Seeing societal issues through the eye of a teenager

Book: Writings to myself

Author: Ama Okigbo

Pages: 68

Reviewer: Taiwo Adeniyi

Publisher: Credo Publications

Little would you expect from a book authored by a 13-year-old. Ama Okigbo has shown that the future of poetry in Nigeria is brighter with her succinct understanding of poetry. Her creative writing course at the 2019 Phillips Academy Andover Summer Program in Massachusetts, USA, must have helped in sharpening her writing skills. She is another shining star from Premier International School Abuja toeing the footpath of Sylva Ulan Matthew, though in a different way.

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‘Writings to myself’ is a collection of poems written between October 2018 and August 2020. The poems are arranged in chronological order by the date they were written and captures the teenager’s understanding of several societal issues.

As a legendary poet, Dike Chukwumerije, said in the foreword: “In this collection, through your eyes – a young girl – we are able to see again the things that we have grown so accustomed to seeing that we no longer see. Ultimately, this is what every writer hopes to achieve when he or she writes. To make hardened hearts beat again.”

Ama’s choice of beginning the collection with ‘Frustration’ was well thought out. The poem was beautifully delivered with literary devices such as rhymes and it also captured why some students are frustrated by competition, ambition, examination. The frustration of politicians with elections was also explained but more beautiful is the proffered solution to frustration:

Frustration is an emotion

But with determination

You can exceed your expectations

The anthology contains well-arranged 28 poems on different themes that appeal to teenagers and adults. The book would fascinate most teenagers with its beautiful photographic representations of the poems. ‘Cities’ was accompanied with a photograph of a busy street with tricyclists, cart pusher, pedestrians and motorists in a battle for space. How else does one capture her wishes for a peaceful Nigeria other than a photograph of Nigeria’s rich cultural display and the representation of Nigeria’s flag in ‘Long lost country’, Nigeria is beyond description.

Most adults would be nostalgic in flipping to the third poem in the collection, ‘Christmas mysteries’. Such feelings could however be of two ways, for those that experienced as Ama puts it:

Little mysteries wrapped in boxes

Squares, rectangle and even triangles

Sitting under a festive tree

Ready to be ripped by our longing fingers

But the wait, we must bear

It is a feeling of joy that you cherish and the wordings of the poems bring smiles to your faces. On the other hand, it could be a mixed feeling for those that never had the privilege of having such wrapped boxes sitting under the festive tree. But for teenagers, reading Christmas mysteries in June would make them long for another yuletide

Of Santa Claus and his little elves

Of the reindeer and the one with a red nose

I cannot but wonder the applause that followed after she presented the quintain at the Chukwumerije Christmas spoken word performance in December 2018.

Her other poem on Christmas, Christmas is here once more was less mysterious as it explores the laughter and cheers that come with the season.

What do you expect from a teenager on love? Some readers might have thought of the question of seeing Love, one of the four tercets in the collection. What the poem lacks in length it makes up for in its deep meaning providing readers with a leeway.

Love is like a rose

It is a beauty and pain

So, choose a path, follow

The meanings of the triplet of tercets, Life, Joy and the Search in the collection show another creative imaginative prowess of the poet. Summarizing her understanding of life in just three lines and doing a good job with it, should amaze top poets who would not mind passing the baton to this young mind.

With Life she said,

You can live a life

But, with no family then

You didn’t live life

Joy and The Search shows no difference as this shortness make their meanings louder.

Also, Ama showed her patriotism with Long lost country, where she demonstrates her hope for a united Nigeria.

Were we the ones who pledged an oath?

Are those times lost?

I seek our long-lost country

For it can still be found

For her to be inspired to writing Apartheid after reading ‘Born a crime’ a book by a popular South African comedian, Trevor Noah, showed her love for literary works which also included ‘One man one machete’ by T. M Aluko, published in 1964. The novel births Ama’s ‘Bloodshed.’