Extortion And Fraud Poem by Okoemu Okoemu Okoemu

What a god of my fathers?
Whom I sacrificed just a little
Blood of a fowl or of a goat
Seven alligator pepper
Seven white chalk
A mashed yam
For Orakpe and Orionmhon
For Ani and Obatala
For Ogun and Sango
Bottles of fanta and coconut
For olokun
For protections, guidance and
Abundant blessings.
My gods
Those fetish gods!
What kind of gods demands
blood to protect his own
And tell his own not to
eat this harvest until he says so
And outcast his own from the rest
Merely because he did evil
Against him and mankind
What a wicked god!

Denounce him... denounce them
All sacrifices have been paid for
Just profess Jesus and you save
Salvation is from the cross
Jesus has paid the price
You are now free
You won't pay anything again
Come to church!

Boom!
Church here i come
Is it not me?
Is it not we
Who want everything free?

What is free?
Yet i must pay offerings
And give thanksgivings
with all i have for the Lord
is owner of everything
I must pay one tenth every moon
Else devourers will be upon me
I must contribute to
the support of my pastors
Even when I have none
Contributing to my own support.

I must celebrate my bishop
On his birthday, ordination anniversaries
Everything with nothing but money

I did not build for Ogun
But I must build for the Lord
No one asked when am I going
to be a landlord
Whereas, in those days
Everyone used to help everyone
to build and to plant
And everyone will be fine.

Obatala outcast me
For killing my neighbour
For robbing the blind
And you said he was wrong
Now you excommunicated me
For disagreeing with papal roman
For cursing Daddy G.O
Who insulted my father
Who is old enough to be his father

You said this God was better
than my fathers' gods
Yet, you tell me he will
send me to hell fire when i die
Because of a sin
What kind of God is this
that cannot forgive?

What salvation is free
Which prize did he pay
When I must pay stole fee
Before baptism and confirmation
Another at marriage
And at wedding i must
support the church with a project.

My gods did not milk me this way
They did not extort me this way
You want to finish me with
Second collections, thanksgiving
And more...
Children and youths harvest
Youths and adults harvest
Ahhhhhhhhhh!
Building! Building! And
Buying! Buying!
Paying!
To Chauncey
To Rome
Paying to Daddy GO
What did we owe that
we are paying for?

You didn't tell me this was it
I wouldn't have held strong to my gods.

You said praying through
Mother Emotan is evil
Yet you say i should pray
Through mother Mary.

This were not what you
Made me believe!

-Okoemu Okoemu Okoemu, The Perfect Man