The Staff Is Not Gold Poem by Tony Cemaluk

He did not inherit gold.
He inherited a responsibility.

He did not inherit a throne of silver.
He inherited an Ngwulu — an Obi that refused to fall.

In planting season 1974,
At six years old,
He wore his father's regalia,
And danced EzeMalukwuo,
While tears choked the drums.

They thought Oli Ekpe would take it.
Oli Ekpe met a child who stayed.

Umunna came to manage,
He said: Manage your own house first.

They came to share,
He said: Obi is never shared.
Eziama is not negotiated.

They envied the youth with the staff of authority, the Di Okpala.
He said: It is divine. It is not by age.
He would soon be older than his father was when he died.
Age is not the measure.
Responsibility is.

If the Di Okpala fails,
The compound falls.
The name survives in sorrow,
In stories that touch the heart.

The staff is not gold.
The staff is the line.

CEMALUK HAS RISEN TO STAND STRONG.