Night Visions OAU Poetry Anthology (2015)

Put in simple terms, 'Night Visions' is a collection of poems about the various spheres of the Obafemi Awolowo University life.
From Temitayo Ogunmokun's passionate 'Reborn' to Trust F. Obe's 'Break Fear'; the dominant theme of the hustles, bustles, victories and despair on 'Africa's most beautiful campus' is depicted in the most sublime use of language, style, finesse and poetic competence. What the anthology offers is a group of poets who are quite close to the very peak of their poetic powers.

The 49 poem anthology is the brain child of 5 contributors namely Temitayo Ogunmokun, Mide Benedict Ademumi, Oke Christopher, Kemi Falodun and Trust F. Obe with cinematic pictures of the Obafemi Awolowo University environ supplied by Lekan Osundina.

In attempting a review of the anthology, an analysis of some of the works on display will be made highlighting the style as well as the use of poetic devices.

Temitayo Ogunmokun births the first poem. In 'Reborn', he speaks of an experience that all OAU students can relate to. This rebirth is for every student; a complete and total rebirth, for no student leaves the same way he comes in.
'Reborn', as earlier stated is a passionately delivered piece, the poet relives his experience-

Ages ago,
I waddled to your gates
On crooked, malformed limbs. Knock kneed,
Innocent, inept, green with naiveté
Awed by the magnificence of your undulating hills,
Misty mountain-tops, sultry sirens,
Towering indifference, charming novelty.
In these plethora of concatenating variances,
I lay hid. A swelling embryo,
Swirling, whirling, twirling...'

And while the poet may swirl, whirl and twirl; like a true son, he finds his way back home. The poem reminds one of the sojourn at the Institution. While one may swirl, whirl and twirl yet when the course is perfected and the days of sojourning have been fulfilled, every graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University remains proud of his alma mater.

'Gbagada
Gbagada
Gbem
Gbem
Gbam'
The onomatopoeia laden 'Taan Gboro' by Mide Benedict Adewumi offers a refreshing account of the transportation sector of the great citadel of learning.
These 'vibrating rusted iron containers' called buses serve as the necessary means by which students move; a blessing and sometimes a scourge. Perhaps, nothing highlights the beauty of this poem better than the poet's use of visual and auditory imagery in the conversations between the bus driver and the passengers. Mide Benedict Adewumi couldn't have stated it better than this-

'Taan Gboro!
Wa wole taan!
‘Taan Gboro! Taan Gboro!
Sister, is he a go?!’
“Gate?!”
‘Oya wole pelu changi!
Houl your changi!?’
And as this statements drop from their tragi-comic tongues,
“I get 1000” ‘Ma wole o; No changi’
Even GTB’s second and third ATM won’t save you
“I get hundred naira” ‘No twenty?
Ma wole, no entry!’
‘Se change wa?’ “O wa!” ‘Oya wole’
Then the musical boxes continue their musical farting.'

Art is astutely represented by the Anaphora spiced 'Art' by Oke Christopher. The poet speaks-
'I want to teach you,
I want to guide you,
I want to remind you,
I want to make you feel,
I want to make you reel.
I want to make you see
Outside the world you know.'
The reader is eagerly prompted into asking of who it is who seeks to teach, guide and remind. The poet doesn't leave us hanging, the teacher is Art and he wants you to see him every where you turn.

In Kemi Falodun's Boulevard, we see glimpses of Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken'. Like the classic poem, the poet is in the valley of decisions. She notes-

'I was at a point
Where three paths diverged
One to the left
With green trees
Green grass
And birds chirping
One to the right
With purple lawn
Purple trees
And the one behind me
With trees that have shed their coats
Boulevard of uncertainties... '

Boulevard reminds us of the many uncertainties of a student' a life; the daily grappling with decisions. So, does the poet choose the right path? The best answer is only time will tell...

'EXAMPHIVER' reminds us of that semester fever OAU students battle with. As metaphorically stated,
'Exam is labour period,
Memory is a midwife
The fifth alphabet is closest to a stillbirth
And F is the ultimate miscarriage...'

INDEED, F IS THE ULTIMATE MISCARRIAGE. Selah.


This review will not end without extolling the photographic dexterities of Lekan Osundina; the google-eyed lensman whose images add a picturesque dimension to the anthology. Suffice to say, if a man is not amused by the poetic competence on show in this anthology, he will surely keep it for the sake of those gratifying images.

So, why should you read 'Night Vision'? Read it for Art, read it for Femi Oduola; the young man whose abode is now in the world beyond. Read it for the other great poems I haven't reviewed here. Read it for the quest for knowledge. Read it for yourself.

Tobiloba Longe (The Blooming Poet) is a graduate of the prestigious Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University. Some of his poems include God's Battle axe, Let it be said and Notes of a New Saint. His poem 'War' won the Association of Nigerian Authors Obafemi Awolowo University 2014 Literary Challenge Competition.