1Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, a generation
Of rats and ratlings built a monument of loot
And they sat atop their monument contemplating
The ruin that is Nigeria
The rot that is Nigeria
The abjection that is Nigeria
And they saw you from atop their monument of loot and said:
“Pray, who is this ordinary woman that disturbs our peace
And Frowns on our loot?
What is her secret?
What makes her tick?
Ki ni idi abajo?
She has too much freedom
To roam the forest at night.
We shall go to the forest at night
And silence her”
Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, the rats and ratlings did not know
That you are a viper, daughter of a viper.
At night, the forest does obeisance
To you and says:
“here I am, your supine mat,
Crawl where you wish, mighty viper.”
Because the rats and ratlings did not know this
At night, they came out in the forest
Seeking the secret of your voice
To silence half a century of voice
They did not come back.
2
Seeing that an entire generation of rats and ratlings had perished
For daring the forest at night like you, fearless viper
The surviving town rats, eager to protect that monument of loot, sought counsel:
“What is her secret?
Ki ni idi abajo?
Can we afford
Another half a century of her voice?”
So, they sought out a Babalawo
Nitori iwo nikan
And the Babalawo told them:
“gather all the shea butter in the world and hawk it in the sun”
“gather all the salt in the world and hawk it in the rain”
“you will prevail over her. You will silence half a century of voice”
So, they hawked ori in the sun
Hawked salt in the rain
But the viper continued to ford the forest at night.
3
So, a third generation of rats and ratlings sought counsel
“How shall it be said and heard
That an ordinary woman’s voice threatens
Our monument of loot?
And two generations of rats and ratlings
Have failed to silence her!
Perhaps we should stop trying
To silence her as rats and ratlings?”
So they returned to the Babalawo and said:
“Baba, pray, turn us to Sigidi,
That we may flog that woman to death
She is half a century today.
We cannot afford to have her around
For another half a century”
Baba obliged them. They became Sigidi
And they came looking for you, valiant viper
They came with clubs and sticks
They came with cutlasses and langalanga
But you had crossed the river before they arrived
You had crossed the river before the bridge collapsed
Seeing you on the other side of the river
They plunged into the water
Head first
Credit: Pius Adesanmi | Facebook