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Chant of the Angry
by Kabura Zakama
Friday, November 10, 2006
Not rated by the Author.
I try to express my thoughts on various 'trouble spots' in Nigeria in terms of governance. |
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Do not paint pictures of flowers
Display the faces of oppressors!
Speak not of equity and justice
Spit upon the faces of scoundrels!
Covet not the greed of the powerful
Desecrate the courts of mammon worship!
Away with the prattle of politics
Give me an angry voice!
Bless me with the tongue of a restless muse!
Take me to the shrine of Abami Eda!1
Boil me in the anger of Biafra!2
Sell me at the markets of Zangon Kataf!3
Cover me with the shame of the Ogoni!4
Plant me in the rubbles of Odi!5
Bury me in the graveyards of Zaki Biam!6
Wash me in the red waters of intolerance!
Decorate me in the rags of an almajiri!7
Clothe me with the poverty of the wretched!
And crush me under the roar of your sirens!
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1. Literally ‘a strange person’ (Yoruba language). A popular term referring to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the late radical musician (Nigeria)
2. The name of the secessionist state (Eastern Nigeria) during the Nigerian Civil War in the 1960s
3. A settlement in Kaduna State where a fierce religious riot broke out in the late 1980s
4. People of the Niger-Delta, fighting against marginalisation and environmental degradation by oil companies. The late Ken Saro-Wiwa was an Ogoni man
5. A town in the Niger-Delta that was razed down by soldiers following clashes with law enforcement agents
6. A town in Benue State (North Central Nigeria) that was razed down by the military following the killing of 12 soldiers
7. Children in Koranic schools, who live in austere circumstances
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| Reviewed by Paul Williams |
11/11/2006 |
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This is an excellent piece Kabura, I do not profess to know much of the politics of your country but I am aware of the post-colonial turmoil that has gripped your country. I remember all too well the disturbing and heart wrenching images coming from Biafra when I was a younger. Thank you for enlightening us further.
blessings
Paul;-) |
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| Reviewed by jude forese |
11/10/2006 |
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| angry but justifiably so ... |
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| Reviewed by Brittany Renée |
11/10/2006 |
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| It is commendable to see someone take the beauty of poetry and spill it into politics and this world, because I do see poetry as our innate ability to touch into the world of which we do not yet know. Draw people into your concerns, and perhaps one day we will, too, have a heart crushed by these matters such as yours. Would that all felt the compassion you do. |
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