![A BARDIC JANUARY – for the ones here that I know [A Poem] by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema](https://sueddie.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/poems-on-a4.png?w=256&h=256&crop=1)
A BARDIC JANUARY – for the ones here that I know [A Poem] by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
[A Poem for fellow members of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Benue Chapter] Harmattan hides but we stand with our wordy-wine and raise a toastto the ones in whom we boast, our words like yams to roastas poems become oil and the swange age would not let our waists twist toand words greet Janus’s geniuses…stars … Continue reading A BARDIC JANUARY – for the ones here that I know [A Poem] by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
A TOAST FOR SAM OGABIDU’S BIRTHDAY
Though I had been in the Association of Nigerian Authors for a while and done some personal projects with special designation under the three previous administrations, a significant part of my journey was as E-Officer and Financial Secretary under Sam Ogabidu’s tenureship as Chair in 2008. I remember having the joy of working with him, Leo Chris Aba, and Dr Charles Iornumbe, who ensured that we had coverage of what events we could on Radio Benue. It was hard having EXCO meetings and Sam was always running from pillar to post, to get what funds he could to support writing. I remember having to accompany him to a few meetings and writing several letters to several people to help support one literary project or the other; from Hon Omadachi Oklobia to Dr Tivlumun Nyitse, among others, the man never took no for an answer and kept going forever. When it was time for conventions, the man was always running to get funds to ensure our entire state delegation had proper transportation – all paid for! He would be at Government House here and there, begging this or that person, and ensuring sometimes that the delegates would have some extra funds to enjoy the literary spectacle that used to be the Association of Nigerian Authors national convention.
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MUSIC, MEMORY AND MARIAH
For the longest while, I have had this fight with my daughter over the songs we play as we walk to her school. She has been affected by the Mariah Carey Christmas craze [All I want for Christmas is You; Christmas, Baby Please Come Home, Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town etc etc] which I disdain with everything, because I am saturated with all of it! Gosh! Since 2018 when I came to Brighton to school at Sussex, it has been the annual punishment inflicted on my ears. She doesn’t understand this and so we now have a few acceptable compromises: Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Michael Bublé and on many days than I can count, Mariah Carey who I have to listen to because well, you don’t always win. Me, I’d rather be listening to Justin Bieber’s ‘Mistletoe’ or more, some Naija Gospel songs. Today is different.
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When the Week Weighs You Down, Don’t Let the Darkness Win by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
Last week was a bit of a tough one for me. I felt it coming when it started but didn’t realise how much of a burden it would be. I realised it while completing an all-night work session two Saturdays ago. As I counted the hours to dawn and found the first rays hitting my … Continue reading When the Week Weighs You Down, Don’t Let the Darkness Win by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
Reading Chinaza James-Ibe’s ‘Love, Death, and Dominoes’ by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
Chinaza is as deep as she is bubbly, a loud laugh at her lips in every picture, even as she seemingly casts the weight of the world where it belongs. And I don’t really know where that is—do tell me when you find it. This same one, Za, a quiet wonder who writes some of the most profound things you’ll find anywhere. We’ve challenged ourselves with many writing prompts, tried to keep in touch, and somehow, she always wins at being ahead—meeting every commitment—while I, somehow, lag behind until our agreements fail to materialise.
In thinking about all of this, I found myself reading her Love, Death, and Dominoes (LDD, as I’ll call it moving forward, which you can read HERE), after getting the privilege of enjoying it before LOLWE officially put it out. It wasn’t the obligated read of the last time, but a composed, measured reading this time, as I nursed a bad flu and struggled to get my brain to stay in one place, rather than follow the million fleeting thoughts and sensations it was driving me to. I should have been in church, but here I was, sick-bound and reading—perhaps fittingly—this work.
I WILL SAY THIS EASILY over here: Chinaza James-Ibe is one of the younger Nigerian writers whose writing pulls strings in my heart. While I may not have read all her work, I certainly love what I have read—for its depth, beauty, and honesty. In my opinion, Love, Death, and Dominoes is one of the finest things I have read all year.
How to Immortalise People in Nigeria: Of Humphrey Nwosu, MKO Abiola, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dora Akunyili and Others by Ozii Baba Anieto
To me, staging a walkout from the red chamber because the house turned down the motion to immortalize Prof. Humphrey Nwosu wasn’t a smart move. And as I heard a senator stirring the tribal sentiment, I wondered when we would stop playing the victim. To me, immortalizing a man in Nigeria is as good as … Continue reading How to Immortalise People in Nigeria: Of Humphrey Nwosu, MKO Abiola, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dora Akunyili and Others by Ozii Baba Anieto
Finding Faith in Tough Times and God’s Provision through Life’s Challenges – S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
Happy New Year, Happy New Month, Happy Valentine people! Here is my first blog post in a long while, and I was moved to write it after listening to a song that reminded me of God’s provision… the song for today, which appears at the end of the post. I also got inspired to just … Continue reading Finding Faith in Tough Times and God’s Provision through Life’s Challenges – S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
KINTSUGI – A Reflection on Empathy and Grace in Response to Mimi Terver-Bossua’s Musing
Mimi, my dear Mimi, in reading your Musings, I am reminded of shared experiences—stories across time and space, binding kindred souls through their raw, honest beauty. It has been a joy to see you write more and uncover your mind in beautiful prose, makes you wonder why you never started far longer than you did, … Continue reading KINTSUGI – A Reflection on Empathy and Grace in Response to Mimi Terver-Bossua’s Musing
Join Abuja’s TTW 2024: Unleash Your Child’s Creative Potential (August 26 to 30, 2024)
If you’re in Abuja and have the means, I can’t recommend enough that you consider enrolling your children in The Treasured Writers Workshop (TTW) if they are between the ages of 7 and 14. TTW is one of Abuja’s most esteemed annual summer creative writing boot camps, officially founded and run by none other than my own Aunty, the renowned broadcaster Eugenia Abu (@eugenia_abu), since 2007.
TWIRL TO THE TOCK (A Birthday Note) for Sylvia Ofili by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
In this darkness, it is light as the calendar twirls to a new dateEarly chimes the clock as we tock to salutes and heavy gbosas Count the many cheersFor your pretty years Dear Sylvia Ofili, priced lady of the lilyLet your every desire be fit to lift you higherAnd in them, we seek God’s face … Continue reading TWIRL TO THE TOCK (A Birthday Note) for Sylvia Ofili by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
Su'eddie in Life n' Literature 