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POETICS OF SELFLESSNESS & SOCIAL CHANGE: ERIATA ORIBHABOR IS THE SELFLESS ‘MERCHANT OF POETRY’ IN NIGERIA’S ART INDUSTRY | A CỌ́N-SCÌÒ PACESETTER PROFILE

<body><div class&equals;"booster-block booster-read-block">&NewLine; <div class&equals;"twp-read-time">&NewLine; &Tab;<i class&equals;"booster-icon twp-clock"><&sol;i> <span>Read Time&colon;<&sol;span>9 Minute&comma; 57 Second <&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-align-center"><em><em>Eriata Oribhabor is a prominent Nigerian poet&comma; essayist&comma; editor&comma; social commentator&comma; literary activist&comma; and publisher at Something For Everybody Ventures &lpar;SFEV&rpar;&period; A former chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors &lpar;ANA&rpar;&comma; Abuja Chapter&comma; he is the President&comma; Poets in Nigeria &lpar;PIN&rpar; Initiative&period;  Oribhabor has authored several poetry collections&comma; including&semi; <em>Crossroads and the Rubicon&comma; Beautiful Poisons&comma; Eriata on Marble&comma; Shifting Rides of Poetikness&comma; Random Thoughts on Poetry&comma; Walking Truths&comma; That Beautiful Picture&comma; <&sol;em>and<em> Colours and Borders<&sol;em>&period; His forthcoming titles include <em>Twenty Eighteen&comma; Gud Old Naija&comma; Under Construction&comma; UnUnited Nations of Nigeria &lpar;White man&comma; black hearts&rpar;&comma; You Have the Stage<&sol;em>&comma; and <em>Spoken Call&comma;<&sol;em> respectively&period; He has edited and co-edited dozens of books and administers over 25 art through the Poets in Nigeria &lpar;PIN&rpar; Initiative&comma; Words Rhymes &amp&semi; Rhythm&comma; which runs the annual Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize &lpar;EOPP&rpar;&comma; Simply Poetry&comma; and several others&period; He also supports several other literary organizations&comma; poetry programmes&comma; and publications within and outside Nigeria&period; Aside from his literary activism&comma; which has earned him the title of <em>&OpenCurlyQuote;Merchant of Poetry’<&sol;em>&comma; Oribhabor also manages Something for Everybody Ventures&comma; a publishing outfit based in Lagos&comma; Nigeria&period; He encourages young writers to develop their potential towards achieving their dreams and enjoys discussions on topical issues&comma; travel&comma; tours&comma; and adventures&period; In this profile by Ugochukwu Anadi for CỌ́N-SCÌÒ Magazine’s special edition&comma; Eriata discusses his origins&comma; motivations&comma; successes&comma; and aspirations for art in Nigeria&period;<&sol;em><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<blockquote class&equals;"wp-block-quote has-text-align-right has-large-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I have always wanted to use the tool of poetry as a vehicle for imparting people and society—a theme dominating my poetry&period;” <&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Eriata Oribhabor said this to me in a recent conversation we had&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>It was his commitment to poetry for social change that led him to become the pioneer convener of the 100 Thousand Poets for Change &lpar;100TPC&rpar; in Abuja&comma; Nigeria&comma; where he once chaired the Association of Nigerian Authors &lpar;ANA&rpar;&period; But he wasn’t born in that part of Nigeria&period; Eriata Oribhabor was born&comma; raised&comma; and&comma; as he would be quick to add&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;<em>kpakod”<&sol;em> in Warri&comma; a city in Southern Nigeria&period; When he was a secondary school student&comma; he was the president of his school’s Literary and Debating Society&comma; a position he believes came from his love for poetry&comma; writing&comma; reading&comma; and performance&comma; a love planted in him by his dad&comma; Prince Eriata Idoni Oribhabor&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;who routinely poured on me words of wisdom&comma; making me have a strong affection for words on marble and wanting to couch lasting brevities&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full"><img sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-a-poetry-event-in-October-2021&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-40838" loading&equals;"lazy"><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>That love of literature&comma; and the determination to see that he and his siblings were educated&comma; were the most precious gifts Eriata got from his dad&period; Despite his royal bloodline&comma; Prince Eriata Idoni Oribhabor was not very wealthy in material terms&period; He did petty jobs&comma; including being a night watchman and a labourer at the then Warri Urban District Council &lpar;WUDC&rpar; where he and the other labourers saw to the cleanliness of the city of Warri&period; Eriata Oribhabor hawked different items on the streets of Warri on behalf of his mother in support of general family upkeep&period; Notwithstanding this humble family background&comma; the couple ensured that their children received education up to the tertiary level&period; Their determination and Eriata Oribhabor’s passion for reading and writing saw him through his university days&period; He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>While working as a civil servant&comma; Eriata never stopped reading and writing&period; The Warri-born poet&comma; essayist&comma; and literary curator&comma; however&comma; had also found the English language insufficient for capturing his experiences while growing up in Warri&comma; a city where Naija Pidgin was the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;first language anyone in Warri would functionally connect with and relate to&comma; irrespective of tribe&period;” In the Naija Pidgin Language&comma; understood by almost every Nigerian&comma; Oribhabor saw a uniqueness that could be deployed as a natural bridge for uniting Nigerians&comma; irrespective of tribal affiliation&period; Thus&comma; his exploration of the language began&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>On Facebook&comma; he would write and share his poems&comma; most of them written in Naija Pidgin for others to read&period; This way&comma; he not only formed a community of young Nigerian poets writing in the English language and Naija Pidgin&period; He also established himself as an authority on the use of the language in poetry&period; When&comma; in 2009&comma; the Institut Francais de Recherche-Nigeria &lpar;IFRA-Ng&rpar; organized its first conference on Nigerian Pidgin at the University of Ibadan&comma; he presented a paper titled &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Use of Nigerian Pidgin in the Media&comma; Arts and Entertainment in Nigeria&period;” He would there become a member of the Naija Languej Akademi&comma; a membership that birthed his first published book&comma; <em>Abuja Na Kpangba an Oda Puem Dem<&sol;em> &lpar;FRA-NG&comma; 2011&rpar;&period; He would go on to edit <em>If Yu Hia Se A De Prizin–Antoloji Of Puem-Dem For Naija Langwe<&sol;em>j &lpar;2012&rpar;&period;  He has written many more books in Naija Pidgin&comma; and more—like <em>One For The Road<&sol;em>&comma; which he has described as a book of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;poetry&period; prose&period; plenty other things”—are forthcoming from his stable of creativity&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image">&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-full"><img sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-The-RootHub-poetry-event-in-Uyo&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-40846" loading&equals;"lazy"><figcaption class&equals;"wp-element-caption">Eriata Oribhabor at The RootHub poetry event in Uyo<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Following the trends from his previous collections&comma; where Oribhabor discusses the mundane and everyday life of an average Nigerian&colon; the gossip we trade in the commercial buses&semi; the things we find for our security and traffic personnel&semi; the fights we engage in on the streets over silly reasons&comma; one would expect to see in <em>One For The Road<&sol;em>&comma; hilarious accounts of what the alcohol bottles we take away from generous givers&comma; or the ones we purchase from the bar parlours after consuming many others &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;for the road home” &lpar;thus the expression&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;one for the road”&rpar;&comma; one expects to find a gloomy narrative of the death traps our roads have become recently because Oribhabor is that socially conscious poet of the streets&period; Today&comma; he still shares his poems on Facebook&comma; because he believes they should be accessible to all&comma; including those who may not have a very deep understanding of poetry&semi; those unlikely to go to journals and magazines looking for poetry&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;'w3eden'><&excl;-- WPDM Link Template&colon; Default Template -->&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"link-template-default card mb-2">&NewLine; <div class&equals;"card-body">&NewLine; <div class&equals;"media">&NewLine; <div class&equals;"mr-3 img-48"><img class&equals;"wpdm&lowbar;icon" alt&equals;"Icon" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;plugins&sol;download-manager&sol;assets&sol;file-type-icons&sol;pdf&period;svg" &sol;><&sol;div>&NewLine; <div class&equals;"media-body">&NewLine; <h3 class&equals;"package-title"><a href&equals;'https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;download&sol;con-scio-magazine-pacesetters-issue-2-vol-2-october-2022&sol;'>CỌ́N-SCÌÒ MAGAZINE&colon; &OpenCurlyQuote;PACESETTERS’ &lbrack;ISSUE 2&comma; VOL&period; 2 &vert; OCTOBER 2022&rsqb;<&sol;a><&sol;h3>&NewLine; <div class&equals;"text-muted text-small"><i class&equals;"fas fa-copy"><&sol;i> 1 file&lpar;s&rpar; <i class&equals;"fas fa-hdd ml-3"><&sol;i> 10&period;11 MB<&sol;div>&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine; <div class&equals;"ml-3">&NewLine; <a class&equals;'wpdm-download-link download-on-click btn btn-primary ' rel&equals;'nofollow' href&equals;'&num;' data-downloadurl&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;download&sol;con-scio-magazine-pacesetters-issue-2-vol-2-october-2022&sol;&quest;wpdmdl&equals;40865&refresh&equals;693241242c9ca1764901156">Download<&sol;a>&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>His use of Facebook to share his poems has inspired many young poets&comma; who are today reading&comma; writing&comma; and critiquing one another’s poems on Facebook&period; There is now a community of budding Nigerian poets on Facebook&comma; commonly referred to as &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Facebook poets&period;” This community has nurtured talents like Romeo Oriogun&comma; Saddiq Dzukogi &lpar;both of whom are on the Nigerian Prize for Literature&comma; 2022 shortlist&rpar;&comma; and Adedayo Agarau &lpar;who was once shortlisted for the Brunel&rpar; and continues to produce more literary stars&period; It is in relating to the younger poets&comma; in establishing literary prizes&comma; and in curating events to promote poetry that we see the selflessness of Eriata Oribhabor&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>This partial denial of the self by Eriata Oribhabor is epitomized in his decision to de-emphasize his name&comma; Edwin&comma; making it a middle name&comma; a name he doesn’t publish his works under&period; In appreciation of his dad’s contribution to his growth&comma; his dad’s name&comma; Eriata&comma; was made a first name—an act of gratitude to his dad&period; Gratitude reaches beyond the individual to the public and to the society in which he exists&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<blockquote class&equals;"wp-block-quote has-text-align-right has-large-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The idea of participating in literary events and their curation is to support society in my own small ways&period; The most effective way of achieving this&comma; in my opinion&comma; was through younger people&period; That’s why the activities of Poets in Nigeria are being carried out by selfless poet-workers dedicated to poetry for service&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>There have been many successes in Eriata’s journey of literary advocacy&period; This year&comma; the Poets in Nigeria &lpar;PIN&rpar; Initiative&comma; which has Connect Centers on different campuses—one of which I am a member &lpar;the University of Nigeria Connect Center&rpar;—celebrates its seventh year of existence&period; Themed &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Role of Creatives in the Face of Religious Extremism&comma;” the celebration will be held at the Creative Book Space at Eriata Heights&comma; Ikorodu&comma; a brand-new literary hub he says is dedicated to &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;creative books&comma; book reading&comma; and more&period;” During the celebration&comma; participants and PIN members will be called to the service of using poetry to fight religious extremism&period; Even more notably&comma; the Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize &lpar;EOPP&rpar;&comma; established in 2012 in collaboration with Words Rhymes &amp&semi; Rhythm to reward poetry for social advancement&comma; will mark a decade of its existence&comma; a decade since it was first won by Nwakanma Chika&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The most popular of all the prizes he is associated with is the Nigerian Student Poetry Prize &lpar;NSPP&rpar;&comma; an initiative of Poets in Nigeria that he curates&period; The initiative began in 2016 and is open to students at Nigerian tertiary institutions&period; Many of the winners have gone on to achieve remarkable feats in poetry&comma; with its latest winner being the fast-rising poet&comma; Samuel Adeyemi&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>For Oribhabor&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;everyone is an opportunity requiring opportunities to blossom&comma;” and he’s ready to provide these opportunities even when funding and support are not there&period; He doesn’t mind taking from his personal pockets to encourage young poets&comma; who he believes still have the energy and can afford the selflessness required to use poetry for social change&comma; and he has been doing just that&comma; always thinking of innovative ways to support young and aspiring poets&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter wp-amp-block" id&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;&lowbar;1"><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;container swiper"><amp-carousel width&equals;"966" height&equals;"960" layout&equals;"responsive" type&equals;"slides" data-next-button-aria-label&equals;"Next Slide" data-prev-button-aria-label&equals;"Previous Slide" controls loop id&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;&lowbar;amp-carousel&lowbar;&lowbar;1" on&equals;"slideChange&colon;wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;&lowbar;amp-pagination&lowbar;&lowbar;1&period;toggle&lpar;index&equals;event&period;index&comma; value&equals;true&rpar;"><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"966" height&equals;"960" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-loves-the-creative-arts&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;966&percnt;2C960&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-loves-the-creative-arts&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;966&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 966w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-loves-the-creative-arts&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;768&percnt;2C763&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 768w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" loading&equals;"lazy"><figcaption class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;caption gallery-caption">Eriata Oribhabor loves the creative arts<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"669" height&equals;"667" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-and-Dike-Chukwumerije-at-Eriata-Heights-Ikorodu-Lagos-1&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;669&percnt;2C667&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" loading&equals;"lazy"><figcaption class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;caption gallery-caption">Eriata Oribhabor and Dike Chukwumerije at Eriata Heights Ikorodu &comma; Lagos<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"960" height&equals;"960" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-speaking-as-Guest-Author-at-An-Evening-with-Sir-Eriata-Oribhabor-in-2021&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;960&percnt;2C960&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-speaking-as-Guest-Author-at-An-Evening-with-Sir-Eriata-Oribhabor-in-2021&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;1080&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 1080w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-speaking-as-Guest-Author-at-An-Evening-with-Sir-Eriata-Oribhabor-in-2021&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;768&percnt;2C768&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 768w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" loading&equals;"lazy"><figcaption class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;caption gallery-caption">Eriata Oribhabor speaking as Guest Author at An Evening with Sir Eriata Oribhabor in 2021<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"864" height&equals;"919" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;PIN-Executives-Eriata-Oribhabor-and-Kolade-Olanrewaju-Freedom-at-NSPP-2020&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;864&percnt;2C919&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;PIN-Executives-Eriata-Oribhabor-and-Kolade-Olanrewaju-Freedom-at-NSPP-2020&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;864&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 864w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;PIN-Executives-Eriata-Oribhabor-and-Kolade-Olanrewaju-Freedom-at-NSPP-2020&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;768&percnt;2C817&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 768w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" loading&equals;"lazy"><figcaption class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;caption gallery-caption">PIN Executives Eriata Oribhabor and Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom at NSPP 2020<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"966" height&equals;"644" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-The-RootHub-poetry-event-in-Uyo&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;966&percnt;2C644&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-The-RootHub-poetry-event-in-Uyo&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;1500&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 1500w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-The-RootHub-poetry-event-in-Uyo&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;768&percnt;2C512&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 768w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-The-RootHub-poetry-event-in-Uyo&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;272&percnt;2C182&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 272w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" loading&equals;"lazy"><figcaption class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;caption gallery-caption">Eriata Oribhabor at The RootHub poetry event in Uyo<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"960" height&equals;"636" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-a-poetry-event-in-October-2021&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;960&percnt;2C636&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-a-poetry-event-in-October-2021&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;960&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 960w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Eriata-Oribhabor-at-a-poetry-event-in-October-2021&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;768&percnt;2C509&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 768w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" loading&equals;"lazy"><figcaption class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;caption gallery-caption">Eriata Oribhabor at a poetry event in October 2021<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"966" height&equals;"960" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Olumide-Holloway&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;966&percnt;2C960&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Olumide-Holloway&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;1371&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 1371w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;Olumide-Holloway&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;768&percnt;2C764&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 768w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" loading&equals;"lazy"><figcaption class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;caption gallery-caption">Olumide Holloway<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure><&sol;div><&sol;amp-carousel><div class&equals;"swiper-pagination-simple">1 &sol; 7<&sol;div><&sol;div><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Today&comma; more of our Nigerian writers are beginning to take seriously Naija Pidgin&comma; a language once derided as being for the illiterates&period; From incorporating Pidgin into their characters’ dialogues to writing a full book in the language&comma; Naija Pidgin has continued to rise to the heights Oribhabor dreams it should attain&period; The Eagles Nest Bookclub at Awka&comma; Anambra State&comma; celebrated the genre with Jindu Enugbe’s stellar collection of short stories written in Pidgin English&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;<em>Street OT&period;” This indicates<&sol;em> that efforts by people like Oribhabor towards promoting it are yielding results&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Eriata Oribhabor is happy to see more and more people beginning to appreciate poetry and the spoken word &lpar;and he has written guides for people wishing to enter the spoken word stage&rpar;&comma; but still laments the scant support poets get&comma; especially when they publish their books of poetry&period; He is saddened that some poets have refused to support their fellow poets&comma; thinking of them as competitors instead of colleagues&period; But he will continue to do that which gives him joy&comma; he says&comma; because &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;happiness is the sum total of whatever positive steps taken personally or in concert with the mentioned collective &lbrack;poets in the family of Poets in Nigeria&rsqb;&semi; encountering passion for writing and promoting poetry as an art form&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>All of these&comma; and many more&comma; single out Eriata Oribhabor as a literary stalwart showing exemplary <strong>selflessness and dedication to the cause of social change&period; He has proven his belief that <&sol;strong>writers and lovers of literature must unite to promote poetry&comma; and collaboration&comma; not competition&comma; should be at the center of all dealings&period; He leads by example by collaborating with many individuals and organisations&period; He deserves his flowers&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots">&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image is-style-default">&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-full"><img sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 750px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 750px" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;CO&percnt;CC&percnt;81N-SCIO-MAGAZINE-PACESETTERSISSUE-2-VOL-2-OCT-2022-cover&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-40866" loading&equals;"lazy"><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots">&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;'w3eden'><&excl;-- WPDM Link Template&colon; Default Template -->&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"link-template-default card mb-2">&NewLine; <div class&equals;"card-body">&NewLine; <div class&equals;"media">&NewLine; <div class&equals;"mr-3 img-48"><img class&equals;"wpdm&lowbar;icon" alt&equals;"Icon" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;plugins&sol;download-manager&sol;assets&sol;file-type-icons&sol;pdf&period;svg" &sol;><&sol;div>&NewLine; <div class&equals;"media-body">&NewLine; <h3 class&equals;"package-title"><a href&equals;'https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;download&sol;con-scio-magazine-pacesetters-issue-2-vol-2-october-2022&sol;'>CỌ́N-SCÌÒ MAGAZINE&colon; &OpenCurlyQuote;PACESETTERS’ &lbrack;ISSUE 2&comma; VOL&period; 2 &vert; OCTOBER 2022&rsqb;<&sol;a><&sol;h3>&NewLine; <div class&equals;"text-muted text-small"><i class&equals;"fas fa-copy"><&sol;i> 1 file&lpar;s&rpar; <i class&equals;"fas fa-hdd ml-3"><&sol;i> 10&period;11 MB<&sol;div>&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine; <div class&equals;"ml-3">&NewLine; <a class&equals;'wpdm-download-link download-on-click btn btn-primary ' rel&equals;'nofollow' href&equals;'&num;' data-downloadurl&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wrr&period;ng&sol;download&sol;con-scio-magazine-pacesetters-issue-2-vol-2-october-2022&sol;&quest;wpdmdl&equals;40865&refresh&equals;693241243571f1764901156">Download<&sol;a>&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine; <&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity">&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-align-right has-very-dark-gray-color has-text-color has-background has-medium-font-size" style&equals;"background-color&colon;&num;ade6fe"><em><em><em>Ugochukwu Anadị&comma; a student at the University of Nigeria&comma; is a reader who sometimes writes&period; His fiction&comma; poetry and non-fiction pieces have been published by&colon; Brittle Paper&comma; Afapinen&comma; Afrocritik&comma; ANA Review&comma; Black Boy Review&comma; Brilliant Flash Fiction&comma; Afritondo&comma; Kalahari Review&comma; among other online and print journals and literary magazines&period; He is also a winner of the Nelson Mandela Peace Prize awarded by the International Human Rights Art Festival&comma; USA for the best essay written on human rights issues in Africa&period; He has been on the longlist of the Africa&commat;2050 Climate Fiction Prize and on the shortlist of the Ikéngà Prize for Short Story&period; Anadị is highly interested in religion&comma; gender and sexual orientation and literary criticism&period; When he’s not reading&comma; he’s trying to make sense of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles&period;<&sol;em><&sol;em><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine; &NewLine; <div class&equals;"booster-block booster-author-block">&NewLine; 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