In ‘Umbrella & Broom,’ Mujahyd Ameen Lilo decried how Nigerians are hoodwinked with false promises that are never fulfilled by politicians

Umbrella & Broom

They came with a large umbrella.
When they spread it like a hen
Spreading her wings for her chicks,
Our land will be a heaven.
Doves would return,
Fly freely,
Sing for us.
They would cover the North East
From the eruption of Hell,
From the regular visits of vultures.
So they claimed.

And so we looked for Umbrella
On our ballot papers.
Alas! It’s themselves they covered.
Nay! The rats in them.
They tore the dignified green-white-green garb
Of our land.
They rendered us naked;
Nobody sees us with hair,
We no longer are the Giant
Of our continent.

Others now came with Broom.
They would sweep away
Our tears,
The ponds of blood
The rats created,
The things that fell apart,
The mighty mountains blocking
Our path to the Promised Land.

Kaico! They swept in! When voted,
Naira-swallowing snakes,
Dollars-guzzling monkeys,
Swept in padlocks to lock our mouths,
Swept in gorillas that split
Our emirate into pieces.
Sealed their lips while the Caliphate was decaying
Swept us off our feet.

Let’s open our eyes,
I’m afraid they might come with a Sieve next time,
And we would forget what our eloquent ones told us:
Whoever buys a sieve, knows it will not hold water.

© Mujahyd Ameen Lilo, 2019

Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim

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