ART-HISTORY

Say, you’re an artist.

Take a fresh canvas, call it Africa,

Take a brush, dip it in green ink, and splash

An arc of greatness on the west side of the canvas.

Call it Nigeria.

The day you start this beautiful work of art is October 1st 1960.

Dip your brush again; this time in white ink

And leave an indelible trace of communal chastity, 

Let your brush speak a language of unity, peace & progress.

Call today October 1st 1963, 

Dip your brush’s tip into green ink again,

This time let your art be a mark of oneness, 

As a republic births itself from a new country.

Let your swirls & arcs be a reenactment of the joy of it’s

Freedom fighters. This goes beyond the boundaries of visual art.

Call it Storytelling, let each ridge and bristle be a tale, 

Of how a yórúbà journalist -turned premier

Shook hands with an igbo boxer -turned politician.

Let each brush stroke be an enunciation of the message of peace

That never left the lips of a Sardauna in the suns of Sokoto.

Cleave a hole in the immaculate fabric, with inks of onyx.

Call it the Military era, let your fingers move in such a manner, 

That they spell the grief in the hearts of citizens.

Let your art speak reminiscences of coups & letter bombs; 

And the demise of a champion of truth, from the murky waters of Ogoni.

Dip now, into an ink of nondescript colors.

Call it a glimmer of hope as rule transitions to civilized civilians

Crosshatch this hope with failed promises & manifestos, 

Call it the death of a yórúbà bastion of unity & champion of June 12.

Christen it the birth of corruption in the hearts of political leaders.

Make a long stroke to an era filled with Goodluck for embezzlers.

Speak of a leader with patience, and a hat of nonchalant perseverance.

Only use black this time, but remember to mix in some red also;

So the blood spilt in regions of bombblasts can be represented.

Remind all who care to see, of sects that forbade western education.

Then instead of brushes, make use of brooms that sweep in change.

Don’t forget to fingerprint your heart signature on this canvas, 

As you did during the EndSars. Now step back Mr Artist

& See a Nation struggling for expression in your art.

Then paint a prayer for the prosperity of posterity.