I Am Nigeria

I've been feeling really patriotic recently and I don't know why but this is what I came up with.

I am Nigeria.

For all her good and bad I take her in and love her
Though she has been abused, and broken unable to see my devotion
'Cause all she has known has been commotion and more sun
Heat that bleeds sweat on necks without movement
Long treks cause traffic is dense and hours have been spent only to move a few steps

And when night falls the darkness is blinding
Candles and lanterns light the way because NEPA is hiding
But we do not fear the dark

Nigeria lives
And dances, moves her body to the music
Afro-beat, hip-hop, reggae, soukous,
We live in the music
Toasting to a days hard work with bottles of Star and Guinness

Nigeria lives! though the economy crashes upon her with bombs of bad leaders
They rape her of her glory, they use her and turn their head when she cries
Nigeria lives! rich or poor, she survives
Poverty reflects the reasoning that forces us to provide no matter the means or effect

She lives in constant schemes to deplete riches of men
Even thieves have mouths to feed besides theirs she said
Even good men must bend the law for a portion of greed
Hunger forces them to steal, but greed convinces them to kill

And so Nigeria
You are my beautiful disaster
You are my plate of soaked garri and groundnut on a lazy afternoon
You are dirty streets and overflowing gutters
Mothers carrying their young wrapped upon their backs at the market place
Fights erupting at junctions “how u take jam me, abi you no see road abi you dey craze”

You are my first love and after school love letters read under the mango tree
You are noisy and scary rides on Danfo buses
Pure water and gala from the street hawker during traffic pauses
You are deadly roads that lead me home

And though my love for you weathers all storms
I can’t help but wonder if all the damage will ever be undone
When you can become the vision of greatness that we all carry in our spirit
Pride for a country we barely visit.
We rep the green white, green and say we miss it
We say we love her, yet we are complacent
To rebuild her, to treat her like the queen, the mother
Land of glory and origination

Some say she has refused it
She will never learn they say
She’s dug too deep into poverty, gluttony and crime
And has become a concubine of a rich man who taps her oil
Drains her bare and leaves none to provide for her own soil

They say show her you love her
But I don’t know how
It’s like trying to convince a heart I have incessantly broken to trust me now
I am Nigeria
Both good and bad
I carry her burden
I sing her praise loud
Her toxin chokes my lung, and the humidity grabs the pores of my skin
Forcing me to open my eyes and remember where I am and where I’ve been
So that I may know who I am,
Who I'll always be,
Naija 4 life

© Copyright July 2008 <- Thou shall not steal copy this poem . . . especially you StealingCaringSoul. It is under the Copyright Act.

Yeah that one did it for me too Your words are gold Stephen and extremely insightful.   

Very thoughtful and comical.
I love the wordings, so powerful and rich!
Please write for us
I AM AN AFRICAN

i loved how you described your "love" for nigeria in a sense of a woman. the way you described her emotions and senses was incredible. what she likes and how she acts. i mean i don't know if i could ever put as much imagery in my poetry. got any tips??

can you at least give me a critic on my poems??