Well, the morning bus was fast enough. Now, I’m here again, Ovim my beautiful home! I noticed new additions to the garden, date palms, groundnuts, turmeric, plantains, cane sugar, grapes, pawpaw, oranges, guava, coconut, sour sops, tomatoes, mangoes, yams, cocoyams and more. My aunt had turned this small garden to a demonstration farm. My fluffy… Continue reading Back home
Tag: Abia
Homeland
I love you homeland
Another visit to Ovim’s Hills
If you encounter tablelands and rocks, hills and valleys, waterfalls and streams, abundant trees and virgin forests, all set in one quiet countryside, you will agree that Ovim is really blessed. Ovim is situated on ancient hills, a beautiful place for camping and outdoor fun. Each time I visit I get healed by her beautiful… Continue reading Another visit to Ovim’s Hills
Ide Stream
We took a walk through Ovim. I decided to show my friends around. Just after Ugwu Uwaoma, we saw the table mountain. From the distance, it looked magnificent. Further ahead, we came across the stream Ide, with her tide gliding smoothly through the green forest. The stream is deep and some fish trapping go on.… Continue reading Ide Stream
Back Home
This morning I and Jindu traveled back to our village. Thanks to the holidays we have enough time to explore and enjoy the quiet countryside. We took the 6.30AM bus and arrived 10.23AM. It wouldn’t take that long but for bad roads and many checkpoints. It is common for Governments to abandon capital projects here.… Continue reading Back Home
Welcome to Akara
When I was growing up I was fascinated each time we traveled to the countryside. It was fun as I could query the roads with my eyes and count palm trees as we went. Welcome to Akara, the biggest town in Isuikwuato. The name may sound familiar to Nigerians as it shares same pronunciation with… Continue reading Welcome to Akara
In Ovim 2
Good morning. I promised to take some shots during my morning walk. I’m not a good photographer though.There’s a thick fog this morning. These kind of buildings are common in the village. It hasn’t been long since the mud house went out of fashion. With high rate of poverty, it’s hard to afford good housing… Continue reading In Ovim 2
In Ovim
I’m back to Ovim Isuikwuato, my hometown. It has been a long week for me, marking and grading students’ math exam. Coupled with the noisy neighbourhood, the stress nearly overwhelmed me. Thank God it’s Friday. Now far away from work and town’s hustle bustle, I can feel myself heal. The surrounding hills – notably Ugwu… Continue reading In Ovim
Nature: Best Vacation
Nothing heals faster than Nature and this healing feeling is unexplainable. It’s something everyone should experience. Most vacations should include moving away from hustle bustle and noisy streets of familiarity and town. I can’t say what works for everyone but if you need inspiration or thinking space, I recommend travelling to the countryside, where serenity… Continue reading Nature: Best Vacation
Why you should visit Africa 3
From Nature reserves to rivers/lakes and from beautiful valleys to exotic wildlife, Africa has a lot to offer. Welcome to this edition of Why You Should Visit Africa brought to you by Oiroegbu.com 1. Adventure: If you really love nature and adventure, then you should visit Africa. There’s so much to do and participate in.… Continue reading Why you should visit Africa 3
Sunset in Ovim
Yesterday I trekked to the market square. During my lonely trek I met old friends and distant relatives. As noted before, in Africa we place much value on family and friends. My trek was short, because the market was just around the corner. I bought two pieces of dried meat from a vendor, one for… Continue reading Sunset in Ovim
A poem for Ovim, Isuikwuato
Morning wakes with the sun Windy clouds, happy yawns Quiet town, down the hill Misty paths, birds sing With the forest’s inhabitantsTall palm trees stand guard From their branches, birds tweet Squirrels look down in fright or excitement Dropping oily snacks on trespassers Forest pathways are hijacked by monkeys Protesting when a group of boys… Continue reading A poem for Ovim, Isuikwuato
A muse: Heavy evening rain
And now it rains with thunder The hand of Cold had come for her asunder, Come let us see the rains fall by the window Let us dance in the rain and have fun while we can Surely, the heavy rain has come to sow And her many seeds are spread across the land… Continue reading A muse: Heavy evening rain
She sprawled across the breadth of the land. She lay humbly
Like someone listening to the Ocarina of time
Wasting away to carefree and careless governments
Losing the charm it was once known for
And settling for lesser things and lesser people
Ogbor hills abbatoirs lay with blood of sheep, pigs and cattle
The river of the Waterside wash strange men’s nakedness
Cow dung, pig leftover feasts and human wastes
Graciously find their way into the fast flowing rivers
Ogbor hill lives peacefully, she co-exists well with others;
The mechanic, the merchandisers, the retail marketers
The manufacturers, industrialists and fabricators
The wood smith, the metal smith and the vulcanizer
The educators, the transporters and the market!
In the grim darkness of the nights
Came tiny illuminations from thousands of light bulbs
From the surrounding hills and falls of shanties and slums
Came noises of man, machine and animals
Each hussling to stay alive, each fighting to survive
Some weak, some low, some high and some strong
The Waterside, the gateway to the hills stay cool
Warming the over heating causes of the industries
And man and his numerous mad machines
Driving nature mad with unrelented determination
Roads scatter, tarred, untarred, patched, degraded
Yet men thrived and moved about their business
Some build on the small roads, some on the drainages
The great quietness of the day only comes at night
This humble city is full of queer whims and caprices
Up the hill lives another town with her own lifestyle
The tentacles of this little city spread like the war ants
Sprawling across the vales and the hills, consuming everywhere
The team of strange people conquer the lands
Spoiling, tilling, living, farming, working, building
A nice example of environmental degradation
A fine instance of industrial waste and global warming
The little town serve as a breathing space
Safe from the much hustle bustle of Enyimba city
Imagine awakening those moribund factories
Imagine more industrial and human waste
Imagine living in a city of wealth but a plenipotentiary of waste
Commentary.
Ogbor hill is a town, part of Aba in Abia state of Nigeria. It is known for her enterprise, people and industries. Many schools, crafts, factories, religious bodies, governmental agencies, private concerns and residencies call here home. I was born and brought up here. The common language if not the corrupted English is the Igbo language of the Eastern Nigeria.
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Now the morning has come finally
After the stress of yesterdays rain
This hilly land wakes warily
Our pots are full of Heavens blessings
Sweet musings and fine sights are all about me
The bees, the green hills, the swans that fly away
The vast fields of flowers which crops the Lilies
And the blue skies where the pretty birds stray
There is mixed brown and ash dusts of the Earth
Where happy green plants and trees thrives joyfully
And the look of mother Nature which makes my heart melt,
I’m filled with abundant joy which Gods creatures give me
The undulating hills of my homeland
The clean, flowing streams of Ovim
The caves, the Palm and Cassava land
Always to me it comes to overwhelm
The rocks that stay in the bamboo forest
Overlooking a peaceful flowing stream
Once in a while a fruit plunges into the current
And little fishes scatter in queer confusion
The red mud all about makes all boring
The birds twitter and trade up the palm tree
The dews are thick in the early morning
The happy children swim on the small stream
There is silver fish in the ponds
And very brave children who hunt them
There is the grasscutter and edible toads
And green weeds on the little streams
When the hunters come home, all is alive
The hamlet comes to hear their strange tales
The dogs, the kids, the other men and their wives
Everyone has an ear for the stories they have to tell
The palmwine is healthy and very sweet
The trees on the farms swerve joyfully,
When the tapper comes cycling to the market
The flies follow his trail, as his wine drip slowly
The people are very awesome
Hardworkers, doing every little job
Women are pretty, men are handsome
They till the land and graze the sheep
Now the memories of my humble land
The fears, the faith; the stress, the strengths
A fine land dreamingly made from a wand
Such that it comes alive in my minds eyes
Commentary.
Ovim is my homeland. Located in Abia state of Nigeria, it is a quiet place but full of life. The natives are known for their exploits in both business Entreprise, academia, agriculture and military. Ovim harbors forests, hills, streams and ponds, vast farmlands of cassava and yams (staple food common in the area). It is a fine place. The wildlife here are mostly reptiles (boas, pythons, lizards, monitors, other snakes), wild pigs, rodents, monkeys and birds. But some wild animals like the Alligators, the Hyena and Civets have been reportedly sighted.
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Africa is a budding cocoon
A shy, fragile and cute butterfly
With shaky wings meant to fly
Living, in a desperate world
Africa is the gigantic tree
That grows by the side of the river
Shielding the lengths of the forests
And feeding the lifes around it
Africa is a mountain highly peaked
With white snows melting gracefully
And herds of Wildebeest grazing
Quietly down the grassy green plains
Africa is a mild song
That plays when the sunshine
At the beach down, down the road
With brown and white sand mixed
Africa is a dream
Waiting to happen
Hope of the generation
A scenic beauty of land and nature
Africa is my home
The hills of serene Ovim*
And the wild catfishes
That move about kingly and fearless
Africa is love
Community and family
Desires and joyful times
And the moonlight tales of the town
The Victoria Waterfalls is Africa
…The Veldt, the Savannah
…The Lake Chad and the River Niger
…The Lions and the Cheetah
…The Crocodiles and the Hippo
…The Elephants and the Rhino
…The Baobab and the Iroko
…The Zulu tribe and Igbo
…The Guinea and the Sahara
…The Oil Palm and the Shea
…The Orange and Nile River
…The Ashante and the Boer
…The Yankari reserve and the Serengeti
…The bushmens’ home and the Kalahari
…The amazing wine called mqobothi
…The Zebra and the Ostrich
Africa plays my fancy
And in such sweetness
I love my motherland
Commentary:
Ovim is in Nigeria and the poet hails from there.
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See the roofs on houses, dust cladded
And the palm trees stuck to the ground
Like a majestic knight standing guard
The streets wind up the road
Ogbor sits on a hill up the vale
The ancient city and fortress
Once on the river flowing fast
Washing strange mens nakedness
The harmattan brings dusts upon all
The skies are blue most times
Highways are full with cars that whine
But upon the gross confusion men dine
Women trade in the markets
Some men drink heavy stout
Always, people traverse about
But in the evening, the lights go out
Ariaria sits where the city allowed it
The noisy and busy Ngwa town
Wakes with the rising sun
And today a tale must be written
Commentary:
I was raised in this Eastern Nigeria city. The owners of the land are the Ngwa, a sub unit of the Igbo tribe. Also known as the Enyimba city, and harbors the Enyimba Intl FC of Nigeria. Aba is predominantly a commercial center and many markets and industries are situated there.
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The Stream, Kpere
Then I heard your drift, Flowing through the forest Washing men’s nakedness… When there was love When on the stream side I sit Trying to peer thru the tall shrubs I saw the white clouds Clear as the sweet spring water Leaping in joyful haste, In boundless ecstasy Washing the little rocks Pulling pebbles along… Continue reading The Stream, Kpere
