Imagining the imagination
Picturing the pictorials
And videoing the videos of the glorious past
I am torn apart yet
More drifted away as though
This parcel never had begotten
My country, O Nigeria!
How are you, my motherland?
Have you not writhed in pain
In labour and care for me
For these great creatures
Influencing the reshaping, the recreation
Of the black race, nay the globe?
At 56, menopause is no more effective
You have over 170 million children
With diverse tongues and inclinations
Each claiming to love you
But many uncertain of their future
As leaders come and go
Leaving unclear prints for the unborn
Enough have I wept for you
Struggling unnoticed as nobody
On your surface to make a mark
As many of your offspring made marks
In diverse fields of life endeavours
Whereupon one beloved son
Came to cleanse you of dirt
Bravery is an attachment
Upright yet unrepentant in fighting evil
Honest and hearty assured
Altruistic yet affirmative
Radical in governance
Intelligent, illustrious and irresistible
So long we have waited
So long we have struggled
So long we have yearned
So long we have suffered
And now the Buhari reigns
We are pained more, yearning
For certainty sooner
And I know this is life
For if all goodies one has tasted
Not yet the best he has
Of health – precious priceless life!
And if all the bitter one has tasted
Not yet the worst he has
Of the need for man
For so worst to live with man
Still inevitable
Not more of the war to rule.
And some men in their lives
People regret not their loss
Much more than the wasted times
Yet the good retains the quality
Though condition may change
The noble so in poverty
The broadminded even against oppression
The beautiful faces against censor
The wicked faces against smiles
And beauty sprouts from the heart
Not the wearing of the faces.
Sleep not a day, O compatriots
And live not in wait for Godot
Without a good deed for a citizen
For none comprehends a favour
While asleep, tens of citizens
A poor you unawares aided
A hunger you assuaged
A sadness you brightened
And an oppressed you salvaged
They raise voices to Heaven
Not that for you the sun rose
Nor without you life may cease
But that you felt the pains
Of the veins of an aborigine
Hope soars high
And with soldiers of destiny
We shall conquer
Muhammad Ajah is an advocate of humanity, peace and good governance in Abuja. E-mail [email protected]
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