Naija languej
Eriata Oribhabor
'No' e say, 'Freedom no get condition'
Na so dem suffer the veteran of Robben Island.
'No' e say, 'Knowledge no prevent any body from am' -
E dey fear, but e no dey fear, face of the Maid of Pakistan.
'No' e say, 'Faith no be do or die' -
Im voice na like person wey dem capture, but e stand gidigba for Dapchi,
Im fire bright well well for inside the den of zealots.
So, from time to time, na voice of testimony we dey hear -
Mandela, Malala, Leah Sharibu - the torch of
'No, Prometheus say', fire and the anthem,
E dey find pain, fire wey go burn well well through
Chibok and Dapchi, to put light back to the world.
---
Read the English translation – Mandela Comes to Leah by Prof. Wole Soyinka
. Eriata Oribhabor is a poet and frontline promoter of Naija languej. He started off writing poetry in the indigenous Nigerian Pidgin currently being standardized as Naija languej. Writing in the languej, he authored; "Abuja na kpangba and Oda puem-dem (2011), edited, "IF YU HIE SE A DE PRIZIN" (poems) and "AMEBO YAD" (collection of plays). A former chairman, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abuja Branch, Eriata Oribhabor is the author of two poetry collections; "Beautiful Poisons" and "CROSSROADS & THE RUBICON". He is the Editor, WUSHAPA – Beating the Drums of Peace, Who Shall I Make My Wife (collection of Food related poems), and a passionate lover of the streets where he once hawked various items in Warri, Nigeria; his place of birth.
No comments:
Post a Comment