Azania Calls

Take me !

Take me to rivers and oceans,

Take me to the Nile,

So I may fill my belly

and rinse my body in African waters.

Lead me!

Lead me to mountains and hills,

Lead me to Kilimanjaro,

So I may feed my eyes

On the vast riches of Africa.

Take me!

Take me to deserts,

Take me to Sahara,

So, that my feet may dance to the beat of the burning African soil.

Lead me!

Lead me to Soweto and Alexandria,

Lead me to Azania,

Lead me to where our captured land and stolen gold and enslaved brethren wait for me,

Lead me!

For I have swam in whale-eating oceans,

I have climbed sky-kissing mountains,

I have walked on fire-burning deserts,

Take me ! lead me !

Azania calls

Brain Wetin?

Weder na pain or na gain

Abi na drain or train

Dem say na only person

Wey get brain

Go gain

But answer me!

Before I give you pain:

You don see somebody

Wey no get brain?

Wen you put leg

For de train

Dem go talk say you no patriotic

You no love your contri.

But wetin man pickin go do

Afta oga saboteur

Don spoil contri finis?

Dem call am brain drain

Becos you tire for chain of

Waka waka unemploy.

Brain wetin?

Dat one na foul!

Make you lef de people

Wey get chance

Make dem go service dem brain

For place where

respect dey for brain.

An Injury to One

I have sighted the branch,

And I see another,

Many branches – all fathered by the same tree.

Scattered branches,

But do not doubt their strength,

Don’t laugh at the unique  branches,

Who fuse and become one,

Instead pity their common enemy.

The steam-roller churns out messages,

Puffing and puffing,

Steam-rollers threaten,

But, a broken arm helps a maimed leg,

How many loud barks can chain the spirit

Of common purpose?

Puffing, but do you see the dungeons

Decent men are forced to work in?

Puffing, what about the weightless wages

You dole out from your profit mountain?

Still the steam-roller puffs,

And we tighten our bond,

For we must resist the wheel

Of ravenous masters.

Halt the machine !

We will stop the wheels

Of those who

Mix our sweat and blood

To form granite for

The foundation of their country homes.

We will not beg

For what is ours

Which has been taken by force

By the giants of business.

But now,

We will charge ourselves,

Wear our battle fatigue,

March forward

And sing our song:

Together we must come,

Together we must be one.

Bloody Civilian

For de rest of my life e get one night I no go forget,

In Ilorin after our band play finis,

We jus wan drop band members for house o,

Na so soja stop us for Muritala junction,

Dem say our moto no wan stop for dem,

See me trouble!

Bifor I talk one, two, three,

Dey don show say na khaki dey wear

Dem no wan hear any explain,

Kai! Wetin we do?

We dey look oursef like unknown mumu wey don miss road,

Na so we dey hear: “Who dey talk grammar with you?”,

Oga captain dey hala: “Give me my bulala, give me de belt,

Na today you frog jump to Port-Harcourt with immediate effect!”

Fela na you talk say "Uniform na cloth, na tailor dey sew am"

But

Dem point gun at us, gun  wey dey take our moni buy,

Dem dey kick us like football with de boot

Wey dey take our moni buy,

For dat night my eye clear well, well,

For dat night my human right dey sleep

Whereas man pickin dey suffer,

Dem carri gun so uniform dey talk,

Na for dat night I come sabi

De meaning of BLOODY CIVILIAN!