Running From A Dead Man (General Sani Abacha)

I remember running

From a dead man

Running

From the guilt of rejoicing

Rejoicing that he died

The riot sent us home from school

We ran through the bushes

6 years old I was, six!

Dear Mr Abacha, If you had a soul

I hardly believe she’s resting

I hope so, or not, I don’t know

Who am I to judge?

Author's Note

The late General Sani Abacha was arguably Nigeria's worst Dictator. When he died, the whole country went berserk. I've never seen so many people so happy that a man had died.The school i went to was in a military barracks(Abacha was a Military Head of State) so a riot broke out and there were no buses to take us home. Those of us who lived off the baracks had to trek a long distance, then we started running when we heard chants from a matching army. i remebered this experience recently so her you go....

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very interesting story. The death of a powerful leader would send a country into craziness. It must have been a wild day. Thank you for sharing the story. A excellent story.
Coyote

[Leslie Philibert]

I know very little about African politics, but I`m sure you are right about him. But don`t forget you have some great politicians too, like Nelson Mandala or Nkrumah or Kofi Annan.And we have some real stinkers here too, especially some nutters in Eastern Europe.
A very good poem that I like.