A broken road does not understand Igbo,
It will not maim the Fulani and let the rest of us go,
The accidents it will cause will take all lives,
For when a vehicle somersaults it breaks all bones.
So, you can speak Nupe till morning comes. It will not build libraries in our public schools,
And when a woman, a young woman, lies dying in childbirth,
Your fluency in Ijaw will not save her life.
For Christian or Muslim, it makes no difference. When you’re being driven around in an ambulance,
From hospital to hospital in search of oxygen,
Northerner or Southerner, you will die suffocating.
You will die of causes easily preventable,
Like no fuel for police to respond to your distress call,
No water, no light, no nurses, no jobs
Nothing kills as efficiently as bad governance.
As politician in office who do not pay salaries,
Whose response to bad roads is bigger SUVs,
Who set up committees, and publish White Papers,
Presiding over affairs that never improve.
Politicians in Jeeps, with minds in London,
Perpetual latecomers to every meeting,
Irritated by anyone with a different opinion,
Who see ‘The People’ as a throne to sit on.
Politicians in power, who personalize the State,
Who criminalize criticism, and terrorize dissent,
Nothing in society kills as efficiently
As a Politician in High Office with low mentality.
For you see? Boko Haram will burn down a classroom,
But a politician can swallow the entire school system,
Can fold our power stations and put in his briefcase,
Can roll up the railways and keep in her house.
Politicians can file our sea ports away in a drawer,
Can cripple all our farms with no fertilizer,
No matter the passion you bring to your start-up,
Government can kill it with just one pronouncement.
And no degree you hold, no grammar you speak,
No decision you make to just face your work,
No protest you stage can save you from those elected to make and enforce our laws.
The way they see things is a wall around you,
For you cannot drive faster than the person driving you,
No matter your wealth, education or achievement,
You are subject to the mentality of those in government.
Politicians in Office hold the yam and the knife,
For to elect is to give the elected power over life,
Which child will remain Alamajiri or become someone better?
These things are in the hands of the people in power.
Politicians in Office hold the farm and the seed,
For to elect is to give the elected the power to decide,
Whether Security operatives can murder citizens and walk away free?
These things are in the hands of those who run the country.
So, if you are tired of it all, then strike at its roots…
If you are tired of needing a letter from a Senator to get a job,
If you are tired of seeing your hustle frustrated by public policies,
If you are tired of insecurity, then fix the politics.
If you’re tired of the hunger, the anger, in our streets,
If you’re tired of the number of children who die before age 5,
If you’re tired of the dreams suffocated in our youths,
If you are tired of this shame, then fix the politics.
For until they are there in public office,
Men and women with a heart for public service,
No tribe, no tongue – just a commitment to build,
A functional nation that fills us all with pride.
Until they are there in the highest office,
Men and women with a heart for selfless service,
No region, no religion – just commitment to Nation…
Until we elect them, we labour in vain.
• Chukwumerije is a poet.