The wick of a small lamp brightly burned
The rain met the sky with stubborn brute
It beat an anticipating sound on our tin
roof
When I silently came
On that cold night in May
I slipped into a waiting arm
My tiny buttocks was firmly spanked
Relentlessly I cried
I was a handful for anyone
Yet hard they tried
Not even a gong announced my entry
No one came dancing with drums and
tambourines
There was no seven-day feast
Just a father’s warm smile
A mother’s breast milk
And a neighbours palm wine
No one brought me a gift
While I was blissfully asleep
I grew quickly into a man
A destiny drawn through a tortuous path.On the day you were born
Many corporations stood at a stand still
Many prayed
Others paced
While you were eagerly anticipated When you came
Endlessly you cried
Screaming orders into the waiting world Nurses scurried around
Tending to your every jerk of the hand
A week later
Men of eminence gathered
Journalists jostled for space
Cameras pried for a glimpse of your face
Your arrival was greatly heralded
Your family gloriously celebrated
The heir to a great empire
On the eve of that cold November
Many gifts and cars were given to you
Even though your limbs were still soft
and new
Your destiny was set that day
Later arranged and re arranged
On a dramatic pathway
A planned future, readymade.
On the day our path crossed
We stood high on campaign hills
I strung together elegant words
While you strewn the streets with looted Naira bills
You waved from the open roof of your
Rolls Royce
While I danced in the city square to my peoples voice
Yours was a grand coronation
Mine was a call for a revolution
You eyed and I smiled
You schemed and I screamed
Your sword was the newspapers and
televisions
Mine was a true outline of my great vision
My words burned brightly in their heart While your Naira bills was your only pact
On that hot afternoon in March
You knew I was more than just a match.
On the day that we met
On the shores of a foreign land
We shook hands
And you praised my prowess
You asked how I made it
And I told you of nation building
You asked for the source of my power And I told you I needed no cabal
You marvelled like a new bride
Ready to join the moving tide
On the day we met
An incumbent president and the next We streamlined our alliances
Built a better vision for our masses
On the day we met
Our nation started the rise to a towering crescent.
