Poetry serves diverse functions to man. In societies that decorum is enforced
by the rule of law, poetry loses its revolutionary potency and is seen as art,
existing for its own sake. However, in Nigeria, a country where abnormalities
have been normalized, illegalities legalized, poetry loses its elitist place of
domicile and becomes a tool in the arsenal of the subaltern class in class.
Thus, the place of angst-filled poetry is still relevant even in the Twenty
First century. Idris Amali, a professor of Oral Literature is a contemporary of
Niyi Osundare, Okimba Launko, Tanure Ojaide, Ezenwa Ohaeto and other second
generation Nigerian poets. The poetry collection, EFEEGA War of Ants, is
divided into seven subsections and each has a title: “Desert of Needs”, “Pride
in Filth”, “Restless Abodes”, “Struggle”, “Exchanges”, “Dine with the Past” and
“War of Ants.” The collection, more so, has sixty five poems.
The cover page of the collection speaks volume of its thematic thrust. A dead elephant lies under a bloody and chaotic moon and ants meander over the gigantic dead beast, lacerating its armored skin with angry mandibles. Professor Bello Bada in his endorsement of the poetry collection says, that, “in this new volume, EFEEGA: War of Ants, the poet exposes the elephant – a behemoth that must be dethroned for the restoration of decency and sanity.” Indubitably, in the mood of jeremiad, the poet laments the devastation of the nation’s treasury and natural resources by the gluttonous and greedy ruling elite. Most of the poems are laced with images of squalor, misery and impoverishment which are orchestrated by the absence of good leadership. In the poem, “From the Pond,” an image of a young herdsman is painted. The fellow “squats” beside a filthy pond where his cows are splashing filthy water in the air and begins drinking. This specimen of nature who is immune from material advancement of humanity will later assume the throne and become leader tomorrow. The poets wails thus, ‘He lives today in a pool with his cows/ And from the cow pond to govern our thoughts/And administer our welfare” (19).
The cover page of the collection speaks volume of its thematic thrust. A dead elephant lies under a bloody and chaotic moon and ants meander over the gigantic dead beast, lacerating its armored skin with angry mandibles. Professor Bello Bada in his endorsement of the poetry collection says, that, “in this new volume, EFEEGA: War of Ants, the poet exposes the elephant – a behemoth that must be dethroned for the restoration of decency and sanity.” Indubitably, in the mood of jeremiad, the poet laments the devastation of the nation’s treasury and natural resources by the gluttonous and greedy ruling elite. Most of the poems are laced with images of squalor, misery and impoverishment which are orchestrated by the absence of good leadership. In the poem, “From the Pond,” an image of a young herdsman is painted. The fellow “squats” beside a filthy pond where his cows are splashing filthy water in the air and begins drinking. This specimen of nature who is immune from material advancement of humanity will later assume the throne and become leader tomorrow. The poets wails thus, ‘He lives today in a pool with his cows/ And from the cow pond to govern our thoughts/And administer our welfare” (19).
