A continuation of the glimse of the pearls of NIGERIA. Read on... KADUNA STATE The liberal state well placed in the divide Accommodating all, remaining large and free Around the great criss-crossing river of note Within a region you cannot but know and love And sing loudly or raise a poignant applause To the band of Mafiosi and the prowling masters Great men, standing strong, bold and calculating Burning like fire and thundering like brimstone In the middle of our pottage of happiness Holding the storehouse of our dinner aloft To the consternation of power brokers And joy of the power seekers we know Where the competitors must meet to chat For a needful resolution on a round table Forging the elongation of peace and security And the domestication of unity and progress That Papa’s land may hold a jolly party to abandon And bind all together in a tranquillity of celebration Just from that land of greatness mingled with hope Oozing out wares modern in delight you see But the dying industry of Kaduna a scare Struggling to start afresh again and boom For the unending mills to roll and roll With bales of beautiful wears and more The return of the bounty of yore and joy On the broad lands in the middle thereof Of a land destined for greatness this clime In the quest recognition and celebration Calling for bold, wise and smart fishermen As crocodiles infested the water thereof KANO STATE That centre of commerce of yore re-created afresh An important nodal entrepôt on the caravan routes Criss-crossing the grassland and desert extending Spanning the entire extent of their civility retold In the days of yore glorious before they came today Great traders in the goods of local and foreign make Drawn up and down then on camels and donkeys Those beasts trudging along under their bundles Never resting, waiting, tiring or complaining seen Within the regions around the big city you know Where commerce a culture that must be obeyed Bringing buyers from far in those ages and now Never a local affair alone but always inter-racial In deals at the biggest market lasting till now And the dyeing with the indigo centuries old Of the well noted culture and ritual extended In the making of those patterns treasured by all The tanning and the crafting of leather works Spread afar and became the Moroccan leather Today’s ambitious irrigation and water works Turning forest and water pools of the desert land Changing the landscape and marrying the land Able the newfound modernity sustained correct Then the commerce shall continue for aye unstopped In these Mecca of commerce and muezzin’s delight Let us call for end to destitution of our have-nots Milling round arms givers and visitors to our clime They are parts of us and deserve our attention indeed And Kano shall remain the desired cosmopolitan enclave To be desired by everyone born, bred or visited Papa’s land KATSINA STATE A salute and applause to the state of hospitality Opening her arms to all comers and visitors In the glorious assemblage and display thereof Of cosmopolitan mien and aristocratic facade At the edge and periphery of the endless dunes And a blowing dusty wind howling by unending But broken by those rows of trees put there ago By the men of foresight, wisdom and ability To shield from the gales from the desert winds Scavenging, clearing and walloping endlessly Across the paths, clean, clear, free and total But today, a checked and controlled element Now our air free from pollution from sand And our edifices supported to stand stolid In the land of commerce came from afar And the conglomeration of plentiful goods Flowing down the ancient caravan we hear Or coming up from across the big water To the great merchandise of the poles Inviting, calling, tempting and willing There among a people noted for greatness Well experienced in empire building renown But just satisfied humbly to stay in silence In opulence, beauty, ambience and peace Already personified, localised and globalized Within a land of the giants and fearless we know Standing, sitting, running, walking and whistling A mark of responsibility openly displayed for all For challenges truly attended to, pure and simple As we hear the sounding of the bell of liberty anew KEBBI STATE A land based only on equity exists Sanguined and meandering leisurely Around the great divide we all love Playing beside the middle Niger we see Sloping and bumping in disguise On the ground well grazed and used Never a weakling but standing strong Their invasion withstood and stopped Living unfettered and independent To graze, farm, trade, pray and live From ancient, modern and now seen And of a festival of fishing now a news Rummaging the water for the catch For a prize announced with glee In the tourist delight we revere Joining strong forces to create again An ambience of peaceful boundaries Amidst the crawling twigs and shrubs Over the expanse hidden and protected Of a land of plenty, no shaking at all Waving the banner of love at full mast Waiting for you to come and see The beauty made ready for you To play the hide and seek a while By the banks around that river Hasting in its journey down rapids Of that river of far origin in openness Harbouring those roses and lilies of yore By the sure, fertile, rich and fruitful land Where the carry-on a delight to watch! KOGI STATE Around the confluence of the Niger and Benue On a large land of ridges, valleys, cliffs and boulders Jutting out astride the criss-crossing routes of networks Neighbour to the Centre of Unity and the edge of forests And as you look around from Lokoja Omni-directional Before you an abode of industrious and faithful players Behold the fishers labouring day and night on the river Of the enviable overflow around the centre Well-watered and aerated completely indeed Plenteous with lofty and gambolling trees Astride those shinning cities on the ridges Wayfarers gaping askance as they sped along Rushing north, south, east or west unstopped Of the ancient monuments of yore possessed Housed here and then abandoned freely to see The land plenteous in beans of locust seeds Yams, vegetables, fruits and sweet canes Home to unquantifiable solid gems and ores Hidden under those ranges we fear to scale But to climb atop and wonder the sight Maybe to see the face of God aloft Himself Hidden in those blue skies and invisible As you Stand on those stones, rocks and hills With the beautiful scenery and velvety look Just as the Niger flowing along gloriously Where those people etched in victory and hope Gathered around Lokoja a confluence city As their enemies cry in agony and open regret Of a declared hostility against an acclaimed hero Down the Niger where fishes surrender to you KWARA STATE A land made for harmony exists somewhere Lying broadly and leisurely by the frontier thereof Spreading conspicuously in the divide between The waters of Great Niger and the thick jungles Spreading and sprawling in woods and grasses Well linked and jointed together a mesh you see In the arrays of those picturesque “cities” of note Dotting around those great autobahns and rails Shinning in misty fumes morning and evening Astride that holy enclave recorded ago In cultures mixed, pure and harmonious Concentrated, filled and populated unending Plentiful in men of vision, truth and boldness Giants in mores great, small and ephemeral Landing on the stage of an enigma indeed Blending into the North or South in droves In political soul and spirit Papa’s land to catch Land aplenty with grains, fish and vegetables Sprawling anvils, mills, furnaces and workshops From the ancient, modern and millennium combined Ever noted for commerce, trade and business That spreads east, west, north, south and where? In the tottering staccato of islets along the waves Towards the river and the northern expansiveness Welcoming, inviting, beautiful, graceful and wide In the assemblage repute of royalties well known Harbouring the conglomeration of loyal subjects In the quest and desire a great land to tame Within a long stretch of well protected space Contended for by brothers in search for land LAGOS STATE The land of aquatic splendour retold In the paradise of excellence indeed “Eko Akete o ni baje” we confess and pray Lying by the ocean and around the lagoons Upon the waves, winds and dancing trees along In the ambience of fresh mangrove and beaches From the white sands of Badagry stretching along Where a long expanse of whiteness unending Inviting to the eyes and calling for pleasure Like a vacation land preserved for the masters Then the white cities and rustic haven of note Sprawling, bustling, waking, singing and rising Welcoming new arrivals came daily from afar Craving your wonders to see and the milk to lick From the retold bounties, beauty and dainties Landing from the ports: air, land, sea and rail On the extravagant bonanza you must not hate Home to modernity, excellence and creativity Bordering the sprawling ocean, seas and lagoons Plenty fishes, crabs, lobsters, sea-foods and prawns Mansions, institutions, factories, mills and pleasure-lands Beckoning, inviting, luring, tempting and tantalizing But how do you overcome the overpopulation by loafers? No wonder, it’s often retold by them: “This is Lagos!” Your darling, friend, lover, bride, suitor and beauty! Where donkey’s head at a fortune supplied for you afresh And the eagles nest long destroyed by predators freely Who lived and thrived ere arrival snowman of yore retold Our peace and joy destroyed in lurch for the pole of joy Under which tired legs rested, washed, covered and treated Did you enjoy this installment? Let me see your comments.... Thanks
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 23:57:44 +0000
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