Month: December 2016

Posted in hope, disappointment,, Politics

Random Tweets on a random day

Posted on by Noel Ihebuzor

by

Noel Ihebuzor

 

On my way back from Lagos this morning, I ran into a friend who 20 months ago used to swear by GMB. Today, he was swearing at the man! TIME!

Disillusionment – “when you find yourself now beginning to swear AT the person you used to swear BY a few month’s ago”

Mental liberation – when the scales fall off your eyes and you begin to see clearly again, free from the manipulation of “influencers”

The arrogance of the ignorant is baffling, the ignorance of the arrogant more so, and the arrogance of the ignorant arrogant most so!

The tragedy of Nigeria is that she has always had elected persons who put the pursuit of personal interests ahead of institution building.

Bad leadership is characterized by excessive short-termism in vision and thinking.

Bad leadership is characterized by ignorance, arrogance and an unwillingness to recognize and remedy its fundamental ignorance!

Blaming one’s predecessor for one’s vision & strategic leadership failures is the best admission of & the lamest excuse for incompetence.

Best way a non-performer can hold on to power? Use the instruments of state power to intimidate and scatter potential opponents!

Does he/she seeking elected office possess functional competences in Economics & Public Policy? Does he/she believe in lifelong learning? Question for 2019!

Posted in Poetry

Singers as Saints

Posted on by Noel Ihebuzor

By

Noel Ihebuzor

Ten hundred prayed for posts

Twenty pastors and thirty prophets

Prayed and brayed almost

Ten of the prayers, the preyed upon,

the prayed for, got the posts

And prayed on the post

Preyed on the people

All ten had juicy morsels

generously availed, padded

nine chewed their morsels and swallowed

morals mellowed, conscience shriveled,

cheeks blossomed and wardrobes overflowed

in a season of drought and bones

the tenth chewed and sucked,

till nought was left, save chaff and fibre

spat out, never swallowing

cheeks blossomed, morals mellowed

conscience in contraction

tongue active in denial

And she sweet sings herself

the beatification chorus for saints

I spat out and therefore am a saint

chew and swallow mean guilt

singing with a tongue that runs and rails

foams white and fumes

raw tongue running with serums of guile and rage,

shored up by fluids and anima

sucked out of now chaffed morsels

entrapped in self praise,

the singer forgets

that Mother Theresa

did not sing sainthood

to be sainted

If self praise is all it takes to be sainted,

then horses would be flying over low anthills

and praise singing themselves hoarse

to the thundering music of their noisy hoofs

rivaled by the grunting of pigs wearing cheap scents

rooting for sainthoods for cleanliness

Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized

Silence as guilt

Posted on by Noel Ihebuzor

By

Noel Ihebuzor

They grabbed him by his collar

dragged him to the ocean front

shouting, gesturing and swearing,

He was boxed on both ears,

his jaws, his chin, his ribs

were bashed, bruised, some broken

all the sins of the world,

all the failures were

heaped on him,

the “sealed” wombs,

every wasted wave,

all sterile flowers

all failed erections,

every flop, all power failures,

any incontinence….

they blamed on him

At the ocean front

The sky for their witness

They screamed at him,

they cursed him, they beat him

for their own weaknesses,

their failings and his

and yet he said nothing

and his silence

soon was their proof

For silence is guilt

Silence is complicity

was his silence smart?

Broken jaws lead to silence

The heavens remain silent

on the secrets of peoples

plants and planets

Does this silence,

then make them guilty,

complicit in our pains?

in this troubled world,

some plans are so twisted,

the waves sweep them

for safe keeping

to echoless silent chambers

where ageless mammy waters

moan day time half sated

when fortune hungry fishermen visit

and to whence they retire

to sleep all night

surrounded by winking periwinkles

when worn out,

without the hoped for fortune

and overworked

fooled fishermen return home to rest

their secrets carefully wrapped in silence

and concealed from their caring wives.