The Words Finesse

 

These words are famous like Lincoln

Erudite and oratory as Luther King

Heavy like Sullivan and Fury-

Jabs you would gladly pray miss you

Spittle and sparkle 

Spewing that bubbles 

Raging that troubles like 

The stomach rumbles-

The trait of wordsmith

Watch a fate like the weather

What a solitary and enduring trip 

Like clouds in the heavens...

- Dr. Sàngódáre Àyìnlá is a member of ANA and Information Officer with the Kwara State Ministry of Communications.

   All hail Usman Akanbi
    Omo Baba ICPC
     Omo ojumokan, ofin kan
     Akanbi, icon of Mustapha
     the legal wizard

In your hand is a winnowing fork
As you salvage the savages' dungeon
As your elephant marches on a wet ground
Your steppings digging up Oasis of fortune
Your priest providing for acolytes and initiates during harvest
 
All hail ANA's standard bearer
In his hand is the gavel truth
the healing staff for the weaklings
In your hand is ANA's legendary optical
Its lens sharper than binoculars or microscope
Its diagnosis fairer than aiyekooto's
It's elegy passionate than the owl's

All hail Usman Ola 
for his offer humane service 
Its ANA's benignity to mankind

Akanbi, ANA''s guardian servant 
In his mouth is an ode 
Chorusing the anthem of his predecessors
ANA's avatar and living ancestors

All hail Usman Akanbi Oladipo
In his chest is a breastplate of words
It is his stinging armour
His tongue sharpened by Achebe's anti-colonial vibes

All hail you Akanbi Oladipo
Icon of the legendary ICPC pioneer helmsman
Pious is thy mission in ANA of Nigeria
Our ANA of humanity

                Mind    

Jalaludeen Shuaib Assayouti, with the pen-name Jalal Poetry, is a young talented upcoming Nigerian poet and playwright base in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. In this interaction with ABDULHAFEEZ T. OYEWOLE, he speaks about his upcoming anthology, "Song of the Slum" and other issues on poetry and writing.

A magazine of literary and cultural criticism, Bakwa Magazine, has released its eighth issue, themed PAIN.

Founded in 2011 by Dzekashu MacViban, Bakwa magazine is Cameroon’s leading Anglophone publication of literature, politics, and art. Its editorial team currently comprises editor Dzekashu MacViban, assistant editor Socrates Mbamalu, copy editors Nfor E. Njinyoh and Kelechi Njoku, staff writer Howard M-B Maximus, and editorial adviser Kangsen Feka Wakai. It also explore pain in different forms with an exciting mix of memoir, fiction and poetry.

Bakwa‘s Issue 08: PAIN has contributions from Isabella Morris, Howard M-B Maximus, Ucheoma Onwutuebe, Margot Block, Ani Kayode Somtochukwu, Olubunmi Familoni, and Isabella Morris, Dane Cobain, Stanley Princewill McDaniels, Agogho Franklin, Immanuel James, Leslie Meya, Imhanguelo Angela, Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Abigail George, and Kwoh Elonge.

The ears of my Maker shall not be denied of this 

That you promised to be your best

But made a U-turn when you eyed the rest

You told me to accept it and not to say a word 

You asked me to leave work, that I needed to be worked on

I will tell my Maker how you lied to me

When I meet my Maker

I will tell Him the days I skipped my prayers

I will tell Him how I slept without some ishā

How hard I worked day and night to be fit, to fix and feed you

I will tell Him how you made me forget my maker

I will ask if really "you owned me" and not Him

When I meet my Maker

I will plead with Him to temper justice with mercy

That I was only jealous of you having Nancy

Which made me forget I was made for nothing

Other than to bow to You my maker

I will ask my Creator to punish you rather

For making me feel less to Nancy

For telling me always that you owned me

For making me patronize Sidi for the slow poison

When I meet my Maker

I will tell Him how I killed out of jealousy

How my heart popped out seeing your corpse

I will tell my maker truly I have wronged

And because I know He is the God of Justice

I will walk straight to hell because you made me nothing but evil

● SAKEENAH JATTO is a Muslim lady, a native of Kogi state, Nigeria. She is final year student of English Education, University of Ilorin. She is a Radio broadcaster and a compere, a teacher in training, a writer, an humanitarian and a poet with the pen name "tranquil_pen". She has written several poems and short stories. She enjoys writing, impacting on younger generations and  loves engaging in meaningful discourses. She is a member of ANA (Association of Nigerian Authors), Kwara state chapter and Penwarriors Incorporations.

●Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim is a Nigerian poet and playwright. He writes from Gombe state, Nigeria.

The 2018 Babishai-Niwe Poetry Award has announced a longlist of 35 names.

Twenty-six (26) of the longlist are from Nigerian, Three (3) from Kenya, Two (2) from Zimbabwe; while one (1) poet each from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi, made it to the list.

The 2018 Award judged by Remi Raj, Rehema Nanfuka, and Alfred Msadala produced the following longlist:

The winner of this year Award will be announced at the 2018 Babishai-Niwe Poetry Festival from 3-6 August, in Kapchorwa and Mbale, Uganda.

Founded in 2009 by Uganda’s Beverly Nambozo Nsengiyunva, director of Babishai-Niwe Poetry Foundation, the BN Poetry Award was originally aimed at highlighting poetry by Ugandan women. 

The first winners were Lilian Akampurira Aujo in 2009, Sophie Brenda Alal in 2010), Sanyu Kisaka in 2011, and Susan Piwang in 2012. 

After the prize was expanded to all African poets, the winners were Tom Jalio in 2014, Adeeko Ibukun in 2015, and Sanya Noel and Moyosore Orimoloye in 2016.

Read the Longlisted Poems for the Awards

It was a wow moment of Poetry renditions, Spoken Word performances as well as motivating and inspiring talks from both upcoming and established voices in the stage and page literary industry at Umar Isa Saidu’s album launch, in the emirate city of Ilorin, Kwara State.

Image: Housecheck

MORTAL POISONS
Bad character, Love of fame
Uninstructed loose gob,
Endless hatred
Ranging inferno flames

Image: Freepik

You should have been sure
Before you confessed declarations of love
Before you professed confessions of awe
Before you declared professions of affection

My days ticking in tock,

My words living in worlds.
I count my blessing today,
I see it outweighs yesterday.

When I say I love you, sweetheart,
You should know I really mean it,
I don't fake orgasm when I feel naught.

As the birthday of the popular Ilorin finest OAPs is near, the duo of MKO, Abdulmajeed Kehinde Oyewole and Prince HTO, Abdulhafeez Taiye Oyewole (Precioustwins) have revealed their plan to mark their birthday in a grand style.

The birthday which comes up on Saturday, 15th of April, 2017 is promised to be made  memorable by the celebrants, as listeners, fans, family and friends are going to be uniquely appreciated.

According to the Edutainers, the day would be celebrated with the listeners to their educative and entertaining  radio show,  EDUTAINMENT on Radio Kwara 2, Midland FM 99.0, promising that free recharge vouchers would be gifted to the first and last callers to the programme, while all Nigeria's communication airtimes would also be called out for fast fingers on their mid-month show of Saturday, 15th of April, 2017 as it holds on their birthdate.

The presenters also said that they would as well mark the day with their friends and family in Ilorin at a joint to be later disclosed.

Coupled with that, one of Precioustwins, AbdulHafeez T. Oyewole, popularly known as Prince HTO has made known his intention of releasing his second collection of poetry, titled: Air Around Us for free download by all literary enthusiasts world wide as an offering from him to all and sundry.

Prince HTO who said the link to the book will be unveiled on their birthday via his Facebook page, Princehto.com; Edutainment show page, Edutaiment and Precioustwins page, Precioustwins, urged everyone to download, read, review and share it with friends and family on the release date.

Describing the literary effort, the presenter and poet said: "Air Around Us is a poetry anthology born out of the will to contribute one's voice to the existing voices and to explore the unexplored boundaries. Hence, this work is an embodiment of potencies in experimented crafts as well as indefatigable drifts toward known and unknown atmospheres, as the state of the Air we breathe Around Us in this fleeting world is not constant. So, also is the drive and inspiration of the poems birthed in this collection."

Photo: Precioustwins

In the night when it falls still and dark
With the earth crust:
I can see the moon waving at us,
Saying the life is going to an end.
Oh my people,
Try not to be mischievous
Around the world.
Try to be a good ambassador
Of your home.

It is the summer morn
Everywhere looks bright and glitter
I can hear the sound of the bird
And the crackles of the cricket

The earth is round
The sky is blue in colour
Everywhere is silent
Because the weather is cool and calm

The trees are looking greener
Waving all day and happy
The birds singing, flying from one tree to another

The foundation begins
The house is built
Wall is made to beautify the house

Without it, there will be no place to live
It is made wide and long
For it to be conducive

Anybody can talk anything
Anytime it pleases him
The clearer pictorial thing
To me is that it's Him

I have chosen my course
I have chosen my Faith
Which is never by force
Leave me with my faith

Anybody can speak in tongue