HOME FOR ALL

Fr33zinPaul receiving Best Performer of the Day Award at #SOSPoetrySlam 2.0

Here is Njoku Paul Chibuke Henry (Fr33zinPaul)'s award winning poem, earning him not just the Best Performer of the Night Award at #SOSPoetrySlam2.0 but the rave of the moment and the champion of that slam, held in the suburbs of Oshodi, Lagos-Nigeria on August 19, 2017. He eventually won the slam after a stiff competition and a tie with Lawal Kafayat Gold (LKG) at the closing round. This particular piece was not too embelished with plenty of metaphors and consonance as other slam winning poems. His play on words was amazingly beautiful, performance was apt, modulating his voice as each line dictates, from accentuating in different Nigerian languages to causing the audience to chant his stage name.....then a well-deserved standing ovation, earning a perfect score of ten (10) each from our three (3) watchful judges; Kemistree Bakare, Clemency Green and Paul Word,...

Few years ago, when I was being led.

My landlord spoke to my father, he said

"Okunrin yi, What is wrong with your head?

I have told you that your presence in my premises permits no presence for peaceful sleep in my bed.
Didn't you notice the quit notice and why have you decided to stay instead?.

See, my house is not Anambra state o, it is not a home for all, so take your filthy family away or next time, wo, ma pe olopa fun yin!"

I watched my father's dejected face with his

back against the wall, like he and my landlord just

had a fight of *gidigbo. Unfortunately, we were chased

Out of that house because he was Yoruba and we were Ibos.

Years later, I have grown to become a man

But I am still that child, that child living in a country,

A Country that is like a nice cuisine and tribalism is the order of the day.

The last time I used my tongue to count my teeth,

They were thirty two, lesser than the number of states we have yet

each tooth is as important as the other tooth so why

Do we think each stage is not as important as the other states?

Right now, the only state I am in is a confusion state because I seem not to relate to the hate that we create.

If Bola wants to get married to Akpan,

Like the fuel price, eye brows will rise because they are not from the same state.

To seek a school of choice or a location to serve our fatherland,

We hesitate.

No wonder, my country's leaderSHIP is capsizing because tribalism navigates.

When do we stop seeing ourselves as Antonyms?

Could we take a moment and acknowledge the fact that we are Synonyms and despite our differences,

We still look alike, still act alike.

Despite our differences, can we just be Homonyms and not Antonyms?

For together, we are one people, fun people, good people and great Nation.

Our motto should not be what we drive but what drives us and what drives us is that we accept no mediocrity for we are the centre of excellence.

Nigeria does not need to be Islamized for like Sokoto in our Shokoto,

We are the seat of the caliphate.

We are God's own state, we live by faith.

The light of the world; the Sunshine State.

The world should get ready for a smooth SAIL on our leaderSHIP because like Yobe,

The young shall grow and our young have grown to become the pacesetters.

We are the land of hope;

We are IMO,

Through us they see the future.

We are the salt of the Nation,

The people's paradise,

The food basket of the world,

The home of hospitality.

We are the definition of charity and it is insanity to think that a home for all belongs to a particular entity.

Home for all is not Anambra,

Home for all is not Niger Delta,

Home for all is not Oduduwa,

Home for all is not Arewa,

Home for all is not Biafra,

Home for all is not that far.

Home for all is within us,

A place for no more loss.

Home for all is in our hearts and the earlier we realize that,

The earlier we don't tear ourselves apart.

Home for all is Nigeria.

N.B. "Gidigbo" is an  African wrestling fight where the loser is judged by whose back touches the ground.

"Okunrin Yi"  in Nigerina language (Yoruba), meaning  "This man"

"Wo, ma pe olopa fun yin" is likewise a Yoruba phrase, meaning "see, I will call the police to arrest you"

©Njoku Paul Chibuike (Fr33zinPaul)