Twilight in Ekpan by Omode Jokpeme Joseph

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Every day in Ekpan has been a bad, irritating, and horrible story for everyone who lives in the town. day in and out, gunshot is beating band in the ears of the people.People are moving from Ekpan to a better place but those whose income is from the oil companies and other great companies around looks for a better place for comfort. People are robbed, people are killed, people are beaten, people are abused, people are violated.... some are regretting ever coming or knowing the place. Those who build their house in the town are complaining but they don't have anywhere to go because they don't have enough money to migrate.

Other neighbouring towns are mocking at her as they see people migrating to their land. people are running for their precious lives, women are rioting for peace, people are rioting, people are running helter-skelter, In the mouth of everyone both small and great is all about the reoccurring incidents and events of misunderstanding and shooting in the town. Everyone is always talking about the shooting of the variety of guns and on how people are shot, escape and arrested.

Those who are shooting are inflicting fear, horror, pain and sorrow on people. As they pursue and shoot, they shout hold him!, shoot him!, catch him!, cut him!, Shoot his leg!, shoot his head!, kill him!.
Twilight by Omode Jokpeme Joseph
Written July 2nd 2010
This is a poem I created with my heart, soul, mind, thoughts and imaginations and it’s a brilliant poem and Its so heartfelt and dramatic, it has a lot of imagery and has a story behind it about people who live in an oil producing town of a city of a state of a country fearing dark all because of the sound of gunshots which is beating band in the ears of people. Twilight is like a representation of all the evil and bad things that come out at night. It really puts you into the heart and soul those who had to deal with the terrors of poverty and oppression, death, greed, money and power. Night, basically, means evil. But, it’s coming into a town in Ekpan of a city in Warri and environs of a state which is Delta State of a country which is Nigeria, which is a black territory, is the advent of brutality, insecurity, horror, despair, e.t.c. to the blacks in general.
It is a good poem generally, with the choice of words adopted by me. And the images combining with imagery, vividly shows the subject matter of the poem.

I found it impossible to define poetry... these two quotations may help you appreciate
How I felt;

"Poetry is the kind of thing poets write" - Robert Frost

AND

Louis Armstrong on Jazz, "Man, if you want to ask, you'll never know".


What I can say, is that poetry is usually a fusion of / or derived from 4 elements;

TYPOGRAPHICAL i.e. Strophes or Stanzas, Prose or Verse, spatial, enjambed etc.
SONIC i.e. Cadence, Rhythm, Rhyme, System (Prosody) e.g. meter
SENSORY i.e. Description
IDEATIONAL i.e. Word play and Original ideas

From the day man was made to this day, the threat of life with its phenomenon posing threat to peace, comfort and social order leaving scars of untold stories, sufferings, hardship and separation. People’s lives and dreams being shattered as they see the circumstances of life doing its worse on their precious and most cherished ones. I know that people may want to ask why didn’t I as the author use something like “the calamity” or “nightfall” or “slaughter” or “wickedness of man” or “man inhumanity to man”. I also know that people may want to ask why I decided not to present this article as a novel being it either a drama or prose. This is all because I am not an omnipotent, neither am I an omnipresent or omniscience which is the quality of God Almighty. At least he gave me something to give to you. And so, the only way I can bring this to you is by what I saw, heard, and pictured. And so therefore, everything I pictured that has happened I bring into writing without bringing in people’s name of which I cannot name or list them all. So I decided to present my writing as a poem in order for me to capture if not everything, at least most things.
These people are compromising in order in order to get what they want. These people fail to acknowledge the presence of God and they are living and loving the world. They are allowing the world to live through them and these same people are pursing power, position, wealth, fame and success by all means and by any means. What gets their attention is money, power and destruction of lives and properties. They spend their money and time in buying ammunitions and also on women with big buttocks and also on flirting housewives.
This youth restiveness is so different that it was beyond what I taught it was. The deviant behaviours of most people which is different in moral or social standards from what is considered as normal or acceptable has really led people to ruin all because of money, power and greed. The people live in this places locating from one place to another and at the same time causing separation and breaking marriages and at the same time leaving children homeless and as orphans and at the same time leaving some families as widows and widowers alike has contributed a lot to behavioural disorders and youth restiveness in our society. And moreover, children with behaviour disorders give concern to parents, peers, brothers and sisters, teachers and people around them because the behaviours interfere with their own proper growth and development, and the comfort or adjustment of other people. These children are given names of all sorts depending on the orientation and perception of the people they come in contact with.
In schools, teachers call them problem, heady or aggressive children. Sometimes they are labeled stubborn, hostile, rude and bad. Most of these children always find their names in the “black book” of the school because of various offences they commit. And this crisis and misunderstanding are mostly led and handled by those who are school drop out, those who lack moral training and upbringing, those with behavioural disorders, those who fail to listen to instruction and advice, those who fail to go to school, etc. these people do not hide their problems and the problems are manifested any where they go at any time any day. They exhibit this behavioural disorder by fighting, using abusive language, smoking, drinking, spending money on evil and killing.
I know, hear, and see people forming, recruiting, and bringing or inviting and at the same time paying cultist to fight and help them. Great cultist name and occultist of which when mentioned, people will run for their precious life and never come back to where they are residing. But still, some stood and fight. I also heard about some cases where medicine men i.e. herbalist and witchdoctors who were specialized in almost everything about life and death were hired and used but some where killed because they fail to consult their gods because of lust of money and some where killed during this process because of greed.
Twilight was chosen by me to be the title because most operations were done in the night and I couldn’t believe what I saw with my eyes as people were here and there with flying bullets chasing and hitting targets. Even those who think they are safe in their own house are sometimes knocked down by bullets. Some people who are in their houses and some who don’t deserve to die a bad death will be knocked down or visited by unknown youths and they will oppress them by beating them up and not only that, they will rape those who they could rape, they will robe those who they could robe of their money, jewelries and valuables, and they will destroy properties and kill people who I think have great destinies with great visions and task ahead of them. Man’s life is full of misery and calamity is befalling man every day, here and there, every time and every moment. It wasn’t really easy because people were running helter-skelter for their precious life and in all this; people were still risking their lives going to school, market, offices and work. Those that are rich and can not afford to loss a life or their own will locate to another state or country and start life all over again. Men were masking themselves and some were betraying their groups or crew for money. I really couldn’t believe what I saw and witnessed because I was just like a wounded lion, I was grieved by fear, overcome by horror, cornered by fear and griped by fear and trembling because I am one of the victim of whom they will like to kill also for pleasure. Most times I am in my house because I live in an upstairs and I see things from thence but sometimes I am afraid and shaking where I am because if they should see me, I will be shot to death and when I can not bear it, I will wait for the time where everywhere will be quiet and calm and then I will locate to another location. I would have located to another state or country but I can’t afford it. Day and night, no one is finding peace and rest and sound of guns will be making people to urinate on their body. Some people will see the gun from their windows and will run for cover and some will see them from afar and close their shops and houses. Those who are victims; especially those who their brothers are shot to death because of the crisis lives to regret and later finds all means to avenge the death of their bereaved. People’s lives, dreams, visions and plans being chattered as they see their loved and most cherished ones dying before their naked and opened eyes. Blood of the innocent and strangers flowing like water in the city and no one seems to have power to stop them. The police will do their worse to arrest some and more will go after the police and those who called for the police. It is so bad that “power, money and greed” is the cause and source of all this untold stories, separation, pains, death and sufferings. Some who are in the position of chairmanship and some who call themselves executives who abuses their power to collect money from companies and the refinery which is a free gift from nature will not like to leave their position when it has expire or will not like to give account of checks and balances of the community all because of the huge ransoms or volume of money they get from companies, organizations and the oil which is a free gift of nature and a natural resources which God has blessed and placed in the soil of the community. Instead of growth to take place; there is destruction of lives and properties and even social amenities such as light, road, water, etc.
The cost of its destruction is certainly crusher than the pains of peace. Gunshots beating band in the ears of all as they run for cover for their dear lives both day in and out. This continues until it became a normal way of life of the people. Some people who could not bear its destructive power relocated to other places and those who do not have any other place to go to stays behind and bears the bitterness which awaits them and also stays behind for what the town has for them. Those whose responsibility is to protect lives and properties appears to be overwhelmed, covered by the population of those who commits crime and havoc having to contend with increasing rate of violent crimes. The name of a small town in a city of a state in a country which have been silent now ringing in the ears and mouth of everyone. Human rights of citizens are being violated as if there is no law governing the state. Those who buy goods and service i.e. commerce are eating up their gains and profits as their goods stay in their houses and stores or shops. The innocents that are in their houses are been robed of their money and valuables, and some being raped for pleasure and some been kill for pleasure also. Those that call themselves to protect lives and properties and also to maintain law and order kept silent at reports of citizens and aliens who come to lay complain because they have been bribed with a huge amount of money. Those that call themselves to protect lives and properties and also to maintain law and order are running for their dear lives. It is the duty of the government to maintain law and order in the state and this function is usually performed by government agencies like the police. It was their duty to protect lives, properties, crime prevention in the society, detections and apprehension of suspected criminals, prosecution of minor cases, investigating and detecting criminal activities but rather, they failed to perform all this function all as a result of bribery and corruption in the highest order. Some people who are in the high places out of pity of the lives of the innocent ones who were going to work, school, church, mosque, etc. will sometimes contact the State Governor and when the Governor is fed up with such news and information, he will change the D.P.O and send people from another location i.e. those who are not familiar with the people. The ones that were sent will maintain peace and order for a while and they will be bribed with money. And later on the situation will change to as it was before. It came to an extent that the people i.e. the youths and those who are fighting themselves were using police to fight each other and most times when they are not fed up with the services rendered by the police and then they will use Soldiers. And even some people who will be arrested will be freed or release from the cell from sponsors in the high place. It came to an extent they w