LEST I FORGET: A COLLECTION OF POEMS

Lest I Forget, is a collection of poems written over a period of 30 years. The poems cut across various genres of poetry and could appeal to different types of personalities. Some of the poems appear to address simple, basic facts while others are deep with heavy philosophical undertones. The book is divided into 3 parts, namely 'Life', 'Love' and 'Politics'. has 19 poems and collectively, they attempted to capture acts and concepts of conception, being born, trying to live and excel; and death. It began with poems such as The Futile Ritual, Labour, Life and Wandering Man. The Futile Ritual x-rays the process of conjugation preceding natural conception, which depending on the circumstances could give rise to either desired or unwanted pregnancy. Labour captures the moment of a child being born. The new baby had no control over the circumstances of his/her birth. Thus, ones parents, tribe, country, etc are purely by chance. 'Realizing' this fact, the new baby cries. Similarly, the poem Life is a philosophical self-doubt of the essence of living in an imperfect world. Life is a review of humanity's doubt and sometimes anger at Life. It concluded in a manner similar to the idea of the French Philosopher, Rene Descartes, who is quoted to have said "I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am" (Latin: dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum). Wandering Man is a cynical amplification of the drudgery of living, which many people go through in life. The Hunter is a realistic portrayal of the rat race, which the modern world has become. On the other hand, poems such as If the Sun Fails, My Champion (dedicated to the memory of my father), The Music and The Resurrection capture the beautiful aspects of why we live. On the flipside, are poems such as Death and When Sleep Slept. These try to convey the inevitability of death. They are attempts at showing that while death is inevitable, when and how it comes are often uncertain and hence, the morbid fear it triggers in man. has 8 poems, which are mostly inspired by the love I have for my wife and children. The poems, Going West, If I Did Not Say It and You were written for my wife when I was thousands of kilometers away from her. They were written to fill the void I felt while missing her. The poem, Your MEN Are Fine tried to show the little tangible things that love clings to in an attempt to find reason for being. It was inspired by one of my children who after looking at me intensely one day, declared to me: 'Daddy, your mouth is fine. Your eyes are fine. And, your nose is very fine.' The poem, Total Eclipse is a melancholic reminiscence of a lost opportunity for love. It was inspired by a friend, My Carina is a poem inspired by my first car, a Toyota Carina. I took very good care of the car and it served me excellently. The last poem in Part 2 is a futile attempt at comprehending and documenting the greatness of God Almighty. has 15 poems documenting the author's perception and impression of some key national, regional and international political issues and figures of the past 30 years. This part began with The Mad Gulf I - Desert Shield and The Mad Gulf II - Desert Storm. These attempted to chronicle the events of the 2 Gulf Wars of the early 1990s, beginning with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait to the defeat and destruction of Iraq by the USA. The poems Sacrifice, The Mad Messiah, Abracadabra, The Clown, My Dilemma and Playing the Ostrich are satires on some key Nigerian leaders and their leadership styles. While the satires may not totally represent the author's opinion of the leaders and their styles, they are however, his articulation of what he perceives to be the pervading view of many commentators.