POEM #1261: Benefactor Of Oppression

A Ukrainian child
Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ABC NEWS

I grew up in Africa

To gruesome massacres

Via military juntas

And propaganda

Fueled by Russia

Blaming America

For the extreme drama

Played out in West Africa

Thank God for

The world wide web

That unfurled

The web

Of lies

Took the wool

From my eyes

I've been schooled

What about the Ajaokuta

Steel Mill project

Awarded the folks in Russia

That plunged the nation in debt

Besides the false hope of utopia

When the Russian contractor left

And the consequent

State of dystopia

Russia-sponsored wars

Wrecked Africa

Sold weapons

On both sides

Of the lines

We've heard of your power

Your desire

To raise an empire

No African state's been bettered

But you've prospered

From Africa's every cent

And initiated its descent

Now it's Ukraine's turn

To buckle

If the wheel turns

Full circle.

Akpan