Where Are They Now? Poem by Haruna Garba

That Mali which swallowed Ghana
And Songhai that swallowed Mali
Where are they now
Except they had done the animal things


That Sundiata and those Mansas
Where are they now
And what game did they play
Except that barbaric hobby of men

That Hitler hurly-burly, that ‘Nam norm
What fruits were reaped?
Nought, except inter-arsons across seas

That Osama oath, that Saddam sadness
Which ailment did it cure?
None, except another moonshot of a kind

That Ghaddafi gag, that twin-Sudans' sunder
Which grieves have they soothed?
None, except many more anew


Be not ambitious O Africa
Keep to your true status
And be the mother of the raw
For robot making isn't thine at all

Where are the first triers?
Where are their casualties?
And where are their veterans?
Yet how far are we in original tech?