Book review | Rhymes from Africa: Re-orienting The African Child
Book Title: Rhymes From Africa
Author: Ibraheem Dooba
Publisher: AMAB Books, Minna
Pages: 39
Year: 2017
Reviewer: Paul Liam
The
role of literature in the entrenchment of colonial ideals in the minds of
Africans remains a subject of critical discourse among intellectuals and
scholars in understudying the impact of colonialism on the psyche of colonised
people of the world. It has been established that European colonializers used
their literatures in perpetuating cultural imperialism that unfortunately
continues till today. Africans, nay Nigerians are more inclined to the foreign
than the local, a precarious adventure which has led the scholar-critic
Professor Sule Emmanuel Egya (E. E Sule) to tag the emergent generation of
Nigerian writers as the "exogenous generation." Through encounters
with western literatures, Africans gained insights into the cultural, religious
and value systems of the whites. European epistemology subsequently became the
prime wisdom and the mirror through which Africans imagined themselves among
other nations of the world. But, to the rescue emerged pioneers like Achebe and
others who rose to the occasion, by providing for Africa new prisms from hence
Africans could re-imagine themselves and assert their own unique humanity in
the world. Things Fall Apart is one of the redeeming miracles of
Africa's cultural revival.
The
import of the above premise underscores the truism that literature possesses the
power to exert control over a people and to determine how a society re-imagines
itself. African children even after independence still live their childhood in
the shadows of their European counterparts through the foreign rhymes and
stories they are made to consume in schools. Through these rhymes, African
children encounter the views and ideals of the foreign thereby alienating them
from their own cultural realities. Although, there have been several
commendable efforts to decolonise the minds of African children by way of
introducing them to African rhymes and stories drawn from their own cultural milieu,
more work still needs to be done. These books do not only educate them about
their own cultures and legends, but builds in them a genuine sense of
patriotism to their fatherland. Perhaps, this reality influenced Ibraheem
Dooba's collection of rhymes for the African child.
Ibraheem
Dooba, a Harvard Alumnus and Data expert is also a politician and communication
expert. For a politician to have found time to think and write for children
speaks in volume of the kind of father he must be to his own children, and his
potential as a leader. This is considering that Nigerian politicians can't find
enough time to read anything other than newspapers, not to talk about
dedicating hours to meditation and writing for children. Dooba's is an unusual
example and a worthy precedence that others should strive to emulate.
Dooba's
Rhymes From Africa is another important collection of rhymes carefully
written for the consumption of African children. With this collection, African
children have a worthy book that exposes them to their own immediate
environment and peculiar circumstances. Dooba, through the elegant rhymes re-imagines
Africa and Nigeria in particular for the school child. There isn't the need
anymore to chant foreign rhymes in classes about a London bridge that is
falling down, a pussy cat going to the see Doctor, a Mr Piper picking a piece
of pickled paper, when they can easily chant about the rare bravery of the
"hunter," the beauty of the Zebra in "I am the Zebra" or
recite "Flattering the queen of Africa" respectively.
It
is a psychological supposition that children learn by association and imitation
and by creating a concrete connection with their environment through rhymes,
they become aware of their own realities through the images they are conditioned
to see. For example, in the rhyme "Africa" the child encounters the
uniqueness that defines the continent and its beauty. The rhyme describes
Africa as a land "where fruits sprout in colours of the rainbow."
"And the Sunset sets the sky ablaze." (9). In a more symbolic rhyme
"I'm the Zebra", the persona creates a contrast between the Zebra and
a Horse. It is a beautiful rhyme that draws attention to details. The horse may
be stronger but the zebra is more elegant. The persona of the rhyme relays
thus:
I am the zebra.
I am a horse.
But I'm more.
But I'm more.
I've got the stripes
That horses lack.
I march in steps
That soldiers like.
But I'm a horse that they can't ride (8)
"The
Myth" is a fine rhyme that re-echoes the notorious myth held by the west,
of Africa as a place where humans live on trees. The persona declares:
In Africa:
we live in trees,
marry in threes,
we sire like the bees,
as many as the fleas. (6)
In
twenty-six rhymes, collected in the thirty-nine page book, divided into four
parts, Dooba presents an unforgettable experience for the schoolchild. The
rhymes speak of different issues as might be interested to a child in nursery
or primary school. Although, some words appear to be too complex for the
comprehension of nursery school children, e.g, "barbarian"
"Cadmium", "effeminate" etc, and some rhymes equally bear
profound messages that come off as being a bit above the level of beginners,
chanters may find it challenging to interpret or understand their imports. A
rhyme like "Multiple Intelligent Child" might create a challenge when
it comes to memorising it, it is quite long, it has about fifty-four lines.
Usually, rhymes come in short witty forms for easy memorisation and
understanding.
Dooba
has joined the league of children writers like Teresa Ameh Oyibo, Hussaini
Kodo, Chinyere Obi-Obasi and others who have dedicated their creative energies
to writing for children. Rhymes From Africa is a noble work that is
poised to re-orienting the African child about himself and his environment, as
well as helping him realise the greatness in him and also strengthen his belief
in his continent and skin. This book deserves to be in the hands of every schoolchild
in Africa.
******
Paul Liam is a poet, essayist and book reviewer with numerous
works to his credit. He is a former Assistant Secretary of the Association of
Nigerian Authors, Niger State. He mentors a coterie of aspiring writers and
edits as well. He is co-editor of Ebedi Review.
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