Hunger in the deepest
parts of their stomach
with a pain in their heart,
did the people sing?
One nation bound in freedom
Peace and unity they sang
more like a plea, it was
Oh the national anthem
To serve my father’s land,
with love and strength and faith
My strength, a weakness it
becomes. My fathers land
I do serve with pain.
How can one nation be
bound in freedom, peace, and
unity? When the other tribe
sees the other as inferior.
What peace is there?
when weapons and all
arms are put to work for
an unjust cause.
What peace is there?
when like sheep’s slain are
our fellow brothers and
sister’s. What peace is there?
What freedom is there?
wherein the chains of poverty the
people are held captive.
What freedom is there?
When the voices of the people
is not heard.
Our fathers land, now
like a shirt torn apart
Our fathers land
suddenly a dream it is.
Our fathers land, weeps for redemption.
Our fathers land, cries to be
rescued. Our fathers land,
once an envy, now a torn
in the flesh. What has happened to
our fathers land?
About the Poem
Our fathers land, is a poem that portrays an actual picture of the words in the National Anthem; peace, freedom and unity being the opposite of what we see today.
The poet states that strength is now a weakness, due to the many things going wrong in the country. The poets says the land needs redemption and asks the rhetorical question of what must have happened to Nigeria.
