How much is my life worth?
In dollars
Pound Sterling
Euros
Or the worthless naira?

When I'm only a living corpse
Waiting to drop
Into a shallow, untimely grave
Dug by men in a hurry
To dispose of my useless remains?

How much am I worth
When I could be wasted easily
Either by police or soldiers
Like #Endsars victims whose bodies disappeared
Into thin air to cover up atrocities
Schemed and executed by the state?

How much's my life worth
When daily my brothers and sisters are butchered
By "aljanu" in human skin
And all the authorities could do, as usual
Is shift the bulk of blame?

How much am I worth
When I can't step out of the confines
Of my home without being afraid,
Without writing my will
Because I mayn't return home alive?

Is this really life
That we're battered by hunger within
And can't go out to fend for ourselves
In fear of being battered by agents of hell
As we waste scarce resources on people
Whose interest's not our preservation
but our destruction?