AFRICANS IN MORTAL COMBAT

It all began when the pioneers of the African race cried freedom

 and freedom they fought and won it in the 60s

but the responsibilities that go with freedom eluded us all

Dictatorship, egotism and tyranny polluted good intentions

then rebellion and revolution began the mortal combat

Pity, that Africans have not succeeded in managing their own affairs

 as Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed in 1957

 that the African is capable of managing his own affairs

Coup d’état of all kinds have desecrated our innocent land

Now Africans, like the war between Trojans and the Greeks

we have destroyed the land

we have destroyed the unity and the trust among us

Oh you immortals of Mount-Olympus

sometimes you come to side with either the Greeks or the Trojans

Jupiter, sovereign Lord of life and death

granted defeat or victory to either side according to his wish

 for the fate and destiny of mankind were in his hands

Sometimes the immortals help stop the war

and other times they sit and watch mortals in deadly combat

Ah, it is said history repeat itself

 symbolically in modern times it is the government in power

 and the forces of revolution and rebellion that engage in war

Sometimes these powerful nations

symbol Olympian gods instigate and fuel the war

 sometimes they watch, and other times they come down to stop the war

Oh Africa, why do you succumb to the influences of these modern gods

and make our land a burning bush

I see in my minds eye, each head of state holding symbolical fire with the rebels

 then lighting a flame of aggression, rebellion and war

Every part of Africa is under siege

 the flame, burning with fierce rage

but those who feel obligated to quench the burning bush seem far away

See, how they are carrying buckets of water, running with vigorous speed,

yet they are not near enough to save us now

The Mandela’s, Desmond Tutus, and the Kofi Annans

 are fighting relentlessly to reach the burning bush,

 to quench the fires raging in Somalia, Angola, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, etc, etc.

Oh, Oh, but these gods up there are fuelling these sentiments and wars

instigating brother against brother

supplying ammunition's in exchange for gold or diamond

 which are the resources of the poor countries.

You gods behind the universal declaration of human rights

the very authority behind the convention on the rights of children

Hmm, Africans, let us esteem our own rights and dignity

Let us stopping the brutal wars.

Libya and Burkina Faso, oooh you are a surprise

 you have fuelled civil wars, rebellion and coup d’e’tat

 bringing misery and emotional turmoils to many innocent people

So, you have signed pact with the devil

to join the death squad

 rendering your country, a base for training rebels and commandos

You, who have consolidated yourself for more than 10years

 know that you are members of the death squad

 trying to twist the laws of the land to further your reign

but as faith decrees, no man can escape his destiny

In the late 1970s some self-proclaimed saviours

 cunningly killed the most valiant and renowned army generals

Killed them to maintain a sound security for themselves

but after 20 years they are afraid to face their own shadows

 which has become a dog in the manger

the dweller of the threshold

you must know there is no escape of ripe fate

After the Great War

both Greeks and Trojans realized they have devastated their cities

lost the most valiant kings and brave warriors

some who survived, such as Odysseus

wandered in foreign lands for many years

why do we greedily kill and destroy ourselves, Africa?

Remember, unity is strength.

In memory of all the innocent and vulnerable people

who lost their lives during civil wars and coup d'etat

The poem was written in 2004