By Olamide Lasisi
The fifth President and Editor-in-Chief of Campus Mirror, Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Rahma Jimoh, is set to release her debut poetry chapbook, 'Ashes,' under the African Poetry Book Fund (APBF).
The African Poetry Book Fund (APBF) is an organization dedicated to promoting African art through its book series, contests, workshops, and seminars. It serves as a prominent poetry platform that welcomes poetry manuscripts and chapbooks from both published and unpublished African poets.
Rahma's chapbook, "Ashes," delves into social and political topics, particularly those relevant to Nigeria and its people. "There wasn't a single moment or experience that inspired the entire collection, but several poems, such as 'Ashes,' 'Ninety Nine,' 'Consequence,' and 'Hide & Seek,' were influenced by specific events and experiences," Rahma explained.
In this collection, Jimoh explores her homeland with a sense of restlessness that mirrors its state. The poems convey an underlying uncertainty, highlighting the reality that safety is not guaranteed.
While speaking with the Campus Mirror, Rahma discussed her inspiration for writing the chapbook.
"Talking about the motivation for the poems in the books. I was motivated by a lot of things. By Nigeria, by war, crisis, political instability, the EndSars protest, by everything that Nigeria is and that we do not want it to be. Most of the poems in the chapbooks are about that.
"It has always been a dream of every contemporary African writer to appear in the APBF chapbook series. So it has been my dream for as long as I can remember, for as long as I knew about it.
"I have always read chapbooks from the series from different years. Also, I know the way it works from asking my friends and mentors already published in the series, which is the same for most of us,” she said.
Rahma announced that her chapbook will be released in 2025 as part of "Kumi Na Moja: New-Generation African Poets," a box set featuring ten new African voices, including Pelumi Adesiyan, who is also an OOOUite,Abdulkareem Abdulkareem, and Hauwa Saleh Abubakar.
Eager to share her work, Rahma joins the ranks of esteemed poets like Gbenga Adesina and Romeo Oriogun, who have been published by the African Poetry Book Fund in collaboration with Akashic Books.
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