Nigeria is a country being bogged down by several challenges. In her collection of poetry, ‘October Blues’, Obiageli Iloakasia captures the trouble with Nigeria, writes OYEBOLA OWOLABI.
Obiageli Iloakasia is angry, and she has a right to be. She is sad, and she has a right to be. She is bitter, and she has a right to be. She is frustrated, and she has a right to be. She is agitated, and she has a right to be. She is afraid, and she has a right to be. However, in all, she is still hopeful, and she has a right to be.
Her book of poetry, ‘October Blues’ captures everything wrong with Nigeria; it relates the sad, ugly, gory, chaotic, irresponsible, bitter, bloody, desolate, evil, and what of have you, which has become the experiences of Nigerians in Nigeria.
‘October Blues’ is particularly instructive to understanding events of October 2020 when the world woke to a new awakening in Nigeria. Divided into four sections, ‘October Blues’ relates the pain every Nigerian experiences, and how much ‘the leaders we elected keep adding salt to our sores’. The first section, ‘October 2020’, is a lament of what our independence has become. It’s an irony that October which should normally symbolize our month of freedom, life and everything good, became a month of death and agony, especially following the EndSARS protests. The opening poem in the section – ‘Independence Day – Anniversary’ – captures the meaningless independence that holds no value to the people. To her, 60 years is just a number with no corresponding value. She however hopes of a brighter and better life if the opportunity comes.
‘today,
we are 60 years old
still, we wander thoughtlessly in the cold…
we want to know what it means to dream
and how it feels to have the Nigerian dream redeemed…
we did not choose this life
if we ever get another chance
may it feel like an emerald of paradise’
Some other titles in the section – Bloodshed, Disorder, Chronicles, Shadows – somehow represent a continuous thought flow. After the initial killings which led to ‘bloodshed’ comes ‘disorder’, a confusing state as to whether to join the fight or not –
‘mother’s sister has said I should mind my business,
please teach me how to mind
a business that has never paid off’
This then leads to a ‘chronicles’, an explanation or lamentation of sort, detailing the pain,
‘every single day,
these savage inbreeds ripped life out of us;
‘even a single goodbye,
we never had the change to tell
our brothers before they passed.
‘You see this pain, we feel it everyday
When will this be over…?
‘the sun has turned its back on us,
And now we move in circles
While hoping for change to come
This land is full of grief
And death consumes the young and old’.
The ‘chronicles’ gives way to ‘shadows’, a full lament of the agony of bloodshed, a mourning for the loved ones lost, and then a cry for vengeance.
‘the good book teachers forgiveness,
it says all vengeance
should be left for the almighty
now take us to another world
away from this world
to where forgiveness is not preached
give us a chance to make these men
feel half of that we have felt’.
‘Black Tuesday’, another title in the section, particularly laments the needless death which characterized the EndsSARS protest after the government’s interference. In it, Iloakasia laments that those who died in the struggle are not heroes, but victims of a failed system. She further laments that majority of deaths in Nigeria are consequences of the brutality we each face daily, whether in the health, finance, politics, education, social, and every other sectors. Majority of Nigerians do not die heroic deaths, we are victims of a system which fails us daily.
‘my brothers did not die because they chose to
my sisters did not die because they wanted to
Please do not ask me how I know this:
I watched them struggle to live
‘if you dare call my brothers heroes,
I will curse you
if you call my sisters women of honour,
May the same fate befall you tenfold
‘if I die tomorrow,
remember not to make a martyr of me
For I did not choose this fight
our leaders forced on me a pilgrim’s journey…
please tell my children I did not die a hero,
rather I died a victim
of the brutality that roams
the place I once called home’.
The poet expresses the fears that coming generations might not inherit anything meaningful if things continue as they are. As a matter of fact, the present generation lacks everything, so what hope for those coming behind? As ‘Records of Death’ captures it
‘more people are dying
this wasn’t the plan we put forth…
‘if our lands and properties are no more
What will our children inherit from us?’
Iloakasia however expresses the hope of restoration if the people can decide on what they want and be committed to working to achieve it. This she recounts in ‘United As One’ and ‘Hopeless Struggle’. The cry and call to unity remains the bedrock on which true and total liberation can be gotten, especially once the ‘Chances’ present themselves.
‘…since we failed,
give us the chance to correct our wrongs.
this time, we will not only end the atrocities,
but we will point at the authorities
And say you failed us’.
In ‘Hopeless Struggle’, she puts a universal call to youths to fight on despite the seemingly impossibility.
‘…sing songs of freedom o’youth
Make merry even in distress
One is only dead but once
When there is a call,
We will answer one by one’.
Section two of the book, aptly titled ‘Intimations’, captures the historical evidences inherent in Nigeria as espoused by the old and new national anthems, and the national pledge. The poet tries to paint a picture of what life looked/looks like through the wordings of the anthem, perhaps to juxtapose the former with the latter. This section also resonates with the many ills which ail our dear Nigeria and we its people, it questions why the situation negates the positive lyrics of the national anthems. Like ‘Brotherhood’, where the author says:
“in brotherhood we stand,
Even when unknown men asked us to abandon our cause
Why do you not stand with us in brotherhood?
Shouldn’t we all be brothers born of one mother called Nigeria?”
Or in ‘Truth and Justice’, where she says:
‘that truth and justice may reign,
Yet you say there were no casualties
How will grieving families heal
When they have no bodies
To help them find closure
‘in this land,
Truth died with our forefathers,
Because all we now hear are lies
That sound more true than truth
“we want truth and justice to reign
The first step is not to silence the voice of equity and reason”
However, she expresses optimism of a new and glorious Nigeria in ‘A New Nation’ and ‘Affirmations’, when she said:
‘help us build a nation
A nation where equity and equality are in a loved up relationship
From our toils,
We will harvest good fruits
And from peace
We will live in unity
A good home is a blessing
And this blessing we will have’
And in ‘Affirmations’, she says:
“where no man is oppressed,
is the land Nigeria will have
This is a new story
and this story will be ours
the sand on this land
may have crumbled
but mother earth will restore it again
before night passes
we will sing a new song!”
Iloakasia, in section three of the book titled ‘Tributes’, laments the needless deaths of many a youths due to a failed system. The mention of the names of the deceased gives the laments a sound footing and gives readers a visual and physical sense of events that led to the deaths, and of course give a sort of closure for the pain. It is impossible to pick one’s manner or type of death, but, still, everyone deserves honour, even in death, one deserves to die a victim.
The last section, titled ‘Ruminations’, is probably a culmination of the poet’s thought after a critical appraisal of the kind of life our leaders have pushed upon us, and forcing us to live. She said “the typical Nigerian’s life is full of intricate realities, complex ideas, unanswered questions and in-between feeling’. Coming to life should be about living, but in Nigeria, we all cruise through life surviving each day as it comes. And just like a joke making round on social media in recent times, ‘no one make plans in Nigeria, the country plans your life and you just flow with the flow’.
In ‘Teacher Do-Good’, Iloakasia cries about our irrelevant and poor educational system which has rendered many hopeless and useless rather than uplift or better them. ‘Chibok 2014’ is a reminder of the failed Nigerian security architecture and how we may never get it right.
‘…the last time I checked, they were in school;
and from school ancient walls swallowed them
one after the other, we searched for them
Leah, Kemi, Hassana
we called out
but their voices were never heard.
now we are hunting shadows
for Chibok City has lost its substance
We do not know where to go
we do not know where to find my sisters
please bring back our girls”
Lamenting the woes of Nigerians in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised, and this is what Obiageli Iloakasia has done in ‘October Blues’. Hopefully, with a consistent reminder of the many wrongs and hurts served the people, those in authority would have a reset of priorities and do right by the people.
Iloakasia has been able to add her voice to the many ahead, crying and calling for equity and justice, a quick one at that, for the ordinary Nigerian. She has been able to scream and shout that it is not a herculean task for the government to provide the basics, which make life meaningful, for its people.