Westernization is Evil
Westernization is Evil.
It is the Demon that
Possessed our Land,
Whirled us in a wind
Of subservience,
Shackled our thoughts
And extricated our
Westernization is Evil
It called us apes,
Saw us as Slaves,
Brought us a faith
That made us change
Our old ways.
Westernization is evil
It took our brothers
Brainwashed them,
Erased their identity,
Gave them theirs
Which they regard
As supreme.
But, is Westernization really Evil?
They taught us
How To read and write,
They brought us
The Idea of wearing clothes,
They abolished our culture
That harmed our people.
They thought Africa was evil.
Because they killed their twins.
They thought Africa was evil
Because Ogbanje
Was Not welcomed
They thought Africa was evil
Because people given
To the gods of the land
Were avoided.
They thought Africa was evil
Because it didn't Know Christ.
They thought Africa was evil
Because the kings of some
Kingdoms in Africa
Would die and be buried
With their servants alive.
They thought Africa was evil
Because human sacrifice
Was inevitable in the land.
So, when we say
Westernization is evil,
Should we drop all
White man believe in and Hanker after our Forefathers' ways?
Should we fling all
The gadgets that make life easier
And march into our farms
To make ridges with our hoes?
Was Chinua Achebe unhappy
About the Whites invasion?
What if it never happened?
Would he have known
He could be a good writer?
What if it never happened,
Would you be here
To WRITE about it?
What if it never happened,
Wouldn't we just Walk the streets ,
Oh i forgot we wouldn't have streets.
Wouldn't we just walk
The paths miserly clad?
Ladies wouldn't care about
Their breasts thrusting
up and down
Men wouldn't over ogle
The ladies because
Their breasts would be
A daily Sight to them.
Should we feel that our
Ideology has been marred?
I believe that
The age of enlightenment
Is better than the age
When our minds brewed
Of immense darkness.
It is time
We got the memo.
And that is, our culture cannot be What it was before The white man came.
Nothing is Evil,
Evil is what you
Make of something.
Killing twins was not evil
Until the white made it evil.
Mingling with Osu was evil
Until the white man Came and the evil
In it, was found no more.
Ladies who flaunted
Their breasts in the past
Were not seen as evil.
White man came,
Gave us clothes
Now, when we see cleavage,
We call the bearer
Agent of the Evil one.
Our Masquerades
Entertained our forefathers.
It wasn't evil then.
But now, masquerading
Is akin to
Marauding ghouls
Walking amidst humankind.
What then is evil?
Evil is what we make of things.
What a very wonderful poem.
ReplyDeleteI like your use of words and apt description.
And you simply explained what i feel about westernization.