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You Gotta Cry to Cry
By Chris Ajaero
Monday, June 27, 2005,
NewsWatch Magazine
A young Nigerian poet
satirises Nigerian leaders and the problems of the country
Title: Miasma (You Gotta Cry to Cry)
Author: Sam Azoka
Onyechi
Publisher: Author House,
Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.
Pagination: 69
Price: Not stated
In Miasma,
a collection of poems, Sam Azoka Onyechi, takes a satirical look at the ills
plaguing the Nigerian society. The poems capture the feeling of helplessness
and hopelessness of the average Nigerian. The author deals with the high
level of corruption, the waste of resources and the dehumanisation of the
Nigerian psyche. He also vividly portrays the massive brain drain out of the
country caused by the inability of its leaders to provide the enabling
environment for creativity and professional excellence.
In one of the poems
titled: "Dividends of Democracy, Onyechi uses this favourite phrase
of Nigerian leaders to draw attention to the failure of the ruling class to
fulfil their election campaign promises.
Part of the poem reads:
Behold the vultures'
assembly
Pecking out the hollow
skulls
Polishing the
leftovers
With sticky fingers of
kleptomania >>> |
And the greed of Midas
Gathering a horde of
Everest
Enough to shatter from
its height
The pot-bellied
appetites of vampires
See the gathering of
the soulless
Dividing the dividends
Sharing the spoils
Of those not won by
war
But enslaved by
thievery
Besides, the author employs elegy to salute the courage of some of the
heroes of democracy and justice in Nigeria who paid the supreme sacrifice in
the course of fighting "man-made monsters of oppression." They include, the
late Ken Saro-Wiwa, Gideon Orkar, and Chukwuma Nzeogwu. He equally exposes
the politically-motivated assassi-nations and the religious hypocrisy which
led to the massacre of innocent Nigerians by Muslim extremists.
The author's style is
confrontational yet simple, lucid and profound. He uses all the essential
qualities of poetry such as metaphor, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
rhyme and rhythm to make the poems enchanting. His style invites readers to
reflect on the political muck of Nigeria as he evokes images of death and
rebirth.
It is a compelling
collection. Onyechi aptly describes the corrupt leaders as "the soulless
vampires masquerading as messiahs."
The author read English
at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has chosen to use poetry to reflect
on the problems that have stunted the growth of the most populous black
nation. |