Squid Game Naija

Squid Game Naija 

by Seun Lari-Williams

Green light, red light. 

Where you for see light?

If to sey money dey am, 

maybe we for tink am.

But for Squid Game Naija,

na for only our life we dey play.

Start.

Obi Chikolobi 

Obi out! 

(But Obi for no die if to sey 

doctor dem no dey on strike). 

Ada chikalada

Ada bang!

(Container fall on top Ada

for Ojuelegba).

Tinko Tinko 

tinkoloko Tinko.

We no see uncle Tanko again, 

as we no get money for ransom.

Farmers, form a big circle

at the back of your homes. 

Now, who is in the garden? 

Ten chubby, graceful cows.

Boju Boju, o! O! 

Now open your eyes.

After round one, 

one hundred farmers shot

in the head.

On 20/10

youths played Ten Ten. 

Several raised the wrong leg.

All of them dead

(Accidental discharge by

Ungun knownmen). 

Pikin sef dey play o. 

Like police wey dey find thief,

pikin sef must find

mama and papa wey 

fit give dem food chop -

before dem even born dem.

No be me go tok 

how many pikin die

for inside and outside IDP camp 

for only last year.

There is fire on the mountain. 

If anybody run go Mountain of Fire, 

abeg help me ask 

why e be like sey na we

be de ten thousand 

falling at the side.

Seun Lari-Williams was born in 1987. He attended Badagry Grammar School and studied law at the University of Lagos where he served as President of the Law Society. His first anthology Garri for Breakfast was longlisted for the 2017 NLNG Prize for Literature.