‘I didn’t set out to be a poet, I just turned out to be one’

  How did you discover that you were meant to be a poet? I actually started out as a science student while in secondary school. However at a point, I just discovered that I am more at home with the arts. At that point in time, my earning towards the arts expressed itself in intense […]

 

How did you discover that you were meant to be a poet?

I actually started out as a science student while in secondary school. However at a point, I just discovered that I am more at home with the arts. At that point in time, my earning towards the arts expressed itself in intense reading of books and poems and novels written by both African and western authors. Those days, I could go without food when I was engrossed in an interesting book, at times I could  stay indoors and read unto the next day just to finish a book.

I started out scribbling down my thoughts on paper when I got into the university at the age of 19  I guess. I didn’t set out to write a book or have a compilation of poems. It was just a pass time then, an experience will occur or an event will happen and an idea will spring up and a line or two of poetry will manifest. That’s how it started and before I realised it , I had written so much and it was making sense to me.

Initially I was shy to let people see my writings, because I was afraid it might not interest them. It was my friend then that had a glimpse of my writings and she was amazed and kept on wanting to read more. Because of her interest I started writing poems dedicated to her and she broadcasted it amongst our network in school  that I am a poet.

Eventually I got to meet other budding poets in school, mostly in English department at the University of Maiduguri. Then I was reading history as a course of study. A friend introduced me to the “Muse” a weekly meeting of literary minds then in the university anchored in the English department with  senior lecturers attending and reading out their poems and prose  to the delight and criticism of every one. Prof. Tanure Ojaide used to be  one of the moderators, prof Zainab Alkali,  Dr. Abubakar Othman,  Prof. Idriss Amali, Dr. H Balami and others also attended. It’s at this forum that I fell in love with the works of Ojaide. I must say I got my prompts from this group. They were also amazed at how a history student could be so good in writing poetry. That’s how it began, I didn’t set out to be a poet. I just found out that I am one.

 

 

 

Which poets have had the greatest influence on your style and perception of poetry?

I read a lot of Wole Soyinka’s poetry and other prose at an early age. When I got to know Tanure Ojaide, he’s writing became a handy companion. He was also one of the prominent poets to assess my works and validate my writings. I think I actually derived a lot of inspiration from his writings.  His writings just like mine, also have a lot of socio_ political satires through which political events and personalities are critiqued. So in retrospect I can say Ojaide and Wole Soyinka’s poems were my earliest aphrodisiac in poetry. They gave me style.

 

 

 

For you as an artist, what is the payoff you get when you read or write poetry?

I see my poetry as an expression of God’s creative abilities in humanity. By nature, I like creative people and creative products. So when I write, I get satisfaction from that feeling that I am able to create meanings out of my feelings and emotions and same has the capacity to draw human admiration, joy, conversations, and make impact on the society by way of instigating discourse with a view to change attitudes that are not right and promote values that are edifying to all.

When I read other people’s poetry, it’s with the intention to draw inspirations, learn and also enjoy their creative work. Poetry I believe encompasses all spheres of human endeavours and vicissitudes. Some poems gives you useful insights to disciplines, cultures, ideas , civilizations and lots more that  you may not be aware of but by the instruments of poetry one gains valuable knowledge of things previously unknown just in a line of words. For me these are the pay off, they are the values and the joy.

 

 

Some of your poems are autobiographical in a way. Do you ever wonder if some readers who do not share your background may be lost reading some of your works?

Some of my writings especially in ‘Echoes of Conscience’ were born out of prevailing socio-economic circumstances. So yes they may seems autobiographical in nature but at the same time, I also discovered that most of the issues addressed by my  poems are still with us. Poverty, irresponsibility on the part of our “leaders” political and social corruption, the hypocrisy of religion and some other personal experiences that I had that also paint the Nigerian experiences of people of my generation. For instance there are poems that are critical of the Almajiri system that I witnessed in the north then, and elements of wicked serfdom and child Labour in the south of Nigeria.

Also In appreciation of the fact that my readers may need an insight to understand my writings better, I tried to put footnotes of the time when a particular poem was written and in some cases the events that inspired the poem. This was done to ease comprehension. I do believe that poetry should be understood for it to be fully appreciated unlike the school of thought that believes that poetry should remain in the realms of verses and jargons.

 

 

 

What informed the choices of poems that went into your two collections of poems?

Basically empathy, compassion, disgust for social ills such as poverty, inequality, discrimination on the basis of class, religion, ethnicity or sex. ‘Echoes of Conscience’ can be likened to a speech against political irresponsibility in Nigeria and the need for attitudinal change amongst our political leaders and also followers who often seem unconcerned with the state of affairs in their country. A change anchored on truth, justice and equal opportunity for all and a society whose greed is not greater than their creed.

‘The Quest’ on the other hand is a social satire. It also harbours my personal experiences in life, my feelings, despairs and hopes. The major inspiration is to speak truth to life issues of my time as it come from my own grail. One of the poems in The Quest titled “Beautiful Sacrilege” was critical of the caste system in Ibo land and thus was condemned. These are the kind of social issues that inspires my pen to paper.