October First Poem by Dr Igbinedion Obaretin

Another October first in the capital,
In all the jungle cities
And in the ever richly impoverished oil villages;

His voice echoed steadily, the big man
The democratic king of the jungle, sending
Waves across the rivers, meeting

At the heart of the nation
Where the current swayed hopes
As it was last October first;

River Niger bubbled,
River Benue answered
In thunderous sinister voices;

There is no difference between them,
In the capital they converged, singing
The burial song of our great nation;

She has celebrated again
Her freedom from alien protection,
Yet in the darkness of her backwardness;

The big man lies were not relayed on radio?
What happened to Mr. DJ?
Why has he neglected his sacred duties?
Should I wait for answers?
It has always been the same:

Power failure!
No fuel in the black and white markets,
No fuel to power the gen,
The malnourished candle gave up the ghost at midnight
And your aching head lowered on the table
Amidst the bites of the angels of death,
The irritating noise bullying the ears
Like the plain clothes officers of the big man, sniffing
Here and there, hunting down
The valiant asking for freedom
And the peoples' right to survival.