Analysis of The World’s Cleanest Country by Justina Abah

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Justina Abbah 


By Nwator Oji Awala 

Poem Analysis 

In her poem “The World’s Cleanest Country”, Justina Abah, a poet from Benue State, Nigeria, presents a vision that transcends geography and enters the realm of metaphor and aspiration. The piece is not just about physical cleanliness, but about purity of spirit, moral order, and the symbolic beauty of a nation that embodies virtue.

The opening lines, “Cleanliness is nest / To Godliness to said”, invoke the proverbial wisdom linking cleanliness and godliness. Though phrased in a slightly unorthodox manner, the lines gesture toward the spiritual foundation of the poem: that physical order reflects inner discipline. Abah suggests that imagining the “world’s cleanest country” is itself a spiritual exercise—an ideal that one must hold in mind before it can become reality.

The second stanza introduces luminous imagery: “Shining like the jewel / In the heart of the desert / Gleaming like the bright / And morning stars.” Here, the country becomes a metaphorical jewel, rare and radiant, standing as a beacon of hope even in barren spaces. The desert symbolizes struggle, scarcity, or adversity, yet within it shines a nation whose purity cannot be dimmed.

Abah continues with aquatic imagery in the final stanza: “Pure! Like the fresh flow, / Of the cool sea water / Reflecting sky in flawless white.” The movement from jewel to water highlights the fluidity of purity—both precious and life-giving, both still and dynamic. Water here is not just a natural element but a mirror of the divine sky, reflecting light in “flawless white.” The poem closes with a universal appeal: “A model to the world to see.” This transforms the imagined country into an archetype—a symbol for global humanity to emulate.

Stylistically, the poem is simple in diction but rich in metaphor. The structure, divided into three stanzas, mirrors a journey: from the moral foundation (cleanliness as godliness), to the symbolic vision (shining jewel in the desert), to the universal aspiration (pure waters reflecting divine light).

Ultimately, Abhah’s The World’s Cleanest Country is less about identifying a specific nation and more about imagining an ideal society—one marked by purity, beauty, and moral order. In this way, the poem serves as a gentle challenge to us all: to envision and embody the virtues that make any country worthy of admiration.

Nwafor Oji Awala 

(c) Metaphorical Poems 

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