Budding poet x-rays Nigeria in a stinging collection

Budding poet, Juwon Osanipin, is unsettled about the deplorable Nigerian condition. In this racy but stinging collection of poems, he calls out on the leadership, decrying poor governance, ethnic divisions, missed opportunities, greed and corruption, among others.

Osanipin, an engineer by training, hopes that people in authority will someday get their acts together for the common good and drive Nigeria towards a season of sustainable development and prosperity.

GOOD AND BAD LEADERS

When some people get to power, they impress
When some get there, they oppress
And when they come to us to address
Their sweet lies do no other to us than depress
They deprive us of what we possess
Off our body they strip our dress
To our rights we have no access
And crimes increase in the process
Teenagers kidnap without stress
The activities of fraudsters do obsess
Good men endorse criminals under duress
Herdsmen behead humans and yell “Yes”
Judges judge against what they profess
What is even the meaning of all these mess?
Yet our representatives come together for congress
An avenue for them to eat money in excess
They discuss trivialities and go on a recess
They resume and their discussions still yield no success
They go home and as they undress
They present their pot-bellies for whores to caress
Why are this people very heartless?
The answer to this I can’t even guess
But we the masses are suffering I must confess
Only unbiased fellows can bear me witness
What we need now is a positive progress
And the efforts of the good leaders may God bless

MY HALF-BROTHERS

My father has three wives
The three have better lives
Wa, Zo, Bia are they
We live together everyday
On my father’s big field
To make our portions yield
‘Cause each wife has her own land area
But unity has made everyone go anywhere
In fact we on the field usually have a leader
Who can be the son of any mother
As long as she is one of the three wives
And that is how we live our lives
But my half-brothers begotten by Zo
Cause us pains on our own Wa’s meadow
They spoil our land produce
Wa’s speech they induce
And when any of my blood-brothers makes a frown
Their weapons bring him down
They once caused trouble in Wa’s own room
My blood-brothers responded and there was fire boom
And the Field Chief Guard
Who was experienced in this regard
Very brilliant in the course of protection
If not, he won’t had been in that position
He took my blood-brothers to his custody
Saying that the other party was not guilty
The case was clear to the deaf and the blind
That my blood-brothers responded in their own kind
I admit the guilt of my blood-brothers
But more was the guilt of my half-brothers

RIDDDLES FROM PARABLES

A child once left his father’s house
Calling his father a big louse
He headed for a house made of broom
And there he was offered a room
The lords of the broom were very happy
And as if they were given a speech therapy
They called the child’s father a guerilla
Who used a torn umbrella
And indeed his umbrella was torn
It called for nothing but scorn

A man had a particular target
For this he went to the market
There he saw a beautiful big fat hen
He said, “This hen should lay ten”
He bought the hen and put it in a cage
He assumed it will lay eggs irrespective of its age

The hen is the child
Let your thought run wild
Who is the hen seller?
The umbrella carrier
And what about the hen buyer?
The man who has broom in his flyer

Now the hen has left its cage
The child left the room with rage
And again the broom people had things to say
“The beautiful hen has never been good in any way”
“The child has always been a vagabond”
“Why will he not always abscond?”
I thought about all these reactions
Then I asked these two questions
If the child was patient enough to sow
Would his father had let him go?
If the hen did not fail
Would the owner had brought it for sale?

A PLACE OF NO PEACE

In a place of no peace
Cheatings and terrors increase
In a place of no peace
No soul is at ease
In a place of no peace
Godliness and contentment decrease
In a place of no peace
All the arms of government tease
In a place of no peace
Hatred and corruption do not cease
In a place of no peace
Man defiles his niece
In a place of no peace
Workers take the smallest piece
In a place of no peace
Even birds stop living on trees
In a place of no peace
People fight a common disease
In a place of no peace
Leaders do not obey the terms of lease
In a place of no peace
Children are deprived of bliss
In a place of no peace
We have all these
In a place of no peace
The boss never sees
In a place of no peace
When the boss sees
In a place of no peace
The boss never agrees
In a place of no peace
We still have all these

WHO WILL SAVE NIGERIA?

There are forces which are terrestrial
And there are forces which are celestial
But I only do what is essential
And long to reach what is potential
When I do something crucial
I make it very special
When I do something artificial
I make it very social
I try to be confidential
But now let me tell you what is sacrificial
I once had a boss who was called Patricia
Black and yet she claimed to come from Russia
An aspiring boss was also called Cynthia
She said she was from Georgia
I perceived lies in Patricia
So I believed Cynthia
A colleague of mine is called Gloria
We are both from Nigeria
She reminded me of a famine once in Samaria
And an astonishing surplus in the camp of Syria
She said our Nigeria was that Samaria
And our government was the camp of Syria
We really did not trust Patricia
And there should be an end to our political mafia
So we voted out the flag bearer of Russia
And gave power to Cynthia of Georgia
Because her campaign satisfied our criteria
She promised to give things for which we had mania
But instead to her family she sold Nigeria
And in silence were the wise ones of Georgia
But the most annoying was the former spokesman of Georgia
He became the mouthpiece of Cynthia
He told blatant lies to the people of the media
Very much greater than those of Patricia
Just as I was confused was also Gloria
Strengthened every day is the camp of Syria
We are almost suffering from leukaemia
Who will save Nigeria?

MY PEOPLE, REFLECT

If a lad comes at a time of no story
Surely he will meet what is called history
There was once a legend in the days of old
I was not on earth but history was told
The legend advised my people to reflect
But the bane till now my people do not detect
For the love of money my people kill their own brethren
For their selfish interest my people sell their own children
They were known to be fond of education and sanctity
Hence they were thought to acquire wisdom and dignity
There are others whose values were thought to be lesser
But they are now not only stronger but also wiser
Education has stopped working for my people
Their wisdom is now tested by the simple
My people according to the legend are kicked about like a ball
When kicked up to a position they are kicked again so that they fall
Upon this the boss in those days failed to ponder
From the people he instead put the legend asunder
And today the situation is even more than worse
And where are both the legend and the boss?
Let us the descendants learn from our forefathers
This is the only cry of our existing elders
Oh that my people will reflect
Are our leaders ready to protect?
I beseech you my people to think
Will our future not completely sink?
Decades have rolled and we have still not stood erect
The late legend advised, “My people, reflect”

 

 

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