The anthology from Echendu Chukwudi is a tale of the author’s migration from a suburban city in Lagos, Festac into Edinburgh in Scotland. The collection of thoughts transformed into multiple themes of poetry. Which beautifully captures the essence of merging different worlds and cultures, from the vibrant streets of Festac to the charming landscapes of Edinburgh.
Like a journey, the collection travels through people, tribes, controversial topics, and even the author’s testimony of such issues. To elucidate the imagery and emotions portrayed in the poems he evokes a sense of nostalgia and the journey of growth and understanding.
48 Thoughts You Should Read is a composition that reveals how the poems intertwine the experiences of the Sahel region in their political profile— which the author remodels the richness of cultural fusion and personal evolution. In contrast, Festac’s familiarity and Edinburgh’s novelty are vividly depicted, showcasing the poets’ refinement and adaptability.
A string of 48 poems that have a connection, since each poem connects towards why the author suddenly desires a newer zone. He spoke of the jive in Festac, which is a suburban region with illuminations of numerous activities from games to crises to senior youths who can be mentors to the juniors. In Nigeria, the poet’s origin— a youth is classed as anyone under 35.
Uncertain of the poet’s age bracket at the time of this anthology 2024 but he speaks from a vital point of view as a youth. Showing there is how much the youths can take before they rebel, indirectly, craving collaborative planning with the government to input their leadership skills with realistic goals to ensure the protection of youths. An example, is the poem Hold Fire this poem drills the margins of a corrupt police band in the Nigerian Police Force who had terrorised youths. It starts with From Festac/in the 2020/
#EndSars rally these opening lines to capture
The proceeding lines were;
On Festac’s streets
The rally’s flame pierces through the sky To Marina’s seat of power
Where justice lost a defender
At the Lekki toll gate, voices resound Burna Boy’s song of truth unbound.
With courage and strength Youths did stand
In unison and hope
In defence of the land.
The intentional starting of each line with articles is a question of his sequence in poetry writing. To draw his point into the reader’s mind, he tries to show the event rather than tell it. In another poem Illegal Substance the poet paints vivid experiences of natives in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria; based on their exposure to black soot from the illegal mining of crude oil. The poem starts with mildly captivating lines and becomes interesting with some middle lines such as The soot, a result of oil exploration activities/hangs heavily in the air/casting a silhouette over the land and its people. It settles on rooftops, trees, and water bodies/a visible reminder of the pollution that plagues the region.
In addition to the poem on black soot, Not Today tells the tale of the poet’s first year in university in a Niger Delta region, having to battle to gain stamina in a new zone, constantly running out of resources to fend for himself out of mismanagement. This is a yardstick into the depth of the collection. The author did not only use metaphors like “when hardship wears me like sleeves” but all added details to his experience, reading through the collection you’ll find many unfamiliar metaphors that will naturally give you an understanding of what he meant after a few thoughts. It is no wonder the poet titled the collection Thoughts You Should Read as from out of thoughts does more thoughts emerge. It is surprisingly clear and his education or native knowledge of English makes this an enjoyable collection.
The poet then proceeds to tell a story about the horrific rule of his home country. In Capital Punishment a free verse poem about the political power in Abuja. The issue I highlighted from the poem was the poet did not arrange the words, which creates a disconnection in the metre for instance “Capital, rules extend their hands, Guiding life across the thirty-six lands.” As read in the quote, that was a disconnection such as constant capital words in-between and excessive commas in this exact poem only. It is understandable free verse is unscripted neither do they have rules to adhere to. However, in other themes of poetry such as blackout, sestina, couplets, and more you find them in line.
As you continue to read in Home My Home the poet draws the poem like a photo montage— each piece connects and every word carries weight about the beauty of Nigeria including listing the various states. In Split, he talks about falling in love with a Ugandan girl who has been an inspiration in his artistic practices.
In Mr. Sterling, the poet compares his life in Nigeria and that of the UK. Then he recollects his past in university about being robbed with a butter knife, it was a poem with great humour but shockingly not an encounter to desire in Awoko, he kicks off in the hall of Delta State University Robbed with a butter knife/a night so eerie/Reading for exams/my mind drabbed in weary/In the darkness, fear and worry/Heart racing, hands trembling in fear/Lost in the night/no one nearby/Robbed in the exam’s atmosphere/Awoko’s tale is one to hear.
Proceeds to focus on his current state in Pencil In the symphony of fate/hands like pencils scribble Destiny’s canvas/where dreams and hopes are nimble. And time started to reflect on Stop Eating where he confronts Queen Victoria. In this interrogation, he supposedly said “Why grip West Africa by the bulls’ mighty horn?” His query, like a whisper, in the morn was born. This was an enjoyable poem, the rudiments and intricacies revealed the depth of colonisation in the African hemisphere.
He appreciates his identity in Blessed
I like the colour of my skin/I see the sun glazing on my melanin/Black boy ready to fly/In my head, it is the remembrance of; The rhythms from Carol Ann’s poems/Like a dirge caresses my soul…Having been lied to that the United Kingdom is full of people who discriminate only to find so much love and understanding it is a vast multicultural zone. And he follows with Edinburgh is home Other migrants lied to me that there were hardships to be weary of/Since my arrival/I have only been concerned about schoolwork/Many lies had become lice to my hearing/
I proclaim Edinburgh Home/A place to relieve my soul of life’s burdens/a journey I wish I had long taken.
Then he talks about falling for a Ugandan girl in
Ms. Luganda
I heard Ugandan girls liked Nigerian men,
But this girl from the University has proven otherwise, Fierce in her steps,
Blunt in her words,
Shimmery on. I wonder if she thinks my fashion sense is stale,
Or she visions me as a native boy,
Most Nigerian boys must have proven themselves to get her, I wonder how I can prove myself,
Maybe she does not even think of me,
But who knows?
Ms. Luganda is a stand-out poem revealing the poet has a crimson feel in telling his story like evoking feelings of excitement, energy, and warmth. It is fascinating the collection has a lot of finely blended poems that speak highly of Nigeria and Scotland. Sometimes he reflects on a home in poems like City of 77 and even juxtaposes Edinburgh with Lagos in some poems. An example of this attempt is in Imagine That
Picture Edinburgh’s castles/standing tall and grand/Transformed into Lagos’ bustling island, sand/Bagamoyo Street filled with music and cheer/As the sound of Afrobeat dances in the air.
The poet then expresses how he came with the mindset of being familiar with the environment because of movies or stories he has heard just to find that he knows little about what is to be known— in Johnny Just Come (JJC) he reveals his Learning new ways/embracing the change/In a cultural trend through some lines in the poems.
In Money Talks he said;
Naira and pounds dance, Exchange rate’s fickle rhythm, Numbers sway and spin.
Eagerly they shift, Sixteen lines of value, Economic tides.
Naira’s vibrant beat, Pounds’ resolute tempo, Melody of trade.
The anthology eloquently delineates the dichotomy between Festac’s exuberance and Edinburgh’s allure, portraying the author’s metamorphosis and versatility amidst the transition. Other poems I enjoyed were Omo Ope, Yoga, Kachibo Radio, Lagos Lagoon, Newtonian, Mother Afrique, Democracy our Disaster, my Africa, Tomorrow with a New Time Zone, Split, and Mr Sterling. Through the exploration of themes such as wistfulness and personal evolution, the verses interweave the experiences of the Nigerian youth in both locales, offering a poignant contemplation on societal dilemmas and the imperative of youth empowerment and synergy with governmental bodies for progressive transformation in his home country.
