TRIBUTE DIRGE: "A SHEIK WITH A DIFFERENCE" BY EZEKIEL FAJENYO

 (for Imam Abubakar, ,who waved at 92)

Your spirit must be new,rare breed_ Imam.

Your human plumes are wide,limitless ,beyond roots of human climes.

A father- hen with defiant soul,

symbol of a dream beyond collective choice of hate,chains.

You shocked the world with a fresh ,radiant doctrine of love,

unimagined in insane temples of touring death.

You crippled blind arrow shots,twisted poisoned knives on gun edges

of wasteful dreams.

Your mosque if unknown love must be inclusive,

adorned with gorgeous garment of a bright sun when darkness swore   

to a mission of ceaseless rage,

when bitterness wore jackboots of death

across our domains.

You were that pregnant man ,with a million umbilical cords,

codes of a peaceful living. 

Sheikh,as you now journey far away from here,

do you ever think your awards belong to other heads?

Sheikh Abubakar was Chief Imam of Nghar village, Barkin Ladi LGA,

Plateau state, Nigeria.

© EZEKIEL FAJENYO 

17 January, 2026.

- Nigeria 

The poem celebrates Sheikh Abubakar as a rare and courageous spiritual leader whose life embodied love, inclusivity, and moral strength in the face of violence. It portrays him as a protective father figure who resisted hatred and death, transforming darkness with compassion and peaceful conviction. Even in death, he is honored as a symbol of enduring humanity whose legacy transcends personal recognition.