by Seun Lari-Williams
E get one land like dat
wey dem dey commot person head
like sey na goat,
on top sey dem believe sey e
fit turn bank note.
I no dey sugarcoat.
Dis land wey I dey tok,
dem dey harvest human being
like sey na yam
on top sey dem wan to bam,
dem wan kee cow and ram.
I dey tok as I see am.
Wetin go surprise you be sey
na still dis land be
poverty capital of the
whole world,
Na their footprint na im
plenty pass on top Sahara sand,
na still dem dey swim
Mediterranean sea pass,
Na still their pikin dey do
ashewo pass for Italy
and Austria.
Na still dem ordinary mosquito
dey kill pass.
Juju dey work na im
dem carry dem forefathers dem
enter boat.
For four hundred years,
dem use dog chain
take hold their papa for throat.
Juju dey work na im ordinary
mosquito dey kill dem like fly?
Money ritual dey work na im
we dey suffer,
dey borrow money up and down,
money wey pikin wey dem never born
na im go pay?
Juju wey no fit carry country go front,
dat one na Juju?
I no tok again,
I dey vex.
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.
