(For Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina)
A generation will always stand still at some time
Not for a person as he appears, but his words which light up any nation.
You don’t need to like anyone to give them your time
But great people deserve every bit of celebration.
I have heard of one, blazing hot across Africa and the world
Telling tales about Africa and How to write About Africa3
We must free our imaginations4 is his advice to the world
As he pursues a vision of upright people movement5 in Africa
Binyavangabration1 is a word I will use over and again
For I see in this Kenyan born an enigma that the world must understand
I want to tell his story again and again
And for his outstanding success, I celebrate and salute as I stand.
I believe in greatness as it comes not in a day
I believe in doggedness as it comes with his flavour
I believe in the beauty of tomorrow, but we have to colourfully paint our today
I believe in Africa and I’ll always stand on my honour.
I celebrate with one of African’s finest writers
I celebrate him because his writings can break any form of fetters
I celebrate him with my poetic ink
I believe in freedom of thought and speech as I think…
1. Binyavangabration is a word coined by the poet and author, Opia-Enwemuche Maxwell Onyemaechi from Nigeria. It means the celebration of the man Binyavanga Wainaina and his works and an exceptional and superlative celebration of a person.
2. Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina who was born on 18 January 1971 is a Kenyan author, journalist, and winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. In April 2014, Time magazine included Wainaina in its annual TIME 100 as one of the “Most Influential People in the World.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Binyavanga_Wainaina
3. How to write About Africa is a book written by Binyavanga Wainaina and was originally published in 2006.
4. We must free our imaginations is documentary in six parts. Here, Binyavanga Wainaina with an extraordinary performance spoke on six different sub-topics, Bring me the Obedient Children, The Ecstasy of Madness, The Demon Next Door, A Thousand Years of Hate, Africans Are Natural, and China will Own Us. He highlighted the need to activate our imaginations.
5. Upright people movement is an umbrella movement that the Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina seeks to unite everyone in love with the African continent. You can read more about his detailed speech on the web http://expoundmagazine.com/upright-people-binyavanga-wainaina/ entitled, ‘I want a Continent of Upright People by Binyavanga Wainaina.
