Journey To Abuja Poem by Michael Eziudo

I went to Abuja
A generous beautiful dome of the sane and the insane
All in their best marketing packages, men!
Unlike Lagos where mad is spelt as M.A.D
Everything and everyone here
Wears a beauty ware
The best two types you can get
Fake and real
And even prices are living to meet up the standards

Seven of them are there
They who made it
Those who faked it till they made it
Them who stole to make it
They who are making it
Those who are still stealing to make it
Them who are still faking to make it
They who'll never make it

They put their ideas to work
Remained determined and not letting go focus
And packaging was the finishing of the baked dream
Now they're made
Of their sweat, diligence and godfulness

They bought 1k shoes and wore the pair like it's 20k
Starched their second of the only two shirts and ironed
Used mixture of four 2h perfs to smell expensive
And wore more of honeytongue mouths
And kept meeting with the them who made it at those' preferred joints
And gave them a piece of the honeytongue mouths
That made them begin with taking up bills for the dinner appointments
But proposals are the deals
And packagings are the strategy
And the rest is story

It was a sale of black sellotaped wood or metal
With an attached wire
And swore it could get international TV channels
And you were believed and it was bought
But it never worked
For it was just a wood
And there's a graduation into picking pockets, collecting bags
And small generators from neighborhood to sell
For quick money
Soonest, that resulted in calling the Uber guy with unapplied number
Took him to unknown place
Maybe killed to get the car
Or sold fake properties with fake documents to several people
And eventually by hook and crook
Newest rich guy in town appears
Or by agreeing to go with him to that hotel
After the sumptuous dinner he took up the bill
And there in the room he's drugged
And wallet with ATM card follows
One he trusted enough to give the pin
And his cash account is soon cleared
Or maybe still with honeytongue mouth he's deceived into buying the car and the house
And millions dropped into account monthly
And babe is recognised amongst the biggest in town

Wakes 4am ish daily
Barely says a prayer under breath
Study the word while on transit if the woozy head lets
Or sleep all through to the place of stop
And on the toes all through till day sets
Or even have more than one job
So it's all running here to there till the day is done
And late night in traffic jam home is sluggishly reached
It's past 10pm and bed calls
Between schedule ideas called earlier
Now no time to develope
No extra fund either to pay people to help
But getting tougher than the times call for
The dreams are birthing reality

The moment is ripe
The late gowers are the target
And whatever they have will be snatched
Belongings would be sold in black markets
Money must come
Or we take him or her
They look rich
Their families must cough out the moneys
They should be and they are kidnapped
And ransom requested
Because government is on 'To your tent O Israel' level
Account is given and money is paid
And who cares what happens next
The stress to get justice will deny one peace
O, There abounds many other means
But in the end anyway
One more rich person is upcoming

Reeking of combination of body odor, cheap makeup powder and poor hairspray for an obvious attachment
Or of masculinity with cheap roll-on and almost unkempt beards
As each walks past with brown envelope at hands
The state of optimism drives to fake eateries
Where we know babes without future ambitions take their wooers to
All that can be afforded is bottled water
But it doesn't mater
'Fake it till you make it' is the goal
And ideas are sold to over a hundred people of same level
At least eighty buys in
And contributions are made from only ten who could
And big dream will take long to materialise
But starting somewhere will ever be better

One is stopped on the road
And without legal rights
Requests for documents are made
He argues that asking for these aren't the assignments for people of this uniform
But with wickedness at heart fines are thrown
He has to pay or car is impounded
He can't go to court for serving judgement would take eternity
And if he does more his life ends for it
And news carries it and people sigh and say sorry
It ends there
Agbero does same on the express road and even traffic stops
Now you can't stop to drop off your relatives
You are doomed
Or here are pasted vacancies
One applies and is invited
One takes forever and do sleepless nights preparing for interviews
Borrow moneys to be there even earlier
Alas! It's network marketing
They had been victims, their moneys are trapped
Now they want yours to get back theirs so you too will be trapped
And the circle continues
Many more line up on the queue of injustice for sheer wicked heart
Like the loan providers that charge outrageous interest rates and more
States of maltreatment because there's a position and power
And because the government is a toothless bulldog
Them all in that field
Will go nowhere close the ladder of riches as far as humanity lives
Poverty will befriend them always

More than that meets the eyes
More than that words can say
Exist in my mind's diary
Of my journey to Abuja