1st of October – Nigeria’s Independence Day

Nigeria is independent, her independence already 51 years long.

And still….a distance to go

DSC02122
Green and White Pattern on 'Wax' Print Dress

I’d love to share two poems: one written by me and the other, shared with my daughter’s class (full credits to come)

#1 – ‘Nigerian Green’ with Angry Pride, Oz
Today, I am green
Green with anger
Longing for the Nigeria of old
And green with pride
Seeing Nigeria as it soon will be
 
The streets are lined with men and women
Storefronts festooned with bales of green satin
and draped with white banners
Green-white-green flags flail in the air
Stripes that promise loyalty
And honor, faith and peace
 
If Nigeria were a woman
She would be middle-aged
She would gird her loins with rich cloth
And wear her African hips with pride
Her husband would cleave unto her
And love her with careless abandon
 
She would sway with abundance
Arms lined with beads and copper
Of history and culture,
And languages and laughter
Her children would bask in her warmth
The sun ushering in its grace
 
She would do no harm
Could do no harm and
Did do no harm
But she is Nigeria, a country
My Country, Nigeria
Beloved trigger of Africa
She will take her place
 DSC02124
#2 – Nigeria, My Nigeria (credits to be provided soon)
Africa, The great land of beauty
Riches and honour
The gun of the world
But there you lie so helpless
Not as strong as you should be
Who’ll will pull your trigger
 
Nigeria, Oh my Nigeria
Trigger on Africa’s gun
When will you shoot Africa to stand up
And protect her children
 
Rise up Nigeria
Put down your load of corruption and greed
Rise up
Shoot Africa high
To stand strong 
Never to lie low
To stay awake
Never to sleep
 
We are the trigger of Africa
The Giant of Africa
Let us rise and shoot her high
To her place of dignity
Honour and Prestige

DSC02044
Traditional 'Bini' Beaded Dress, for special occassions
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]1st of October – Nigeria’s Independence Day – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]

7 Comments

  1. Thanks for your care and kind words. Celebration was fun, even without green dye in my hair! I slept…..and read a book on colour and its inspiration – that’s celebration enough, isn’t it?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.