Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people....

Of a dream and a cake

Somewhere, in the land pushing westwards
A set of pioneers landed on new shores
Freedom fighters, birthed a new country
In the land of the Stars and Stripes
A nation’s founding fathers birthed a dream
The American dream they called it
A dream to build a free country
With opportunity and prosperity for all
This dream they have nurtured
Jealously, with great sacrifice and integrity
Down the generations
Till they built a prosperous nation
Envy of all other nations on earth
A free society where their ‘poor’
Would match the ‘rich’ of other countries

In another clime, down the Sahara
In the land of the Green White Green
A nation discovered a gift of God
A precious gift tucked away under the earth
A free gift from God to free their generations
To free them from the clutches of poverty
But they called it a national cake
A cake they have selfishly shared
Plundered, looted, pillaged
Satisfying the greed of a few
Condemning the generations of many
To the wicked torture of endless poverty
They have built a nation
Where hunger, sickness and despair
Has become the hallmark of their nationhood
Despite the free wealth, God has given them

Such amusing irony under the face of the sun!
One nation birthed a dream
A righteous dream and righteously pursued
A dream that has brought them cake
Indeed fruitfulness and plenty to their land
Another nation birthed a national cake
A cake consumed in the greed of a few
A cake that has destroyed their dreams
Their dreams of a prosperous nation
What an irony!
An irony that causes deep pain in my heart
And in the heart of many Naija brothers

This is a clarion call
To every man of the Green White Green
To take an audit
An audit of our great losses as a people
On the altar of greed and pilferage of a few
Say, we need not loans from the IMF
We need not help from the World Bank
Nor charity from every NGO around the world
Say, what we need is inwards
A radical revolution of values

Let us birth a new dream
With accountability and integrity
We can beat even The American dream
For it is a gift of God in every people
The potential to be the greatest
Not anymore should a thousandnaire
Become Local Government Chairman
And leave a millionaire
And our people celebrate it
Rather he should be made to give account
Of his ill-gotten wealth
To the people first and then to God
Nor should a millionaire become Governor
And leave a billionaire
And his people roll out the drums in praise
For this is the bane of our collective prosperity

We must renew our values as a people
Only then can we achieve our dreams
Then we can leave cake, bread and plenty
For our coming generations
And the future can look back into the past
And say ‘Our fathers were great men’
For they have bequeathed us
An enviable Nigerian dream.

Dedicated to Dejaide, he made me realise how fallen I was....

The taunt that saved Isreal

Once, the children of God sinned
After other gods they went
Their first love they ignored
Jehovah, their king
Who took them to the land promised
In His holy anger
He sent them on a journey
To the land of the heathen
Bound in chains and locks
God’s people held in slavery
In the land of heathen gods
In torture, in pains, in suffering
Until the heathen taunted them
By the rivers of Babylon
The pagan taunted them
Asked them to sing a song
The Lord’s song in a strange land
Then the children of God wept
For they could not sing the Lord’s song
In the shrines of pagan gods
In the pain of their taunts
They repented
They remembered their first love
Jehovah, their king
And he saved them, he rescued them
He restored them back
To the land of their fathers

Once lived a mighty man
On whom was the spirit of God
With the spirit upon him
He lifted a city’s gates up a hill alone
He tore a lion in pieces as a kid shreds paper
He destroyed an army with an ass’ jawbone
Yet a Philistine daughter of eve was his bane
Say, in the laps of a harmless maiden
A mighty man’s strength was as nothing
His enemies caught up with him
Out went his eyeballs, off went his power hair
In the shrine of their gods they made him sport
Jeering, booing, taunting him
Fallen was God’s mighty man
In the pain of their taunts
He repented and prayed to his God
In one last final heave
Down went the age long temples of Dagon
Down went Samson the strong man
Down went a whole generation of the heathen
In the pain of the heathen’s taunts
His destiny was fulfilled
For a greater number he slew in death
Than he did in his entire lifetime

See how thou hast fallen, oh son of grace!
At a costly price you were purchased
For one lay down his life for your soul
Thine salvation thou hast toyed with
Thine apparel thou hast soiled
In the company of the heathen
Thou hast found solace
And now, thou are as one of them
For they welcomed you in their midst
But now they boo you, they jeer you
Say, they taunt you saying
‘See thine apparel is stained
And thou are as one of us
Fallen thou art,
For thine salvation thou hast lost
And now we are both alike’

Rejoice not over me!
I am not as one of you
If I fall yet will I rise
If I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be my light
I will bear His anger
For I have sinned against him
He will restore me
I shall yet behold his righteousness
With his precious blood shed
He has washed clean my apparel
My shame he will take away
For he shall cover me in his holy wings
He shall be my God always
Though he slay me
Yet will I follow Him
For He alone is the essence of living
I shall not fear to go back to Him
His banner over me is love
Now, always and forever