Writing Happily Ever after.

You have this burning desire to publish your first book. Your birthday has arrived and you want to see your name on print. You are tired of sending your entries to common wealth and Caine prize and waiting to be discovered. You have heard of authors who sent books to publishers and were rejected but as soon as they were shortlisted for Caine prize, the publishers came with offers. You waited for your turn, and you are still waiting. Your story is happy stories about people who live happily and the world prefers sad stories of children fighting to death or begging on the streets.

You approach some publishers and they tell you sorry but we have stop accepting manuscripts.

You have become desperate so you look for a vanity publisher, they give you a steep price and you are happy yes we should do this.

You ask them about the marketing plan. They tell you have to do everything by yourself, you wonder what are you paying for. You imagine your book becoming a best seller, be invited for events and having people following every word you say and crowning you the Queen of Literature.

The vanity publisher sends you a bill and it is almost four hundred thousand and your dreams came crashing down. You hold on to one dream winning the man booker prize and spinning  tales. You have already decided that you will tell everybody in the world that Nigerians use Shea butter for body cream but who will listen to you.

You go to Google and search for Nigerian publishers and you see the list, it is the same one you have seen before. You check Google and see a site for independent publishing, you publish your book and still no one buys.

You decide you are tired so you enter a cab to Wuse and you see a place called Beulah Printers. You do everything by yourself and you have your book. You are happy and you sell on your own at least you made some money. You are now an author and your book sold 50,000 copies suddenly the publisher starts calling. 

Review of Obemata's ''Triptych of identity,exile and homeland.''

The book was first published in July 2013 by SPM publications in Great Britain. Obemata is a Nigerian Lawyer, a poet and an activist. He belongs to the people exiled during the Abacha era.

Triptych is an embodiment of the love of a Nigerian for his Country. It is a poetry collection about love, joy and sacrifice.

The book was written in the duration of three months. It is reminiscence of the style of the poet e.e Cummings. It is free verse with no obvious rhyming scheme. The poems are untitled except one called ‘‘no original poem’’. The poet used simile, personification, allusion and paradox to paint a vivid image.

The book was written in a time where the Country is facing challenges due to security, corruption and unemployment.

The poet said

‘‘i am sad, my Country too is sad

 Like a dog without a bone.’’

In Identity ‘‘i’’ is a strong presence used about 63 times and helps to draw you in to the writers world.

‘‘i, poet, thread words the way the seamstress thread fabric’’

 The poet is talking to you and invites you in to the world he weaves.

The poet struggled with the love of his country; he kept on loving even though at times she refused to love him back.

‘‘can you find my voice

Between the tears i shed for the woman

i loved, i love?

The woman here is Nigeria and she is fickle because she sent a young Obemata away.

Where in his words

‘‘ the letters of my name

 Scattered

In the dark streets

Of another country

exiles,’’

  The second part of the poetry collection titled ‘‘exile’’ is about abandonment and yearning. The poet speaks to his country and tells her that exile is a form of death.

‘‘ there is no death greater than deaths

We die, when we pack

the dusks and dawn we have lived.’’

In ‘‘for the homeland’’ The poet speaks to Nigeria with hope and joy seeping through.

‘‘ dawn is breaking:

My heart, the flagstaff of day,’’

The poet used a long pause as if he held his breath hoping for a bright future for the love of his country.

The poet say

i ask:

What do you take?

From my poems?

I say love, the joy of being alive, the price of freedom and hope for a better Nigeria. This poetry collection touched my soul with its simple words and profound meanings .I really enjoyed reading and I recommend it for everybody.

Life Is Like Wearing Ankara.

Life is like wearing Ankara,

Sometimes you are afraid to enter a bus,

Your wrapper may get stuck and tear,

 Life is like wearing your turquoise

Kiri- Kiri dress with a red zip,

What if the zip breaks on the way?

If it breaks you can use your veil to cover it.

Life is like wearing Vlisco,

With red lipstick,

making the world smile

And work for you.

Life is like tying Aso-oke

On your head,

With responsibilities weighing you down,

Life is like wearing Hollandaise

With your only gold chain,

At a wedding,

 With only five hundred Naira in

Your Chanel purse,

Life is like wearing Ankara

Washing it,

 Spreading it out to dry,

Until the sun eats it slowly,

One day it is faded,

Kept at the bottom of the cupboard,

Then discarded.

The Book I Borrowed From The Library

The  book I borrowed from American corner Abuja is Amy Tan's 'The Hundred Secret Senses'. The book takes you from America to China and travels between the present and the past.