Although, Longman, eventually, censored the book to prevent a legal dispute, the message around the book is that of challenge to what Ofeimun considered not as a truth. It is certain that The Poet Lied enjoys a prime place in Nigerian poetry. His poetry is deeply “implicated” in the struggles of society.
A Handle for the Flutist, another creative effort by Ofeimun, was also exhibited at the event. A rather colourful collection of poems, begins with a “Matriarchate” section that reveals the poet’s fascination with the mother-motif. The poems touch a number of subjects from Soyinka’s mother in “Our Wild Christian” to “Medina of Greece”. The rural woman is also extolled in “To Mother on Mothers’ Day”. A Handle for the Flutist mocks those who aim to “banish poets” from the People’s Republic”.
Go Tell the Generals, another collection of poems written during the military era, extends to subjects beyond that era. In After The Coup which is dedicated to Chinweizu, Ofeimun displayed his mastery of language, notwithstanding his famous disagreement with Chinweizu is still fresh in the minds of writers.
I Will Ask Questions with Stones If They Take My Voice is another book with five sections. It opens with the haunting poem in “The Returnee Section.” Its persona returns home at the moment of angst. The poems depict the atmosphere of uncertainty that characterised the reign of the late Gen. Sani Abacha. The subject matter connects with the personal history of the poet who “returned” from the United Kingdom “while so many were fleeing” from Nigeria as in “The Returnee”, only to find that he is “homeless” in his “own house”. As always in his poetry, there is a heightened sense of commitment in this book but it goes beyond the political.
A Boiling Caracas and Other Poems take its main currents from the capital city of Venezuela, a city in turmoil then, which the poet visited in 2004 and informed the images of confrontation in the collection, but, it is, essentially, a poetic journey.
London Letter and Other Poems has a title that gives primacy to an international slant but it begins with poems on Lagos. The first section has poems like “Lagoon”, “Full Moon”, “Demolition Day”, “Self Portrait of Lagosian” and “Eko, My City by the Lagoon”. The poet had come to Lagos in 1969 as a young man at 19 and had been in love with the city since then. It is the kind of love that is not blind to the minuses of the city.
Amongst other things, “Full Moon” speaks of “streets overrun by garbage mountains/ and soldiers and policemen collecting toll/ on the service lanes of life”. It also speaks of “winds that blow ill / in our dream-starved cement jungles”. “Demolition Day” speaks of a woman at Maroko undone by power and crass development and abandoned by “God”.
One Country is not Enough” is Ofeimun’s latest poetry collection. The central poem is entitled “For Tajudeen Abdulraheem.” It is dedicated to Abdulraheem who was the poet’s friend. Abdulraheem was a Nigerian Pan-Africanist who died in Nairobi, Kenya on a tour of duty. The poet uses this tragedy as a backcloth for his poetic discourse on nationality and Pan-Africanism.
Another related poem is “For Munira” which is based on Abdulraheem’s wife. The first two poems are different in texture from the others.
With the exception of two other poems towards the end, the rest of the poems are related on fundamentalism and violence. They are “Yan Boko”, “Alamajirai”, “ Almajirai Boko” “ Boko Almajirai” and “ Haram”. All of them dwell on the collapse of the society, a pattern of consistent descent that has finally culminated in a breakdown of law in Northern Nigeria. The scale of violence in the society has become a provocation for the poetry of engagement.
The last two poems are “Soldiers Rule as Soldier Know” and “Oronto.” Whereas the former resumes the poet’s quarrel with military rule, the latter is a dirge. It is a tribute to the late Oronto Douglas who was a key officer in the Goodluck Jonathan presidency.
Ofeimun’s writings are not restricted to poems. He also writes poems for dance drama such as Nigeria, the Beautiful, which highlights the challenges and prospects of Africa’s most populated country.
Others are Itoya, which is the story of black people from the Trans-Saharan slave trade, through the Pan-African Congresses from between 1900-1945 to the present and because of 1914 and it’s the poet’s engagement with Nigeria’s centenary. It examines a troubled history that runs from pre-colonial, through colonial, to post-colonial era. The picture is that of darkness but there is a Ray of hope in the capacity of Nigeria’s component units to work out a progressive system.
source-->Dailytimes.com.ng