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    A Plea for Memory
    A Plea for Memory
    A Plea for Memory
    Ebook107 pages38 minutes

    A Plea for Memory

    By Olumide Omoyele

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    About this ebook

    A PLEA FOR MEMORY is just that: an entreaty to remembrance. It does not pretend to have the answers to unlocking the secrets of the future. It does, however, claim that by remembering, an understanding of the present is possible. Exactly what one does with knowledge of the umbilical cord connecting the past to the present in ones navigation of the future is a matter of choice.
    The author hopes only to trigger the readers imagination. He does not seek to preach an irrational belief or convince of a particular point of view. This work remembers the pasts of various African peoples, records the forceful subjugation of the present and poses the perennial question of the continents renaissance. It delves into the human condition and immerses itself in the themes of remembrance, history, pain, war, gods and death.
    The author is unapologetic in his refusal to follow the classic rules of poetry in the belief that freedom of expression must be unconstrained by mere regulations. He tries to abide by his own maxim: of all the freedoms, the greatest is that of thought.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse UK
    Release dateDec 6, 2013
    ISBN9781491886779
    A Plea for Memory
    Author

    Olumide Omoyele

    Olumide Olabode Omoyele was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He currently lives in England, United Kingdom. He has an LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree from King’s College, University of London; an LL.B. (Hons) Law degree from the University of Greenwich, London; and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law (now the University of Law), London. He is an expert in international financial law and regulatory policy and has published several articles in leading legal journals. One of such articles, “Continuing obligations of listed public companies: a critical analysis” is also featured in a major book – a five volume collection of classic and contemporary business law articles of the past 50 years, by: Hardy, ST, and Butler, M (eds), titled: “International Themes in Business Law” (Sage Library in Business and Management, 2007) Vol. 3.

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      Book preview

      A Plea for Memory - Olumide Omoyele

      © 2013 Olumide Omoyele. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 12/02/2013

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-8676-2 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-8675-5 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-8677-9 (e)

      Cover design © Olumide Omoyele

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Contents

      Preface

      Prologue

      Agonizing Pretences

      Life and Death

      Teacher is Child

      Slumber

      At Peace Only When Asleep

      Second Coming

      Infinite Eternity

      Beastly Humanity

      A Cry to the Yorùbá Gods!

      Brimmin’ with Strife

      Angels of Ideology

      Day-Dream

      The Eye Above

      Yearning for home

      Africa: Dreams

      Heavy Heart

      Rallying Cry

      Hip Hop is Dead

      Invisible Friend

      Power Squander

      Sweet Slumber

      Dying to Sleep

      Awakening

      Waking to Adulthood

      I Am Man

      Arrogant Man

      Agonizingly Liberating Nihilism

      God

      Fear of Permanent Death

      Not For Sale

      Prayer 4 A Rude Awakening

      Rise! Africa Rise

      African Woman (I salute!)

      Earth Weeps

      Sadist Cupid

      These Gods are Wicked

      Death/Life Irony

      Even Thugz Cry

      Plea for Forgiveness

      I, god

      Imagination and Memory

      Remembrance

      Everybody Burns

      A Lady’s Eyes

      Rain

      A Wail 4 Biafra

      Abeke

      Gentle Giant; Gentle Soul

      The Mighty Shall Fall

      Dying

      Best

      And So, God Wept

      Feminine Wrath

      Forget him not!

      Remember J?

      Beautiful Rose

      Ogoni’s Tears

      Isara

      Gods of the Written Word

      Haunted by Memory—Biafra On My Mind

      Suspended Memory

      Epilogue

      Yes We Can!

      Life Cycle

      No Reincarnation Please!

      Definitions

      Dedicated to AFRICA . . .

      and

      . . . to the memory of my ancestors who, in the evening of set ways,

      must have darkened the earth with teardrops shed at the

      thought of their progeny’s probable fate at the

      hands of obdurate, alien powers

      on whose insistence,

      things fell apart.

      Preface

      One of my childhood nicknames was rule-breaker. I grew up in a contradictory household: my mother, a fervent convert to spiritual Christianity; and my father, a non-spiritualist capable of tactical adaptation but with an underlying belief in Yoruba Gods. Born in Lagos, I witnessed the rise of aggressive born-again, Pentecostal churches with a renewed, refreshing interpretation of Christianity. I also witnessed magnetic performances of Eyo dancers, clad in white, on the streets of Lagos. In all their glorious majesty, they were like phantoms, passing by momentarily, and leaving frenzied crowds in trances.

      Aged 8, my family moved to our home town of Isara Remo in Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria. I made acquaintance of the Asogbo River, the lifeline of a town, the lush woods providing meat and legendary farmers gaining societal acclaim for their skilful management of the soil and its bountiful gifts. It was in Isara that my spiritual education was complete. The detonation of an already raging imagination; enthralled by countless ceremonies, burial rites, Agemo festivals and Egungun dance fests. It was like being transported back in time, to an authentic African time, with

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