THE POET AS DIVINER IN REMI RAJI’S “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 Raji’s “What the Wind Told Me” from

Webs of Remembrance.

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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.

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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 Raji’s intuitive hold of knowledge on the socio-

political 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.

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Nigerian poetry alongside African literature in general has been tagged as an art for life’s 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 Raji’s 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 neo-

colonial disillusionment in their poetry. This trend can be seen in Remi Raji’s 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 d’états 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 government’s despotism is felt by all and sundry. The inequality in society’s 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 poet’s 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 you’ve

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 poet’s 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.

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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 Raji’s “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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