Hello Nigeria
Grinn Grinn GrinnGrin!
The phone rang endlessly.
I waited for the call to be picked anxiously
The sleazy operator must be asleep I thought.
Back and forth my thoughts ran
Like a little boy who lost his way back from the farm

I heard the busy voices of the ancients
Discussing what could have led to the abandonment
And all their toils deserted
Our children no longer love each other an ancient said
Our lands are now deserted another reiterated
Our faces no longer radiate with smiles the third of them lamented.
Smiles that used to be as radiant as that of the early morning sun
Joys that used to flow graciously like the river Osun.

The phone was picked
Hallelujah! I shouted
Alhamdulillah! I exclaimed
I heard a voice from the other end
As guttural as that of the egungun
Who has disturbed my peaceful sleep? The voice roared
Who dares disturb a giant warlord?
Hello Nigeria, I sauntered
Your days of sleep are overboard
You have been robbed of your legacy
Replaced by Democracy
A disguised Autocracy
A conspiracy to keep you off bay
By the monsters who came aboard the ship
Wake up from your slumber oh great one
And be the captain of your own ship.
Originally written by Usman Abiola 2015.
Revised and Re-written by Mowrites 2017.