Sunday 1 July 2012

Hard View (IS IT NOTHING TO YOU, BECAUSE ITS SOMETHING TO ME...?)


IS IT NOTHING TO YOU, BECAUSE ITS SOMETHING TO ME...?

Is it nothing to you that our dear children cry;
That they sigh and they die in the blink of an eye?
From hunger to strife to a life that’s awry,
Nigeria’s kids can barely scrape by!
Is it nothing to you that the world asks us why;
Our existences belie a potential that limits the sky?
Whereby, we misapply our abundant supply.
We pry and we lie like the alpha bad guy!
Is it nothing to you that our nation can’t fly;
From the depths of destruction, to a renewable high?
As I scribble these words on this 1st of July,
This beautiful land is on the verge of goodbye!
Is it nothing to you that we can not comply;
That we have no ally, we’re on virtual standby?
Nigeria must vie to defy this war cry.
Revert back to basics, renew our strong tie!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that your officers steal?
A classic example is the Malibu Deal!
The wheel given Tompolo is just too surreal;
And the Fuel Subsidy bandits are the greatest reveal!
Is it nothing to you that bribery is not ideal;
When friends of your government try to spin bogus spiel?
After setting up Farouq with marked bills for appeal,
And recording the transaction with a video conceal!
Is it nothing to you that we do see your zeal;
In killing the Subsidy Report in an unconventional repeal.
You just want to seal all the crime that is real,
The trillions that’s pilfered for the cabal’s sumptuous meal!
Is it nothing to you your achievements are neal?
That the genteel you are ruling have a bad ordeal.
The steel of this government has began to peel,
But for the sake of our future, Nigeria must heal!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that you bomb-suicide;
Whole families in the worshiping house they preside?
When you decide to collide where mass people reside,
In order to kill them; you’re the devil personified!
Is it nothing to you that your faith must have died,
When you misuse our fine religion with your much warped misguide?
The words of the Scripture speak of peaceful-living side by side.
The words of the Scripture speak of love and patience abide!
Is it nothing to you that your troops can not hide;
From the extra-judicial killings that the JTF applied?
In their stride, innocent bodies have piled nation-wide.
They’re as bad as the terrorists, worse than Jekyll and Hyde!
Is it nothing to you other interests do hide;
Behind Boko Haram and commit crime to divide?
Not all of the killings, the bombings or snide;
Come from one source or have the same single guide!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that your airlines are old;
And millions of Nigerians fly in your coffin mould?
You mortgage our lives to gain abundant Fool’s Gold.
You patch up bad airplanes that are second hand sold!
Is it nothing to you that you must uphold;
A global wide standard for airlines controlled?
All the vessel’s information that you do withhold;
Must be given to the public to see and behold!
Is it nothing to you that those out in the cold;
Are the victims who survived when the Dana Air rolled?
Their houses were bowled; they lost all in a fold.
When to get compensation; they have still not been told!
Is it nothing to you that our options are outsold?
If we had travel by sea or rail, we’d feel much more bold.
The aviation industry must of itself get a-hold;
So Nigerians can fly feeling safe and consoled!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that you contest elections;
By tugging and pulling on people’s affections?
Now you’ve made your connections and are in government sections,
The hoard that supported you are part of your rejections!
Is it nothing to you that most have objections;
Of the amount that you make from your official collections?
Your allowance and the extra fund injections,
Is an affront to a society with little confections!
Is it nothing to you that from all our reflections;
INEC, you’re not independent in your past selections?
The interjections and protections of INEC’s predilections,
Have exposed their addictions and Jega’s imperfections!
Is it nothing to you that we can change the complexions;
Of our future government by making corrections?
2015 is coming, let’s use wise directions;
To put into power those who give good projections!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that you sell our land short;
When you travel abroad to distort our sort?
All over the World our passport does import;
419 and scams, scarlet ladies and drugs snort!
Is it nothing to you in Chinese jails, in court;
Nigerian’s are plenty for the crimes they export.
They beat some; they kill some, a few they deport.
It’s sad that our people don’t abort this contort!
Is it nothing to you that you rob and you thwart;
Our freedom, our peace by your constant extort?
Kidnappers and robbers, crime is your blood sport;
You’ve resort our homes as quite an unsafe forte!
Is it nothing to you that we have no support?
The world looks at us as a joke, as a wart.
We must pull together; focus our exhort;
To clean up our act; bring our crime down to naught!

______***______

Is it nothing to you when you berate so much hate;
On another tribe in Nigeria, it creates a division debate?
North, South, East, West or Central, we’re from one estate.
One people, one nation who share one single fate!
Is it nothing to you when in blogs you misstate;
An irate dictate that translates to negate?
At the rate we communicate, we can’t interrelate;
We’re like enemies in a vessel just lying in wait!
Is it nothing to you that the poverty weight;
Is on every Nigerian with no discriminate?
If our nations deflate, no tribe should elate.
We’ll all skate to desecrate; I’m telling you straight!
Is it nothing to you that our leaders who ate;
All our money in government are from each ethnic plate?
When they conjugate behind the gate of the Chief of the State;
They don’t think about tribe, only their share in that crate!

______***______

Is it nothing to you, because it’s something to me;
That we’re living in darkness to a constant degree?
Nepa say’s it is working, but it’s real hard to see;
Because the lights are always off. I am sure you’ll agree!
Is it nothing to you, because it’s something to me;
That our people are screaming like senseless banshee?
Many families can’t eat; some can’t even buy tea;
The only one’s living are the peak bourgeoisie!
Is it nothing to you, because it’s something to me;
That our motorways are like craters with earthquake debris?
I can tell you for free, our roads are no Grand-Prix;
Our maintenance culture’s not as it really should be!
Is it nothing to you, because it’s something to me;
That I’m writing this sonnet with not much “Whoopee”?
My prayer for my nations is renewed esprit.
My wish for Nigeria is for our land to be free!
Is it nothing to you… because it’s something to me…?


Article Written by Hannatu Musawa
Twitter- @hanneymusawa

5 comments:

  1. Is it nothing to us that they dont really care about us;
    And we have to dislodge them come 2015?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. f the opposition gets itself sorted out (hopefully with Fashola at the helm), we could see a change in 2015

      Delete
  2. Hannatu. Your sixteen line, eight stanza sonnet is brilliant. If you keep it up, you might one day give a lecture at the Blue Hall of the City Hall of Stockholm. I like the flow, the use of words. On the thirteenth line of the Second Stanza, you used the word "neal". Did you mean "nil", or are you introducing a new word into the English Language. Or perhaps you were thinking of neal (a boyfriend).
    I do not agree with you on some of the ideological positions you hold in the seventh stanza. Yes there is a rabid mob on the internet of Hausa Haters, Yoruba Haters, Ijaw Haters, Tivi Haters. I agree. But is it really the fault of this morbid crew? They have been indoctrinated in hate by their forebearers over lies they were told. The venom from some of them is simply unconscionable.
    I grew up knowing love for all. I visited Kano, Damaturu, Sokoto, Jos, Makurdi, Kaduna as a young man. I love the North.
    But I dislike with all the strength I can muster, Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha with many of the acolytes close to them for the evil they perpetrated in Nigeria. Unfortunately they both are from the North. Many view them as an extension of the Northern Ruling Class. Many view them as representing the oppressors from the Northern Ruling Class. Deficiency in Education has now made some of us to lump them as the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchy. Forgetting that in the same North there are the Kanuri, Gwari, Jukun and Fulfulde among many other ethnic groups. Hannatu, we cannot deceive ourselves. Art (Literature) must free us. We must tell the truth. Great writers have always told the truth in dangerous circumstances. Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka have always been at the forefront of forthright, erudite scholarship. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn also easily comes to mind in the old Soviet Union.
    Nigeria is not one. We are only one when it comes to Soccer and/or Sports and maybe like you rightly pointed out when the elite from all the ethnic groups decide to steal.
    Otherwise, let me conclude by saying that I do not expect my generation to salvage Nigeria. Unless a clear political fragmentation takes place (hopefully a Confederation of Ethnic States) like Yugoslavia, Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, North and South Korea; East and West Germany the future is uncertain.

    ReplyDelete
  3. brilliant write

    ReplyDelete