By Noel Ihebuzor
Ezigbo Ada Anyi,
Strange that an internal UNICEF exchange on which you were copied allowed
me to get in touch with a lady whose tales of courage and care I have
heard but who I have not been privileged to meet in person as I have been
out of Nigeria for a bit now.
I have written a short poem for you to convey how I feel and to celebrate
this “meeting”.
written in a hurry, the poem is full of imperfections – but the intentions
are clean and should redeem these imperfections
Jisie ike – Chukwu ga na agba gi ume
Noel
=================================================================================
For Dora Akunyili
and to all like you
who care to dare
who dare to care
may your names be song forever in cadence of joy from the tops of iroko trees
may fame rightly gained grow and glow and blossom
till like a rainbow it embraces the entire sky
and lives are lightened and brightened by its bloom
and the boundaries of darkness eroded and rolled back by its ennobling beauty and brightness
long may your actions continue to be song
long and far and wide
on shores beyond seven rivers
beyond eight market days and nine hills will your story be told
Ada anyi, may your feat of courage conspire
with those of kindred spirits to inspire,
to loosen feet and consciences held down in lead
to refresh and renew souls, to reborn and restore values
so that a thousand like you in diverse callings in time
will emerge and converge
and redeem our country from its pain and shame
ogologo ndu, ezigbo ada anyi nwanyi
ihu na anya Chukwu, amara ya na ebere ya buru kwa nke gi
and may He renew you whose actions renew and revitalise
as He will to all who care, who care to dare and who dare to care.
========================================================================
Noel Ihebuzor, Chef du Programme Education, UNICEF DRC 8 nihebuzor@unicef.org, 8 noel.ihebuzor@gmail.com
Dora Akunyili <dnakunyili@yahoo.com>
To
Noel Ihebuzor <nihebuzor@unicef.org>
11/02/2007 01:30 PM
cc
Subject Re: Etteh: sheath not hard swords
Dear Noel,
Many thanks for your mail.
Best regards,
Dora Akunyili
Noel Ihebuzor <nihebuzor@unicef.org> wrote:
Poem 2
Sheath Not Hard Swords
Sheath not hard swords against the deceiver,
speak not hard words against a brethren/”sisthren”,
scatter not
let not gender strife
endanger a worthy cause,
for those who divide us,
divide their spoils without us,
behind our backs,
they enfold us in mists of myths,
in sweet coated slippery ideologies
of schisms and rifts,
let not the victims divide
let us be on course
for the time is ripe
tide is high
so, let us all roll with the tide
with the times
in the present
while we count time slowly like slow snails
may those who rip off our land,
not reap from our toils
may their shares in the end
be searing shame
and ours the gain and fame
of souls with clean hands
and clear singing hearts.
finished 0900 hours 02/11/2007 –
this second poem was an appeal for rallying round a good, cause particularly after Dora’s intentions were questioned and a good cause then faced the threat of being split and thus weakened by appeals to gender, religion and region! Naija sef!
Reflections 