Today is World Poetry Day
Let those who can write
Let those who can’t read
Today, let’s just do it
Let the words freely flow
And snowball into lines
Let the lines well up rhymes
Let the rhymes flow into verses
And verses mould us a poem
Let the poems illuminate our minds
And reveal the fecundity of the poet’s mind
While we celebrate what we cherish
Let humanity be entangled
In the labyrinth of our connectedness
As creations from a single source
(Obo Effanga, March 21, 2017)
Obo Effanga is multi-talented as a lawyer, journalist and human rights activist.
National Diploma in Mass Communications from The Polytechnic Calabar;
LL.B (Hons), University of Calabar;
Called to the Nigerian Bar in1995
MA in Human Rights from the University of Sussex, UK.
Journalist with the Nigerian Chronicle newspaper
Worked for civil society organisations, including ActionAid Nigeria where he worked for 11 years.
General Counsel & Member Editorial Board, NewAge Newspapers Newspaper.
Columnist of the Year 2004 at the Nigeria Media Merit Awards.
Writer, The Nation; NEXT; ThisDay; The Niche; Punch and Premium Times.
Appointed Resident Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2017.
A Ford Foundation Fellowship Alumnus, currently heads the alumni in Nigeria.
