Like a pooch I am chained
Here and caged
Surrounded by the walls,
Not even a single being.

I am hurt, yet the reason is inexplicable-
In tears, yet my feeling is incomprehensible;
But I am a victim of circumstances
Caged not because I’d broken the law
Of my country but because I refused to be corrupt.

My country is pregnant with corruption;
For all are corrupt;
The rule of law is a mere fiction;
Fundamental human rights are jettisoned
The citizens are crying for help,
Yet the government is silent-
Our leaders are more concerned about their pockets,
Breads for themselves and their families.

Kidnapping and terrorism everywhere,
Many a citizen now sleeps with both eyes open-
For all are frightened of being adopted someday;
Where are the armed forces these days?

My country is a prison
And we, the citizens, are the prisoners;
We are manacled and caged,
Like a pooch in a cage-
Our youths are perpetrators
Of crimes, used by our corrupt leaders
During elections in return for peanuts-
Oil-theft has proliferated
For it is the source of riches to many.

Tribal war has taken over my country-
Killings and bombings in the north,
Mugging and cultism in the south-
Our government officials get richer
While the masses get poorer;
Embezzlement of public fund
Is all our leaders are renowned for.

Irked by the corrupt practices
I intervened, not violently
But peacefully; for I am an
Incorruptible person …
Many a politician bids
To make me carry the gun
But I know I am an anti-corruption activist
Hoping to make my country a better place,
But can one man make a difference?

Today, I am gaoled and shackled-
Not because I am corrupt
But because I wanted to make a change
In my country;
Albeit caged, I shan’t give up this fight-
I shall continue to fight till my country gets there!