Expressing oneself through poetry had been a reserve of those in western clime. And in Africa, it has been dominated by the men folk. However, Akuna Ejim, with the publishing of “Destiny Becomes Me,” a collection of about 167 poems has joined the league of female authors creating an enchanting reverse.
Trained as a lawyer at the Abia State University where she bagged an LLB in 1999, she had always been inquisitive, an attribute of her thirst for knowledge. After graduation, she settled for a regular 9 to 5 working in the Audit department of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). However, the artist in her ensured she did not stay long there. And after three years she gave up. Since then, Akunna has just been “running things” as she said in an interview. “Running things” included supplying computers among other things.
Akunna, short form for Akunnaya which in Igbo, her native dialect means “father’s wealth” hails from Abia state, Nigeria. The first child in a family of four children – two girls and two boys – has Oedipus Complex to thank for the creative spirit in her.
She says of father, Eze Captain Paul Ejim who retired as an airline pilot. “My father is very creative. If anything goes wrong in the house, he will always try to fix it before calling anybody,” ending with a chuckle. And with that, she dabbles into everything creative. Her works convey deep emotions. “Destiny Becomes Me” which Akunna says was written over a three year period was “an on and off thing.”
And in the poem which the book takes its title from, she writes, “My imagination is fertile, tell me nothing is futile.” A while back, she was also involved in making o f greeting cards. And this she spiced with tailor-made messages for whatever occasion she is making a card for. “I don’t just take any poem and put it on the cards I make. If it is a wedding, I write specifically for the wedding. The same thing if it is a birthday,” she says.
“In Your Worth,” she plays with the suffix, “Less” and rhymes with it at the end of each of the seven lines which make the poem. Check what she ends the poem with. “How do I feel when you are not with me?” to which she concludes with the answer, “Restless.” In “Mother,” she writes “Mama, words fails me, I can only say, That I love U totally.” Little wonder she is grateful to her mother and dedicates “Destiny Becomes Me” to her mother saying “Hey mom, you’re the greatest.”
The lady in her twenties has had her fair share of life’s many experiences and this reflects in her poems. Her writings drip with ardor, armour, and love. “Ebony Night” emits fiery cool, and “Smokey Eyes” reveals an angry “unrestrained passion.” And in “Expressions,” she beams philosophical wisdom, while the tell tales of a heartbreak is just too pronounced in “Bounce Out.” To think that Akunna is a law graduate is a testimony of the power of innate abilities.
While some of the poems are verbose like “Frustrated’ which drip with length, others are short and apt like Droopy droopy feelings Ah a sigh, That down down, At the heels feeling so piteous. In those fifteen words, Akunna Ejim captures the motions of being “Sad.” That is just one of the styles of the new author on the Nigerian horizon. But all are captivating in their own voices.
While “Destiny Becomes Me” is poised to launch her as a burgeoning poet, she also has other latent potentials budding. For one, the tall gangly lady is also a singer and songwriter of which the gospel genre is her forte. With a studio album scheduled for release soon, she is ready to make a mark. This talent, she claims was bestowed on her by her mother who also sings.
She also writes stories and has some unpublished works in her potty. “Apart from “Destiny Becomes Me,” I have other yet to be published books,” she says. One of which is “Rainbow Chicken,” an illustrated children’s book.
One word – eclectic perhaps best summarizes “Destiny Becomes Me.” Though the central theme of her poems is love, which she invokes strongly, other phases of emotions are also beautifully penned down by her. The poems are well- written, ladened and swaying with bitter-sweet emotions which are uplifting as well as inspiring. One thing is certain. Her style is “contemporary,” universal, easy to relate to, and capable of launching strong sentiment.
Akunna has written a number of articles with some online magazines. She is a member of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists of Nigeria (PEN). Published by the Author House in U.S.A, the sultry poems in “Destiny Becomes Me” have bequeathed a treasure to poetry and revealed an intimate part of Akunna by exposing her innermost thoughts on paper.
