Journalism is a dangerous field. One day you are pursuing a story. And the next, you are the story. © Abimbola Abatta

Oga, did you find a gun on me? No.
Dagger? Erm… no but…
Did I come to you with a sword? Or a bomb?
Well, no…

As-Salaam-Alaikum
I come in the name of my pen.
My pen, my dutiful pen, is my only weapon.
I come in the name of words;
My pen wields words with a finesse that whips common sense into the vagabonds in power.
So, why give me a feast fit for men of the underworld? And a welcome that befits terrorists?

READ ALSO: The Poet: Make Some Noise for Your Oppressors

What crime? What crime has my pen committed?
I bear no shiny blade but the hard brick of words.
I tread lonely grounds to dig out the truths you buried yesterday.
Is that my crime?

When you forget your promises to the masses,
I cut your toes on the platter of accountability.
Is it a crime to be your voice of reason when your conscience cowers behind your monstrosity?

On to death’s doorstep, I dare because
I’m the Fourth Estate of your realm, the inevitable bane of your selfish existence and
The thorn in your cruel flesh.

Peace be unto you, brothers!
I come in the name of my loyal pen, my only ammunition when the world turns its back on me.
I’m a journalist, not a jihadist!

READ ALSO: The Poet: Will You Buy My Thoughts?

You place me on a pedestal of criminals
Because I crush your cruelty with the only weapon that never fails.
You say I’m a terrorist. But you find no bomb on me. I show you proof. I show you my pen but your eye only sees what it wants to see.

You enslave my freedom; you put it in fetters.
You sought to silence my innocence;
You cage me, you cage me behind bars like a felon
Because I dare to be a journalist.

Even though I die, my uncaged spirit will tell this story you seek to hide.
This truth is like smoke; you can’t cover it from the world.
This cage, your cage, can only take my body.
My voice cannot be crushed
Not even in the grave.

NOTE: This poem was inspired by the recent unlawful arrest and detainment of Damilola Ayeni, FIJ’s editor, in Benin Republic.