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.)

Abu Ibrahim (IB) is a Nigerian poet. His debut poetry album, “Music Has Failed Us,” was considered for a Grammy nomination in 2022. His poetry has been published internationally, including in Nigeria, Canada, the US, and the UK. He has performed at prestigious events such as the Pa Gya Literary Festival in Ghana, the Lagos International Poetry Festival, the Lagos Book and Art Festival, the Quramo Festival of Words, and more. IB is the winner of the Ink Sweat & Tears Pick of the Month for July 2024, the 2024 Poetry Journal Prize winner, a recipient of the Lagos State University Debate Society Impact Maker award for storytelling, and the winner of the 2023 Port Harcourt Poetry Festival Poetry/Spoken Word Album of the Year.
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