IF GOD WAS A NIGERIAN
by Othuke Umukoro
ASUU would strike him
till his sorrow grows a beard.
He would be a Yahoo boy or a pimp or a drug dealer
or an innocent girl in the cold & dark streets of
Italy tendering white men’s amorous dreams
or all of the above.
He would be a potbellied politician
that swallowed (y)our children’s future,
or a snake that swallows dollars
or a rat that chases the big man
out of his office.
They would have slaughtered him, like
Ramadan rams, in Benue or
bandaged him with bombs in Borno.
His children’s life expectancy in the
Niger Delta would be around
9 or 10 (that’s a conservative statistic)
—all they would ever have are: a bowl
of oil spills for breakfast, a plate of
greenhouse emissions for dinner
& grief sandwiched between.
He would drown crossing the
Mediterranean or sold for peanuts in Libya.
He would yelp & complain on the mad streets of twitter
but will never come out to vote out oppression.
The sun would die in his mouth in Kirikiri
or other eyeless places where those who try to
sing new songs are stripped, chained & tortured.
He would not be in school but on the sidewalk, holding a
blue plastic bowl for your damn pity or under the leprous
stare of the sun cleaning your windshield at a red light.
SARS would shoot him & the government hospital
they will rush him to will not have electricity.
He would be a broke ass poet like me.
Wow, brilliant piece!
Well done Sir.
Thanks, brother.
Good morning Sir.. please where can one get a copy of this poem is urgent
Hmmmmm…
This are the harsh realities of Nigeria.
Welldone Othuke,
Keep soaring high.
The last line made be really laugh out loud.
Thanks so much, dear.
This is a pure reflection of the state of Nigeria.
This is great Othuke!
Thanks so much, my man!
This piece succinctly captures everything about unwholesome the Nigeria state. Quite satirical! Well done Othuke
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Appreciate, brother.
You nailed it Isaac, beautifully creating a perfect image of our nation in such ‘beautiful’ words
My orator, thanks for the kind words.
This is one piece brilliantly articulated piece!
Well done sir this is the sad reality of our once great nigeria. You are good at poems keep making more God bless you sir
This is a really good poem. It shows he sad reality of the country we live in. Keep making more and may God bless you.