I Am Not Black by Dele Farotimi

I Am Not Black….

(They Never Stopped The Trade)

Lambs might be black
And yes, some be white
I’ve seen a few that’s tan
And quite a few, are speckled

Oh! The beautiful jaguar
Some as black as coal
The darkness of night
But I am not black

I could be chocolate
Hewn from the inedible pods
Grown in my fields
Owned by me for you

I might even be coffee
You own those fields too
I send you the sacked beans
You send me my sack clothes

None of them is white
And I’ve seen a few that’s pink
And they’re also red sometime
Always a good time to flee

Be not fooled by the claim
I be not black, and you ain’t white
All we are, are human beings
I bleed red, and so do you

But how do I the racist fool blame
Have our fathers not declared
Your usage of your chattels
Shall assay its value for others

George Floyd was his name
Trophy he was, for a racist cop
Tina Ezekwe was her name
Killed by a Killandgo in Lagos

Oceans apart, united in death
Untimely, unnecessary, inhuman
Systemic, endemic, pandemic
Slave masters, traders, enforcers

The corrupt Africans loot
Loots kept in oyinbo vaults
We are fantastically corrupt
And they are fantastically angelic

Brethren, look again
They never stopped the trade
They merely changed the rules
The slave markets are booming

Dele Farotimi

Dele Farotimi is a lawyer, a seasoned political activist and author.  He is passionate about the birth of a new and better Nigeria. His book “Do Not Die in Their War” is a treatise on Nigeria’s contemporary political trajectories. He is a seasoned public speaker, member of Citizens’ Rally against Oppression (RAMINBA), and author. He was called to the Nigerian bar in the year 1999 and remained in active legal practice until his retirement in 2018 at the age of 50.