ILORIN FA (ADORATION POETRY)

.. This is exquisite bridge-making poetry and I look forward to re-reading 'Alubarika nwo oja Ilorin, lomu Tapa, lomu Baruba, lomu Hausa, lomu Yooba, ati Kemberi wa naja Ilorin...' with him at my side. If democracy is people who do not look like me being my equal, Abdul-Rasheed Na'Allah is surely our poet of the new democracy that can arise in Africa in these desperate times. Ilorin fá!
- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak FBA, University Professor
Columbia University
AbdulRasheed Na'Allah's poetry celebrates Ilorin's rich lore and life with a powerful display of metaphoric forays which turn the 'adoration' into a wellspring of superb poetry.
Na'Allah is only one of a few contemporary African poets who write effortlessly not only in English but also in their indigenous languages (here Yoruba and Hausa). In this collection, the poet affirms the correlation between medium (style) and thought (content) in the poetic representation of a traditional and yet cosmopolitan Nigerian city that Ilorin is. In the poetic narratives, characters of outstanding virtues make this work inspiring not only to Ilorin indigenes and residents but also to all readers...
-Tanure Ojaide, Frank Porter Graham Professor of Africana Studies, University of North Carolina, Charlotte