For Grace Nichols
I
From love of Calypsos
Through theorizing about the
Middle-Passage
And amazing glimpses of the
ruins of a great house
I watched the new Oilgerian
game of death
But some call it the game of
life
Disembarking at ORT to an
implausible reception
By skeptical teams of
post-apartheid Customs and Excise!
“Ah! This way Sir” – I heard
one sister say to a brother.
“What have you brought from
Oilgeria?” She would like to know
But the bulging Ghana-Must-Go
had given away the game
“Eish! These Oilgerians think
they’re clever”, sister mouths wordlessly
Tubers of yams sprouted from
the bulging bag and brother feigned surprise
Cassava flour emerged trailed
by iru, okasi and assorted bush meat!
“What are these?”
Post-apartheid sister mouthed enraged
Nothing-to-deklare brother
smiled and embraced the empty Ghana-Must-Go!
It’s every day for the thief,
he retorted, without bitterness!
II
But just yesterday we were
theorizing about the colonial baggage
Blown wide open on the conveyor
belt – exposing decades of postcolonial angst
But now can we focus on the new
post- without remorse?
And is the post- in
post-colonial the post- in post-racialism?
Leaving my wazobia ways to
participate in this orgy of tricolored angst
And nollywood stars trailing
and cursing – not to mention
Sacrilegious
‘nothing-to-deklare’ sisters, joining the macabre dance.
In Jozi we shall all meet in an
arranged marriage of inconvenience
The lobola dance terminating at
ABSA – while we exchange
Knowing glances of notions of
home. Ah! Whatever I hang!
‘And what are these?’
post-racialist sister would like to know
‘Fixes’, nothing-to-deklare
brother retorted without contrition
‘You mean those things our
girls hang on their heads’ sister corrected
‘And don’t they hang
beautifully?’ he would like to know
And whatever I hang, he smiled
ruefully,
Is this what I shall call home?
Femi Abodunrin
Polokwane,
December 2012
Femi
Abodunrin is presently Professor of English Studies and Performing Arts at the
University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus. He studied at Bayero University, Kano,
Nigeria and holds a PhD degree from Stirling University, Scotland, UK. He has
taught at universities in Nigeria, the UK, Germany, Malawi and Swaziland. His major
publications include Blackness: Culture, Ideology and Discourse (BASS, 1996, 2008).
