For Niyi Osundare – Kiribiti Kàtàkàtà
From his very humble cradle at Ikéré-Èkìtì,
Niyi trekked to family farm and to school,
Chorus – Kiribiti kàtàkàtà, kàtàkàtà kiribiti l'ó n sìsẹ́.
From Ikéré, he rode on bọ́lẹ̀kájà to Ìbàdàn,
Niyi went to drink the Ọ̀sun water of knowledge.
Chorus – Kiribiti, kàtàkàtà, kàtàkàtà kiribiti l'ó n sìsẹ́.
From Ibadan he flew on Òyìnbó wings to Leeds,
Niyi went to sing the songs of literary science.
Chorus – Kiribiti, kàtàkàtà, kàtàkàtà kiribiti l'ó n sìsẹ́.
From Leeds he flew on Òyìnbó wings to Toronto,
Niyi went to dance to the music of Òyìnbó dọ́kítà.
Chorus – Kiribiti, kàtàkàtà, kàtàkàtà kiribiti l'ó n sìsẹ́.
From destructive turbulent Karina waters of New Orleans,
Niyi's pent-house home for days and mates led to survival.
Chorus – Kiribiti, kàtàkàtà, kàtàkàtà kiribiti l'ó n sìsẹ́.
For local, national, international and intellectual prowess,
Niyi is on the pedestal of honour forever and ever globally.
Chorus – Kiribiti, kàtàkàtà, kàtàkàtà kiribiti l'ó n sìsẹ́.
— Adeyemi Daramola
Summary
“For Niyi Osundare – Kiribiti Kàtàkàtà” is a six-stanza poem by Adeyemi Daramola about the life journey of Nigeria’s literary icon, Niyi Osundare. The poem, which is an imitation of Niyi Osundare’s experimental writing that blends Yoruba literary tradition with English Language, traces the trajectory of Niyi Osundare’s life: from his cradle at Ikéré-Èkìtì to his academic trajectory and literary exploits. Each stanza has three lines, the last of which is a refrain, to effect musicality in the poem.
The first stanza of “For Niyi Osundare – Kiribiti Kàtàkàtà” talks about the humble beginnings of its subject at Ikéré-Èkìtì where he was born and bred. The next stanza talks about how education carries him from Ikéré-Èkìtì to Ìbàdàn for his tertiary education. It is at the University of Ibadan that he drank “the Ọ̀sun water of knowledge.” The third stanza shifts in time to when Osundare travels out to Leeds for his postgraduate studies, where he transitioned to the poet and literary stylistician everyone now knows.
Stanza four focuses on his doctorate degree in Canada and his following lecturing stint. The next stanza takes the readers through Osundare’s survival of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans where he was lecturing in 2005. The last stanza then establishes him as a “pedestal of honour” for his intellectual prowess that cuts across countries.
“For Niyi Osundare – Kiribiti Kàtàkàtà” is thus a summation of Niyi Osundare’s life, included in Adeyemi Daramola’s Before, Betwixt and Beyond Osundare: New Directions in Stylistics Study contribution to Language and Style in Niyi Osundare’s Poetry (eds. Ayo Ogunsiji & Abayomi Okunowo). Adeyemi Daramola is a professor of English and Linguistics at the University of Lagos.
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