I saw myself
Twas like a dream
I was running after him and screaming
“My bag! My Bag!”
He had snatched my bag with my precious stones
I opened my mouth to scream again but I was sitting in front of him
Yes! The CEO, it was my interview...
I tried to smile but his words sent my head reeling
“Let me catch a glimpse of your chest” he says
I blinked and... Oh no! what was I doing in a gondola
I looked around and I saw masked faces.....
“We will get five hundred million for this one...”
What are they talking about? And why am I in a gondola rowing in this oil polluted river
I felt hot tears making the popular number eleven line across my face
I opened my mouth to plead but...
What? Why is everyone running? And why am I with them?
I saw them running after us with cutlasses and rifles
I doubled my speed... “This is not my dying day” I chanted..
Suddenly someone stopped me “Walahi! Yoruba or Igbo which one I be?”
Words failed me.... I saw the sword coming down on me... my scream was owlish
I braced myself for the blow....
Then I felt me moving...
“Madam your appointment is in the next twenty minutes, He-whom-you-know-his-name
Has asked for your vote and will reward you by giving you that position...”
What was I doing with escorts?
I looked out the window and saw familiar buildings
That was when it dawned on me
This was no dream
I was back to Nigeria.
Reality is a slap.
I saw them, throwing chairs and exchanging insults
They called themselves The Representatives
But I felt they should have been called The Disgrace.
I felt a tap on my shoulder...
“madam, black market dey here o”
The queue again... we queue for our pride
Yet we boast that it’s our pride
I laughed to myself – What a joke!
I stopped.
And I looked back.
If only I were not trading my vote; there might be a real leader
Fuel scarcity might be controlled
The news won’t have been fed with wrestlers in the House.
The story of tribal conflict would be less frequent
The Niger delta saga will never have come into being,
The understanding of the benefits of resource control - our guide.
If the lecherous CEO remembered his dignity,
Then we would respect our young girls in higher positions better
We won’t have graduates roaming the streets
And maybe my bag would never have been snatched
But then I would have argued, even with the dream maker that
I wasn’t in my country.
How did we get this far?
“You rub my back I rub yours” they say
The corrupt king makers producing a corrupt leader
We keep moving around in circles
Today I remove my khaki
Tomorrow I wear my agbada
I ruled for 8 years a couple of years back,
But I only stepped aside to change my khaki to agbada
Now I am ready to come back
The sit of honour has become a dancing competition
Or should I say a hand-me-down
The unending rat race
My beloved country
When will you wake up?
About Me
- Tobie
- I'm a simple person with a beautiful life trying to make everything around me seem simple and beautiful....even if that's quite difficult (life has its ways). Some say I drip of mischief..well I am someone who knows what I want, and I'm a big dreamer.... This blog would be quite random, but would mostly be satirical. My thoughts in my words. My pains in my words. I love to see the humour in things...to me (amongst other things), thats a great motivation...
This is absolutely lovely. Thinking of our beloved country brings us face to face with the enormity of the task that lies before us.
ReplyDeleteWe need to change this country,
We need to make it better,
We need to serve with heart and might this nation bound in freedom, peace and unity...
We need to be the heroes future generations will think of with pride and thankfulness...
How do we wake our mother?
How do we set her on the glorious path of her destiny?
How do we show our birth was not in vain?
Well Chuckwuemeka....
ReplyDelete...She took a step forward to wake dear mama
...You took another & now i'm right behind ya!
I come with the same goal, same notion, same cause and same focus....
....To Wake our Mother Nigeria!!!
Do we then form another niche to tug at a part of her that has not been pulled?
...Or do we unite with others of likeness, increasing in strenght and vigor...?
...and together thrust with force our cause to achieve our purpose....
One thing i know, there's truth in our ancestry....
.... and sincerity in her voice...
...if only we'd listen and see....
...we'd observe, learn and know that if we stand in "UNITY" and we have "FAITH", with acts of "PEACE" we can achieve "PROGRESS"...
...These are the words of our mother before she was involuntarily laid to rest and she called it....
"OUR COAT OF ARMS"
i see u goin places tobie, nice 1!!! yeah d story of nigeria today is pathetic cuz wen u take a look at the vast amount of resources, talents at our disposal, one can only wonder why we are still where we are!!! one thing i know for sure is that nigeria is destined to be great!!! all we need is to be united in one voice and the sky is our limit!!! tobie i got my eyes on u now!!!
ReplyDeleteEmeka, that's the big question "How do we show our Birth was not in vain?"
ReplyDeleteTo serve with heart and might...yes...we have said that countless times....so sad we just say it and not act it..
Cybeeus....u bring to mind our Mother's desire.
and as u, Emeka and Kola have rightly said..its a game of UNITY and HONESTY.
Unity in our diversity and Honesty in our every dealings.. Then our mother will stand up tall with her beautiful ornaments.
As Kola succinctly puts it, "Nigeria is destined to be great" But we are the ones to lead her to that greatness so really, I ask as Emeka asked earlier,
How do we show that our birth is not in vain??
When will we wake up??
The issue with Nigeria is called 'The paradox of plenty' or the 'resource curse'.. Poverty and scarcity in the midst of plenty. Africa is the most endowed continent in terms of energy and mineral resources, with sub-Saharan Africa, producing more than 28% of the world's energy resources that is used to fuel the wheels of industrialisation in the developing world. Nigeria is Africa's second largest producer of oil and the 8th largest producer according to OPEC statistics producing the largest amount of sulphur free oil popularly called 'sweet crude'. Yet, through mismanagement, bad leadership, unaccountability and neglect Nigeria has not been able to use her natural resources as an opportunity for development. Nigeria is not alone in this, Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and so forth have followed the same (even) worse pattern.
ReplyDeleteThe way forward is to change our way of thinking. This must start from the roots, the family, schools, churches, government officials, individuals etc. We need to believe in change and see ourselves as vehicles of positive change. A step in the right direction will help in no small measure.. we can start with our brothers, sisters, children, parents, friends, neighbours...
Together we can make Nigeria a better place.
Long Live Nigeria!