Commonly neglected among influential 20th century poets because of his localized themes, Christopher Okigbo deserves greater recognition for his poetry. He writes about Africa, specifically his home Nigeria. Part of the Biafra movement, he expresses a discontent with the current affairs of Africa and a frustration with his own impotence of influence. Many of his poems contain two layers of meaning: the surface which is usually described in terms of natural imagery and the deeper meaning which generally applies to society.
Okigbo refers to himself as a town crier in several of his poems. A crier is a person who would make announcements throughout the streets to guide townspeople during times a crisis, an important figure. For his part, Okigbo hones his meaning to that of prophet. He believes that his poems are like prophecies delivered on street corners which are received by deaf ears. He earnestly believes in the power of his words, but his readers do not seem to understand the wisdom of his warnings. Tired of being ignored and under-appreciated, Okigbo's poems take a turn toward desperation when he hints at abandoning his attempts at counsel altogether.
Although his primary concern is Africa, Okigbo writes about pervasive issues in his generation across the globe. People are just realizing that they've abused their natural environments to the point of irreversible change. As a political revolutionary, Okigbo sets great stock in the power of change as a positive, while recognizing its immense potential danger. He wants people to be aware of the likely ending of society according to its present (for the mid 1900s), but he does so in hopes that people will take action to prevent said result.
