SATIRE: "NIGERIA AT 66" BY HALIMAH ABDULAZEEZ

Nigeria,

O land of the bold signature,

mother who ripens her own to maturity

before they learn to murmur.

I wish you gave us a softer,

 cradle, and not a crucible.

I wish we could play across the lush, green lawns,

but only yesterday the masters

flushed your children down the belly of the mines.

Countless have served as manure,

while conglomerates procure

the lands that has grown obscure,

where a blood fertilizes pure greed.

We have practiced endurance,

and perfect indifference.

Could that be why we are insured

as collateral, mortgaged before our birth?

When shall we rest upon your turf

and be served with dignity?

Sixty-six years vanished into thin air,

yet no one is spared a little respite.

The rich dish out rice and lies,

and the wretched weigh the price

of staying nice or risk seized supplies.

Alas, same lame game, same lame blame,

a carousel of sorrow, spinning, spinning, spinning,

We are dizzy,

yet we call you home.

© HALIMAH ABDULAZEEZ 

-Nigeria.

The poem is a poignant reflection on Nigeria’s condition, expressing the poet’s disappointment with the country’s persistent social, economic, and political challenges. Nigeria is personified as a mother whose children have endured hardship, exploitation, poverty, and indignity rather than enjoying the freedom and prosperity expected after independence. Through images of mines, blood, manure, and mortgaged lives, the poet portrays how ordinary citizens and the nation’s resources continue to be exploited for the benefit of powerful interests.

The poem also criticises the widening gap between the rich and the poor, political deception, and the recurring nature of national problems. The reference to “sixty-six years” highlights the long period since independence without sufficient relief for the people. Despite their frustration and suffering, Nigerians continue to endure and remain attached to their country. The closing image of a “carousel of sorrow” captures the poem’s central idea: Nigeria seems trapped in a continuous cycle of hardship, yet remains a cherished home.