" I am Nigeria"

I AM NIGERIA”

I am blessed of nations.
Do not judge me by my people.
I am a land endowed with nature's
richness; flourishing in the freshness
with the fruits of my bowel.

I stand out from the ocean.
The creeks in the delta for legs;
spreading my luster green of nature
over the region: fresh vegetation upon
which flows the treasure of the nation.

Discard me not as an abandoned forest
of wasteland; I am the wetland of the nation;
flourishing in the abundance of evergreen.
I stand upon the treasure of the land
bearing the weight of this great land.

I spread out my right arm as Benue;
my left arm I spread out as Niger.
Thus, the weight of the nation I bear,
not once bulking at the sheer burden.
My bowel abounds the richness of the nation.

I spread out my freshness with my arm
upon the whole land, producing in every
part, the fruits of the land; hence I
have become a treasure base, food basket,
City of excellence, a fountain of Knowledge.

In all these, my people knew not my worth.
They trample and war over my endowment.
Profligate my resources on an egocentric drift.
I have become a reproach amongst contemporaries
Whose countenance dotted the world affluence.

I will withhold my endowment from my bowel.
I will withhold the plundering of my resources.
By this generation of unrepentant waste drifts,
Till I see a generation that cares about my wellbeing.
For, I am Nigeria. I am the land of Natures’ pride.