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BURNING POT BY PRINCE CHARLES DICKSON, PH.D.
Which Nigeria is Changing…?
So, being the religious country that we are, I sat in the sitting, and asked my wife...Was Fela born again, what inspired his music, (I mean his lyrics)...is he in heaven...can we safely call him a prophet...I mean Simply throw questions at the woman, and moreso, she had the companion of her cousin, abi na nephew sef...
As they both tried to answer my questions, I reflected on Reuben Abati's review of Benson Idonjie's personal effort at unraveling the legend called Fela. And I just could not get my mind off Fela's "Army Arrangement", and embedded in it is my admonition for this week...
[Chorus] One day go be one day! Those wey dey steal the money for government!
Whether you like or you no like After you hear this true talk Whether you like or you no like After you hear this true talk
[Chorus] Ge ge!
If you like e good If you no like you hang If you like e good If you no like you hang If you hang you go die You go die for nothing We go carry your body go police station You die wrongfully
Ge ge, ge ge, ge ge...
Ju'di, ju'di, ju'di Ju si le Ju'di, ju'di, ju'di
Whether you like or you no like After you hear this true talk...
Twenty-two women dey suffer him no fit talk na condition Man dey suffer him fit talk na condition too Man dey suffer him no fit talk na condition Man dey suffer him fit talk na condition too
Suffer dey Africa, pa pa ra pa I suffer dey, pa pa ra pa Condition dey e, pa pa ra pa Me I no say you be African man And we dey suffer, pa pa ra pa Which condition you dey I don't know The condition me I dey me I know My condition don reach make I act
If your condition today make you shake And you still dey not talk the way you feel Make you open your two ears very well To hear the truth talk me I dey talk Listen make you dey agree for me Every day and night you dey hear me talk One day you self you agree with me To dey act the way as you dey feel Remember if you no act your own One day of course we must die
Nigeria get the money Foreign money for oversea Nigeria get the money Foreign money for oversea Announcement start to happen Newspaper carry them paper Radio dey shout for studio Obasanjo turn vocalist Yar'Adua road manager Every government statement Seven billion naira missing Missing from oversea Foreign currency scandal Them start to arrest everybody o
E no finish, e no finish...
Doctor, lawyer, hustlers Engineer, photographers Doctor, lawyer, hustlers Engineer, photographers All of them Kirikiri Ten to fifteen years in jail After one year inside jail Civilian government take over Them release all of dem Them say dem be innocent o
E no finish, e no finish...
Two-point-eight-billion naira Oil money is missing Two-point-eight-billion naira Oil money is missing Them set up inquiry Them say money no lost o Them dabaru everybody Supervisor Obasanjo Them say make him no talk o "Money no lost," them shout again Inquiry come close o
E no finish, e no finish...
Election story nko Obasanjo plan am very well Election story nko Obasanjo plan am very well Him take old politicians Wey rule Nigeria before The same old politicians Wey spoil Nigeria before Obasanjo carry all of them All of them dey there now
E no finish, e no finish...
[Chorus] Yeah!
The young Africans them get two ears for head Them get two eyes too Them dey see the thing wey dey happen Them dey hear am too Few people dey fat with big money And the rest dey hungry Me Fela, I challenge Obasanjo Na wayo him dey all the time Make him carry me go any court I go open book for am Na wayo government we dey o E gba mi o Na weak government we dey o Ye paripa o Na paddy paddy government we dey E gba mi o
[Chorus] Yeah!
We give money Paddy paddy Arrange ni Wayo wayo Economic We give money Paddy paddy Wayo wayo
[Chorus] Army arrangement!
Add am together, give me the answer Give me money, add am together Paddy paddy, add am together Economic, add am together Division or multiplication Mathematician, put am together One answer you go get One answer you go get
Give me money, put am together Wayo wayo, put am together...
Several decades after, it's is 2016, and we are still embattled with each other on Ben Bruce who was singled out for owing...big men and their problems. Donkey years, which include 16 years of democracy or demonstration of craze as Fela once put it, I still hear supposedly, schooled Nigerians wail..."Buhari should open the borders so that food can come in."
We are still doing an open and close dance, Henry Okay did not escape from Kure, there was a jail break but no one escaped, meanwhile it’s Charles in Kuje not Henry…Chief of army staff saved money to buy two houses in Dubai so says the Nigerian Army, and the dude has not resigned, although the questions should be did he break any rule? Reminds of the man that told us that his house was burnt but he managed to save the mattress--all army arrangement
We are still basically the wailing wailers, the hailing wailers, the wailing hailers, truth is in Fela’s lyrics “the same old politicians wey spoil Nigeria before…all of them dey there now, rather than a strong nation with an unquestionable sense of patriotism, we are still Biafrans, Arewans, Oduans, and others, we remain Christians and Muslims, who patronage idols more than the worshippers of the idol, and yet we want change. I dare say we are simply not ready, or are we—Only time will tell |