A verse for the Chibok Girls
Last week Saturday could literarily be tagged a day of verses for the more than two hundred missing school girls from Chibok as a special poem reading session was organised in their honour.
The event which took place at the Amphitheatre, Freedom Park, Lagos, witnessed the presence of some of the crème de la crème of the arts industry who came to recite a poem for the missing girls.
Tagged ‘Rhymes and Reasons’ it was a way the Nigerian literary industry is lending its own voice to the search for the missing girls. Dafe Ivwurie, one of the organizers of the ‘Rhymes and Reasons for the Chibok Girls’ said this event was inspired by a similar one organised by Sam Umukoro some years ago for the victims of the Jos massacre tagged ‘Rhymes and Reasons for Jos’. According to him, the essence of the gathering was for writers and poets to lend their voices through words, verses and rhymes, to ensure the Chibok girls are brought back.
Writers, actors, singers and poets who were there to read for the Chibok girls included veteran actress, Taiwo Ajai-Lycette, Ier Jonathan, Toni Kan, Lola Shoneyin, Yinka Davies, Ade Bantu, Sam Umukoro and Arukaino Umukoro.
The opening poem by Sam Umukoro, which was sent in from the UK and read by Cordelia Okpei was titled ‘Spoilt Vote’. In his poem, Umukoro, highlights the daily dream of an average Nigeria for a better country but this dream is dashed during election when another corrupt leader is elected. During election all manners of empty and unfulfilled promises are made by politicians to the masses all in a bid to secure their votes. These are: “Words they planted into itchy ears during election….” As soon as they are elected those promises are thrown into the trash can. Umukoro captures it in the following words:
“The boy packed the bumb like school lunch/Dreaming of paradise to come…/By leaders who peep virgins in Hilton…/They came out in their million…/I will fight corruption/Words they planted into itchy ears during election…/They beat the drum of celebration…/They usher in another corrupt one/The cry of the masses makes them come”
The title of Ndukwe Onuoha’s poem ‘Rat-a-tat-atat’ is rhythmic as he seeks to show how the masses run from one city to another seeking refuge from the hands of religious killers. It echoes the 2009 massacre of Christians in Jos which is also a reflection of the religious killings in 1966 in Kano where Igbos have to make a forceful return home to the East. The poem also exposes the hypocrisy of Nigerian leaders and security forces who: “Hoping that the police will stop them hopping /And open fire for fire…/The president eats cassava bread…/People have carried their boxes…/Murderers on rampage/The governor hides in some cleavage/Religious leaders has gone new age/And politics turns a new page.”
In his poem, Arukaino Umukoro, a journalist, argues that politicians have sold their conscience hence they are not bothered about the safety of the masses they rule. According to him, politicians have: “…sacrificed Nigeria’s interest/On the altar of their greed/Let them be judged by their deeds/We pray for the safety of the girls.”
Ier Jonathan, takes a new approach to the issue of the missing girls in his poem, titled: ‘Whither our men and women of God’. In the poem, he addresses leaders of churches by questioning their contributions to the religion insurgency in the north. He exposes their hypocrisy through their fasting and prayer programmes that have little or no effect in solving the problem. He believes theirs is an effort in futility because it is not backed with action. He captures this vividly in the following lines: “Dear men and women of God in Nigeria/The many fasting and prayer programmes that you are having for our nation in our entire congregation are noted/Scripture may say faith without action is dead.”
To this end, all poems read on Saturday were a cry against terrorism and the safe return of the Chibok school girls.
IFEOMA OKEKE