Title: Asabi Alakara

Poet: Akeem Lasisi

Timing: 7:42 minutes

Directed by: Sanjo Adegoke

Reviewer: Olutayo Irantiola

Campaigns against sexual harassment, rape, and other femininity-associated vices are raving issues of the moment. To add a creative twist to the campaign, Akeem Lasisi, the award-winning poet who fuses both Yoruba and English languages into all his performances, has created an ethno-poetic-musicology tagged “Asabi Alakara.”  

This new piece demystified masculine gimmicks. As Lasisi’s characteristic, the poem is a fusion of dance, music, and verses that has made him evolve another mode of poetry distinct from those of the Lanrewaju Adepoju, Olatunbosun Oladapo, and Ogundare Foyanmu genres, as he instructs in danceable tunes.

Some of the cultural elements in the video include the playing of ayo olopon, the game typically played by men to relax; bata drums; the traditional kitchen, which symbolises where the good delicacies are prepared; and pretty ladies plaiting their hair to bring out their beauty.

The various ladies depicted as being at risk of sexual harassment in a very subtle manner are hawkers, students, and female members of a religious congregation. At the same time, the baits include money, examination grades cum extra tutorial classes and special anointing. These objects have driven many people in perdition. The list is not exhaustive, but it instructs everyone adequately.

The Yorubas are known for speaking in parables because they are unfolded by the wise, and this was evident in the video. Animals used to carry the import of the narration are the Tortoise, which is always associated with corny spells; the hawk, which preys on the chicken; and the squirrel, which escapes from the hunter’s pellets. The poetry is full of post-proverbial sayings, making it full of contemporary vibes.

Kudos to the team that made it happen, the Director, Sanjo Adegoke; the folklorist, Edaoto Agbeniyi; Ropo Ewenla; and others for putting together a nice performance that the Yorubas can gladly call theirs. To the songbird, Akeem Lasisi, may your wisdom not wane.