so many books to read, instruments to learn, languages to speak, poems to write, countries to visit, songs to sing, movies to watch, people to meet, pictures to take, food to taste, places to see, sunsets to watch, stories to hear, stories to tell, things to create, hobbies to discover, dreams to chase, love to give, memories to make, lessons to learn, and a whole life to live.
I’m not Yoruba, however, I’m part of the conservative side of this conversation.
I think the shift is mainly a reaction to what many people (non-Yoruba inclsive) now see as an attempt to hijack Lagos politics and gradually de-Yorubanise its identity, especially when said people rally behind a candidate whose has shown contempt for the Yorubas.
Then you hear talks like “Lagos is a no man’s land” rhetoric, while their accommodating nature and hospitality is treated as a weakness.
At some point, people will naturally become more protective of their identity, culture and political space.
“each year harder to live within / each year harder to live without”
— Craig Arnold
.
.
.
This poem appeared in Poetry Magazine, 2009. Shared here with deep gratitude.
@NYCMayor@gerstry this is how you connect with a people even when you’re not from there. this is how you get elected. good governance as well as providing an avenue for protecting and identifying with your electorate’s values and culture. this is what they need to learn.