IF YU HIE SE A DE PRIZIN (antoloji of puem-dem fo Naija langwej)
This anthology is a collection of 93 poems by 32 poets and edited by Eriata Oribhabor - himself, a poet, who has been a frontline campaigner for an integrated Nigerian lingua-franca. To the best of my knowledge, the poems in this collection are fresh and original. The language, like the styles of presentation, are light, conversational and unconventional, all of which give the poems deceptive simplicity. The subjects range from the engagement with Nigeria as motherland, her past history to representational or fictive version of current occurrences in the country; to reminiscence of childhood memories; of love; longing; students life and urban life to the portrayal of underprivileged Nigerians’ existentialist struggles – interpreted as allegories of struggles against domineering ruling class, the oil companies, the government and its unfavorable policies etc - just about all, often culminating in hints of optimism about the chances for salvation. Some of the poems seem a little too