Egemuze Yambozibe

Tears for Oloibiri

She danced innocently

In her cradle and prime

When oil hunters early called

That a mondo of oil

Is seen in her unsullied soil.

It seemed like her dreams

Had caught a glimpse of light

They promised to spruce up her shack

In her poor hamlet

They said she’ll walk on tarred roads

Made of marbles and sapphires

And Manors glittering day-moon.

Yes, they did unearthed barrels

Overflowing to the brim

Ravaged her soil

Working at dusk with other foragers

Her oil they put on the run

Piped under earth’s base and deep oceans

To other lands, unscathed

Far from her watchful stare.

She waited

Still, she waited even more

Untill the scale fell off her eyes

Then she realized she had been deceived.

I cry for her

My tears flow freely

Seeing her once rich soil

Plundered and rendered paltry.

I cry for Oloibiri

My tears flow freely for her

As she lays her aching back on her sorrow beds

While her plunderers daily elope with her oil

Erecting themselves stunning alcazar

And gorging in dollars and pounds

Exchanged with her oil.