Thursday, September 13, 2007

THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE SERIALIZED


The Revolution will not be serialized
The Revolution will not ask you to watch out for part two
The Revolution will not have Stella crying, or Pete blinking, or Ramsey squinting
The Revolution will not have a NAFDAC number
And yet Dora will be unable to seize it or burn it
The Revolution will not be privatized by the B.P.E
So the Atikus, Dangotes, and Obasanjos can forget about owning it

The Revolution will not be monetized or be the subject of due process
The Revolution will not be redenominated so it reads like this “REVLUTIN”
The Revolution will not be announced by INEC or contested at tribunals
The Revolution will not be renovated for #682M or for any amount whatsoever
The Revolution will not be imported, adulterated and sold in jerry cans in street corners

The revolution will not be announced by a general
The Revolution will not be Newsline material
The Revolution will not be kidnapped and released for ransome
The Revolution will not lose network service, or be unable to connect to its servers
The Revolution will not be swept away by a broom, shaded by an umbrella, or forced to eat corn
The Revolution will not do the yahoozey, the suo or even galala
The Revolution will not be a contract, abandoned midway, or poorly done

The Revolution will not be made right by loaded Ghana-must-go bags
The Revolution will not pause for a public holiday or be held up in traffic so a big man’s convoy can pass
The Revolution will not need foreign investors
The Revolution will not be the brainchild of so-called academics and self-absorbed professors
The Revolution will not be marketed abroad by Andrew Young
And celebrated in Nigeria with a Yerima dance and song

The revolution will not be monitored by a government task force
The Revolution will not have a green passport
The Revolution is not imminent, it can’t be felt in the air
The Revolution will not happen in Nigeria
No, not now and certainly not here
**profuse apologies to Mr. Gil Scott-Heron for his groundbreaking poem, THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED.

29 comments:

Waffarian said...

Here I was, hoping the last sentence will be "revolution is on its way". My brother, there will be a revolution but only after all those aged 45 and over have passed on(or should I make it 40?).

Ms. Catwalq said...

I am with waffarian
se everything is kampe?

Unknown said...

nice poem. however hopefully the revolution will happen. heck we need it!!! .....

יש (Yosh) said...

[b]viva la revolution!!![/]

Admin UD said...

the revolution is neither here nor there :)

Admin UD said...

the revolution is neither here nor there :)

bighead said...

For all folks wishing for a revolution, don't wait for it cos a revolution is nowhere around the corner. by the time those that are 40 die off, there will be a new set of forty-somethings and the cycle of corruption continues.

Miss Opeke said...

Even when they are old...or dead and no more...’The Revolution will still never ensue...’
There's always a new birth of greedy people rearing their head to obstruct the ‘Revolution’ from ever happening...

exschoolnerd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
exschoolnerd said...

i was half expecting to see

"the revolution commeth soon" or something at the end...not that i think it will anytime soon..but deep down i just pray it wud.

me sef i tire!

princesa said...

Me, i shall never lose hope. The revolution must come one day...i just pray i never join papa God for heaven by then.

ozaveshe said...

fantastic poem.
but a question is - who's going to lead this revolution?

Unknown said...

@bighead na tru u talk o. We are a people possessed with complacency.

Someone suggested that if we get angry enuff then revolution will happen.But we have this amazing ability to be angry and yet see & mock d ridiculousity in it. I think dat has been our saving grace. Otherwise there is no reason dat we r not, Rwanda, Sierra Leone or Sudan.

♥♫♪nyemoni♫♪♥ said...

Bigups, bigups, bigups! I love love love this my bro...well done...But why not in Nigeria now? why not in Port Harcourt where we need it the most? WHY?

Great post!

SOLOMONSYDELLE said...

Hey, hope you are fine. Just read on BBC that the army is hitting some parts of Port hard. Take care.

Porter deHarqourt said...

@waffarian...
...it's still far off.

@catwalq...
...kampe ke?

@temirob...
...yes,ours is a hopeful generation.

@ugo...
...u no dey help matters at all o!

@yosh...
...VIVA!!

@bighead & miss opeke...
...i think we end up growing into the culture of greed and avarice. just look at how murky and bloody student union politics has become...and that is the future.

@exschoolnerd...
...let's hope it comes sooner than later, as a pleasant surprise (pleasant for some, not so for others)

@princesa...
...Amen, amen!

@ozaveshe...
...how about a charismatic young lawyer, with a name African enough to evoke memories of Nkrumah, Mandela, and Sisulu...step up sir, and lead us.

@ibilola...
...u r so right. we get angry, then we 'take it easy' then we tolerate it, then we wallow in it.

@nyemoni...
...u know i love u right? but to answer ur question, we just are not ready for it.

@solomonsydelle...
...hey thanks. it's all quiet around my way today. except for our rowdy crowd watching premiership matches.
the assault is happening far away. in some community i had never heard of until last week: OGBOGORO.

Ms. Catwalq said...

u no dey kampe?
tell me who is respnsible quick quick make I tell my guy who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who can make it look like an accident...

Anonymous said...

the revolution will not be remotely broached until i have taken my final exams.
the revolution will not be like asuu and cease my education.
the revolution may decide to go on after that.
the revolution might even have me as a voluntary advocate to/for its cause.
but till then,
the revolution will wait the hell up!

N.I.M.M.O said...

M'bros, I agree with you; the revolution will not be serialized.

@ All, the revolution we look forward to will happen in the minds. What needs to be changed is the mind of the average Naijaman and woman. And I daresay, its happening.

Its smoldering yet and will gradually build up to a fire that cannot be put out by those who no want better for Naija. Thats why the Revolution will not be televised.

Nimmo

Atutupoyoyo said...

LMAO ' The Revolution will not do the yahoozey, the suo or even galala. This is quite brilliant my guy. Every line had me smiling to myself. The thing just sums up basically the whole of contemporary Nigerian life and politics in five verses. I am with you in regards to the ending. I know some have complained that it is not optimistic but ol boy you are just being pragmatic.

All of una wey dey ready to start revolution stand to one side, the other 99.99% of una to the other side please. I am in hope but e go tay small.

badderchic said...

I said it before and ill say it again...
where has this blog been all my life?

TheAfroBeat said...

Amen to that!

the revolution will be one of the mind, precisely so we don't need to wait for (or kill off) all those over 45 to die, and so that it can begin NOW!

Carlang said...

Hi
loved the post..
loved the writing even more..
i think we all did...
so......
publish another already...

this is worse than waiting for the next season of Heroes!!

Ms. Catwalq said...

o boy update now, and u never answer my question...

badderchic said...

Respect your old age and update naaa!

Femme said...

why wont the revolution do galala or suo?

ozaveshe said...

ah ah your exam never finish? which kain exam be that one sef?

all the best, brother....

bArOquE said...

i love this...in fact lemme scream it... THIS IS GOOOOOD...my smile only got wider & wider as i read on...meanwhile, point of correction...The Revolution will not be UPGRADED (no renovated) for N682m...ride on bro...there shall be no Revolution

dScR?Be said...

I LOVE THE POEM!
BUT....
THERE WILL BE A REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!