If I Had A Voice
If I had a voice to speak for Africa
My fatherland and that of my ancestors
I’ll gladly condemn the spate of inequities
That has gnawed deeply into our main fabric
That has gladly taken over our whole existence
Giving the impression that we lack clarity to see
Like the infant toiling to see through thick fog
Oblivious of his sight’s inability to break the mist;
If I had a voice to speak for the downtrodden
For those whose loud voices can never be heard
Above the whispers of gossips in a market stall
For those at the lowest rung of our dear Africa
From the cape of storms to the horn and the Sahara
Through to the sights of poverty on our paved streets
I’ll make many of their pockets jiggle with gold coins
And their stomachs rumble loudly with nourishment
With dignity their shoulders would proudly be raised;
If I had a voice to speak for my darling Africa
Whether for now or even for eternal times
I’d single out my forsaken Niger-Delta people
Like a jilted lover pleads for her lover’s return
I’ll plead for recompense for our spewed oil
For the degradation that came quickly after
And the spoilage our farmlands have witnessed
For the exchange of cassava with the crude oil
And the toxic they have left in our grieving minds
I would make a case for the fallen heroes of Biafra
For they are still beings from Africa’s dearest bosom
I’ll make a case for the people the war battered
The ones that has suffered untold neglect ever since
For the image that has suffered torrents of abuses
For the unappreciated contributions of a nation;
If I had a voice to speak for my dear motherland
I will speak vehemently against business as usual
I’ll ask for a strong committee of strong willed men
To probe all heads that Nigeria has ever produced
From the grim days of Gowon to Jona’s feeble era
I would not leave out the souls with soiled finger tips
I’ll speak for generations yet to come into the land
Like the beautiful ones in AyiKweArmah’s visions
Whose futures are stacked in numbered accounts
And in fat and swollen bellies of corrupt politicians
With stolen mansions jutting out of every metropolis
And many grossly untaxed littering business concerns;
If I have a voice to speak for our dear Africa
I’ll speak loudly for my unemployed young people
And for many sojourners who are far from home
Far from the golden shores of the African coasts
Whether snatched by the wicked hands of slavery
Or pushed away by the gruesome force of poverty;
If I have a voice to speak for my own people
I’ll speak of untold hardships that reigns amidst us
Foisted upon us by successive incompetent leaderships
Of men with tainted spirits and befuddled reasoning
Men whose interest lies in their agbada’s deep pockets
I would never be held down by the tentacles of fear
I would rather speak my voice hoarse to be heard
Than still the voice of my heart’s yearning sorrow.
By Christopher Okonkwo
From: Nigeria