Danfo Driver

Passenger:
The mecuric royalty of our roads
Wielding their scepter in circular turns
Violently cussing and threatening the soft
Straddling the medians and blocking the flow
What can I do to danfo* driver?

Danfo Driver:
My metallic box is heavenly throne
Serving my subjects in absolute faith
Taking a pittance to give them deliverance
They hate me so much, yet I love them so kotch
What can't I do for well dressed mad men?

Passenger:
You connive with ductor to drain our purse
And threaten our brothers in beautiful cars
How long will you reign on black slender snake?
Constantly moving though we shout owa**
When will you learn to learn how to learn?

Danfo Driver:
You can't tell the stress I take on black snake
Waking so early to take you all out
Yet keeping so late to take you all in
You sometimes forget I'm still a human
Why won't I snap at thankless people?

Passenger:
Danfo driver, O danfo driver
You'll reign on your throne for long time to come
What ever happens you've got your scepter
Just drive with some care, some mere, and some pere
Whatever that means - we love you so much!












* commercial bus in Lagos 
** A Yoruba word that signifies a passenger's intention to alight

The Lagos Streets

The troops move in one way and then the other
The goal of the day looming large
The immediate shoves of friendly foes fade fast
Everyone struggles for a footspace; without thought
But that’s the big city life we’ve come to love
Large lovely Lagos, a city never late.

Man, metal, beast and all
Bask in the rhetoric frenzy of life
The screams of rubbing metals twist our ears
Bringing us to present reality; interrupting our day dreams
How about the beast-the beast we dread
The bird’s-eye hydra of traffic gridlock
Surely sucking the last drop off the driver’s emotional vein.
But we all agree that we love Lagos
Maybe, think again.

Here the air sighs continually
Trying to comprehend the sweet fragrance of diversity and the bitter taste of smoke.
The smell of humanity fills our nostrils
Constantly reminding us that we are not alone
What a life, a life of shared responsibility perhaps of shared suffering
But we all love Lagos
Don’t we?

But that’s not all there is to the big city
Pacing the aisle of the marina, amidst the skyscraping seats
Reveals the beauty of business
The magnet that has drawn us all here
The business of earning a living
Trading sweat for silver and silver for gold
We all want money
Don’t you?

I love the Lagos street
Looking at it from the distance of my mind
I see urgent determination etched in the wrinkles of faces
And the smile of hope at the break of day
But dusk quickly comes
And the sun sets in the horizon beneath
Even the day must take its rest
Good night Lagos street


UKEMEOBONG OWOH