Odumegwu Ojukwu

A gallant man of thousand fists Spirited brave man of Amadioha’s clan Conversational colonel of the battalion empire Emperor manned through the honeyed knight The dialogue of the drums speaks of your strength and might Cupping the fingers content of Biafra land in height and weight Your words kill without sword and egbe-igwe Not a chicken stories were heard of your deeds . We never receive a message from your in-laws Of your manhood not satisfying their daughters Home and abroad, you stood fearless As tall as the sky without pillars To a passing year, the stars sobbed of you In the month of the falling leaves, we mourned you Not for loss but for grace of rising to bear. Igbo nation birth not a cradle hands of you Not even looking at the cock’s comb of fire Shall your name be trampled on the ground “Afamefuna” your legacy is kept until the new birth Great Elephant of the forest of Igbo land! You’re braver than Okonkwo who died another’s death Have you seen your status at Onitsha? Have you heard of your names immortalized at Awka? Your hands once disseminate delight from The talkative face of the drum without fear We have waited this long for another savior but all we see Are political thieves with two mouths on seats of power A village protest conducted, but a cup of rice shared deceived us all, Rice which they packaged as ransom for their sins. Odumegwu, Igbos are Nigeria Peasant farmers Long victims of exploitative neglect Yet, the spirit of Igboism is gone We are merely struggling and backbiting On the legacy you left behind the Iroko tree. Yours Poetically, © John Chizoba Vincent