LiteraBy Joseph Benike
Writers like language — English language — are vagabonds. They journey through thorny paths excavating stories, facts and community resources that would whet their creative appetite. As excavators excavating debris of a collapsed building,they ally with restlessness except the excavation expedition is successful just the archaeologists on archaeological mission. This is the lot of Ekanpou Enewaridideke’s pen!
Ekanpou, an award winning writer, is unbelievably at peace with the three genre of literary work — playwriting, poetry and prose — with the strangest artistry; the compositional dexterity is akin to Leon Messi’s mercurial soccer artistry, and thoughts gestation process to maturity and consequent production of these gestated thoughts for his readers’ consumption is seamless and effortless just as Cristiano Ronaldo in front of goal post. However, his penchant for formal diction in writing has often times made a reduction of the readers’ speed to snail-space leading to an occasional abandonment of interest to continue reading. Some who manage to escape from the complex linguistic webs are caught up by imagistic and literary devices dilemma created,though not deliberately. Further afield, those who overcome the above are inescapably pushed to contend with the philosophical thoughtfulness inherently wired in the lines,which control the drift of the piece making his works in no mean measure trapping — readers have no choice, but to run from gully to gully provided landing is sure.
Few days ago,a friend rang my phone in the wee hours of the morning and worryingly demanded an explanation as to why Ekanpou’s anger is suddenly hung over Chief Boro Opudu’s neck like the moving clouds loosely hanging on the sky awaiting a stiffened condensation of water droplets that would come as rain. ‘It is there on Facebook “, he said with confidence. Agitatedly, I surfed the cyberspace and found the article — ” Did Boro work?” . I read it with bated breath,hoped to land badly,but the more I perused via the lines the more intellectually exciting Ekanpou has become with thoroughgoing analytical and graduating steps provided through the paragraphs, exposing praiseful, satisfactory thoughts actuated by Chief Boro Opudu’s achievements in his capacity as the chairman Delta waterways/ land security. Once there,I quickly went to the comments box with an interventionist opinion on the piece to urgently halt the already cascading angry views of his readers like runoff water into gully who were tellingly Maradonaed into a conclusion that was not nearby the preoccupation of the piece.
When the saliva has not even dried up,Ekanpou has thrown another intellectual grenade — a traditional, historical journey that would stir up the proverbial hornet’s nest. In an attempt to break Akugbene Mein Kingdom’s silence over her stool’s leadership and dispersal point to many Ijaw kingdoms in western Ijaw — a silence he has an unmixed disdainful taste — Ekanpou has entrenched more silence and at the time popping up hushed tones in different little corners like bees in big clay pot. As telling as the historical dance of Ekanpou, there would be daring counter production of historical facts by dissatisfied persons/ kingdoms. Such anticipated antagonistic positions may not intellectually and historically deep-rooted enough to controvert the archival disclosures that bolstered Ekanpou’s claims, but they will certainly hit the target — capturing of public sympathy.
Akugbene Mein Kingdom’s chronicle chronicled by Ekanpou Enewaridideke relying on existing records positions this ancient kingdom far above other sister kingdoms — it is sitting on hilltop having a hilltop view over other kingdoms in terms of age. With this superior status and the SOURCE characterisation of the kingdom backed by documented evidence, referential authorities, Akugbene Mein Kingdom is on safe lane,but would expectedly court or woo angers expressed in disputation by individuals and other kingdoms. While that is expected and permissible within the limit of known, urbane human conducts,we must not temptingly input emotions into whatever counter positions, but do well to expose historical exactitude of dates and evidential periodisation that would make the reading public to maximise the opportunity this broken silence presents.
History is told and kept for the perpetuity of human race; without history human existential questions would not have answers. As important as this may sound, if poorly told,history has the capacity to ignite Intellectual Wet Operation — the end is always regrettable. Therefore, all tellers of history should form alliance with facts,not prosaic thoughts converted into readable form essentially to instigate fragile emotions to bursting proportion. Those who must react must do so with facts that enjoy the status of verifiability and reliability. Ekanpou’s pen is a vagabond,right now in Akugbene Mein Kingdom!
Benike writes from Warril