Maami took ten thousand naira to the market.
Have you chanced upon Maami’s bargaining prowess?
She only got foodstuff that’ll last a few days.
Her sweet words did little to soften the stony faces of the traders.
She said the villagers are not smiling because the new ruler has renewed their suffering.

While Maami was waiting for a bus to bring her home,
A little girl stretched her hands as though in supplication.
She begged Maami for the remaining roasted corn in her hands.
Maami says the girl’s neck was like a pit of hunger.

READ ALSO: The Poet: When Will the Poor Breathe?

“Where is your mother, little girl?” Maami asked.
“Hunger made her mad, ma.”
Maami gave her the last hundred naira note meant to take her home.
Whether the girl’s words were true or not, she’s a mirror of multiple millions,
Starving and dying from hunger while the rulers feast on opulence.

My mind hasn’t stopped thinking about my people.
Are the rulers really oblivious to our pain points
Or are they just uninterested in our plights?
Why do we keep begging for water when rain falls on our land each day?
Why do we wallow in the abyss of squalor while our leaders build skyscrapers and mansions?

Wealth grows in our backyard, but we always beg for leftovers. Why?
Reality stealthily steals our childhood; the child of yesterday is an adult today.
We are forced into adulthood before our mothers stop weaning us.
While they reside in gated castles, the belly of bridges and shacks shelters us when night falls.

READ ALSO: The Poet: Old Soldier Gave Us Shege

They give us garri mixed with stones,
Then they tease us with bait disguised as palliatives for the poor.
For what? Is it for garri or eba?
We are the scum of the earth;
We deserve nothing but hand-me-downs from them.
Second-class citizens in our own land!

The old soldier gifted us shege
And the new one seems to have renewed the contract.
When will we be free from the shackles of shege?