OMI O L’OTA

OMI O L’OTA

OMI O L’OTA 512 512 Abu Ibrahim

Fela said “omi o l’ota.”  We give the ocean a wide berth. Nothing is ever neutral. The sea was the slave traders’ porch, and so was our backyard. Water was the border between home and the plantation. For centuries the ocean waded in strange men; generations got swept away by the tide of human trade. Black bodies became anchors — thrown into the belly of the sea to steady ships. So it’s never surf when my people go close to the water — only survival.

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(Translation: “Omi o l’ota” is a Yoruba saying which simply means water has no enemies. Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a renowned Nigerian musician and political activist.)

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