by Soyombo Ayomikun
The beeps of a pulse oximeter
Deathly hisses of oxygen from intranasal tubes
Gnawing of a suctioning machine
My latest reality in the emergency room
With anger I daily commute
Frequency of 1 passenger every 3 hrs
Daily income of 1000 naira
Out of which with 600 naira I fill the tank
One wife and three children
My cohorts in a battle against poverty
Daily bouts of blows fro hunger & illnesses
There’s no single morning when I just don’t mount my okada in anger
Why shouldn’t I skid beneath a trailer
Why shouldn’t I speed thoughtlessly around
Luckily speeding may get me to the next passenger faster
One whose bones I may break around the corner…God knows
Then those foolish policemen
As vultures daily lurking around
Squeezing 50 and 100 nairas off my hand
Perhaps I should crash into one soon crushing his tibia
I even heard about the government
Screaming at me to go buy a helmet
Cranial pots whose worth will fill my okada’s tank for a week
Feeding my family for some days
Government that doesn’t even know my name
That can’t imagine my pains
That keep inflaming my anger with silly ‘gay laws’
Till I crash on the highway breaking skulls & bones
But now my country’s insensitivity is killing me
As I’m even reacting foolishly & blindly
Maybe it’s high time I awoke
To responsibilities as a man of honour
I will embrace patience
I will eschew anger
I will see my country as the weaker vessel
If I ever wake up from this coma
Anger still drives several Nigerians
Anger driving commercial drivers,motorcyclists,pilots,everyone
Towards a government that can’t enrich our pockets
Resulting poverty breaking our homes,health & bones following accidents
Let us instead feast on this anger till we conceive dreams
May we pursue the dreams till we stumble on gold
May we use our gold to rescue those still hurting
Humble thoughts to Nigeria from a poor okada man
Dr. Soyombo Ayomikun works at the Omotosho Power Plant in Ondo State. He tweets from @alabaster85. He can be reached at [email protected].
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
