THE POET AS DIVINER IN REMI RAJIS WHAT THE WIND TOLD ME

A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE SYMPOSIUM: REMI RAJI AND CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN POETRY

BY WATSON IFEOLUWA O.

NOVEMBER 26TH, 2011

ABSTRACT
Nigerian poetry from the first generation to the contemporary third generation has developed into a full blown status which registers in its wake, consistent characteristics that set it apart as a unique literary tradition. Remi Raji is an articulate voice in this literary tradition who has continued to comment critically and effectively on the spate of the corrupt Nigerian society through his poetry. He is one poet who has been able to combine the political with the personal, the personal with the future and the future with the present. This essay seeks to explore the heightened sensibility of the poet as depicted in Remi Rajis What the Wind Told Me from Webs of Remembrance.

Introduction
African poetry (and indeed all of its literature in other genres) has often been designated into divisions or classifications according to the prevailing thematic preoccupations, authorial visions or ideology and generational demarcations found in the literary works. Tijani M. Sallah and Tanure Ojaide (1999) classified African poets into three major groups; first, the nationalist politician poet who wrote poetry as part of the momentous anti-colonial struggle; second, the African poets who wrote during the independence and post-independence period and third, a younger generation of poets who came during the time when the African continent was caught in the throes of internal colonisation and their indigenous branches of power. Nigerian poetry is also classified along generational lines; the first, second, and third generation poets. The first generation Nigerian poets are represented by J.P Clark-Bekederemo, Gabriel Okara, Wole Soyinka, and Christopher Okigbo. Although, there was an earlier crop of poets in Nigerian poetry represented by the works of Epelle, Enitan Brown, Dennis Osadebay, Adeboye Babalola, Olumbe Bassir, etc (Joe Ushie, 2005). The poets in this earlier generation projected a kind of romanticisation on the advantage of colonialism but they later shifted conceptually and joined in the agitation for independence. The second generation poets include Niyi Osundare, Odia Ofeimun, Tanure Ojaide, Onuora, Ossie Enekwe, Catherine Acholonu and Henry Garuba (Ushie, 2005). These poets led the road of Nigerian poetry into socialist criticism on the condition of governance in Nigeria. They also institutionalised the Nigerian poetry tradition strongly with its inherent defining qualities as they are known today; such as the influence of orality and the use of local imagery to show the nexus of tradition and modernity in their literary art.

The third generation Nigerian poets include: Uche Nduka, Ifowodo Ogaga, Maik Nwosu, Emevwo Biakolo, Akeem Lasisi, Toyin Adewale, Usman Shehu, Osita Ezeliora, Remi Raji, etc (GMT Emezue, 2005). They are referred to as the lamentation poets who are concerned with the disillusioned realities that exist in the neo-colonial Nigerian society as an aftermath effect of military dictatorship between the late 1980s to the late 1990s in Nigeria (Sule Egya 2007). Therefore, the third generation of Nigerian poetry where Remi Raji belongs has displayed a dominance of political poetry which they utilise as a tool to express their disenchantment with the state of governance in Nigeria. Remi Raji is a renowned poet in the range of third generation Nigerian poetry with his dominant voice singing the throbbing cacophonies of the corrupt Nigerian society. He has five published poetry collections - A Harvest of Laughters (1997), Webs of Remembrance (2001), Shuttlesongs America: A Poetic Guided Tour (2003), Lovesong For My Wasteland (2005) and Gather My Blood Rivers of Songs (2009). His poetry reveals his strong preoccupation with the anomie in the Nigerian society. In this essay, his poems in the second sequence from Webs of Remembrance What the Wind Told Me have been chosen to reflect Remi Rajis intuitive hold of knowledge on the sociopolitical milieu of Nigeria.

The Poet as Diviner

A diviner is someone who possesses hidden knowledge of certain issues or events especially through the aid of supernatural powers.

Nigerian poetry alongside African literature in general has been tagged as an art for lifes sake. Therefore, the literary artist is essentially considered to be relevant as long as he visibly institutes the realities of his society into his art. Remi Rajis Webs of Remembrance displays a series of poems that comment vividly on the neo-colonial decadence present in the Nigerian society election malpractices, insecurity, the suffering of the masses, despotic rule, etc. Joe Ushie (2005) postulated that the third generation Nigerian poets are a new breed of poets who treat individual themes. However, one can still see the dominant preoccupation of neocolonial disillusionment in their poetry. This trend can be seen in Remi Rajis Webs of Remembrance; in this collection of poems, he exposes the tyrannies of government in Nigeria. The poems are a psychological tool to heal the ravaged minds of the people through the ritual process of remembrance and thereby purging the ill effects of their bitter experiences. In his words this act of memory would have massaged the contours of pain which highlighted the geographies of experience (10). The poet in the Webs of Remembrance therefore can be seen as a diviner with a higher sensibility; a person who has an informed perception of the society in its entirety and can diagnose rightly its foibles. The concept of divinity is made cognizant in the second sequence of the poem What the Wind Told Me. Here, the poet attributes his inspiration to the winds; a suggestion of a higher source of knowledge which extends to Meta-human extremes. In many religions, such as Christianity, Islam and the traditional African religion, genuflection is often directed towards a higher invisible power from whom wisdom and knowledge to solve human problems is sought. The pastor prays to the Almighty God in heaven, the Imam seeks the face of the Almighty Allah and
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the Yoruba traditionalist seeks the benevolence of Olodumare and other gods in the Yoruba pantheon. The diviner is often a sage, revered for his superior knowledge of existential issues and his help is sought to intervene in difficult situations which needs the intervention of the divine one. In the same vein, the poet in this case, Remi Raji can be seen as a harbinger of the higher being who is able to decipher the deeper meanings which is lost to the laity in the Nigerian society. The nine poems in this section with its nature imageries and compact metaphors reveal the turbulent experience of tyranny on the Nigerian populace. The turbulence of the political atmosphere is deplored in the first four poems and the metaphor of the wind enlarges the concept of upheaval in the society. The poems Cyclone I, Cyclone II, Cyclone III and Cyclone IV compares the appalling situation in Nigeria to a tempestuous windstorm. The poems relate the ailing weaknesses which the successive coup dtats and the epileptic change of power have caused the country Nightmare flickers/In our twice-thrice-beaten/Eyes, no more meaning... This highlights the continued suffering of the people and in Cyclone II, their expectance for change is revealed in the slender relief felt each time Light breaks again. In Cyclone III, the compressed metaphor in the poem takes its imagery from farming/animal sources. The state of the Nigerian society is likened to the cultivation experience of a farmer who tills the soil and reaps the harvest. The government/rulers are the farmers who have sown grief into the society by their dastardly acts of corruption. The animal image of wolf/ sheep reveals the predator/prey relationship in the power game of politics in Nigeria: Where the wolf Is the Shepherds in-law The sheep is a feast
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In their garnished game... (30) It shows a union of opposites who feed on one another so as to attain power. The sheep can be seen as the suffering masses under the tyranny of the wolves. In Cyclone IV, the overall effect of the governments despotism is felt by all and sundry. The inequality in societys classes is shown through the differing opportunities accorded to different people: ...the wind that carries dust carries rain ...Brings fire... (31) This shows the contrasts in the lives of the ruling elites and the suffering masses. However, the masses always hold on to the hope for a better tomorrow. Therefore, they interpret the whirlwind as a herald of better days ahead. The development of the poet as diviner in the sequence of poems in What the Wind Told Me can be seen in three stages. The first stage shows the poet as possessing the visionary eye to decipher the signs which nature brings to him. However, just as the incantatory jargon of the diviner is often embellished in ambiguity so also is the poets vision in the first four poems Cyclone I IV. The symbolic imageries of nightmare, light, eclipse, salt and sand, fire, wind, etc. opens the door into the higher realm in which the poet resides. In Malediction for a maximum ruler, the critical duties of a diviner is brought to the fore. In traditional African parlance, a diviner may cure or heal, foresee the future, and sometimes speak words of damnation or curses to erring persons. This poem involves a ritualistic process of demeaning a high-handed ruler (who clearly in Nigerian political history can be recognised as
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Gen. Sani Abacha) and his ambition to reign as life president. The poet persona ascribes the task of societal cleansing to the poet- he is to write an eternal damnation for the ruler after his death. The second stage of the development of the poet as diviner is seen in Malediction for a maximum ruler. Here, the poet takes a decisive active role in the process of societal transformation. The prelude to the poem states: And for those who still suffer from the shadows and knocks of tyrants, this poem is recommended as morning meal, daily; preferably, the last stanza should be read aloud, with or without Amen. (32) This denotes the restoration process offered by the poet amidst the ailing pains of power abuse in the society. The other four poems in What the winds Told Me, - Farewell to Myth I, Farewell to Myth II, Elegy for Towncriers and For Dead Gods treat the last stage of the development of the poet as diviner. The poems reveal the conversion of the poet as diviner in allegiance with the higher being to a disillusioned apostate who questions the passivity of the gods in the pathetic situation of the Nigerian society. The poems mourn the loss suffered by the people while the gods looked on in apathy. The damage is both to nature and the society at large: They march on your fertile brows/...loot the gold in the swamp. This shows the exploitation of the natural resources in some communities for economic purposes without a good plan of protecting the source or compensating the people that own it. The boots represents the symbol of oppression instituted by the inhumane rulers unmoved by the suffering of the masses the helpless children crying are the citizens of Nigeria who sow their grief in tears. Farewell to Myth I is an affront to the old orders of the Nigerian society and their inability to save the nation from its doom. Farewell to Myth II broadens the idea of the failure of spiritualism as a solution to the ailing
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state of Nigerian government. The situation revealed in the poem shows the constructs of tradition as submitting to the ways of the tyrants instead of helping the cause of the people: You grew graves as reeds of rot/summoned a spree with the cannibal lot (35) In Elegy for towncriers the submission of core traditional African values to the evils of 21st century civilisation is shown: singer of tales, hawkers of songs/Your pulse is going silently, I fear... (37). The towncriers who used to represent the voice of the people have ceased to use their art for the right cause and have sold out because of monetary gains ... because youve known the tribal marks/of money, nobody trusts your melody again... (37). The poem is an outcry against the dying tradition of a country whose citizens are steeped in their foreign ways ... I scream the end of an age/going/silently/fearfully/descending... The last poem in the sequence, For dead gods culminates the building disenchantment of the poet with the stale aftermath of the Nigerian neo-colonial society. The poet persona looks for a semblance of the pure past and finds none. The acts of bravery heard from legends are long forgotten. The poem seeks to address the passivity of people in the Nigerian society to the deplorable state of affairs. The third stage of the development of the poet as diviner is seen in light of his disenchantment with the superficiality of ideals in the Nigerian society. The poet as diviner is just another taxonomy to depict the poet as a societal commentator. However, the poets duties as a diviner transcends just commenting passively rather it also involves an active process of diagnosing prescriptive solutions to the ailing state of the Nigerian society. Therefore, the poet as diviner can be seen as a ritualistic cycle which starts with his sage-like abilities to decipher the ills and second, his suggestion of practical ways to assuage the deplorable situation.

Conclusion
The bleak state of affairs in Nigeria is one which should be of primary concern to her citizenry. However, it is pitiable that the sensibilities of most persons have been deadened by the harsh realities of their environment. Therefore, persons of high intellect and intuitive knowledge such as the poets are needed in the society to serve as diviners that diagnose the ills of the nation and pave the way towards societal reconstruction. Remi Raji is one such of diviners which a nation like Nigeria needs. However, occupying the position of diviner raises some critical issues concerning the intelligibility of the message and its effectiveness in reaching the people. The poetry of the elite academicians has often tagged as the bourgeois art - this is so because of its limited readership; the educated audience. Although, most Nigerian poets have tried to bridge this gap by suffusing their works with imageries from the local indigenous culture, poets such as Osundare and Remi Raji in most of their collections of poetry have taken this path. However, their crucial message is still lost on the common public who need this motivation the most. This is does not mean the functionality of their art is totally lost since the educated genteel still have access to it. However, the question then arises, how has the educated elite imbibed the message of the poet diviner? What are the changes they have influenced in the society through these messages? Should the poet combine his role of divinity with that of personal sacrifice and become involved in politicking? These are pertinent questions which need to be put into consideration towards the realisation of a growing and developing nation.

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WORKS CITED Egya, S.E. The nationalist imagination in Remi Rajis Lovesong for My Wasteland. Research in African Literatures. 38.4. 2007: 111-126. Retrieved on November 4th, 2011 from www.jstor.org/stable/20109541

Emezue, GMT. 2005. History, vision and craft in new Nigerian poetry. New Nigerian Poetry. Retrieved on November 15th from www.africaresearch.org/../Ush1.pdf

Ojaide, T. & Sallah, T. 1999. The new African poetry: an anthology. USA: Lynne Rienner

Raji, R. 2001. Webs of remembrance. Ibadan: Kraft Books Limited

Ushie, J. 2005. Phases in Nigerian poetry in English. New Nigerian Poetry. Retrieved on November 15th from www.africaresearch.org/../Np02Ce.pdf

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