Ernest Emenyonu
Professor of English and Director, Africana Studies Program
St. Augustine's College, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Preface for The Parliament of Idiots.... Trysts of the Sinators

The Parliament of Idiots.... is a remarkable collection--sad, ominous, dreadful, and passionate. It is a paradoxical mixture of the tremours of an anguished soul and the zealous clamours of a dejected patriot. Olafioye personally mourns the death of his mother as he agonizes over the 'passing' of his nation, Nigeria--the giant of the African continent reduced to a paltry midget. Throughout the collection there is the criss-crossing of the moods of personal sorrow and the tragedy of the traumatised collective soul of a nation. In his words: "Today, I mourn the death of my two mothers: my biological mother Elizabeth Kehinde, and my natal mother, Nigeria, a motherland to which my heart belongs. Then when I was visiting my natural mother, the death or dishonor and besmirching of my natal mother, Nigeria, doubly ravaged my heart. The probe of the Senate leaders and the impeachment that ensued exposed the betrayal of polity which meant the asphyxiation of this young democracy, my motherland, my Nigeria. This primal land gave birth to us, and many of us own no other to which we intuitively belong."

This collection must stir the hearts and souls of truly 'concerned' Nigerians. Some of the poems are rendered in parables; but their structural unity, and hypnotic recall of the events of history establish Tayo Olafioye not only as a poet of substance, but also as a sensitive and perceptive observer of the life and socio-political events in the Nigerian nation. The allegorical 'story' introduced in the poem, "AZIKIWE'S CURSE" is told in full ramifications in the poems: "THE DISOBEDIENT FOWL," "OGIDAN - THE MOUNTAIN LION," "CHRISTMAS BONUS: IN THE SONGHAI SINATE," and "THE IMPEACHMENT." So incensed is Olafioye with his subject that in "THE DISOBEDIENT FOWL," the disguised 'Chube Ogidan' is not difficult to decode. But Olafioye's literary technique seems to be to make his language and imagery easily accessible such that the culprits in the Nigerian political arena will be hard to miss. This is a collection that seeks to tell it all; to bare it all, and to unmask the masquerades in Nigerian contemporary leadership and governance.

Olafioye is at his best in his sensitive depiction of the follies and foibles of Nigeria and Nigerians. Consider the import of such poems as "CREDENTIALS," "MINIMUM WAGE: MAXIMUM WAHALA," "OKADA MOTORSCOOTERS," "BOOK LAUNCHING," "BIRTHDAY CARD FOR MY COUNTRY," "THE SONGHAI NATION," and "COLLEGE WITHOUT CONVENIENCE." (How does a government committed to social welfare establish an institution of higher learning in this day and age, and not consider toilet as an essential facility?) In spite of the encircling physical, spiritual and metaphysical rottenness, OlafIoye is still able to afford some effusive humour as in the poem "THE AFRICAN TIME." But Olafioye does not spare even himself a few jabs as in "HOMECOMING," "DON'T CALL ME DADDY," and particularly "THE ALIEN PLANT" where the joke is on his hair. Every social event, every national event exposes the hypocrisy, empty aggrandisement, and falsehood in Nigeria and Nigerians, with the highest debauchery evident in "A TRYST OF THE SINATORS."

A Parliament of Idiots.... is food for thought for all Nigerians. The soul of the nation seems to have collapsed precipitating among other things, the exodus of some of the best brains in Nigeria. From the various corners of the globe where they find themselves, they give vent to their nostalgic emotions in poetry, prose of various types and drarna. In these they reprimand, castigate, lampoon, satirize, and cajole their homeland, its people and their national and cultural idiosyncrasies and maladies; defying the sanctity of not singing the unpalatable dirges in a foreign land. But they are neither traitors nor 'sell-outs.' Through these new types of fiction, African literature is progressively being redefined; new frontiers are emerging into the fold, new directions are hoisted on the horizon. The African 'story' now can be told (and is being told) with authenticity and unparalleled integrity from home and abroad. Tayo Olafioye's A Parliament of Idiots. As an inimitable example of a Nigerian tale told from afar but possessing all the ingredients of a home-crafted masterpiece.

This collection might make some Nigerians laugh, but one hopes that it will also make all Nigerians think about our purpose as a nation in the 21st century, our sense of direction as a race, and the true meaning of patriotism and national service in our land. Can we truly say that our elected or appointed leaders are indeed serving the interests of the people they represent or claim to represent? Our national grief can no longer be blamed on the exploits of the colonial foreigner. It can now be laid squarely on our own front doors, our fratricidal avarice, our in-grown machinations for intemperate evil doing, and the frightening non-challant acceptance of our inglorious national sodomy as a divine heritage, immutable and irreversible. Listen to Tayo Olafioye in "THE CONCLAVE OF HYENAS":

Once aliens devastated our shores
Their bones lay in our soil
Formed the rivers of ashes underneath.
Now, the internal antagonists
Are the locusts that ruin the crops.
They mat the acreage with their underbellies
They too will die from the heat of the earth.

A Parliament of Idiots.... is a must for all Nigerians concerned about the survival of Nigeria as a nation to be reckoned with in the 21st century. The truth is not always sweet but it must be told. Tayo Olafioye is not only an accomplished poet that all lovers of literature should hail, he also has earned his place on the HONOR roll of Nigerians at home or abroad who place their country before self; who can be counted on to stand by their sense of unwavering integrity and true patriotism without counting the cost.