Sunday 2 July 2023

Mama Came Calling, a poem by Ken Saro-Wiwa

Mama Came Calling

She came visiting today
The lovely little lady
In her hand a dainty meal
Of nutless palm fruits
A long-forgotten delicacy
From my childhood days
Into which I dug my teeth
As my baby gums her breasts
And found therein once again
The milky sweet of a mother’s blessings.

Ken Saro-Wiwa 
Ken Saro-Wiwa (full name: Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa) was a Nigerian writer, television producer and activist, born in October 10th 1941 in Bori near Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Saro-Wiwa spoke against the country's military regime and Royal Dutch/Shell for the destruction of the environment of the Ogoni people, in his hometown of Rivers state. He was executed on November 10th 1995 in Port Harcourt after being tried by a special military tribunal for allegedly orchestrating the murder of Ogoni chiefs in a pro-government meeting. Subsequently, he was hanged by the military dictator of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha. This act of injustice aroused international outrage and led to Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations for more than three years.

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Leader and the Led, a poem by Niyi Osundare

THE LEADER AND THE LED The Lion stakes his claim To the leadership of the pack But the Antelopes remember The ferocious pounce of his paws T...