Official Review: Echoes from Nigeria by Nwodibo Ekechukwu
Posted: 07 Sep 2019, 05:48
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Echoes from Nigeria" by Nwodibo Ekechukwu.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Echoes From Nigeria, by Nwodibo Ekechukwu, is a collection of poems that cut across different themes. Nwodibo Ekechukwu, who is born and bred in Nigeria, did a fantastic job in portraying the customs, beliefs, values, morality, ethnicities, and folklores of the nation. Some poems also cover the political, economic, and security state of the country.
Echoes From Nigeria contains 74 poems, all written by Nwodibo Ekechukwu. The first poem, titled “The Forced Polygamist”, is about a married man who was being pressurized by his mother into taking a second wife because he had no children after four years of marriage. “The Farmers And Herders We Used To Know” (another poem) talks about the problem that exists between the farmers and the herders (known as ‘Herdsmen’) in Nigeria. Another poem titled “The Unfortunate Orphan” is about a boy who lost both his parents in the same year. Being a nine-year-old and the only child, he had his uncle move into the house with his family. Unfortunately for the boy, this is just the beginning of his nightmares. Poems like “Where Are The Weapons From?” and “The Fathers And The Youths” talk about the politics that exist in the country.
Echoes From Nigeria is a well-organized book. Each poem starts on a new page, and all poems are divided into stanzas. Interestingly, each stanza has the same number of lines. The compilation is also brilliant. The poems, though all stand-alone, are meticulously arranged in such a way that there is a link between two consecutive poems.
There is nothing I dislike about this book. On the other hand, there is a lot I like about it. This is the first collection-of-poems book that I will be reading in which all the poems are written by one person. I find this really amazing. And despite the number of poems, all are well written and distinct. The use of rhyming words is very conspicuous and impressive. I also like the fact that the poems are short and well separated as this made it easier to read.
Furthermore, I enjoyed most of the poems. One of my favorites is the poem titled “Nigeria’s Social Media As Loose Cannons” where the writer talked about the negative effects of social media while not undermining its importance. Also in my list of favorites is “The Bride As Trophy” wherein the writer described the custom in which suitors—all interested in a particular woman—are made to engage in a wrestling contest. And at the end, the winner gets the ‘trophy’ (the woman). I found this amusing, and I wonder if this custom is practicable in this modern world. I also enjoyed reading “The Journey By Train”, “Christmas Rice”, and “The Clay Safe” as the writer shared some of his childhood memories.
I found quite a number of errors, which are mostly punctuation-related, while reading Echoes From Nigeria. Besides this, I would have given it a perfect rating. I therefore rate Echoes From Nigeria 3 out of 4 stars. The depth of information in this book is enormous, hence, I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the country, Nigeria, and its people. I also recommend it for usage in high schools, especially those in Nigeria and other African countries. And generally, all poem-lovers should find this book very interesting.
******
Echoes from Nigeria
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Echoes From Nigeria, by Nwodibo Ekechukwu, is a collection of poems that cut across different themes. Nwodibo Ekechukwu, who is born and bred in Nigeria, did a fantastic job in portraying the customs, beliefs, values, morality, ethnicities, and folklores of the nation. Some poems also cover the political, economic, and security state of the country.
Echoes From Nigeria contains 74 poems, all written by Nwodibo Ekechukwu. The first poem, titled “The Forced Polygamist”, is about a married man who was being pressurized by his mother into taking a second wife because he had no children after four years of marriage. “The Farmers And Herders We Used To Know” (another poem) talks about the problem that exists between the farmers and the herders (known as ‘Herdsmen’) in Nigeria. Another poem titled “The Unfortunate Orphan” is about a boy who lost both his parents in the same year. Being a nine-year-old and the only child, he had his uncle move into the house with his family. Unfortunately for the boy, this is just the beginning of his nightmares. Poems like “Where Are The Weapons From?” and “The Fathers And The Youths” talk about the politics that exist in the country.
Echoes From Nigeria is a well-organized book. Each poem starts on a new page, and all poems are divided into stanzas. Interestingly, each stanza has the same number of lines. The compilation is also brilliant. The poems, though all stand-alone, are meticulously arranged in such a way that there is a link between two consecutive poems.
There is nothing I dislike about this book. On the other hand, there is a lot I like about it. This is the first collection-of-poems book that I will be reading in which all the poems are written by one person. I find this really amazing. And despite the number of poems, all are well written and distinct. The use of rhyming words is very conspicuous and impressive. I also like the fact that the poems are short and well separated as this made it easier to read.
Furthermore, I enjoyed most of the poems. One of my favorites is the poem titled “Nigeria’s Social Media As Loose Cannons” where the writer talked about the negative effects of social media while not undermining its importance. Also in my list of favorites is “The Bride As Trophy” wherein the writer described the custom in which suitors—all interested in a particular woman—are made to engage in a wrestling contest. And at the end, the winner gets the ‘trophy’ (the woman). I found this amusing, and I wonder if this custom is practicable in this modern world. I also enjoyed reading “The Journey By Train”, “Christmas Rice”, and “The Clay Safe” as the writer shared some of his childhood memories.
I found quite a number of errors, which are mostly punctuation-related, while reading Echoes From Nigeria. Besides this, I would have given it a perfect rating. I therefore rate Echoes From Nigeria 3 out of 4 stars. The depth of information in this book is enormous, hence, I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the country, Nigeria, and its people. I also recommend it for usage in high schools, especially those in Nigeria and other African countries. And generally, all poem-lovers should find this book very interesting.
******
Echoes from Nigeria
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
