To our girls on the Girl Child Day

It is the Day of the Girl Child
So we celebrate the girl today
Yet the girl is that special a child
Whom we should celebrate everyday

That’s how I celebrate mine
I celebrate them everyday
One, two, three I sired over time
Utibe, Eme and Ama I celebrate each day

They call me Dad and I love them much
They bring me laughter, joy and anxiety
Being their father is privilege so much
Bestowed on me by Father Almighty

Therefore the debt I owe God and them
Is give the girls the care they need
To sacrifice as much I can for them
And protect my daughters, nay all girls indeed

(Written on Sunday October 11, 2015)

Some Days Like Today in Lagos

Some days like today in Lagos
You get angry, exhausted and angry again
Angry that you own a car
Angry that you drive a car
Angry that you are driven in a car
Because the traffic just won't move

So you look at the pedestrian with envy
Yes, that same pedestrian
The one you look down on always
Has suddenly been crowned the king
Some days like today in Lagos
The pedestrian is king on the road

Yet some days like today in Lagos
Even the pedestrian dreads this day
The pedestrian dreads the rain and muddy puddles
Nay the muddy puddles but the drivers
Who run over the puddles with abandon
And paint the pedestrian with dirt

So the pedestrian is no king after all
On some days like today in Lagos
Maybe I am the king after all
As I watch the confusion from my hotel room
The confusion on Lagos road dehumanises
They struggle, they shout and they scream

Some days like today in Lagos

You stay and watch and wonder
Same way we watch and laugh and wonder
Wonder at the confusion in the parliament.
Yea! Some days are like today in Lagos
Oh what a day it is to be in Lagos