For the record, I was not exactly surprised to find out which side of the divide Dele Momodu’s back page contribution in the March 21, 2008 edition of This Day weekend newspaper would swing to (pun intended) on the controversy regarding the alleged acquisition of a $28million private jet by the Redeemed Christian Church of … Continue reading And The Pendulum Swings To The Amen Corner
No, this is not about the Broadway musical or its recent re-incarnation at the box-office. It is not even about some new wonder hair product designed to give your coiffure a nice shiny bounce. Truth be told, with the tangled state our legislative hairdo has been in lately, it could do with a generous spray … Continue reading Hair Spray
There was a country… Born of the incestuous union Of a myriad nation tribes And named in the throes Of an adulterous liaison Brothers united In a sham fraternity By strangers Who sought their unity Only with purpose To divide and conquer. There was a country… Independence gained But an infant child Held on to … Continue reading There Was A Country
Apart from being the biggest black nation in the world and the self-proclaimed giant of Africa, another distinguishing quality about Nigeria is that it is home to a people who have this rather disturbing ability of viewing issues, no matter how serious or mundane, from tribal and religious prisms. I recall during the Alamieyeseigha London … Continue reading If It Quacks Like A Duck
_ Tabloid newspapers and magazines around the world have a distinctive feature; sensationalized headlines and sleazy celebrity news stories. In Nigeria, they are no different. However, in addition to their use of extremely bad English, a noticeable trend in our tabloid magazines and newspapers is a growing penchant for a peculiar brand of classified advertisements … Continue reading Have Space, Will Advertise
The desert-faring easterly Swept the invading Arabian horde Into Nubian climes And for the price of jasmine and spice A harem was exchanged Indigenous gods were ousted Traded for the deity Of a foreign land Centuries after A people conquered and subdued Find affinity with And pledge loyalty more To the cause of the descendants … Continue reading Inception
Control activated in utero Prejudices and mindless superstitions Force-fed into the receptive vacuum Of a birthed vessel A mind lies in waste Filled with mythical ether Passed off as substance. The earth was absent form and void And by spoken words Land and water Were parted Night and day Were decreed From dust and a … Continue reading I Took The Red Pill
It was a day like any other But one destined to be like no other When two unknowing actors In a play Scripted by fate Traversed its stage Neither seeing the other. Fate’s fingers plucked at the strings Of its poisoned harp Spilling out silent music Others traversed the stage unhearing But they sensed out … Continue reading The Dance
I long so much to hate Even if for the briefest moment But I love instead I am filled with so much anger Rage has taken root In the very core of my being But there is room for tenderness I live with so much suspicion Thinking myself incapable of belief In anyone or thing … Continue reading First Try
A strangeness courses through me One not unfamiliar to my being A warm glow brews inside Anger rises with a raging tide of emotions News of a foul deed Rages across the land Unleashing torrents of bile From one and all. What manner of life would another’s take with such savagery and bestiality? What heart … Continue reading Through A River Of Questions, Darkly
Behold the scribe who once the pen held Scribbling the truth to heal conscience’s wounds He inks now a dirge for a faith once professed Pandering to the fortune of fate He scribbles an ode to the throne of power His perch atop the throne threatened By the vile rhetoric of the billowy healer Freshly … Continue reading Everything Louder Than Everything Else
They never toiled In your fields As I did But they reaped Your harvest. Yes, they bought Your seedlings nourishments But I nurtured Them to fruition. Now, your innards They have ravaged Leaving you Aged and alone All I am left with I take home with me Your name For my unborn child. (Inspired by … Continue reading I Took Your Name
We look back now On those years past And realize The truth that was them And the lie that was us They were as real A mirage then As they are now But we thought them an oasis Over the years The lies of their truth Never wavered But through the years The truth of … Continue reading I Don’t Sleep, I Dream
Like the innards of space Deep, wide and uncharted So you were, perhaps Before puberty’s sun Set upon your star You fine sands untrampled Your blackholes undiscovered Your vegetation Rich and luxuriant Your atmosphere unpolluted Shielded by the ozone layer. But space is God’s playpen For restless man He who must boldly go Where no … Continue reading What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?
The fabled General Rescued from the infamy Of a phantom treason And favoured With the spoils Of a Baron’s martyrdom But denied the privilege Of a political trifecta Gifts the unyielding subjects A sickly totem A presidency of the elected selected Emasculated by ill-health And spousal wiles Succeeded by the reluctant unintended Emasculated by a … Continue reading The Myth Of Fingerprints