Southern Zaria: Nigerian Aleppo.

Southern Zaria:

Nigerian Aleppo?

With hands on jaw and
teary eyes gazed at celestial
heavens,
binoculars-sent on holidays,
telescope-he refused to date-
champagne-he spurned with disdain,
this night-he scorned the chirping of
birds-
just away from his abode.

Wailing, wailing, and wailing
inconsolably for innocent souls
murdered,
rhetorically-he asked,
Southern Zaria-what did you do?
Southern Zaria-what is your offence?
Southern Zaria-what did these
vampires and leeches see
in your blood?

Your blood they shed at will,
from day to day,
week to week,
month to month,
year to year,
they hunt you down in homes,
at schools-your children-
they gun down,
in sanctuaries-and-hallowed
places,
your blood they spill to
paint their lances and
sword red.

Oh! Southern Zaria-
why weeping for wasted souls
by good-for-nothing-
merchants of death and
tool-bearers of violence
every time,
instead of celebrating you.

Motherhood-the callous-
deprived mothers,
husbands-messengers of violence-
snatched away from their wives,
escaped and fortunate fathers
they turned undertakers
to arrange burials of
their massacred kids.

Fatherhood-these murderers-
denied fathers,
joy of parenting-
people without
heart-of-human
denied parents;
dreamers and future-of-nation,
tomorrow’s physicians, engineers,
teachers, scientists, bankers,
governors, even presidents,
bearers of violence and
freebooters encapsulated and
killed.

Southern Zaria-home of
legendary Queen Amina-
why have misanthropists make
you a slaughter home in
hands of “foreign” herdsmen-
whose passport and visa to
kill are their flocks?

Elders-and-fathers-of-the-land,
“ex this or ex that”
why maintaining a criminal
silence,
but grunt from behind
the curtains in your inner rooms?

Fathers-of-nation,
may Nigerians know why
bandits get protection and cover
from state security agencies to
unleash terror on citizens and
tax payers?

Fathers-of-nation,
may Nigerians know why
people’ patrimony or
collective inheritance
turns automated teller
machine to pay
bloodsuckers and
desert raiders?

Fathers-of-nation,
why looking elsewhere-
when Southern Zaria turned
execution chamber?

Why preoccupied with

“Christmas Carol” and
“Nigeria Pray”
when storm troopers
painted Southern Zaria red
in its blood?

Fathers-of-nation,
why expressing
“ran-ka-de-de”
with fisted-or-hand-raised-
clenched-arms,
“Merry Christmas,” and
“Happy New Year”
when Southern Zaria was on fire?

Today, it is Southern Zaria,
tomorrow, it may be Jos, Markudi,
Gboko, Enugu, Owerri, Calabar,
Port-Harcourt,
Ibadan, Akure, Osogbo, or Ilorin.

In spite of thick cloud,
none the less of torrential rain,
notwithstanding the scorching
sun, and
regardless of pain of the moment,
Cry No More Southern Zaria,
Weep No More Southern Zaria,
your future will be more
glorious than TODAY.