Dear all:
There is a book of creative writing, "Ibadan Mesiogo" sponsored by the late Chief Bola Ige with the collaboration of the Association of Nigeria Authors, ANA, (old) Oyo State Chapter then in the '90s.
This poem and the account by the Respondent would have made the book if the Call for Contributions were to be made today.
For me personally, I came to Ibadan in 1978 as a Primary 5 pupil, to begin life with my eldest sister, my second mother, whose family had been there since the '60s before they moved back home to Ogbomoso in 1984, in the aftermath of Buhari's coup.
I did not leave until I relocated to the north central geo-zone on 2002. Ibadan is indeed a city of warm embrace, in which we are all pleased! That city alone can stand as a State in the proposed new configuration of Nigeria post-National Conference! What with 5 or more LGs...
Kudos to Afolayan for this nostalgic rememberings....
Shalom!
Sent from my iPad
On May 1, 2014, at 10:27, stradin2001 via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Dear Afolayan,
This Poetry is profound for those of us to whom Ibadan is more than home. I have been embraced in the warmth of this great City and consider myself a true daughter of the soil.
You see, my father came to this City from the then South Eastern Region(Ibibioland) in 1947 on being demobilized from the army after the second world war. My mother was married in 1947. My parents had all their 12 children in Ibadan. I am the 9th of 12 children and was born over 50 years ago in this City of the warm embrace. I am married to an Ibadan indigene. Yoruba is my first language which I speak with the true kini so (show) accent. My Uncle who is 83 years still resides in Ibadan and we have four generations of my family in this city.
Long essay. But just providing the context for why your poem got my attention so powerfully.
Ibadan yio gbe wa oh! Ibadan to gbo nile to gba'lejo. Ibadan to gb'ole to gbole. Ilu Ibadan ko ni baje. Amin Aase!Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Etisalat. Enjoy high speed mobile broadband on any of our Easyblaze plans. Visit www.etisalat.com.ng for details.From: "'Adeshina Afolayan' via USA Africa Dialogue Series"<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2014 22:14:20 +0100ReplyTo: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.comSubject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - iPoem 6: Ibadan Invited Me...Ibadan invited me...and I came,enchanted,into itstroublesome embracea non-Mesiogo:my legs achedmy brain throbbedmy hair greyedmy loins flourishedand still Ibadan held mein its troublesome embraceIt's more than a score years alreadymore than the life timeof most meaningful affairsIs it still morning yetin this romance?I am a non-Mesiogoyet Ibadan embraced meAdeshina Afolayan--Sent from Samsung Mobile
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.