Toxclusive:

NIGERIA 2023: REVISITING THROUGH THE LENSES OF AN ARENA(PT II)

The Returning Officer

By Ekong Sampson

At cockcrow the cockerel will swallow
This season of pickings when
Every contestant is a winner
Fluttering like restless cattle egrets
On the lips of seers and fortune scavengers.

The parrot will talk the patriot
Out of the traffic of horned soldier ants
Marching while drumbeats predict the colour
Of the coming weather and the
New dance of the masquerade.

In the scramble for power valves
A dance on the magic arena
You will experience
The Field
Or what looks like
The Field.

Direct Party Primaries
Or what looks like
Direct Party Primaries.

Indirect Party Primaries
Or what looks like
Indirect Party Primaries.

Consensus
Or what looks like
Consensus.

Body Language
Or what looks like
Body Language.

My people
Or what looks like
My people.

National Interest
Or what looks like National Interest.

The Returning Officer
Or what looks like
The Returning Officer.

The Police Report
Or what looks like
The Police Report.

The Exhibit
Or what looks like
The Exhibit.

My Mandate
Or what looks like
My Mandate.

The Leader
Or what looks like
The Leader.

The Observers
Or what looks like
The Observers.

The Election Result
Or what looks like
The Election Result.

The Law
Or what looks like
The Law.

The Judgment
Or what looks like
The Judgment.

Mandate farmers
Defend your territories Though littered with lucre and darts for
Harvest of chance.
Defend even with cudgels
Lest your voice be stolen
And the heritage is lost.

© Ekong Sampson(2022). Sampson is the Senator-Elect for Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District.