By Adegunle Olugbamila
Garri, oh our garri
A friend of the masses
A stopgap during emergency
The downtrodden look up to you when famished,
And once satisfied, there is efficiency
Garri, oh our garri
You have saved lives over centuries
Dampening man’s underserved fury
You fill us like rains
That assures farmers of more gains
Garri, oh our garri
How can I forget your heroism?
I recall my years as an undergraduate
You saved the moment when our teeth grate
A ritual hustlers must daily undertake
Garri, oh our garri
Come rain or shine, it’s you we forever crave
So the family is not physically drained
You continue to relieve our alimentary crave
When others betray, you’re always there to save
Garri, oh our garri
You are the silent, unspoken, king of all menu
You dwarfed amala, semo, fufu, even pupuru
No wonder, for naija, we call you Odogwu
Your popularity alone can win election without much ado
Garri, oh our garri
When other foodstuff wear a recalcitrant garb
You resonate hope like flowers newly barbed
Stuffed in a sack, your spectacles appeals
Mothers scramble to undress you, for real
You who adorn yourself in three robes
To be boiled, soaked or eaten raw,
Your fame swirls across Nigeria
To Benin, Togo, Algeria even Ghana
Coursing many parts of Africa
You that is never exhaustive
Garri, the forever dependable
Farmers’ favourite on evening table
When other foodstuff run out,
It’s still same you we can do without
But why garri?
Why did you abandon the very people who chorus your heroism?
Just to consume you now costs a fortune
Your sudden gallivanting cost makes us fume
Only the rich now happily sing your tune
But why garri?
As you leap when immersed in waters
Same fashion now in prices which makes us wonder
Provider of First Aid against famine
Once available, we need not ponder.
But why garri?
The rich that once despise you for semovita
Now crave you like bournvita
Today, you stand shoulder high with rice
Relegating beans to the gallows, due to price
But why garri?
Since the era of Oga Bubu
You pitched tent with the rich, abandoned the poor
But after eight years came Emilokan
Yet our garium sulphate value bulges like bumbum
But why garri?
You suddenly took flight to the hollow world
Now, our tongues remain sour
To return you, a sacrifice must be made
A re-engineered economy, you crave.
Garri, oh our garri
Do not abandon us please
Read Also: Customs seizes six rifles concealed in garri sacks
To you garri, we appeal
You’ve been the last hope of common man
Once you are here, we’re eternally calm.
……………………………………….
By Adegunle Olugbamila
……………………………………………………………….
HUNGER
Bite! Bite!! Bite!!!
Says hunger
From East to West, North and South
Man’s endless phenomenon
It is you who take your shares before others
Hunger!
The Genesis and Revelation of ambition
The invisible, merciless pangs
Choker of alimentary canal,
Extinguisher of desires
Killer of dreams and creativity
Hunger!
Behold, a milky landscape fraught with famine
Drifting corpses litter the land
All cocooned in lopsidedness
Crab-like legs tiptoe to their death
Famished offspring look hopelessly
To frustrated parents that crave death, with relish
Hunger!
You are the first guest in war
Harbinger of kwashiorkor
A commonplace spectacle
That invitingly smiles at death
Hunger!
Humanity heeds your call at once
Once exasperated
Knowledge morphs into nothingness
Richness into emptiness
Ability to disability
Intelligence into doldrums
Hunger!
With you, no man can plan
With you, no holiday
Damn sabbatical!
Away recess!!
When you’re around, everyone regrets
Hunger!
When you make a call
No one rejects
Anger soaring
Temper flailing
Higgledy-piggledy
Confusion prevails
Cause unknown
Hunger!
You are the Ọ̀gàjà fọwọ́ mẹ́kẹ́
In your absence, tongues congregate for Ileya festival
Even christening, housewarming or yuletide
Teeth in constant grind to rice, grains, and swallow
But once you are home
Eyes pops out of their sockets
Mood swings from liveliness to anger
Horror, violence and fights
Rents the ambience
Hunger!
You are the terrestrial dragon
That competes with the celestial angel
Fiercely!
In man’s quest for spiritual zenith
Hunger!
A wearer of same garment night and day
You know neither tribe nor nationality
Ethnicity or religion
The spasm wears same colour
Everywhere you land
Hunger!
To none you are a friend
Before you, high and might genuflect
You who strike like thunder
Rioting the stomach like blister
Hunger!
Religion and political leaders genuflect
To your irresistible charm
To you, every mouth assembles
To a farewell feast in your honour
Hunger!
When you call
It’s so strong the mighty could not repel
You put paid to deliberations
Once the table is desolate
Brains become stale
End of discussion!
Hunger!
Away from our land
Away from our home
You harbinger of death
With you, society unsettles
Hunger!
To your benevolence we seek
So we can enjoy comfort and peace
Hunger, the world’s constant threats
May we not see your anger or wrath again.