a Poem by Dater, Pekop Dawu

23rd October, 2020.

The dark edge
has been cast
upon the land
The Nigerian child now moves upon the surface of the dark
with a future so bleak like never before

On the flip side of the coin
hope illuminates
Because of the excitement that
greeted the lowering of the Union Jack;
An emancipation from the Western Colonial Oppressor

The Green White Green;
The pride of a Sovereign Nation
with a tall dream for
the future, the future of the Nigerian child;
The dream of the founding fathers

A future that was not to come
A future that was to be replaced
because the rules of engagement has been changed
And a modified version of the future is now here
It is a future where the Nigerian child is now a slave
and an endangered specie in his own homeland

With his enemy,
his enemy who was
the very friend that swore to protect him
now on the prowl to suck his blood
The friend who has been assigned to protect the Nigerian child
Is now a blood thirsty enemy
Lurking in the dark streets of Lekki
And the peaceful streets of Jos
to mow down the peaceful protester who carries no firearm

With the lights switched off
And its CCTV cameras removed
The blood thirsty predator spilled the blood of the innocent Nigerian child
The land now bleeds from one page of bloodshed to the other

It is now a land so badly bruised and battered
A land so damaged beyond recognition
A land in shambles
A land lying in ruins;
Its rubbles and debris swallow up a million souls
The land beacons for healing;

But the Nigerian child, the protester
only demanded for his due
A legitimate demand that became his crime
A crime whose price he paid with his blood
A blood flowing over the surface of the land
A land so stained
A stain that needs total cleansing

The bad taste
The bad smell
The bad sensation
Now frightens the Nigerian child
So frightening that he has to resign to fate

With all hopes now lost
With all visions now blurred
With all dreams now shattered
And now the Nigerian child is
left with one option
Just one option
To struggle to survive today
Just to survive today
Then the next day
Then the next day
Then the next day
Then the next day
And then what next?

count | 12

The Dark Edge, By Dater, Pekop Dawu