Sola Osofisan
08-03-2009, 11:41 PM
By Victor Ehikhamenor
"There are no artilleries here/No armoured vehicle, no war planes/Only a few dead bodies." From Bauchi to Bayelsa, yesterday to today, Abubakar Gimba's poem, "A Peace Zone," ricocheted in the audience's ears and held them captive to the macabre testament of our nation.
Sitting diminutively, his poem wielded a big message on the many violent situations inherent in Nigeria, past and present, despite the fact that there is no war.
Gimba was last month's guest writer at the Abuja Writers' Forum's monthly session which held at Pen and Pages Bookshop in Abuja on July 26. A prolific and well respected writer from Niger State, the gentle poet drew a large crowd, ranging from members of the public, to mostly writers and journalists.
Also in attendance were some of his old classmates and friends, that included Lawan Gwadabe, one time military governor under Ibrahim Babangida's regime. Consequently, the literary event was not free from Nigerian style VIP protocol.
Gwadabe, the special guest of honour, arrived in the middle of Gimba's reading from "This Country of Ours" and the show had to stop to acknowledge the retired colonel's presence. A major disruption ensued.
More (http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/5439402-147/story.csp)
"There are no artilleries here/No armoured vehicle, no war planes/Only a few dead bodies." From Bauchi to Bayelsa, yesterday to today, Abubakar Gimba's poem, "A Peace Zone," ricocheted in the audience's ears and held them captive to the macabre testament of our nation.
Sitting diminutively, his poem wielded a big message on the many violent situations inherent in Nigeria, past and present, despite the fact that there is no war.
Gimba was last month's guest writer at the Abuja Writers' Forum's monthly session which held at Pen and Pages Bookshop in Abuja on July 26. A prolific and well respected writer from Niger State, the gentle poet drew a large crowd, ranging from members of the public, to mostly writers and journalists.
Also in attendance were some of his old classmates and friends, that included Lawan Gwadabe, one time military governor under Ibrahim Babangida's regime. Consequently, the literary event was not free from Nigerian style VIP protocol.
Gwadabe, the special guest of honour, arrived in the middle of Gimba's reading from "This Country of Ours" and the show had to stop to acknowledge the retired colonel's presence. A major disruption ensued.
More (http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/5439402-147/story.csp)