I sat down
From dawn to dusk
My eyelashes had refused to come together. Are they in chaos?
My mouth refuses to move,
but my mind keeps saying things of pain.
Life was fun
Life was easy
Life was interesting
Full of nature and pleasure
Beauty and a flawless society it was.
Mother and daughters in the hut
Father and sons in the farm
Path renovated with legs
Healthy and stable
Naked but not abashed.
Fresh food from the farm
There was unity and faith
Peace and progress were the real definition of life
Children under the moonlight
Listening to folktales from elders
Gone are those days of happiness
At a twinkle of an eye
Everything changed
They changed our culture
Oh, intruders!
I pledge to Nigeria, my country
Where the populace were once in slavery
Oh Nigeria! Where is thy freedom?
Where is thy liberty?
Can there be?
The fear of the economy
The abuse of women
The pain of parents
The agony of enslavement
The violence of forced labour
Production of work of gold mines
The diamond and coal
In return for miserable wages
Working tirelessly to farm for them
But what do we get?
The injustice leading to killing
The torment that become our costume
Our march to freedom is irreversible
The fear that stood in our way
Freedom!
Abode of cold
The unpleasant happened
The disease of pain and displeasure
The light, the deem light
The translucent future
The journey on the plantation was a “helly” one
Holes decorated on our lips
Chains to fashion our legs
Voyage to Atlantic was dreadful
We never knew we would lose some to the sea
The 15th century got the population diminished
The highest number was harboured
Women in their childbearing years
Men ready to start their family
Working on the tobacco and sugarcane plantation
Working on our own land
With no iota of weariness
Looking under the breezy abode
With weak bones and dead muscle
Buried in imagination, just to be like them
To lie like them
Nature air that invites pleasure
Sweet sounds of nature from everywhere
Atmosphere that cures all worries
There they are in our place enjoying the pleasure of nature
Weep for the pain of Africa
Free from tears
Free from pain
Free from fear
Free from killing
Let us make the light that illuminate our past,
And the key that unlocks the future
History has made it crystal clear
Caught under the authority of the square control
Thanks to Joseph cinque
Only through determination
And total sacrifice
Can freedom be won
Through cooperation and diligence
Can liberty be gained
Oh Africa!
Where is thy source?
Africa, where is thy pride?
Africa, where is thy future?
Africa, oh Africa!
Freedom is coming tomorrow, ALUTA CONTINUA, VICTORIA ACERTA!