Things are not standing well …
To say things have fallen apart,
or may never have stood well,
might sound like one is susceptible to melodramatic exaggeration
or on another deliberate round
of discourse on outpouring grievances.
But indeed, things are not standing well,
we might jokingly ascribe these misfortunes to our village people,
whom we often give the credit of remote controlling events we cannot puzzle out,
By pushing blames off ourselves, hoping we see pennies and pick them up,
we try to ease them our hearts from the shame so all day we can have good luck
This is not the Nigeria we were promised
This isn’t the country we sang for
At morning assemblies and devotions
Our hands straight by our sides in school uniforms
This is not the Nigeria.
We are losing it by the passing day,
Losing lives within and without the borders of our beloved nation
The economy is collapsing on us like a poorly drilled well,
And terrorism, Boko haram, Ruga, arrest of peaceful protesters,
Rape and injustice, poor infrastructures and educational amenities,
Issues in episodes rising from religiousness, ethnicism and a sick political system
has left indelible scars on our hurting hearts,
and our once upright, erect patriotism and chauvinism
is lacking energy and going flaccid.
Sustenance is not in our culture,
Unless it is a bad habit or torture
Unease and trouble are in the air Nigerians breathe
As they keep enduring pervasive corruption teeth,
A roller-coaster of government instability,
Religious violence, rank inequality,
Dire health issues and crushing poverty.
Even with the decadence,
We cannot deny that most Nigerians are perfectly honest people with sense
That just have to live with the sleazy bullshit around them
Which has crumbled their reputation home and abroad, here and there
Pointing out now, as always, that Ịfe amarọ kwụrụ.
And with great astonishment people wonder
How come Nigeria is the world’s happiest nation
It’s either because we are super religious wandering in its delusional disorder,
Or we have an unusual natural level of optimism and perception
Unsolicitedly proving to the world that happiness is completely a mindset And not
about an ever blossoming external environment.
I saw the picture above a few years ago around years 2015 or 2016 and had saved it. It’s painfully amusing how it portrays the state of the Nigerian justice system, as well as other arms of the government – not standing well…Falling down…Fallen apart.
Things are not standing well is quite the closest literal translation to the expression, Ịfe amarọ kwụrụ, which is a dialectal expression in Igbo language, language of one of the major tribes in Nigeria, that can be used to describe the awkward and embarrassing state/condition of a matter.
Originally uploaded in September 30, 2019
