By Ebere Agozie
Abuja – Mr Patrick Oguejiofor, a poet says the collection of poems; “Maiduguri Requiems” is a call for peace in Nigeria, especially in the North East and other parts of the country experiencing crisis.
Oguejiofor told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that he was inspired to write the poem to commemorate Nigeria’s 56th Independence Anniversary.
He said that he was moved to make the call because of the desolation, disillusionment, shattered dreams and the senseless killing of innocent Nigerians and a “motherland hanging on the precipice’’.
“It was inspired by my friends, fellow countrymen and associates who perished in the carnage of Boko Haram and the Niger Delta Avengers.’’
Oguejiofor said that the poems were an embodiment of the voice of a Nigerian, angry at the senseless waste of lives, and resources in a country so rich with natural resources.
“Nigeria was once a nation with beautiful cities that serenely housed individuals from different parts of the country as well as sub-Saharan Africa, but we now live in a period of political, economic and social uncertainty.
“And these are some of the reasons of increasing fear in our communities, families, and individual lives, and the average man and woman feel abandoned by society and the government.’’
Oguejiofor, who is also the former chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abuja chapter said “I believe that an act of peace a day will start a chain reaction of positive transformation in our country’’.
“We can transform how we address ourselves and how we treat each other and just a daily habit of `one act of peace will help change the world we live in.’’
He called for the creation of memorials for the innocent ones that lost their lives in Boko Haram attacks as well as the Niger Delta Avengers.
“Serious tragedies take place and at the end of it, everything is forgotten and this is why the Maiduguri Requiems are written to set a world memorial for the victims,’’ he said.
NAN reports that “Maiduguri Requiems’’ is a collection of poems written by the author to draw attention to the senseless killing of innocent people and the need for Nigerians to live in peace.