from a wonderful night
she came alive
oh my country
obscured in her gloomy might
her love seemed so right

the feign of her tattered story
she bears the burden of Africa
the reign of her battered glory
her body abut and juxtaposed Madagascar

I wish that I fly away
from my path
I might not stray
from the start
I was taught to pray

my dreams to soar in beautiful array
as the nation saddles in its own barrage
lamentations of 56 years' blink
I see on eagle's wings what victory brings
the joy of 36 shining gold rings
too bright to look at
naming and counting one for each

and when twilight was reach
in plenteous joy and happiness
to the people my heart outreach
compensation for years lived
in wood and ash

Francis is calling from Nigeria. Hi Francis.
Welcome to the show, thanks for getting in touch.
I've never been to Nigeria, but I've heard that
it's a beautiful country.
Yes, but...
Have you got
a safari in Nigeria?
Yes but a bit different...
That's cool! I'd love to see that! Francis, what are your
plans for tonight?
We are going to...
Let me guess -
to the party. That's awesome! Have a good time,
enjoy! You are young and free!
No we are going to
the local village, to bury bodies of few men,
they were killed...
Killed? Oh my God that's terrible,
tell us more! Were they killed by wild animals?
No, by...
Hello? Francis? Are you still there?
We've lost our listener, unfortunately. What a shame.

Will we look back in sincere amazement,
Of how gullible we had been,
Or in sheer and unforgivable embarrassment,
That we did not truly, honestly, come out clean?

Now the earth has completed another revolution,
And with great outpouring of emotion,
And endless international propaganda,
We all wonder where the two hundred and nineteen are???

In a cloud of disbelief and great distrust,
Over three hundred were snatched in the dead of night,
Since, more speculations have characterised their plight,
And put this minority's government on a failed ******.

Soldier man fights
Soldier man dies
He talks, he dies
He runs, in shame he dies

Soldier man says he needs
Better guns
Arsenal is obsolete

You ask soldier man to fight
Sorry die,
To war is to die
So let soldier man fight
Before he dies
Not to die before he fights

Better guns to fight bombers?
To call the shots in power
They say it's hard
But for soldier man to die
Is nothing but piece of cake

Soldier leaves his wife and kids
The king sends his to paris,
Ask soldier man why he fights
I do it for the love of Mother land

Tears in my eyes for you
Fear in my heart for you
Soldier man fights
Soldier man dies

Somebody says everybody else is mad
Then somebody must be mad.
If somebody is the only one not mad.
In the land of the mad
A case of mad calling others mad.
But who is really mad?

It is so sad
To see that every one is sad
The truth of the lie is sad.
And if you are not sad
Then it is really sad
We are smiling but happily sad.

Now it is that bad
To say we are mad,
Is totally sad.
To say we are happily sad,
Is not that we are mad.
Remember, somebody must be mad
And the one that is mad
Is the one who says everybody is mad
Not that he's mad
Then who is sadly mad?

Well, he is mad
And I am mad
Cos you are now getting mad.
Still we say we are not mad
But he is mad
How can we all say he is mad?
How can we be sad he is bad?
Wait a minute, are we mad?

Here, now, is the world before me:
Women are struggling to make a living
And men struggling for beer.
The markets are full of drying-up warehouses
And market stalls pregnant with emptiness.

A woman comes in,
Calls the last goods on the shelf, indicating interest.
There are the dying smiles that echo no goodwill
Upon the naming of a price-below-purchasing;
There are the hungry laughters at the teeth of the buyer
Who seeks his own gains;
There are the welling-up tears that fill the eyes of the seller
Who needs the penny to live another day.

Poverty and want wears an ugly face
And gives hate a voice to echo its disdain.
Much displeasure fills the air but in business
The customer always wins.

Pain eats up my heart as I watch the transaction.
Here, survival matters- just as much as love,
But now even this is no more.
                                                      
                                                                                     Abacheke-Egbema, Imo State. January 2014