I'm a pawn waging war against an orge
I'm a prisoner enclosed behind this frail wall of flesh
With every passing minute, my grip
Loosened on its flexible crystal pole,
The sensitive flesh of my palm singed
By its illusory gobs of bile,
My arms quake, as if it embodies the very core of chills,
The stoop of my shoulder bled forth
The salty water of fate
My once sturdy feet jellified as I tried
To stomp my way out of this flimsy
Dyke of plumpness
I screamed till my voice went hoarse
I cried till my wail turned to a poignant din
The determination on my face tainted
By the oozing talons of weariness
Mocking my spry effort of freedom
Huffing and puffing, I fought to win
This senseless tug of war
I thought I would get victory
Alas! My heart vanquished me instead.
Written by; Busayomi Alabi
Saturday, 4 April 2015
WEEKEND SPECIAL: PHENOMENAL WOMAN By Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to fit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my steps,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman,
That's me
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman,
That's me
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand,
The need for my care
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me
Written by Maya Angelou
I'm not cute or built to fit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my steps,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman,
That's me
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman,
That's me
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand,
The need for my care
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me
Written by Maya Angelou
WEEKEND SPECIAL: NOW THAT WE ARE THERE By Abdullahi Akanbi
NOW THAT WE ARE THERE, Baba, where do we go from here?
First, I congratulate you on the keenly contested election and of course, the most expensive the country has ever seen.
The victory, however, is not yours. The victory belongs to the Nigerian masses. The victory belongs to the ordinary Nigerian on the street.
Let not forget so soon, the honourable way the outgoing president carried himself. Even though many take the words of politicians with a pinch of salt. I for one want to believe he meant every one of those words. He will be remembered for the heroic deed.
For those who think my country, Nigeria, will fall after the presidential. Condolences!
For those who wish to disrupt the present peace we are enjoying.
Condolences!
Now, let's face it. Nigerians took records of all you promised. Thanks to you, we no longer have to tell the next generation the unmitigated tenacity of Abraham Lincoln. I took time to read up his legacy. He was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional and political crisis. He abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. His legacy will never be forgotten.
You have won the presidential election after contesting four times. I think it's well deserved. Am sure somewhere along the line you thought of quitting but you never did.
Just like many Nigerians, I think your return to this office is not to amass wealth, considering your age. Neither do I think you are in the office to add your name to the list of past presidents of the most populous black nation. That I think you already had. Then my guess is that you are really back to set things right in the country.
Excesses of the government, to start with, you promised to cut. We do not want a government that exists only for the political office holders.
Like I said in my first letter to you, we don't need a 10-point-Agenda. We only need you to focus on the most important things that can drive the economy. When these things are in a good shape others will fall in place. .
When power is stable and the country is secure, you would have created a conducive environment for business and foreign investors will be attracted. Recent research on ease of doing business in the world placed Nigeria on number 170. This is not a good indicator for our economy.
Let's not forget the decaying state of our education system. Currently, no Nigerian university is among the first 6,000 in the world. No country can develop when you produce unemployable graduates.
Even though Nigeria currently grapple with her decaying infrastructure and a poor regulatory environment, the country possesses many positive attributes for carefully targeted investment and will expand as both a regional and international market player.
We don't expect that you will fix Nigeria's numerous problems in 4years.
Nigeria's problem is not isolated or spontaneous. Rather it is a product of a long time political waste and negligence from leaders who prefer to line their pockets with silver and gold. We have travelled this path for 16 years. We understand that changing the course might be difficult but you knew the challenges before asking for our votes.
I will suggest you take a cue from President Jonathan's fall. Do not be distracted by the songs of victory. There is a lot of work to be done. A lot is at stake both for you and the party that has never been in control of the central. Rather, study his administration careful, key into where he missed it and intensify on his achievements.
We do not want abandoned projects. There are rails being constructed in Abuja, Airport being transformed and many other projects. We want to see them completed.
One major reason he failed, in my opinion, is that he really do not understand the people. He either takes the people's cry for granted, having being blinded by affluence or he has been lied to by the people around him.
The social media is one robust and staunch tool in the hands of the user. If properly harnessed, you will not be far from the people and you will understand and be able to tell their needs from their wants. The same tool that was instrumental in the fall of GEJ.
Mr President elect, I believe you are aware of the criticism President Jonathan faced in the hands of Nigerian youth through social media. Having placed the hope of the nation in your hands, you should know that yours will be worse if you disappoint Nigerians.
Contrary to the popular believe that you jumped on APCs stalwarts and its popularity to get this position, I believe that APC only used your integrity and steadfastness to get the party where it is today.
Remember we voted you for two reasons. One for sure is the complacent way the ruling party paraded itself. They acted like they own the country forgetting that we actually gave them the "keys to the door to the substance". We are tired of their repeated failed promises and we want a change. Secondly, your integrity that has remained untainted since your first military rule. It will be in your interest and Nigerians not to disappoint us. If you take the will of the people for granted, we will again use our votes to push you out. We will continue until we get it right.
A long journey awaits you. As you already know that we, in this part of the world, are very difficult to lead. We are adamant, indisciplined, unruly, obstreperous and inpatient. Impunity to us is bliss. We no longer know the difference between corruption and stealing. Bribes are referred to as PR.
As you steer the affairs of the nation, may your path be smooth.
Written by Abdullahi Akanbi
First, I congratulate you on the keenly contested election and of course, the most expensive the country has ever seen.
The victory, however, is not yours. The victory belongs to the Nigerian masses. The victory belongs to the ordinary Nigerian on the street.
Let not forget so soon, the honourable way the outgoing president carried himself. Even though many take the words of politicians with a pinch of salt. I for one want to believe he meant every one of those words. He will be remembered for the heroic deed.
For those who think my country, Nigeria, will fall after the presidential. Condolences!
For those who wish to disrupt the present peace we are enjoying.
Condolences!
Now, let's face it. Nigerians took records of all you promised. Thanks to you, we no longer have to tell the next generation the unmitigated tenacity of Abraham Lincoln. I took time to read up his legacy. He was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional and political crisis. He abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. His legacy will never be forgotten.
You have won the presidential election after contesting four times. I think it's well deserved. Am sure somewhere along the line you thought of quitting but you never did.
Just like many Nigerians, I think your return to this office is not to amass wealth, considering your age. Neither do I think you are in the office to add your name to the list of past presidents of the most populous black nation. That I think you already had. Then my guess is that you are really back to set things right in the country.
Excesses of the government, to start with, you promised to cut. We do not want a government that exists only for the political office holders.
Like I said in my first letter to you, we don't need a 10-point-Agenda. We only need you to focus on the most important things that can drive the economy. When these things are in a good shape others will fall in place. .
When power is stable and the country is secure, you would have created a conducive environment for business and foreign investors will be attracted. Recent research on ease of doing business in the world placed Nigeria on number 170. This is not a good indicator for our economy.
Let's not forget the decaying state of our education system. Currently, no Nigerian university is among the first 6,000 in the world. No country can develop when you produce unemployable graduates.
Even though Nigeria currently grapple with her decaying infrastructure and a poor regulatory environment, the country possesses many positive attributes for carefully targeted investment and will expand as both a regional and international market player.
We don't expect that you will fix Nigeria's numerous problems in 4years.
Nigeria's problem is not isolated or spontaneous. Rather it is a product of a long time political waste and negligence from leaders who prefer to line their pockets with silver and gold. We have travelled this path for 16 years. We understand that changing the course might be difficult but you knew the challenges before asking for our votes.
I will suggest you take a cue from President Jonathan's fall. Do not be distracted by the songs of victory. There is a lot of work to be done. A lot is at stake both for you and the party that has never been in control of the central. Rather, study his administration careful, key into where he missed it and intensify on his achievements.
We do not want abandoned projects. There are rails being constructed in Abuja, Airport being transformed and many other projects. We want to see them completed.
One major reason he failed, in my opinion, is that he really do not understand the people. He either takes the people's cry for granted, having being blinded by affluence or he has been lied to by the people around him.
The social media is one robust and staunch tool in the hands of the user. If properly harnessed, you will not be far from the people and you will understand and be able to tell their needs from their wants. The same tool that was instrumental in the fall of GEJ.
Mr President elect, I believe you are aware of the criticism President Jonathan faced in the hands of Nigerian youth through social media. Having placed the hope of the nation in your hands, you should know that yours will be worse if you disappoint Nigerians.
Contrary to the popular believe that you jumped on APCs stalwarts and its popularity to get this position, I believe that APC only used your integrity and steadfastness to get the party where it is today.
Remember we voted you for two reasons. One for sure is the complacent way the ruling party paraded itself. They acted like they own the country forgetting that we actually gave them the "keys to the door to the substance". We are tired of their repeated failed promises and we want a change. Secondly, your integrity that has remained untainted since your first military rule. It will be in your interest and Nigerians not to disappoint us. If you take the will of the people for granted, we will again use our votes to push you out. We will continue until we get it right.
A long journey awaits you. As you already know that we, in this part of the world, are very difficult to lead. We are adamant, indisciplined, unruly, obstreperous and inpatient. Impunity to us is bliss. We no longer know the difference between corruption and stealing. Bribes are referred to as PR.
As you steer the affairs of the nation, may your path be smooth.
Written by Abdullahi Akanbi
WEEKEND SPECIAL: POWER By Busayomi Alabi
Power danced on drunken feet
Burning a pathway through our clan
Swirling with rancor, it entangles our able-bodied
Dwadling on its crazy heels
It trails derison through our streets
Paving a sandy grave for the children
Ensnared in its path
Reckong the invasion flowed through our gates
Unbeknown to me, it's the puddle next door
Thinking the dart flew over the barricade
Alas! It was sharpened within our walls
At the time I thought I knew it all
Strife ruled, violence growled
The drone of words all muddled up
Until the voice of its knights are heard no more
Orphans cried, widows mourned
The children have all grown up, not
Because they've come of age
This invasion indeed has taken its toll.
The voices of our children beg to be heard
The boundaries erected only reach so high
Until it appears a crack there within
This flood of corruption only flows so swift
Until the soil of our land sucks it all up and dry
...pondering and wondering, I asked myself
Will justice ever rule this path again?
Written by; Busayomi Alabi
Burning a pathway through our clan
Swirling with rancor, it entangles our able-bodied
Dwadling on its crazy heels
It trails derison through our streets
Paving a sandy grave for the children
Ensnared in its path
Reckong the invasion flowed through our gates
Unbeknown to me, it's the puddle next door
Thinking the dart flew over the barricade
Alas! It was sharpened within our walls
At the time I thought I knew it all
Strife ruled, violence growled
The drone of words all muddled up
Until the voice of its knights are heard no more
Orphans cried, widows mourned
The children have all grown up, not
Because they've come of age
This invasion indeed has taken its toll.
The voices of our children beg to be heard
The boundaries erected only reach so high
Until it appears a crack there within
This flood of corruption only flows so swift
Until the soil of our land sucks it all up and dry
...pondering and wondering, I asked myself
Will justice ever rule this path again?
Written by; Busayomi Alabi
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