We Are Survivors Poem by Ikenna Omeje

Sabo Ngari, the abode of the Yamiris
Hit by unprovoked attacks
Leading to the transition of many
Including women and children
Into the unknown world.
The government yelled and threatened the killers
But no meaningful action was taken.

What was our crime?
Eight years later
In the Western part of the Savannah
Came the wind of destruction
Induced by envy and hatred
This time-
Thousands of the sons and daughters
From the seat of the rising sun
Were maimed, their property destroyed and killed
In cold blood
Who are the perpetrators?
The government yelled once again
But took no action.

What was our crime?
Junta of young officers
Purged the system
Through the elimination of the bad and the ugly
For the love of country
But the interpretation of the caliphate said otherwise
Leading to a pogrom.

What was our crime?
The Cambridge trained officer of the Rising Sun
In defense of his people
Declared a new state
A police action was the response
From the other side.

What was our crime?
Armoured cars and fighter jets
Machine guns and mercenaries
All mobilized for the destruction of the seat of the Rising Sun
The killings and destructions
Lasted for thirty months.

What was our crime?
Young men with no military training
Took up arms in defense of their new state
But the forces against them were innumerable.
Millions died and thousands suffered hunger
And the children- kwashiorkor.

What was our crime?
Children cried for food and water
The conquerors called them "Nyamiri"
A misinterpretation of "Yem mmiri".
It was a genocide
But we are survivors.