They call me this; they call me that
The *******; the rebel; the one who won’t crack
The scarred; the forlorn; the apathetic guy
The one who speaks where silence falls flat
Turning the void into lyrical chat

Yea I’m that guy
Who’s used and abused but still finds his track
Who’s bruised and battered yet always fights back
The scars on my soul are stories I own
Proof that I’ve lived and never bowed alone

I’m that guy; who dives into storms
Finding the rhythm in chaos and forms
The poet of pain; the bard of the streets
Spitting out truth where silence competes

Yea I’m that guy
Who questions the lies and rewrites the past
Who builds with words what’s meant to last
From broken dreams to skies untamed
Every verse I write I sign unashamed

I’m that guy who wields the pen like a sword
Cutting through noise; a sharp vocal chord
The lover of love the fighter of wrongs
The voice of the voiceless in unsung songs

Yea I’m that guy
Who’s knocked to the ground but refuses to break
Who gathers the pieces that others forsake
The pain in my heart becomes fuel for my fire
Each step I take lifts me higher and higher

I’m that guy; who lives in the ink
A rebel who dreams who dares to think
From soaring heights to the gutter’s embrace
I map the world with a poet’s grace

Yea I’m that guy
Who’s used and abused but still finds his track
Who’s bruised and battered yet always fights back
Writing the day and rewriting the night
A New Age Sage; yea I’m that guy

Hold up
Don’t talk
Or the grim reaper will steal your voice.
Words turn weapons stripped of choice
Next you're in cuffs
Bound and subdued
Dragged to halls where fairness is skewed.

“Arise my Lord” the bailiff calls
But justice has crumbled within those walls.
Judged for truths you dared to say
Now silenced tossed like waste-away.
In the jungle of law where power preys
Your rights dissolve in a smoky haze.

In the heart of the city beneath neon lights
Lies Mide a dreamer who fought for rights.
He raised his voice against the pain
Of inflation... of hunger... a nation insane.
He penned his words in the dead of night
Hoping his truth would spark a light.

But morning came with a knock at the door
Boots and cuffs slammed him to the floor.
They bound his wrist... they dragged him out
“Traitor!” they screamed while neighbors stood about.
He turned his face to plead his case
But silence met him... a cold embrace.


Freedom of movement? “Stay in line!”
They mapped his steps controlled his time
A boy in chains... a life restrained
Each breath he took their leash remained
Once he wandered the hills and streams
Now his world was confined to dreams

Freedom to gather? “Disperse don’t dare!”
His friends were scattered like leaves in the air
They planned to protest to make a stand
But batons and teargas changed the plan
No banners waved no voices rose
Only silence where courage once chose

In the corner of a cell Ade sat still
A journalist punished for wielding his quill.
He wrote of farmers starved for grain
Of leaders fattened by others’ pain.
His words were truth his cause was just
But they turned his ink to chains of rust.

“Freedom to speak?” he thought in despair
“Not here not now not anywhere.”
The walls whispered back with a mocking tone
“You’re here because you stood alone.”

Then came Aisha... a mother of three
Whose freedom to live was no longer free.
Her daughters hungry her husband gone
She braved the streets to beg till dawn.
But laws had changed the streets weren’t safe
Her plea for mercy was met with hate.
“Move along you can’t be here!”
She clutched her child and hid her fear.

Thrown to the dirt
To the lowest apex
A nation’s soul reduced to reflex.
“Tame them!” they shout
Strip their will
Turn them into Mummies... something still.

And when all... is said and done
Who cares if they’re dead or gone
Their freedom to live to love to fight
All stolen beneath the cover of night.
Their screams are echoes lost in the haze
Drowned in silence forgotten in days.

But beneath the silence embers grow
A fire stoked by those who know
That even chains can’t bind the heart
And broken voices still have a part.

For Mide’s words will rise again
Aisha’s tears will spark the pen
Ade’s ink will flow with might
And their silence will roar into the night.

No freedom to speak no freedom to write
No freedom to live no freedom to fight.
But hear this now beneath their might
Even silence can ignite.

One day soon the tide will turn
And the flames of truth will brightly burn.
The people will rise their voices bold
Breaking the system that left them cold.

In the land where the sun kisses the soil
Where abundance once sprang from honest toil
Now hunger prowls... like a restless beast
And famine mocks every hoped-for feast

The yam barns are empty... the granaries bare
The fields once golden... now stripped of care
Scarcity spreads... like harmattan dust
A bitter curse... on a broken trust

A goat tied too long... will chew the rope
But here even ropes... can’t kindle hope
The people cry... their stomachs hollow
Yet promises are all they’re forced to swallow

Once we planted and reaped with glee
But now our labor feeds misery
The crops have shriveled... the rain's gone dry
And government officials just walk on by

They gather in chambers as grand as a king's
Sipping their wine while the poor eat sins
With every policy... they widen the gap
Burdens doubled... a sinister trap

The river that forgets its source will run dry
But these leaders have turned a blind eye
Their roots forgotten... their hearts turned cold
Their greed devours the nation’s gold

Let me tell you about Mama Folake’s plight
Who toils from dawn until the night
Her palm oil business used to thrive
But now she struggles to keep her family alive

Her son Ade once bright with dreams
Now sees the world in muted themes
No school fees paid no books in hand
The future crumbles like dry sand

The lizard that nods in the sun has seen things
Ade nods too but only hunger stings
His mother tells him to keep the faith
But faith alone won’t fill a plate

Inflation is a thief that robs unseen
Turning Naira to paper hopes to dreams
A bag of rice now a tale to tell
The average Nigerian lives in hell

And yet the leaders play their charade
Making policies like poorly sewn trade
One week it’s fuel the next it’s tax
They strip the people while lining their sacks

The monkey sweats but its fur hides the tears
Behind their smiles are our growing fears
They draft decrees in ivory towers
But down below survival sours

The streets are loud with unspoken cries
The markets echo with desperate sighs
Bread is a luxury... meat a dream
And corruption runs like a poisoned stream

When the bush burns the grasshopper loses its home
The common man is left to roam
His sweat builds the mansion he’ll never see
While the rich feast on his misery

But oh dear land even the night must end
Even a bent tree will someday bend
A story is told of a bird in flight
Who fell to the ground but found her might

The people will rise their voices clear
Their strength forged in pain year after year
For the drum that beats the loudest will burst
And the people's anger will quench this thirst

The tide will turn the tables will shift
And justice will rise from this rift
The leaders may build walls high and wide
But the power of truth they cannot hide

The land will heal the barns will fill
The laughter of children will light the hill
And as history writes this bitter song
It will mark the day the hungry grew strong

No matter how long the night the dawn will break
And justice will serve what greed could not take
So let the tale be told far and near
A new Nigeria will soon appear

Wake up; it's a sleepless night darling
Wake up; feel the darkness hardening
Lone boy; put your boot on; and stop snoring
Cos no aid is even coming from the sky

Lone boy; seems no one cares about thee
Lone boy; they're blind to what you'd be
No, no, they don't wanna hear that story
Stand up, no one will tell you sorry

Wake up; it's 6am in the morning
Stand up, sey you hear that tummy yearning.
Wake up; No help is really coming
Just words, hypocrisy and fake promise...

Lone boy; everybody's just watching
No love; they 'ont even ask why
They don't see... that your path is dark and thorny
It's Lone world; so they're quick to judge and pry

Oh love; you still care about these people
Those ones that left you stranded and tied
Broke ya and left you standing on the steeple
Wake up; from their mountains of lies

Lone boy; it's been a rough road from the kickoff
No love; it's all pain and strife
Lone boy; see they'd never understand you
So hold on to your ugly-dear life

Lone boy; everybody's just evil
No one; will wipe those tears from your eyes
Oh boy; you think they love you from the prequel
No love; you've been a pawn from the start

Wake up; call your father, call you mama
Wake up; this might be your last try
Call your friends; call your sisters and ya brother
And brace yourself to bid them bye-bye

In the heart of Africa... a tale unfolds,
of oil and gold... diamonds and coal
riches untold... of lands turned cold.
Our soil, a treasure... deep and vast
Yet stolen by shadows from the very past.

Corrupt leaders sit... on lofty thrones
Trading futures... for foreign loans.
They dine in luxury... in gold arrays,
While the people suffer... lost in haze.

The streets are weary... hope is thin
Promises broken... time and time again.
They speak of change... with polished lies
ELÖFÖKANBALÈ... now, our tensions hyped
While poverty stares... through our hollowed eyes.

Politicking thrives... in power’s game
A cycle of faces... but all the same.
The ballot's a joke... the votes erased
Democracy trampled... justice displaced.

The Europeans came... with flags unfurled
Promised progress... but pillaged the world.
From diamonds to oil... they took their fill
Leaving nations hollow... against their will.

They drew the borders... stole the grain
Fed on our sweat... left us in pain.
Our forests felled... our rivers bled
While leaders watched... their pockets fed.

We were taught to be cowards... so we tucked it in,
"Ranti omo eni t'oun sey"... know the child of who you be.
A will passed down from fathers to sons,
To bear the chains even when freedom runs.

Silent we stood, our voices withdrawn,
Like trees in a storm with roots undone.
"Ẹni tó bá dáké, t'ara rẹ́ 'aba daké," they said,
But how do we speak when our spirits have bled?

We were told to bow... to lower our crown
"Be an ọmọlúàbí, dâkê or face the frown".
Yet, in the quiet... there’s power untapped,
In the silence... our future is wrapped

We couldn't win them... so we blend in,
But deep inside, our fight will soon begin.
For now, we rise... refusing to fall.
The courage they silenced, we’ll answer its call.

Leaders of tomorrow; they said it aloud.
But tomorrow never comes... though the promise was proud.
We grew in the shadow of words never true
Waiting for the day when our light would break through.

But the future they spoke of remains out of reach,
A dream deferred by the ones who preach.
"Your hope 'd be renewed"... we were told
Yet they keep us chained in the stories of old.

But now we know, it’s in us to rise.
To break through the lies and open our eyes.
The leaders of tomorrow are here today,
No more waiting... no more delay.

For the time is now... the fight is ours
We’ll claim our strength... our hidden powers.
We’ll lead our own path... let our voices run,
Because tomorrow's promise starts with the rising sun.

Africa's spirit... fierce and bold
Refuses to be bought... Refuses to be sold.
In unity... we'll stand and rise
Reclaim our land... beneath clear skies.

For this is home... where ancestors rest
A future brighter... when we stand our best.
No more chains of greed or lies
Africa will soar... when her people wise.

In halls where wisdom softly swells,  
The teachers toil through endless bells.  
Their voices craft the future’s song,  
Yet bear a burden far too long.  

With steady hands; they mold the mind,  
But justice still; remains unkind.  
They ask for fair; yet walk alone,  
Their struggles silent; rarely shown.  

For every soul they guide and teach,  
Their own ambitions fade from reach.  
But in their hearts; a fire stays bright,  
Through darkest hours; they guard the light.  

They stand as towers; tall and strong,  
Though wages small; and hours long.  
Their dreams may bend; their backs may break....
Yet still, they give for others' sake.  

The chalk-stained hands; the tired eyes,  
For others’ futures; they will rise.  
And though their needs are cast aside,  
They press ahead; with quiet pride.  

Oh lift the teachers; hear their plea—  
The ones who shape eternity.  
For every life they’ve helped to steer....
We owe them more than words can cheer.  

But hope will come; the day will turn,  
When teachers get the due they earn.  
For in their hands; tomorrow lies—  
A future bright beneath the skies.  

Let’s praise their work; their tireless fight,  
For in their care; the world finds light.  
Give them the honor long denied...
And walk with them; all side by side.

October 1st, a day of claimed pride,
Nigeria's independence, a partial stride,
From colonial chains, we broke the mold,
But subtle bonds remain, our progress to hold.

The masters left, but their systems stay,
Institutions rigged, to keep us at bay,
Economic strings, pulled from afar,
Our resources exploited, like a scar.

Foreign powers meddle, with hidden hands,
Influencing policies, that grip our lands,
IMF and World Bank, with conditional ties,
Shackling our growth, with debt's disguise.

Our leaders, puppets on a string,
Dancing to tunes, that aren't their own sing,
Corruption thrives, as they line their pockets,
While the masses suffer, in endless pockets.

The Biafran war, a tragic, ****** stain,
Unaddressed wounds, that still remain,
Resource control, a contentious fight,
Between the haves and have-nots, day and night.

Our oil, a curse, or so it seems,
Foreign corporations, with exploitative dreams,
80% control, a staggering fact,
Leaving us with crumbs, from our own act.

But still we rise, with resilient hearts,
Demanding true freedom, and a brand new start,
For a Nigeria, where all can thrive,
Not just the privileged, but the masses alive.

We'll break these chains, of neocolonial might,
And forge our path, with self-determined light,
No more indirect rule, no more hidden hand,
Nigeria will rise, and take her stand.

With education, we'll empower our minds,
And shake off cultural imperialism's binds,
Our history, our culture, we'll reclaim,
And build a nation, where all can proclaim.

With infrastructure, we'll build our base,
And attract investment, with a steady pace,
Agriculture, manufacturing, and tech,
Will drive our growth, and make us connect.

With resource nationalism, we'll take control,
And ensure our wealth, benefits our soul,
No more exploitation, no more deceit,
Nigeria's resources, for Nigerians' feet.

With regional cooperation, we'll unite,
And challenge external dominance, with all our might,
ECOWAS, African Union, we'll stand tall,
And forge a continent, where all can enthrall.

Our nationalism, will foster pride,
And self-determination, will be our guide,
Civil society, will demand change,
And hold our leaders, accountable to range.

Nigeria, arise, and claim thy place,
Among the nations, show thy face,
Unshackled, yet enchained no more,
Nigeria will rise, and forever soar