An African Student At An American University Poem by Tom MuyungaMukasa

We shall buckle up and some of you will ride shot-gun,
my professor cautioned,
it is a random act,
said another professor from another class,
y'all should have your grades by now,
so thorough and erudite,
my professors,
a reality,
I kept on thinking would come slowly,
struck me,
this time via an auditory stimulus,
almost knocked off my feet,
as we changed,
from one class,
to another,
a seemingly,
calculated abruptness,
followed by a perfunctory sorry,
no eye contact,
but that is not common too,
Holy sh..! Exclaimed a voice,
what would have glorified excreta?
my mind is in askance overdrive,
What the hell! Shouted an excited classmate,
OMG!
Rebutted a rainbow girl at a far corner,
another girl on bended knee,
Yes!
Yes! Said the rainbow girl,
to the bended knee,
an animated conversation ensued,
it was spurred on by this latest news byte,
even that did not make it,
as far out as the door threshold,
Deja vu!
You will present powerpoints,
on selected African countries,
I give you up to a week,
an assignment for a Politics class,
end of second year,
the first student,
a blonde shock of hair,
vociferously points out,
Guinea Bissau,
is one of the poorest countries,
the army and politicians are,
involved in illegal drug trade,
in Kenya,
the recent elections,
took a second round,
for the final vote,
to be counted,
South Africa's government,
has just impeached a president,
blame it on corruption,
Tanzania,
is displacing the Masai
off the Serengeti ancestral lands,
low voter turnout in this African country,
government repressions in another,
corruption this..corruption that...,
my ears are in pain,
all this assault,
for starters,
hundreds of years,
of Portuguese hegemony in Africa,
tinged with Fascism,
followed by,
the Afrolocaust,
in Congo,
millions killed by a King,
Leopold of Belgium,
the deliberate reorganization,
of Africa,
to feed the bullion vans,
of the west,
the political machinations,
of Bretton-Woods institutions,
the despots,
who are,
marionettes,
in my Politics class,
the majority conclusion was of,
a dark irredeemable Africa,
this is still the uncontested motif,
setting the stage,
for a saving litany,
the diagnoses,
like crammed,
religious verses,
skirted,
the deliberate extraction,
of mineral resources,
and,
justified it as necessary,
'treaties and agreements must be followed'
established another,
a handful factored in the long,
drawn years of depletion,
corruption this..corruption that...,
An African student at an American university,
ears buzzing but reason a steady foothold,
changes defy predictability,
oblivious of how,
seasons have changed in Africa,
anarchy and floods in Somalia!
cyclone sagar in the Horn of Africa,
tornado force winds and torrential rains,
millions displaced,
non existent disaster response infrastructure,
Djibouti and Somaliland,
two governments,
can barely maintain,
one helicopter to assess the damage,
drought combined with conflict,
severe food insecurity,
famine and displacement,
all this despite of,
Turkey, Chinese, French, and US,
military bases in the Horn of Africa,
farming knowledge passed down,
for generations is now obsolete,
El Nino and La Nina impact Africa,
an exacerbation of extreme weather,
rivalries nursed with band aid,
of political privileges and other promises,
elections mostly going through the motions,
'to please the English'
but un addressed are,
the brutal barbs of fascism,
laid threadbare the core of colonies,
the pulverizing blows of,
capitalism bent on strip mining,
any form of resource,
corporate companies run,
unencumbered in colonial Africa,
the only cordial respect,
as laid down,
at a Berlin conference,
without,
consulting Africans,
predatory,
business contracts,
ensuring,
exploitation,
without reinvestment,
mirrors,
scripture and ornaments,
are exchanged,
for country-size lands,
waterways,
and airspace,
thus,
became the story of Africa,
extraction,
exploitation and depletion,
of iron and people,
grand cities,
boulevards and housing estates,
are not built,
but more iron,
fish, trophies and people,
are readied for trade,
one traffic light towns,
in return,
the only inheritance passed down,
subsequent generations,
Post Colonial Africa,
in an effort to put all this behind,
can reclaim a sense of order,
but,
the language of trade,
and international relations,
for witless africans,
is so mind boggling,
those at the helm,
are yet to grasp,
the meaning of change,
weather is no longer,
part of the folklore,
passed down from generations,
cereal harvests and,
water levels,
are no longer predictable,
colonies of governable urbans,
are overwhelmed by sheer,
population sizes,
the urbanites are,
no longer,
opening doors,
Africa has become,
a strange place for inhabitants,
So,
next time you talk about Africa,
do not leave out this story,
An African student at an American university,
we all need to do something,
some do what they have to do,
others do what they want to do,
there are those,
who do what they ought to do,
then there are those,
who do what they are,
meant to do,
Africa should not be a fish,
judged by its ability to,
scale a tree,
An African student at an American university.