Abuja, Nigeria 2013

ORGANIZER: Eriata Oribhabor (the Chairman of Association of Nigerian Authors, Abuja) with Ejiro Eghagha, Jumoke Olajumoke, Denja Abdullahi, Dike Chukwumerije, Aj. Daggar Tolar, Salamatu Sule, Chinyere Obi-Obasi and Samson Kukogho.

CONTACT: edbabor@gmail.com

Includes the following Chapter Co-ordinators:

Kuje: TBA

CONTACT:TBA

Suleja: Moses Opara

CONTACT: mosesopara248@yahoo.com

Maraba-Nyanya-Maraba Axis: Sunnie Omeje and Jon Manuels Enekele

CONTACT:

Bwari: Theophilus Tanko Chikudu

CONTACT:

Kubwa: Ify-Asia Chiemeziem with Tee Jay Dan

CONTACT:

Apo-Gudu Axis: Donald Obinna Nwali

CONTACT:

Kukogho Iruesiri Samson with Eriata Oribhabor
WEEKEND OF WORDS: SEPT. 27 & 28
WHAT
CAN
WORDS
DO?
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COME
FIND
OUT!!
Friday Sept. 27th
Savannah Suites
Area 3, Garki-Abuja
11:00 am
&
WITNESS THE POWER OF WORDS!
Sat. Sept. 28th
WestPOINT Hotel Abuja
1:00 pm
DON’T MISS OUT!!
08060109295

************

PEACE AND SUSTAINABILITY
September 23, 2013 at 10:55am
100 THOUSAND POETS (100TPC) FOR PEACE AND SUSTAINABILITY
December 7, 2012 at 11:50pm

Until we begin to say with pride and boldness that “it’s about Nigeria” and act it, progress and development will only be experienced in the air. The megawatts and megajazz we hear today will be replayed to our unborn children. Tons of government ”white papers” will keep germinating into ”black unaccessible” items while new committees commissioned to re-work them would eagerly complete their dirty jobs with perfect finish. Until we jointly agree that our nation is bigger than ”Hausa, Igbo & Yoruba” and and the different ethnic groups put together, and engage the political will to drive our dreams through to logical ends, the genuine benefits of our multi-farious composition will keep eluding us. Our respective and collective visions of building a virile nation capable of holding sway in both African and Global matters will be hedged with burning doubts.

Let’s tell our leaders that we are wiser. Let’s drum it that we are desperate about peace and development that will secure our today and tomorrow. Let’s re-echo it that a genuine harmonization of our differences by the right leadership will guarantee the difference that will see us holding sway in the scheme of things. We must sound it louder that, even though we are bothered about the uninspiring history of growing corruption, political abuse and lack of good governance in our nation, we are hopeful of a brighter future.

Let’s remind them that we are not by any means fooled by political selfishness displayed by them that see politics as a ”father-to-son” business for the good of great grand children. We must demonstarte how concerned we are about the future of both their children and ours.

We must shout it loud and clear that we are not unaware of the sad reality of how grand-parents of our leadership sold it to our fathers that today belonged to them but right now, their grand-children are telling our children that tomorrow belongs to them.

Let’s not mince words about their insensitivity to positive happenings in other worlds. That, while the future of unborn generations in other worlds are secured, we are battling to provide for today in vain.

Let’s tell them about individuals and groups like the 100Thousand Poets for Change (100TPC) that is showing the entire world new ways of brewing tasty wines via poetry and forms of performances for a better world. No guns!

Just Poetry and more.

Edwin Eriata Oribhabor
100TPC, ABUJA-NIGERIA

Abuja as One Man Village, Mararaba and Nyanyan Axis join the global community of literary activists using poetry to bring about positive changes for their respective communities. A chapter of the 100TPC will be established here. The Coordinators are Sunnie Omeje and Jon Manuel Enekele.

BRIEF ADDRESS PRESENTED BY ERIATA ORIBHABOR, ORGANISER, 100TPC, ABUJA DURING THE INAUGURATION OF A CHAPTER OF THE GLOBAL ORGANISATION AT: ONE MAN VILLAGE, NYANYAN AND MARARABA AXIS

SATURDAY 27TH JULY, 2013
VENUE: IBIZA CLUB, ONE MAN VILLAGE

Dear Friends,
I am delighted to be part of this wonderful audience of poets, lovers of literature and the arts committed to contributing their respective quotas to bringing about peace and sustainability to our world. Now part and parcel of the global village, we are conscious of the fact that whatever happens in any part, affects the others. We are here as a voice for a borderless world where racial differences, tribe, religion and all forms of sentiments inhibiting progress and development are not welcome. Though still alive with us, I mean the mentioned sentiments, poets have always considered it unreasonable to sit down and allow things walk in reverse at our detriment. We are interested in using poetry, the arts; music, dance, drama, comedy, painting, and the like to speak and act change in all ramifications.

By the preceding, I have indirectly given you an insight into reasons behind the foundation of 100TPC by Michael Rothenberg and his co-founder Terri Carrion in the United States. With the power of the internet, they reside here with us every day concerned about how we live just like we do for them. The talk about the world being a global village is real. Therefore, how we manage our respective spaces to our advantage in such a way that they become attractive and beneficial to us and others that may want to share in them, matters.

Peace and its presence in communities worldwide have a positive relationship with progress and development if well-managed. How peaceful are we as a nation? How far away are we from a world of degradation in all spheres of human calculations? How do we compare our environment with that of the advanced worlds? Why should the world be classed in worlds of the ‘‘Advanced, Developing, Third, Fourth or No-world?’’ Where do we belong? These are questions Poets for Change are bothered about daily.

Ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me that poetry for poetry sake is unfashionable. In those days, finding one’s article or poem published on the page of a newspaper gives one a sense of satisfaction not minding whether solutions proffered towards fixing various challenges facing us in our respective societies were heeded to by the authorities. Like writers with bent for social-angle issues, Poets for Change pour their time and energies in creatively exposing inherent ills in different societies. Do the authorities hardly ever get to see their presentations? Should this status quo be allowed to continue? The answer is an emphatic No. Why write lots of love lines without demonstrating a show of love to one another? Until the lines we write make meaning in practical terms, we are mere rabble-rousers playing to the gallery; may be for selfish aims. Accordingly, it is for reasons of giving our lines some teeth that 100TPC choose to berth in this axis just like Suleja, Kubwa, and Wushapa in Bwari Area Council respectively. We intend to re-inaugurate/re-launch 100TPC in Kuje with new coordinators ready to work in line with the aims and objectives of this noble organisation. For the records, the 100TPC is a global non-governmental literary organisation of poets using poetry as a tool for subtle diplomacy for the good of societies worldwide.

Remember the last inauguration in Wushapa in Bwari Area Council? How we marched through its quiet streets to the Etsu/Chief’s palace? You can’t forget the Wushapa’s Pottery begging for government’s attention and promotion. Forgotten the villagers of Wushapa whose faces speak nothing but dejection caused by injustice and rejection by our world. Didn’t we see a community whose God-given natural assets have no direct benefit to its people? Didn’t we write about its beautiful lake, the source of water to the entire FCT? We cannot forget so soon that there’s no pipe-born water in that sleepy community; a supposed tourism haven wasting. Can we appreciate this disconnect? The story of Wushapa is being told in a collection of poems written by different poets; one of the highpoints of the activities of the inauguration that held there. The anthology is being titled ‘‘Wushapa – How We Tie.’’ Although a step forward towards reaching out to the authorities, Wushapa is a test case for 100TPC in truly demonstrating that it’s going to speak and make things happen for the good of humanity.

Distinguished guests, friends and lovers of literature and the arts, welcome to One Man Village. Some of us must have passed through the busy Nyanya-Mararaba road to this place. On the heels of Wushapa, let’s ask ourselves the simple question ‘‘Is Nyanya, Mararaba and One Man Village’’ representing humane societies we can be proud of? The answer is No. They are but representations of failure in leadership/good governance calling for attention/overhaul for sanity to prevail. Didn’t you see the confusion in different names on the way coming from the FCT end? Although our poetry will definitely capture these inadequacies, we are taking it away from mere poetry on the pages they are written to the authorities and onto the streets. 100TPC is not out for showmanship. We want to make statements by the things we write and see to it that their outcomes are pleasing. We want to speak to the authorities and get them to see reasons to make living worth everything. We are committed to working for the good life that politics truly stands for.

Over the years, we have this erroneous thinking that it is the duty of government to provide all to keep communities running. It is not true. This is why non-governmental organisations intervene in diverse ways in giving government a helping hand or showing them in most cases, how to do it better. I am proud to mention that one of us; Mrs Halima M. Usman who is behind an NGO; HalimaFactor Community Initiative for health and Sanitation has successfully partnered with the Kuchikau Community, few kilometres from this venue to build a bridge in that community. This is a typical example of NGO intervention that has saved an erosion-prune community from being completely cut-off from the rest of Nasarawa State. In appreciation of this singular effort, the government of the state has initiated processes in supporting the community towards ameliorating the plight of the people. The entire Mararaba, One Man Village and communities around deserve our attention. Government alone cannot do it. We must prove that we are for positive change in all ramifications and prove same.

There is no doubt that the management of Ibiza Club is committed to Corporate Social Responsibility and loves literary activities for peace and sustainability. We sincerely value her partnership in granting us the use of this hall at no cost. We definitely hope to use our activities to promote and project the good image of IBIZA CLUB and Smiley’s Boutique. At this juncture, let me introduce members of the 100TPC from Abuja as well as coordinators from other chapters. These are worthy ambassadors of 100TPC working in their respective locations for humanity.

Today, Nyanya, Mararaba and One Man Village are formally alive with the activities of the 100TPC. On this note, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to invite the coordinators of this chapter who will henceforth pilot the activities of this global body here: Mr. Sunny Omeje and Barrister Jon Manuels Enekele. We are confident of their capabilities to bring about change for progress and development via poetry to the mentioned communities and beyond. One Man Village, Mararaba & Nyanya Axis of 100TPC is hereby inaugurated.

Thank you very much for listening.
Eriata Oribhabor
Organiser, 100TPC, Abuja

WUSHAPA INAUGURATION

June 25, 2013
100 TPC Organization & Communication HubAdd PhotosTag Photos
INAUGURATION OF 100TPC, IN WUSHAPA, BWARI AREA COUNCIL, FCT

An Address Presented By Eriata Oribhabor on the Inauguration of 100TPC, Bwari in Wushapa (Ushafa) in Bwari Area Council, Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

I welcome you most sincerely to Wushapa, in Bwari Area Council for the inauguration of the 100thousand Poets for Change otherwise called 100TPC. The Bwari chapter of 100TPC is the fourth in the series of Chapters to be inaugurated after that of Kuje, Suleja and Kubwa. 100TPC is a non-governmental, non-political literary organisation co-founded by two Americans; Michael Rothenberg II and Terri Carrion dedicated to bringing peace and sustainability in communities worldwide using the instrumentalities of poetry and the arts. Convinced that poetry must move from the pages they are written into the streets for the engagement of societies towards the realisation of the good life we all yearn for, a global poetry reading commenced in 2011 in Santa Rosa, California, USA. In 2012, it was tagged 100Thousand Poets & Musicians for Change. Abuja’s version of last year’s event was held on 29th September, 2012 at the Gudu Recreation Park in Gudu District, Abuja. Prominent Poets, Performance Poets, Musicians and Public Speakers graced the event. This year’s event comes up on 28th September, 2013 in Abuja.

Poets are generally well-regarded in societies for the wealth of ideas they contribute towards healthy relationships and nation – building. How well their submissions play in this regard can be improved upon. Consequently, it has become paramount for poets to upgrade from mere thinkers/writers/philosophers to active players in any polity by deliberately reaching out via the things they do just like this event, for their thoughts and ideas to come reality. That we are celebrating poets, poetry and what it can do for us as a people today is deliberate and positive.

Wushapa (wrongly spelt and pronounced Ushafa) is a very important community in Bwari Area Council and the FCT. Its relevance could be underscored against the presence of its beautiful lake that provides the water feeding the residents of the entire FCT. Aside this, it boasts of a Tie & Dye Centre, a Pottery, scenic beauty dotted with hills and caves whose history are deep in culture and myth. Unfortunately, and as you may have noticed, this otherwise sleepy community could be likened to the proverbial one that lives by a stream but wash with spittle. It holds so much for tourism but only ever mentioned as a potential tourism destination. It will interest you to know that this Wushapa once played host to Bill Clinton, one time president of the United States when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was Nigeria’s President. One would have thought that the Area Council and the Ministry of the FCT will catch in on that all-important visit to turn Wushapa into a true tourism destination for the people to benefit from God’s given gifts in nature.

According to Mr. Jones Mairubutu a budding poet who has been with Mr. Theotanko Chigudu in staging this event, we are neither for knife nor strife. We shall speak with our pens. Having seen what this place holds in every sense of the word, it behoves us to pen down our experiences in what we know best – poetry. However, and coming out to read, sing and dance for peace and sustainability takes poetry from the ordinary. It makes it a true agent of change. We shall be speaking to the authorities to wake up from their slumber and do justice to the people of Wushapa and environs. Justice and equity would be seen to have been done when the people are provided with drinkable water, the Tie & Dye Centre and Pottery Centre fully revived and finally, develop the tourism potentials for tourism and economic boost. Wushapa deserve to bubble like the city centre of Abuja.

Whenever you hear of the 100TPC, please note that it stands for peace and sustainability, justice, equity and the betterment of societies worldwide. Here present in our midst are coordinators of 100TPC in Kuje, Suleja, and Kubwa championing the ideals of this global organisation in their respective localities. Today, we shall be hoisting the flag of 100TPC here in Wushapa with Theophilus Tanko Chigudu and Jones Mairubutu as coordinators. Both of them have packaged this event with logistics support from Tee Jay Dan of 100TPC Kubwa. Steering the ship of 100TPC from Abuja are Messrs Ejiro Eghagha and Denja Abdullahi (Abuja’s Poet laureate & Author of Abuja Nunyin – This is Abuja, Cultural/Theatre Arts Practitioner and Bureaucrat). Also present are Salamatu Sule (Poet and Naija langwej promoter), Halima Usman (Author of Spellbound and Sunshine And Waterfall), Mr. Asimiafele Aigbokhaleode (Author, Poet, Journalist, Cultural Anthropologist & Bureaucrat) and students of FCT College of Education otherwise called Junior ANA members led by Mr. Abdulmalik Yusuf. These students have been part of the progress story of the Association of Nigerian Authors Abuja. Very importantly, we are highly honoured to have in our midst, Barr. Zubairu Jide Atta one of the speakers at last year’s 100TPC event. He remains a guiding light and inspiration positioning us for greater challenges.

I wish to reiterate that in Abuja, the 100TPC global event comes up on 28th September, 2013. Series of pre-28th September events are being planned for different localities within the FCT. On our programme of chapters to be inaugurated are Nyanyan-Mararaba Axis, Gudu-Apo Axis, All the Areas of Abuja and the City Centre. To be commenced shortly is the 100thousand Poets for Change Peace and Sustainability Poetry Competition for Secondary Schools in FCT. Also, new chapters are to be opened in Gwagwalada, Kwali and other places within the FCT and beyond. We envisage that budding poets will not only become established but will be armed on how to use poetry and the arts for the good of their communities.

Ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me that the ways of the poet are different because they see beyond the ordinary. This in mind, I see new beginning starting new beginnings for the positive good of Wushapa. Like every beginning, it will be greeted by loads of pessimism but that bright light at the end of the tunnel is our goal. We are for peace, transformation and development but must work for them. We must keep providing necessary enlightenment to our people wherever they may be. If we want the physical upliftment and development of Wushapa, we must stamp our feet of departure from the norm.
At this juncture, let me invite Mr Theophilus Tanko Chigudu Coordinator, 100TPC Bwari to formally welcome us to Wushapa.
Peace and sustainability to Wushapa – PEACE! PEACE!! PEACE!!!

Eriata Oribhabor – Organiser, 100TPC Abuja.
www.niajalangwej.com / www.somtinfoevribodi.com
www.facebook.com/oribhabor

 

 

The following kids participated in the 100TPC Kubwa literary programme for children which held on Saturday 17th August, 2013 at Master’s Place Bookshop:

Ugbeva C. Precious, Jenewari Michael, Winnie Dauis, Juliienne Ukala, Esther Asukwo Edem, Afolabi Favour, Comfort Akan, Mustapha Sherif, Shamma T., Ukuta John M., Okpako Favour, Immaculate Nnodim, Ani Rita, Iren Harrison, Adeswo Eyimofe, Harrison Promise, Zikora Pius, Afolabi David, Victor Dauis, Francis Ante, Grace Ante, Sanctity Chiemeziem, Luciano Chiemeziem and Sommachukwu Chiemeziem.

The event was put together by 100TPC Kubwa, FCT –
Ify-asia Chiemeziem, Tee Jay Dan, Jerry Adesewo and Ngene C. Loveth.
At MASTER’S PLACE BOOKSHOP, KUBWA

 

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