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ibiruk38:
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CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE POEM.


BACKGROUND OF THE POEM: Lagos state is a state in Nigeria, reputed to be the most populous state in Nigeria, arguably with a population of about 15 million people.

Lagos state is also the commercial hub of Nigeria, which has more business establishment than any other state, this made Lagos state generate the total of 23 billion Naira monthly as the state's internally generated revenue (IGR).

In line with this, Lagos state attracts people from all over the country, coming to reside in the state just to earn a living, this have made the state a haven for all sort of people.

PLOT: The plot of the poem is centered around the happenings of the everyday life in Lagos state, where its residents are always trying to earn a living both legally and illegally.

The poem also draw the readers attention to some of the things that make Lagos the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, where if you're not street smart you stand the chance of being parted with your money, as described in stanza one of the poem.

The rest stanzas of the poem depicts the usual 'know it all' attitude of the typical Lagosian, to the sitting in traffic for longs hours, accompanied by noise pollution and carbon mono oxide from commercial vehicles, to the consumption of alcohol after work hours just to ease the stress of traffic, to the smoking of marijuana by touts and business men alike, even though its illegal, to the hustling of girls prostituting themselves... to the great division between the rich and the poor.

STRUCTURE OF THE POEM: The poem is a quatrain, written in eight stanzas and one mono meter. The poem consist of 33 lines written without any particular rhyme scheme, except the first stanza which have the rhyme scheme of ABAB.



POETIC DEVICES:


Diction: The diction used in the poem is that of simple English. The poet also made use of words closely associated with the social sciences, words such as capitalism, bourgeois and proletariat.

Also, the poet added the language of one of the major tribes in Nigeria who occupy the south west part in the country, that is the yoruba language, "eko o ni baje".

Metaphor: Used in line 5, 17 and 28 in the poem. "The London Of Nigeria", "The Holland Of Nigeria" and "Where wolves in sheep's clothing reside".

Paradox: Used in line 6 and 7 of the poem. "Every fool is a genius" and "every genius is a fool".

Assonance: Used in line 8 in the poem. "Home is home".

Repetition: Used at the beginning of every stanza of the poem. "This is Lagos".

Hyperbole: Used in line 10, 13 and 15 in the poem. "The place where you spend eternity in traffic", "The reservoir of alcohol", "residents drown themselves in alcohol".

Anaphora: Used in line 30, 31 and 32. "The home". And "The place", used in line 6,8,10,14,18,23,26 and 28.

Epiphora: Used in line 29 and 30. "Home".

Fallacy: This is used in stanza 6, line 22 in the poem. "Every girl is a prostitute".

Anthropomorphism: This is used in stanza 3, line 10 and 11 in the poem. "The place where you have noise pollution as girlfriends" and "carbon mono oxide as best friend".

Enjambment: Used in the first stanza in the poem.

End-Stopped Line: Used at the end of every stanza of the poem, apart from the 1st stanza.

Simile: This is used in stanza 5, line 18 and 19. "The place where weed is illegal, but its smoked like a chimney".



THEME:

Humor.
Joy.
Love.

This is Lagos, enter at your own risk
And be frisk by peeps with long throat
Who care about making a quick buck
Without minding whose throat they cut.



This is Lagos, the London of Nigeria,
The place where every fool is a genius,
And every genius is a fool,
The place where home is home.



This is Lagos, the centre of excellence,
The place where you spend eternity in traffic,
And have noise pollution as girlfriends,
And Carbon mono oxide as your best friend.



This is Lagos, the reservoir of alcohol,
The place where beer parlor spring up daily,
Where residents drown themselves in alcohol,
Because it is the only consolation...



This is Lagos, the Holland of Nigeria,
The place where weed is illegal,
But its smoked like a chimney;
And possess with reckless abandon.



This is Lagos, The place where prostitution is a sin,
But every girl you know is a prostitute.
The place where prostitutes give themselves
Fancy names, just to make themselves big.



This is Lagos, the centre of capitalism,
The place where an ocean separates
The bourgeois from the proletariat,
The place where wolves in sheep's clothing reside.



This is Lagos, our home away from home,
The home that is our home,
The home that is our heart,
And the home that we're come to love.



This is Lagos, Eko o ni baje.