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Merchant of poetry, Oribhabor unveils trilogy

By Adelowo Adebumiti
11 August 2019   |   2:20 am
Prominent Nigerian poet, social activist and commentator, Sir Eriata Oribhabor, has unveiled three new books to address issues surrounding life, society and the environment.

Eriata Oribhabor

Prominent Nigerian poet, social activist and commentator, Sir Eriata Oribhabor, has unveiled three new books to address issues surrounding life, society and the environment.

The books, Walking Truths, That Beautiful Picture and Colours and Borders, are collection of poems written by Oribhabor from 2015 to date and filled with life’s messages.

Speaking at the event, which held at Virgin Rose Resorts, Victoria Island, Lagos, the author said the books contained poetry for everybody and covers all aspect of life.

“The message running through the books is life, seeing life as important. At no time should one allow pain to drown him. The books are pills for societal uplift, they cover all aspects of society and it is for everybody,” he said. While advising people to see themselves as poets, said everyone is actually one “but how to discover this ability is one of the challenges of man.”

According to him, “once you discover this ability, there is no way you will breakdown or begin to think about depression or things like that.”Chairman of the event and Acting Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Ahmad Rufai Shakur, described the author as somebody who is passionate about writing and has penned many notable books. Shakur who was represented by Assistant Director, Human Resources, DPR, Mr. S. L. Waplang, said he often wondered where the poet gets the time and energy to produce books.

Also at the event, six-year-old Akachi Ogu recited and delighted guests with one of the poems, Today is Victory from Colours and Borders. Book reviewer and author of Punctured Silence, Kolade Olarenwaju Freedom described the author as an untiring warrior for a sane society and a die-hard canvasser for “that beautiful picture.”He said: “Amid cheers and jeers, his writings emit truths strutting varied arenas. As a minstrel, his ever-tweeting pen traverses colours and borders, spilling oneness on papers of humanity.

“The poetry collections entitled Walking Truths, That Beautiful Picture and Colours and Borders are imprints of Something For Everybody Ventures, a publishing outfit run by the author. The quality of the publication emboldens the optimistic ideology of Oribhabor as regards having a beautiful picture across borders. “It doesn’t have to be foreign to be deemed good.” The books ooze beauty and appeal many would believe could not be obtained locally. Di Poet has walked his talk, and sung his song.”

Freedom, in his review, said the author’s poems are characterised by refined compactness and undulating harmony. “His verses are so tightly woven that they could be described as grains of sand and enjoyed as packs of small chops. Noticeably, the poet has a penchant for subsuming his poems in riveting musicality. “

In his ‘trilogy’ he employs the services of an orchestra to enliven his poems for audiences seeking the unification of entertainment and aesthetics,” he said.

Freedom said this orchestra is not constituted by animate artistes, but by sound devices including repetition, cadence, alliteration, assonance and consonance, playing diverse musical instruments to achieve uninterrupted rhythm. “Dominant in the trilogy is the poet’s adept use of metaphors, imagery and sarcasm. Connotative devices conjuring vivid imageries that make a reader embark on images-filled sojourn vein the verses. In his unwavering quest to right the wrongs in the society, Oribhabor wields sarcasm as a scourge for uprooting the woes of humanity.”

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