If I Wasn't Me ( A Poem)

If I wasn't me 

I wouldn't be born a Gambian writer on 7 January 1990 

In Bakau Newtown, The Gambia, West Africa

In a religious family of multiple scribes and Islamic scholars

My blood is from Prophet Isa ( Jesus) 

And the Prophet Muhammad (S.A. W).

If I wasn't me, I wouldn't have cried nights full of me on a faithful Friday

Waking up on Saturday morning

Hearing my mother talking to my dad Thinking about the name I was going to be given.

But most people don't want to be part of the process, they just want to be part of the outcome. 

But the process is where you figure out who's worth being part of the outcome. 

Seven days before my birth, I saw all the humans and inhumans who were going to be my enemies. 

I seen days of insanity 

Seeing enemies I recognize inside my mother's womb

Sweeping the hardest parts of my struggles; 

From hatred to accusations, 

All the food I ate served as my tears 

Even gold couldn't convert my fears.

 

If I wasn't me, I wouldn't drink blood inside my mother's womb 

From avengers to revengers amongst mankind and the jinns

Congregating to pay every debt of self-defeat they had lost to my grandfather

Everyone knows bout my greatness from kismet to dissipation 

But their hatred gives me constant constipation

I know Christians without beads and Muslims who don't read the Qur'an,

I read the devil's bible

And I'm off the rifle 

Bcos when I was two years old,

I met the antichrist at the age of 14

I recognized him and know he is a world leader 

A ruler who is glorified in the West;

A handsome public speaker and a former president.

If I wasn't me, I wouldn't have rejected my nationality of being Gambian to

Speaking to reporters in India,

But nothing is perfect that's why I made the difference.

Bring back Jesus, I'm the prove

Like a food in a stove, 

I planted myself a great destiny from my hard work

Like a newly wedded bride caught cheating with a gateman, 

I rejected my namesake's name for my name instead 

I'm not my namesake because I renamed myself 

Classified my ISBN and put me in a shelve

I'm Modou not Momodou 

I was born to carry the whole of mankind up there in the sky

At the age of 7, living a life that is so hard...

I recognized all the snakes and reptiles present at my naming ceremony 

I got aunties from the marine kingdom and uncles from the evil world 

But my grandmother never fed on evil.

If blood, I drink it,

If money, I make it

I don't care it is clean or not, I just take it. 

I'm not a wizard, I'm a jinn. 

I feel like I'm half human and half inhuman for us humans 

The daytime is my night and the night is my daytime 

I'm usually dark in the light and light in the dark

I'm darker than the Kaaba at Mecca

And harder than the pyramid in Egypt.

 

If I wasn't me,  I wouldn't see two witches eating my flesh at night 

Addicted to writing and hate love without marriage 

Hesitation made me feel like a lie in the middle of a gossip 

I knew the Quran at heart and became the heart of the truth

The bible is inscribed on my chest;

 If we'll fight, let's fight,

I've been waiting for death for so long 

With great aplomb.

I'm born to identify the Dajjal 

To become a disciple to Jesus and a viceroy to God.

If God has three letters, why not man?

From canterbury, nativity, and credulity,

I'm captivated by my innermost being.

Let me sell you mirages from the sun

Let's say Jesus will soon come.

I knew I was going to be called Modou Lamin Age-Almusaf Sowe 

Bcos Almosaf is the guardian of the qur'an and a religious reformer. 

My name attracted so many liars with some and informers 

From the olding generations to the newcomers,

I'm enslaved in England and remarried the queen.

If I wasn't me, I wouldn't see the antichrist since I was young bcos 

Not all cars are taxis' 

I ain't gotta to tell you Chinua Achebe didn't just rose to fame like that

If you want to be great, you have to worship the spirits

If you ain't part of the secret, they say, "don't trespass the Secret Society"

Every letter entering into the statehouse must bear the writing "His Excellency"

I don't need cameras to appear on TV

Everything I touch turn to gold

Ask a golddigger 

My wife is so cool like a cold dinner

The truth doesn't have to smell sugar and salt to be accepted 

I'm better than your favourite author 

Don't make me urine on you

I'm addicted to doing evil

I'm a photo lamp in a photograph 

Even if I were to sell my soul, nobody can buy it.

Put my picture in your magazine 

I did so many good things but every Gambian hates me like Yahya Jammeh.

Let's play with ambers of fireballs 

From Wordsworth to Shakespeare, I'm read everywhere, what y'all talking bout?

Go drink ibuprofen 

Add me to the dictionary 

Or add the words I invented;

I can vividly remember meeting Satan.

My special wishes to you! To schedule or book me for public lectures/ book launches/ conferences/ readings/ scriptwriting/ keynote/motivational speaking events, please email: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com © All Rights Reserved! Thank you for reading and following my blog. Should you wish to use any of my articles for research, lectures, personal use, etc.,.. kindly address your message to: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com. Copying any of my articles without written permission is an infringement of Copyright.

How To Borrow From God

 

 

Imagine living in a world where money is God, winning is vital, and people must keep the title, and perhaps, with a global president called Michael. If money, they say, is the god of women, what is the god of men? The most expensive bank in the world is not Barclays or the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Limited, but it is the bank of poverty of imagination locked in actual self-doubt and prejudice. The reason why we could not still overcome the global financial crisis -- is not because there is not much money in the world-- or there are not enough papers to print enough money to feed every country-- but is it the belief of power and position as merchants of superiority.

 

The belief is that war, nuclear weapons, and ammunition are means of governance in a world where everyone can borrow money from God. Too powerful -- too economic-- too brave, and just too wealthy to be too much belittled. In tandem with this unacceptable fact, our suffering is preceded by a corrosive lack of global unity in terms of financial differences to remedy the crisis. In the words of  American rapper, Tupac Shakur, ''Instead of war on poverty, we gotta war on drugs and the police can't bother me.''

 

One of the problems confronting the world is the gradual but steady religious erosion that can be noted from one continent to another. People becoming rather too nonreligious to belong to the religion of money. Climate change is not the changing of the climate, but it is the changing of people to learn not to unlearn what they must not resist. People cause climate change and the change is constant. Religion has become less religious as economic hardship hits the globe persistently. Poverty has been understood as a man-made illness that has a cure -- money. Poverty is not poor--but poor people are poor. The language of humanity is human. Do you know the sounds and letters of humanity to be able to borrow money from God?

 

How to borrow money from God? Let's assume that the year is 2065 and the world no longer uses i-phones but people are using mind-phones. Technology has advanced so much that people use TV cell phones and no longer have time for flat TV sets and watching TVs. Robots are actively roaming the world with aliens accompanying them. Money is gathering all evil people up there in the skies by giving them positions to govern alibi. Let's say that the best way to borrow money from God is not to borrow money from Satan. But in 2065, nobody will be poor unless you want to.

                                                                                                                    

As a librarian, let me quickly tell you that the advancement of technology is also the decline of African culture and civilization. In the year aforementioned, Africans will need an app on their phone that reminds them how to perform ablution in Islam or how to fast regularly in Christianity. In Africa, a child which is not wild is not from his father's lineage, but how about not knowing his heritage? That too has a price.

 

African traditions and values are gradually becoming a thing of the past as there are several influences from other cultures to adopt what is referred to as a more ‘open-minded’ culture of freedom without restrictions. Just one word -- money. One of the ingredients that perhaps act as a catalyst is the prevailing cultural stereotype where some cultures are viewed through the lenses of negativity and inferiority. This leads to the abandonment of those cultures by the newer generation who are supposed to ensure its longevity. Since the start of the 21st century, humanity has faced at least three global crises. The first crisis pertains to the 9/11 terror attacks in the US that facilitated the US-led war on terrorism, which in turn, facilitated the expansion of state surveillance systems, widespread extrajudicial killings, and the prevalent use of torture and other abusive state actions.

 

The second crisis, meanwhile, refers to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis that was considered at the time the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

 

At present, we fight for survival against the threat posed by the COVID-19 global pandemic. This third crisis forced governments to impose forms of lockdown and quarantine, shutting down schools, universities, restaurants, cultural centers, and other organizations to slow down the viral infection rate. But of course, according to the English language, the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Iran, Palestine, Israel, the Ethiopian crisis, the Rwanda Genocide, and even the current Ukraine crisis are not crises.  Truth be told-- even slavery is not considered a humanitarian crisis. What happens when the rich fight with the rich? The prices of commodities rise, not so? The poor get poorer-- and the rich becomes worried.

 

Confronted by these challenges, I am still asking how to borrow money from God? As alluded to by my colleague, the famous Nigerian author, Anthony Onugba, cultural erosion is dependent on cultural stereotypes.  Therefore, one way to borrow money from God is to borrow a chapter from the scriptures because even the devil reads the Bible. Should the world expect assistant Jesus just in case?

 

I would like to conclude with the Swahili saying that goes, “ukiona mwenzio ananyolewa zako tia maji”. Difficult to understand but it means, “if you see your neighbor's house on fire standby with water to put yours out in case it spreads.''

 

As a child and an adult, most of my life has been spent in Africa, and for nearly a decade, much of my literary production has focused on my interaction with the environment. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research and intellectual honesty, I would like to provide you with a critical analysis of peoples' ability to be able to borrow money from God. Yes, it does exist. Nelson Mandela said, and I quote ‘’ if a nation wants development, the youths must be educated.’’ The wealth of every nation is the youth. A country is only poor without a youthful population.

 

Permit me to borrow a quote from Albert Einstein who said "those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act. To you, my readers, it is now your sacred duty to do the rest, either to succeed or fail, to benefit society or benefit oneself. Alan Saporta said, and I quote “the best way to escape from a problem is to solve it." Let me say any national problem which is not solved, is still a problem for its people. Freedom is so very nice and can even turn mice into a goat, but let us remember a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr, which reads "let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup." The only key to freedom is money. If money was the vehicle during the slave trade, humanity will legalize slavery.

 

Let me put it in the French adjectival and adverbial funnel of interpretation to defile the youth of your happiness for yet imagining the goal of my meditation. ‘Qui- who, Quand-when, and Comment--how and when do you borrow money from God? I would like to end with some words from Bessie Head, a South African writer who lived most of her life in Botswana. When she was asked the question WHY DO YOU WRITE? Her response was this: ''I am building a stairway to the stars. I have the authority to take the whole of mankind up there with me. That is why I write.''

 

Something tells me that a generation of new ideas and talent is about to change the world.

 

My special wishes to you! To schedule or book me for public lectures/ book launches/ conferences/ readings/ script-writing/ keynote/motivational speaking events, please email: 

modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com

© MODOU LAMIN AGE-ALMUSAF 2022 All Rights Reserved! 

Thank you for reading and following my blog. Should you wish to use any of my articles for research, lectures, personal use, etc., kindly address your message to: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com. Copying any of my articles without written permission is an infringement of Copyright.

Should We Fall In Love? (Poem)

PS. This picture is subjected to copyright.

Should we fall in love?

Or should we just laugh like, lol?

The very first day I came into existence

Your love was planted in me

And I grew up searching for you;

I met many ladies without having babies

Names like Stacey, Whiskey and Tracy; all did break my heart and made me crazy.

It was you I didn’t meet...

 

Isound of your voice,

Down to your smile and laughter,

Gives me great joy beyond any imagination.

The first time you texted me, I knew it was you.

But yet, we are still in limbo, afraid of what we feel.

I n.  what you felt, like an undiscovered Celt, I melt. I am melting for you. 

It's your food I want to belch.

I want to put words into your mouth:

Should fall in love this month?

Why do I feel so strange after reading that text?

Your laughter is contagious and warms every corner of my soul.

Why do I feel so connected after looking at your pictures?

I try and shake it, but you already have a hold on my heart.

It is magical and soothing transporting me to a place I have never been.

I don't dare like you, I'm a dare for you.

Fresh off the bed, sharper than Gillette

The shower still wet, so pass it like 'Chui Boulet'

We sip side of text messages, we call it cuddle and pet,

You are my chosen bride to beset,

My only honey to cuddle and pet,

I'm hotter than the end of August;

I'm awesome, repeat it to your grandma, and uncles

Or friends, ML is a husband.

The sight of you

Holding your hands

Walking beside you — oh Lord

I can’t even put into words how it makes me feel

I heard people talk about love at first sight

Some saying it romantically for a guy or lady

Others for their spouses

And very few for their acquaintances

But I was so sure I found love in your sight

My senses of sight, smell, touch & hearing

Are all yours.

The wide smile on your face when I giggle

Oh Lord — praise be to God, amen, hallelujah.

I will trade everything and anything for

Being held by you became my priority

As the energy that radiates from you to me

To learn how to love like you should love me

And express the love I hold within me like you do.

How can I ever see love in someone else

Lost in a gaze pure to our soul

And your warmth wrapping me in your safety

I can make you the daughter your mom never hear from

Because your love can make me throw stones at the Statehouse

Should we fall in love?

My special wishes to you! To schedule or book me for public lectures/ book launches/ conferences/ readings/ scriptwriting/ keynote/motivational speaking events, please email: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com 

 © All Rights Reserved! Thank you for reading and following my blog. Should you wish to use any of my articles for research, lectures, personal use, etc.,.. kindly address your message to: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com. 

Copying any of my articles without written permission is an infringement of Copyright.

Writing and Covid-19: Books are Essential in Times of Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic is the most unprecedented story for authors across the world. If Covid was human, vaccines were plots, and lockdowns were characters, the pandemic is the most intriguing story to be ever written in books because it has not only a direct impact on the daily and private lives, health and the ways people interact – but also on the working situation of authors and writers in the literary sector. 

In Africa, particularly West Africa, many authors encountered economic fall-out, loss of fees and lack of needed exposure. While Nigeria still remains Africa's most vibrant literary hub, authors were seriously affected during the COVID-19 pandemic by working from home and faced inaccessibility to research facilities. 

Prof. Chinedum Igwe, Executive Director, International Association of African Authors and Scholars (IAAAS), Atlanta, USA 

 “From an author point of view, it is probably one of the biggest pandemics in human history,” says Prof. Chinedum Igwe, Executive Director, International Association of African Authors and Scholars (IAAAS), Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 

The African book industry will have to deal with a great shift, after more and more bookshops had been closed and some of them never even opened again, the publishing houses postponed or canceled titles. Several cultural institutions – libraries, theaters, small sized event organizers – also have to deal with losses, will close or lower the budget in general for cultural events. 

 

In countries like The Gambia with a very low literacy rate and poor readership, authors suffered great financial losses due to cancellation of events and having low sales of their books. 

There was no book launch for nearly one year and events, readings (especially in schools, libraries, cultural institutions and bookshops), award ceremonies, book fairs, workshops, lectures and residency-scholarships were canceled. The situation quickly threatened the existence of many writers and authors.  

While many authors work from home during the pandemic, many have no other choice but to publish articles in local newspapers. In The Gambia, the local newspapers, notably The Standard Newspaper, Foroyaa Newspaper, The Voice Newspaper and The Point have published dozens of articles from authors during lockdowns. Many of them believe that COVID-19 has made literary strikes to compel them into writing new books during lockdowns. 

Lamin B. Fatty, Gambian Author 

“I have not written a new book since the lockdown. A writer’s job is of course to write what makes the stories of human life, and to do so, you have to keep writing,” explains Lamin B. Fatty, a young Gambian author. 

For Ms. AZEB YOSEPH AMBACHEW, the Founder and Executive Director of ONE AFRICA PEN WARRIORS FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION (OAPWOD), an organization established in December 2019, Covid-19 has mostly affected women writers in Ethiopia. The organization is dealing with African history, culture, indigenous languages, democracy, unity and Identity. It strongly opposes migration. This organization has a plan to discuss the root causes of migration and how to especially save Africa’s youthful population to stop thinking about migration. 

  

Azeb Yoseph Ambachew, Executive Director, One Africa Pen Warriors Organization for Development (OAPWOD), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 

“When we are talking about the impacts of COVID -19, we should remember that it has created major economic crises on our industrial and agricultural activities. If I am not mistaken, COVID-19 hit Ethiopia on the 13th of March 2020 while the executive and regular members of my organization started working on promoting its vision and mission in a very organized way,’’ says Azeb Yoseph Ambachew.  The diversity of books and culture is in real danger because of the COVID-19 effects on the economy. 

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the African writing workforce in many ways. Many worried that stay-at-home grants would proportionately enhance the productivity and well-being of African writers, including women and early-career authors, who were expected to shoulder more on writers residencies and or grants. However, West African writers are still yet to adequately address the development and technology behind the different vaccines that have been released and that are being created. They are yet to also address the acquisition and distribution of vaccines globally, including “vaccine nationalism” and questions of equity.  Award-winning Gambian author, Modou Lamin Age-Almusaf Sowe, is trying to show how the vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination activism, as well as misinformation and disinformation against vaccines  immunity, community masking and social distancing measures, as well as emerging variants are issues in West Africa.  

 

My special wishes to you! To schedule or book me for public lectures/ book launches/ conferences/ readings/ scriptwriting/ keynote/motivational speaking events, please email: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com

 © All Rights Reserved! Thank you for reading and following my blog. Should you wish to use any of my articles for research, lectures, personal use, etc.,.. kindly address your message to: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com. 

Copying any of my articles without written permission is an infringement of Copyright.

I'm COVID-19 ( Poem) by Modou Lamin AGE-ALMUSAF Sowe

       Photo: The first regional online round table on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights and the rule of law

Dear world,

Is me, COVID-19

Call me the Coronavirus pandemic if you wish

I'm the destroyer of lives

The enemy of your wishes

The sickest virus on and offline

I'm an alien

Take precautions

Better watch your mouth because what you say about me can endanger you.

You heard I'm from Wuhan, China

Because I'm related to Satan

I don't die I multiply and then come and divide you

So, what if you get a vaccine?

I don't give a fuck about it

I'll take every dose and every fuck about it

You better wear a face mask properly

Wash your hands regularly, and observe social distancing

Get it; I've come to stay

Don't you see that this whole world is my graveyard?

I walk around in airports

Canceled public gatherings

I'm a scientist

I invented face masks

I forcefully closed your schools, closed your churches, and mosques

I prevented writers from writing new books

I gave more patients to doctors

And declared global lockdowns

You better be careful when you spell my name!

I kill faster than light

I willingly do this with great delight

I spread dangerously in thick capital letters

I don't promise tomorrow

Because I don't even pay what I borrowed

Check my footsteps looks like there was a couple of me

I just killed a mother and her child shouted "mommy!"

I don't spare anyone as long as you're not vaccinated

I eat your life like a cheesecake

Until the world fights me, you're not all safe.

        Picture copyright: EMERGING HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRENDS IN THE FACE OF COVID-19

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My special wishes to you! To schedule or book me for public lectures/ book launches/ conferences/ readings/ scriptwriting/ keynote/motivational speaking events, please email:

 modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com 

 © All Rights Reserved! Thank you for reading and following my blog. Should you wish to use any of my articles for research, lectures, personal use, etc.,.. kindly address your message to: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com. Copying any of my articles without written permission is an infringement of Copyright.

Book Review for Don't Judge The Book By The Cover by Modou Lamin Age-Almusaf Sowe

As part of events marking the official book launch ceremony and the unveiling of the award of excellence won by the author Modou Lamin Age-Almusaf Sowe, scheduled on 7 January 2022 at Ebunban Theatre, Kanifing, The Gambia -- the author is giving away 50 FREE TICKETS to the first 50 PEOPLE to write a BOOK REVIEW for Don't Judge The Book By The Cover.  

   About The Book

Don't Judge The Book By The Cover, as the name implies, tells the story of 9-year-old Fatou Sowe -- who turned out to be a good speller overnight, as early as the age of nine. Most people know that the word BOY is spelled as B-O-Y -- but not Fatou. 

Fatou, who has always been good to neighbors and guests alike, wakes up one day to discover she has turned into a good speller with the help of a magic pen. This beautifully illustrated storybook has been created to support learners who after acquiring the basics of reading and writing, have struggled to organically grasp the rules that govern spelling in the English language. 

To everyone’s surprise, she can now spell the most difficult words in the world -- and a few minutes, too! But will her extraordinary talent last? 

The short story centers on the theme (of childhood and education in African societies, African traditions, poverty, and the shared values of love, forgiveness, and unity.)

 To WIN a FREE TICKET to the event, you must complete all these four (4) steps:

1. Follow the author on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlsowe2021

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@agealmusaf?

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modoulaminsowe1/?hl=en

2. Download and Read Chapter One of the Book on this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WiA8_rvb3c2rOWXRP24ykuocWbarGQ9OQvnuXhrvjp8/edit?usp=sharing

3. Write a short REVIEW for the book by answering these questions:

a. What can be learned from the book?

b. How does the book depict Gambian and African cultures?

c. What is unique about the book?

4. Post your REVIEW NOTE (just 100 words maximum) in the comment box on this blog.

Once you have completed the FOUR STEPS, send a WhatsApp message to +220 7791631 to be booked for your free tickets.

My special wishes to you! 

To schedule or book me for public lectures/ book launches/ conferences/ readings/ scriptwriting/ keynote/motivational speaking events, please email: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com 

 © All Rights Reserved! Thank you for reading and following my blog. Should you wish to use any of my articles for research, lectures, personal use, etc.,.. kindly address your message to: modoulaminsowe1@hotmail.com. 

Copying any of my articles without written permission is an infringement of Copyright.