Distinguished Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare lectures at the University of New Orleans in America. He suffered painful losses following the devastating Hurricane Katrina in the US in 2005, but has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. Osundare, who is set to publish the first in a planned series of books on the experience, speaks with Ademola Adesola.

When interviewed recently about the state of Education in Nigeria. These are his words:

I’m not being elitist or dictatorial. No, if you don’t come to this world with a sense of smell, nobody can teach you how to smell. If you don’t know how to respond to music, nobody can teach you. It has to be somewhere in your DNA. To write effectively and memorably in a language, you have to know (I mean know in the very primal sense of the word) that language jinle jinle. You have to know it in its depth. Poetry is the exploration and the exploitation of language beyond itself.
The standard of education in Nigeria has collapsed. I’m not being an alarmist here. I have been saying this for many years now. I know it. I’m a teacher. This is all I’ve devoted my whole life to; I’m a writer and public intellectual. Nigerian youths can no longer communicate. It is as simple as that. You are a journalist, invite holders of Master’s degrees who are job applicants. Tell them to go to Oshodi for one day and come back to your newsroom and write an essay about what they experienced. You would be surprised.

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