Voice Of The Niger, Will they telecast their ugliness?,The Lean Hope
By Olusegun Timilehin Omotehinwa
1. VOICE OF THE NIGER
FAMINE,
DEARTH,
LACK,
companions of the Niger
antithetical to Ỏ’dủmảrẻ’s
bountiful deposits to the land.
Thunder struck, the Elephant fell,
yet, we breathe stifling air
from sixties to the thousands.
The re-enactment and the re-incarnation
of the old rogues with apparition of
tormenting wraiths bedevil us.
Tons of town-criers
with cracked voices-
the image of age-long singing;
symphony within a cacophonous reality.
Tales of voices reechoing in space
Our ancestors have hoped,
now we are the hope.
Our voice shall remain
our arm.
- WILL THEY TELECAST THEIR UGLINESS?
Will they telecast their ugliness?
The ones that come to the market
in toga of elegance, dripping of luxury ?
And the people ‘awwwing’ and ‘tapping’ into their ‘grace’.
But in their coven, they gulp and gore their helpless victims,
wrapped in red ten yards…
requesting for Ikemefuna’s head.
Will they telecast their ugliness?
Every Sunday on the pulpit in Whiteman’s gear
singing hallelujah louder than their brethren
but ᾳbọrủ bọyẻ is their lullaby at dusk;
Monsters in angelic tunic.
Will they telecast their ugliness?
Mandate stolen from the rightful heir,
Palliatives eaten by gluttons,
Trader-money became their bailouts.
They are the elephants and their people, the grass.
As they trample on them from cradle.
Yet, their kind sings their praises.
Will they ever telecast their ugliness?
Will they telecast their ugliness?
Social media influencers online
but ‘jezebelling’ offline.
BTC Lords at the arena,
but vultures hacking and bombing
vulnerable coffers in their dark rooms.
One day, their mouths shall be hushed
and their puppies shall be freed.
That day, we shall reveal the ‘facequerades’
and the land shall be rid of them,
ONCE WE TELECAST THEIR UGLINESS.
- The Lean Hope
Hope is famished, and may vanish;
growing thinner quadrennially.
My Hope is hopeless,
feeding on empty promises
from mouths running over with luxuries.
Their barns are full
but our kitchens are empty
They have penchant for hope they do not subscribe to;
Merchants of hopelessness.
They eat all today, leaving nothing for tomorrow
Tomorrow is off the table
Tomorrow is off the list
What is hope without Tomorrow?
Yet, they peddle hopes for the crumb eaters
Making Hope a religious garb for the crumb-stars
Hope is a mirage
Hope is a shadow that may never be caught
But is there no other way except Hope?
The ‘less and the ‘ness are the chokeholds of the land.
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Olusegun Timilehin Omotehinwa, a lecturer in the Department of English and Linguistics, Kwara State University, Malete. I am also part of the resource team for Literature in English at the JUPEB School of Foundation, University of Ilorin. I am currently running my PhD in Literature in English in the Department of English and Linguistics, Kwara State University, with particular interest in Postcolonial-ecocriticism.
