A Sick Man Shall Rule Over You

By Obiwu

And it was said: In the millenium of our lord, a sick man shall rule over you, with a sick brain and sick eyes and sick limbs. And then he shall disappear in a cloud of stone and gown and silence. And it was said: His sick wife shall rule in his place and from his sickbed. His children shall sing and dance and praise their god. Thank you god, they shall sing: For you gave unto us a sick son and a sick father and a sick husband. And his sick wife ruled over the sick land from his sickbed. Thank you god, they shall dance: For you gave unto us a sick man and a sick woman to rule over a sick people who are sick in spirit and sick in body and sick in mind. And in the millenium of our lord, all your Empty Word – to which nothing was added or removed – shall come to pass. Sickness and praises shall be unto your sick name.

Felicitations on the Abuja Writers' Forum Literary Contest

Dear Dr. Emman Shehu,

The Abuja Writers' Forum Literary Contest is the most diverse and far-reaching literary competition ever organized by a Nigerian literary group. The depth of thought and vision that has gone into the naming, coverage, and justification of the various prizes is unrivaled in the history of Nigerian literary awards.

By honoring and distinguishing Nigerian and African literature in such a grand style, you and your colleagues have etched your names on the diamond-plaque of our cultural history. You have fulfilled the prime objective of Professor Chinua Achebe's dream in founding the Association of Nigerian Authors' Awards, which was that those coming after him shall advance his vision and not abuse or corrupt it with greed.

Your very beautiful website (http://www.abujawritersforum.com/) is also the most representative of any Nigerian literary or cultural website to date! The profile image of a gaunt poet Gabriel Okara with an open book is evocative.

I pray for the survival and longevity of the AWF programs and awards. Most especially, I pray for the continued wisdom, initiative, and courage of the awards' organizers, sponsors, and patrons.

Thank you and congratulations a million times for an enviable leadership.

Obiwu

Nnamdi Azikiwe and Kwame Nkrumah: Pan-Africanist Mentor and Mentee

"Zik had been instrumental in sending many Ghanaian and Nigerian students to Lincoln. The most famous of these was Nkrumah." - Niara Sudarkasa, former president, Lincoln University, PA.

Some of the more distinguished beneficiaries of Zik's West African scholarship program include, from Ghana: E. Ako Adjei, K. A. B. Jones-Quartey, and Kwame Nkrumah; from Nigeria: Abdul Karimu Disu, Okechukwu Ikejiani, George Mbadiwe, Kingsley Ozuomba Mbadiwe, Mbonu Ojike, and Nwafor Orizu.

"My nationalism was also revived ... through articles written in The West African Morning Post by Nnamdi Azikwe, a Nigerian from Onitsha. Azikiwe was himself a graduate from an American university and when I had first met him after he had addressed a meeting of the Gold Coast Teachers' Association some years earlier in Accra, I had been greatly impressed by him and had been more determined than ever to go to America." - Kwame Nkrumah.

Reference

Obiwu. “The Pan-African Brotherhood of Langston Hughes and Nnamdi Azikiwe.” Dialectical Anthropology, 31.1-3 (November 2007): 143-165.