"Give Nigerians Food Not A Rebased GDP!" – Soyombo Ayomikun

Our stomachs hurt
Bleeding from the wounds of ulcer
Ulcer from prolonged hunger
As our sweats yield only pennies that can’t feed a cat
Whatever GDP means
Nigerians’ brains at the moment cannot comprehend

Please give us food
Before hunger deals the final blow
Malnutrition still roars around
Killing our children without pity
All because of a recalcitrant poverty
Plastered on our foreheads as tattoos from hell’s laser beam
Our limbs are tired
From carrying bodies deprived of nutrients

Please give us food
Before hunger deals the final blow
We’ve become faceless in our land
We’ve become homeless in our yard
You keep telling us that we’re the leaders of tomorrow
Trying to preach to us that ‘surulere’
We don’t even want to debate that again
We’ve got little energy left to argue
Please just give us a living
Before hunger deals the final blow
What’s the use of being Africa’s largest economy
When close to 70% of us are living in penury
How can we call ourselves the best
When our children roam the streets without common slippers
Our zygoma prominences lack beautiful flesh
Making us look like vampires each time we smile

Please give this vast land food
Before hunger deals the final blow
When we finally reach the top
We won’t have to blow our horns
We won’t have to be dancing around nations
Proclaiming ourselves the very best
Nations will swim to our shores
All to behold the wonders we are wroughting

For now just give Nigeria food
Before hunger deals the final blow
Ease the pains in the land
Let us see you sweat that we may live
We really don’t want a lot
A meaningful life will make us smile
Make Nigerians feel loved again
Help them forget hunger & bombs
Then we’ll scramble to understand the ‘person’ you’re calling ‘GDP’
Then Nigerians will labour to see ‘GDP’ become really fat

Soyombo Ayomikun tweets from @alabaster85

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