THE REVOLUTION HAS NO TRIBE

Do you not know that poverty is not an Ijaw man?
He will not spare the rest of us and afflict only the Ishan
He will step over the river and come across the border
So, when the drums sound let everybody answer

Do you not know that corruption is not from Nekede?
He will not hear that Ife had no dealings with Modakeke
He will wake up all of our children at might with hunger
So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer

Do you not know that HIV/AIDS is not Kanuri
He will not select his victims and kill only the Fulani
He will set the land ablaze from the delta to the sahara
So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer

Do you not know that our enemies have no face?
They are indigenes no state, they come from no place
And, if this boat capsizes every one of us will go under
So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer

Do not say, “I am an iroke”, when the forest is burning
Do not say, “I am an obeche”, when the forest is burning
Our differences will not prevent us from perishing together
So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer

 

BELLY POLITICS

Adamu Magaji- candidate
Will he win?- No
He makes fine speeches- True
He has fine feelings- Good for him
How come he won’t win?
Belly politics!

Chika Ugonna- candidate
Will he win?- No
A man of vision- (yawn) What else?
Enterprising, educated, enthused young man
Good play on words- He won’t win? But why?
Belly politics!

Shola Balogun- candidate
Will he win?- No
A bright, young man- If you say so
Impressive records, he’s full of zeal
I know you will answer, he won’t win-
Belly politics!

Belly politics! Belly politics!
Then who will win?
Not Adamu Magaji- No!
Not Chika Ugonna- No!
Not Shola Balogun- No!
Belly politics! Belly politics! Then who will win?

Alhaji Kudi- Alhaji Kudi?
The illiterate?- Belly politics!
The…the…but why?
This way and that way
Shake a hand here, shake a leg there
Alhaju Kudi, he might win

Or Mazi Ego Juru N’ Akpa- What?
That…that buffoon?- Belly politics!
That imbecile…that…that…oh why?
This way and that way
Shake a hand there, shake a leg there
Mazi Ego Juru N’Akpa, he might win

Or Alhaji Burukutu- Impossible!
The man can hardly speak- Belly politics!
How can? No-
This way and that way
Shake a hand here, shake a leg there
Alhaji Burukutu, he might win

But- kai!
Belly politics is a strange thing
It raises our buttocks to the eyes of a laughing world
So long as those are rich, fleshy buttocks, well oiled and tender
Who cares?
I do.

 

OKWESILIEZE

Today, I saw a mysterious thing
A thing that vexed me to my very soul
I saw the black man dressed like a king
But crouching in the shadows with a begging bowl
His children were starving in fields of cassava
Dying of diseases the palm kernel could cure
Homeless in a land of rock and timber
“Why are you begging?”- He said, “I am poor”

Today, I saw a mysterious thing
A wonder so great I cannot tell it
I saw the black man dressed like a king
But lying in the dust, crying at my feet
His legs were sturdy like the iroko
His forests were rich and teeming with game
His muscles rippled like the proud Zambezi
I told him, “Get up!”, but he said, “I am lame”

Today, I saw a mysterious thing
So shocking I have no words to say
I saw the black man dressed like a king
But standing like the lost by the highway
He huddles in a cage that had no gate
He could see where the keys to his chains were kept
He stood in clamps but they had no weight
“Why are you here?”- He said, “I am trapped”

Today, I saw a mysterious thing
Oh! How can I tell such a horrible story
I saw the black man dressed like a king
But he was sharing a sleeping mat with poverty
His poverty was a fat man with a bulging stomach
Lying on his back, beside a pot full of treasure
This knowledge was all he seemed to lack:
That he could get up and make his own future


Note: “Okwesilize” is an Igbo name which literally means, “He is supposed to be king”