Chronicles of a Journeyman

  • Bariga – A Tale of Transition

    The year was 2006. Two boys from Sagamu had gained admission to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). It was the session UNILAG started post-UTME exams, the one after the UNILAG riots in 2005 that left the Students’ Union sacked and the school hostels closed down. We…

  • Nothingness

    If we take a journey and come To where you said you are, You will not be there In fact, you will not be anywhere We will be unable to tell Where you are, or who you are, Or if at all you do exist We will doubt all the…

  • For the love of Haiku

    From the first moment I learnt what an Haiku was, I totally fell in love with this form of poetry. The requirement for precision, and a deft reference to differing or conflicting ideas is for me a very interesting and challenging exercise. And being a lover of nature, I enjoy…

  • Stay

    Originally posted on Chronicles of a Journeyman: “Welcome home. You will stay now, won’t you? While you were away I hardly slept Countless were the vigils I sorely kept Now that you are home, I pray you will stay” ? “While I crossed the sea I was thinking of you…

  • Do You Believe?

    Tonight, I own the stage. Isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it beautiful how You can be voiceless one moment And own a stage the next? Isn’t it wonderful how You can rise from a nobody To sitting among princes the next? You heard the message of faith Did you believe? Did…

  • Born with a Silver Spoon

    I was born in a time of plenty Where the poor had enough To eat and throw away And the rich had it rough With too much to store away Obianuju: that is my name I was born in a land of plenty Where silver and gold Were as common…

  • Guiding Light

    Towering scrapers and flashing lights: Secrets hidden behind blinding lights Twisted minds and sickening fights, Hidden away behind all these sights Hustling all day for bragging rights, As busy days roll into tossing nights But if all of this does not seem right What we really need is a guiding…

  • The Quirky One

    I am The Quirky One Who dances in the kitchen Who sings in the bathroom And hums all day at work Who grins from ear to ear At strangers on the road And laughs alone on my bed In the middle of the night Toyin Taiwo © 2016

  • Nigeria and the Ethnic Bias

    I love Nigeria. Her diversity, composition, cultures and spirit. Yes, her spirit. There is a Nigerian spirit – an attitude of tenaciously holding on and pushing forward in the toughest of times and persevering through the most difficult situations. We have learnt how to make ourselves happy whatever the situation…

  • Loved

    Loved

    In my lifetime, I have been loved. I have been loved by men and women of all shapes and sizes, Ages and stages, features and statures, Some of who gave their substance while others gave their time. They paid attention to my nonsense while listening for virtue. They saw wisdom…