Ayo ayo ayo ayo ayo!
Eeeeeeey!
Ayo ayo ayo!
Eeeeeeey!
Ayo ayo!
Eeeeeeey!
The Great Muse has spoken,
So listen to the echo of his voice:
Listen now, and listen well!
Hear me
You Matagelema[1],
Let us meet at Rogbane[2];
The agenda is Sierra Loya!
Follow the line west of 1961,
And you will find me;
Follow the line east of 1961,
And you will still find me.
How can jubilee
Celebration start,
With democracy
In short supply,
Or in over-abundance?
Love, joy and peace are faked,
When there is famine
In the land—my land!
And there is famine in the land,
Until you are David to your Jonathan,
Or Muhammad to your Book.
Imagine,
For fifty years
Justice grew horns,
Justice grew a tail,
And justice held a pitchfork…
And then you carved
Terraces:
Of honesty in your ranks,
Of respect for the law,
Of tolerance for God,
And a mighty pyramid of love.
Hear me again
You birds of prey,
You loners of prosperity;
Hear me and hear me well!
What have you done
With the anthem I gave you?
Or what have you done
With the flag—my flag?
Or how highly have you exalted me,
After I set you loose?
I still cannot read democracy,
But I know it is about speaking in tongues,
And cleaning the mess left by burghers on the off side:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The seven-year old has a right to know
Why his marriage is delayed,
Or why her presidency is delayed:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
What is offensive in the printed page,
That they should not read and write:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why their age-old tradition in the bush,
Should be brought to town:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Where the poison is hidden in bush meat,
Though they consider it a delicacy:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why the country is in party maps,
In spite of endless jargons on the radio:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why the parliament keeps invisible debaters,
Though law-maker seats are posted over huge sums:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why they must avoid jungle voting,
Even when they have a towns mate in power:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why one tribe must not rule the nation,
Even though the headman is from their tribe:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why a soldier must hiss at ballots,
Even though they hold the bullets:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why they cannot fill their tummies,
Even when they did before:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why they should only drink saliva,
Even though they own the water:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why they can’t connect to power,
Even though they own the power house:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why they can’t build with gems,
Though their gems walk about the world markets with nyanga[3]:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know!
Why graduates are degraded,
In the job search game for new searchers:
Say it, and let the Old Boy bow his head!
The people must know
Why there are no books to showcase the Athens of West Africa[4],
Except verbal references from the elite:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why illegal abortion is happening in the colleges,
In spite of strong laws slammed on murder:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why there is gross underpayment of workers,
With benefit donors watching from their observation posts:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why the courts laugh at suspects in prison,
Even with legal luminaries defending them:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why they have no drinking water,
In spite of water drowning them:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why power is proscribed for their quarters,
In spite of power water wailing on their rocks:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why youths must not hold the gravel,
Even for things that affect them:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why we have another reshuffle,
When the coming batch will leave a bigger mess than their forebears:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why parastatals are pocketed,
Instead of published:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why with more graduates quitting Mount Ararat
We greet more greed in the money, healing and judgment houses:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why the police molest drivers or vice versa,
As if to conjure maximum security:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
The people must know
Why the Lungi Bridge is not forthcoming,
In spite of pictures published in our heads:
So say it, and let the Old Boy bow!
Say it! Say it!
And cast a prayer—in the year of jubilee:
No more bumpy roads. Amen!
No more peppeh-doctors[7]. Amen!
No more mercenary teachers. Amen!
No more daka deke[8] business. Amen!
No more kangaroo courts. Amen!
No more kukujumuku[9] in politics. Amen!
So children may uncover their rights,
To help their parents know their rights.
And wives may stay from all-night prayers if husbands slam a ban;
And dogs and roosters may stay in bush,
And bears and deer may stay in town.
So say it, in this year of jubilee!
Ayo!
Eeeeeeey!
[1] Matagelema is the name of a village in Mende country meaning “the end of cat walking”.
[2] Rogbane is the name of a village in Themne country meaning “to the place of meeting”.
[3] Nyanga is a Mende word meaning bluff
[4] Sierra Leone was dubbed the Athens of West Africa as it became the centre for higher learning in West Africa with the only university in tropical Africa for a long time.
[5] Boloh-boloh is reference to phlegm as a result of attieke-selling women digging their nose.
[6] Attieke (pronounced achekeh) is food made from cassava originating in the Ivory Coast.
[7] Peppeh-doctor is the name given to unqualified doctors causing deaths in the country.
[8] Daka deke business is referring to corrupt practices in business e.g. 419.
[9] Kukujumuku in politics means deceptive practices in politics.
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