| Article Index |
|---|
| Yusuf M. Adamu |
| They Can Speak English |
| Brave Captains |
| Global Village |
| Hangover |
| Human Rights |
| Be Heard |
| All Pages |
Yusuf M. Adamu lectures in the department of Geography, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. Currently with the School of Public Health, University of Alabama Birmingham as a Fulbright visiting researcher. He got his first degree in Geography from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria and his Masters degree in the same discipline from the University of Ibadan. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Bayero University Kano working on maternal mortality in Kano State.
A bilingual writer, he has published in both English and Hausa language. His Hausa titles include Idan So Cuta Ne (1989) and Ummul-Khairi (1995), while his English titles include Butterfly and Other Poems (1995), my first book of rhymes Litters (2000) and Landscapes of Reality (in press). He has also published critical essays on Hausa literature, short stories and poems in various newspapers and journals including Okike and ANA Review. Yusuf Adamu is currently a member of the Association of Nigerian Authors national executive and its Kano State branch chairperson. He is married with children.
Poems by Yusuf M. Adamu
Common Man
called common
common is he
he is the majority
his immense faith in God
that predicaments are from God
destiny always lies with God
kept his spirit alive
in the place of my birth
he is de-ideologized
made too submissive
never raise an eyebrow
hardly point an accusing finger
phobia of those uncommon men
the uncommon are crude
they dislike the common man
with no sympathy for him
to his suffering theyÂ’re insensitive
but always pretending fighting his cause
using him only as front
but the common can be uncommon
as bakin-wake dealt with the prince
uncommon act shall he stage
to make it a common play
July 15, 1999
They Can Speak English
(After Reading Dollar Brand's Western Influence)red-eared men
together brought us
to live as nations
their language
to us they introduced
with it we communicate officially
later we even think in it
mother tongues second classed
stereotyped
back benched
if you speak english
you are civilized
praised, recognized
and respected
but in england
my pronouciation they bother not
my grammer they care not
if only they could understand me
i communicated well
but why should a black-eared red-ear one
be so proud to speak english
even at the expense of mother tongue
be proud not because you speak english
be proud only if in your mother tongue
be it hausa ashante or berber
swahili masai or kwa zulu
sango ashante or arabic
you can think and
express your thought
July 23, 1999
Brave Captains
-for Sarkin Musulmi Attahiru Ihe knew they were coming
read it in books
heard their request
knew they are liars
not trustworthy
the maxim guns they have
the superior army well trained
they rape and exploit
enslave and domesticate
nations of people and empires
there can never be truce
would never have honoured it
he cannot believe them
to come and misrule his people
maxim gun he hasn’t got
can he remain on the throne?
with those who have faith in him
migrated towards the east
to meet the reformer in the sudan
they can gather force
to re-conquer what was to be conquered
soon understood the danger
mobilized men and guns
at burmi, the captains fought gallantly
an attempt to safeguard a faith
to re-make history about to drain
maxim gun was strong
a nation fell to them
the caliph was killed
we shall forever celebrate your valour
share your faith in freedom
admire your courage and will
bravery we shall forever remember
we need to have among us
someone who shall also repeat your words
Ba ni biyar annasara
For our glory has fallen and broken
16-5-1999
Global Village
though we are all humanwe are made to be different
by forces beyond our clout
yet they want remake us
in a new image of their choice
in a village too big to be safe
the world they now call
a single village in the globe
with a big brother to match
as long as we are second class
within that large village fashioned
we should not be subjected to
someone’s standards
someone’s culture
someone’s technology
someone’s understanding
someone’s world view
someone’s theories and concepts
they try hard in harder ways
to make us part of that village
but we know we are different
and shall strive to leave outside
that fashioned unsafe village
May 7, 2001
Hangover
brazen use of forcebecomes a norm
use of sirens and meaningless convoy with
boys in green and those in black
holding canes
clearing way for the boss
who with his programmed mentality
knows only orders to give and take
no question is asked
the boss knows all
selected not elected clique
whimsically decides what be
civilized were militerised
mental subjection
civil psyche
chained and enslaved
though physically no longer on stage
civil psyche still suffers hangover
democracy allows for
choice, opinions
argument &
freedom of association
and of expression
July 27, 1999
Human Rights
The claim is fighting for freedomFrom a militocracy dictatorship
To enshrined in a democratic way
A new lease of freedom of everything
Thus human rights are fought for
Under all guises of jargons
And martyrs are made overnight
are those fighting truthful to truth
are they fighting for common man
or for frustrated elite’s search for relevance?
July 27, 1999
Be Heard
identity massacredself confidence lost
inferiority enshrined
phobias of labels dominates the psyche
the individual is made apologetic
a new brand of homo-eractus
a new homo-apologetica
information age is born
nations are degenerating
ethnic nationalities are being midwife
apology shall die
every one must
be heard
the new fashioned village
has so many listening ears.
July 27, 1999
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