Bookclub: dissecting the heart of the earth – THIS AGE

Footnotes for a homeland by Emman Usman Shehu; Topaz Books, Abuja, Nigeria; 2026; 120 pages

He is among the most powerful voices who have refused to be deterred by Nigeria’s multifaceted calamities. Emman Usman Shehu deserves to take a well-deserved bow as an irrepressibly coherent poet who ruthlessly addresses the Nigerian project and the African condition.

He showed the first signs of poetic inspiration when in 1988 he gained literary prominence as one of the “six poets of the update” published by the Nigerian Authors Association (ANA) under the patronage of Chief MKO Abiola’s Concord Press of Nigeria. With iconic poet Odia Ofeimun as the key facilitator, ANA has undertaken special publication of the collections of six budding poets, namely: Questions for Big Brother by Emman Usman Shehu, A shout across theWall by Idzia Ahmad, Stolen moments by Afam Akeh, Amnesty by Kemi Atanda Ilori, Cotyledons by Esiaba Irobi, e Flower child by Uche Nduka.

Since then Emman Usman Shehu has kept the light of poetry high by publishing other acclaimed collections such as Open Sesame in 2005, Icarus rising in 2017, The river never returns in 2022 and now Footnotes for a homeland in 2026.

An open heart surgery with the scalpel of words is what Emman Usman Shehu is earnestly doing to the land of Nigeria with his offerings in poetry. He speaks truth to power and does not indulge in obscurantist poetry. Meaningful vintage poetry is his forte as he takes on the necessary duty to employ his metaphors and craft to progressive ends of engagement.

In the preface to the collection, Chioma I. Enwerem underlines: “In Footnotes for a homelandEmman Usman Shehu has created a work of deep empathy and keen political acumen.” He belongs to the class of “crier” poets identified by the legendary Christopher Okigbo. The homeland motif can be juxtaposed with Aime Cesaire’s classic I return to my homeland.

The collection’s 62 poems begin with the compelling lyrical piece “Palmwine For Elusive Eyes”:

Ah, you elusive daughters of memory who dance

on the red dust of the streets of Abuja where Harmattan

whispers secrets through the tired leaves of the neem trees

A poet who penetrates the streets, Emman Usman Shehu calls the bluff of members of the idle rich class to “Kiss The Truth”. It embodies friction as “the high-tension wire stitching the air / into a frenetic thrill.” The poet can never be forced into silence as he proceeds with “a moment of effusion.” It takes layers of meaning to appreciate “The Elder’s Gaze” and the wisdom “Under the Weight of Kolanut”, “Shadows on the Fence Wall”, “Loom of the Silent Weaver”, “The Movement of the Harmattan”, Cracks in the Skin of the Boabab”, “The Hesitant Rhythm of the Drummer”, “Whisper of the River God”, “Breaking the Clay”, “Song of the Open Palm”, “Wind on the Village Square”, “The New Voice of the Market”, “The dance of the free tongue”, “Chorus of the river mouth”, “Working bones”, “The deaf ears of a city”, “The stolen dawn”, “The ghosts of the hammer”, “The shadow of the peddler”, “The empty net of the fisherman”, “Splintered loom”, “The silent scream of the maid”, “Sterile parchment”, “The iron in the marrow”, “The river was my brother” etc.

The poet’s mastery of the tropical tradition gives the collection a grounding that is quite captivating. Even from the titles of the poems every casual reader can grasp their essence. The lament is as touching as from “Language Of Our Native Land”:

The language of our homeland is forgetting the meaning of compassion

In “The Wound Refuses to Close,” Emman Usman Shehu goes full blast like this:

Another day just like yesterday and the day before yesterday

My country, once hope blooms, bleeds down the slope My country bleeds hour by hour, mocking Golgotha

Another day my country bleeds like the other day and leaders recycle false promises to change things from the safety of secure fences

In “Dear North,” the poet offers the advice: “Dear North, don’t look in the mirror just to move/Break the bondage of error…” There are problems in the country, the poet says, and it doesn’t bode well to hide in denial. Harsh truths are told through “Sipping Chaos”, “Harvest Of Denial”, “A Land That Drinks Its Blood”, “Poem For A Flag”, “Unfading Pits”, “Ramparts Of Earth”, “Waiting For A Dawn”, “Nunc Dimitis” etc.

Emman Usman Shehu is a literary surgeon with impeccable drive. He has an established reputation as a “literary cartographer of the Nigerian experience”. In a country where the “black gold” of the Niger Delta has been transformed into “liquid poison” there is ample reason for a committed poet to raise the necessary concerns. Footnotes for a homeland, Emman Usman Shehu has added great importance to his position as a great contemporary African poet.