Please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMaK3EfE99Q
& https://johnaduma.ampbk.com/
The Poet
“There’s now a proverb in all Nigeria: First deconfluence.”
- John Odey Aduma.
To live and to die here,
either naturally or of some worldly causes,
to be together and not to separate,
to unite and not to divide,
to abound and never lack,
to rejoice and not to mourn,
to be happy and not to be saddened,
to grow and not to decrease,
to bloom and not to dry up,
to advance and not to retreat,
to multiply and not to depopulate,
to build and not to destroy,
to build up and never tear down one another,
to pull up and not to pull down,
to agree to disagree, and to disagree to agree,
not making oneself a bystander in the Nigerian affairs
but standing up for the nation in all things aimed
at justice and fair play
and not some of the things,
and never resorting to ethnicity –
clannism, provincialism, religiosity, bigotry,
ethnic irridentism, nepotism and unfavourable
treatments of the other citizens nor compromising
national ethics, values, standards, integrity,
but upholding and respecting national institutions
and obeying the laws of the land,
applying competitive performance,
rather than hereditary privilege in all national
appointments and not resorting
to war through (our) deeds and misdeeds,
to have a breathing space and not a shrinking space,
to progress and not to retrogress or regress,
to excel and never to fail,
to be victorious and never to be vanquished,
to be above and never to be beneath,
to be the head and not the tail,
to lead and not to take the back seat,
to keep on keeping on and never to give up,
to be put in mansions/castles
and not to be bagged in body bags,
to bless and not to curse,
to be blessed and not to be cursed,
to enjoy the fatness of the land
flowing with milk and honey,
to sow and to harvest,
to live together and not to scatter,
to love and not to hate.
God gave us this country as co-equal,
co-founder, co-joiner and not as masters and slaves,
to live wherever we choose in this our God’s beloved nation,
to walk together, work together
for the betterment of our country,
to prosper together and share with
the poor and the needy in our midst.
God has given us this land to till,
to plough and reap its superabundance,
and not to leave it fallow and die of famine without food,
to develop and not to retrogress,
to be free and not to be enslaved,
to trust one another and not fear and distrust one another,
to live and let live and not to be constantly
hounded as if we were preys in the jungle,
to give and take and not to be selfish and greedy,
to share equally all of its superabundance
and not for the few and their multi-national collaborators to plunder,
and take as their own all of its resources and wealth.
God gave us this land for the many and all; and not for the few.
God gave this country to all Nigerians,
and not some Nigerians nor a few Nigerians, but to all Nigerians.
God gave us this nation that all Nigerians might be equal
and not that some may be more equal than the others.
God gave us this nation to live together in peace
and harmony with one another,
and not to kill and devour one another,
nor for some to carry others in body bags nor for “blood
of dogs and baboons” to flow ceaselessly.
God gave us this country
to dissect, analyse, dialogue and to talk over our national problems,
argue and agree to disagree, concede and compromise,
and arrive at a conclusion that will be nationally
beneficial to all the Nigerian citizens – the stakeholders.
God gave us this Republic to build a nation of inclusivity,
and not a nation of exclusivity, where a few feeds fat on the sweat of others.
God gave us this Democracy
to be liberated and not live in perpetual slavery and suffering,
to abound and not lack
So that when we sleep at night our sleep shall be sweet
and not have our homes besieged and petrol poured
over our houses and be burnt all with our families inside
by the rampaging stick-wielding and AK-47-carrying
Philistines and night marauders in our midst.
God gave us this land to have a sense of belonging
and not to feel perpetually excluded and cut off.
God gave us this political kingdom to thrive, multiply,
and rule the world and not as a fiefdom nor a vassal
for the lords from the East and Futa Toro
to enslave and keep us perpetually backward,
so citizens retire to sleep hungry,
whilst others eat and throw away.
God gave us this country to celebrate ourselves
as Nigerians and our diversity and to be celebrated by
all the nations around us and all the world, and all humanity,
and not to be scorned, spat upon, killed, maimed and destroyed,
and afterwards be treated like a social pariah.
And just as no roses without thorns,
to enjoy peace and tranquillity
as well as troubles and chaos –
the bad, the worst, the good and the terrible
as in the colour of the confluenced Niger and Benue.
God gave us this country to ensure every Nigerian receives their
just share of the inheritance and entitlement of our Commonwealth
and not for some to remain perpetually as scavengers foraging crumbs at the country’s dump sites.
God gave us this country to serve and be served.
God gave us this political kingdom of ours to enrich and not to impoverish, to develop, blossom and flourish
and not to be in famine of Biblical proportion always
and die for lack of food,
to build an egalitarian society of fraternal proximity
and **kwenskwently attain nationhood,
to glory and care for one another,
and not to be greedy and selfish,
to worship Him in this land
and not any other gods or goddesses elsewhere.
Nor any persons nor fellow human beings.
And in this home of giants, we are created equal,
and not for anyone to dominate us perpetually,
and afterwards become filled with “Born to Rule” Mentality (BRM).
Thus, we are all here to live and let live:
All here to co-exist;
All here to love and be loved;
All here to share;
All here to be at peace with one another;
All here to grow, advance and prosper;
And all here to flourish and bloom.
- 2018
**The poet mimicking the Northern Nigerian politicians and public officers.
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Please visit:
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& https://johnaduma.ampbk.com/
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