OFFICER MESS

“Ogbeni, give me “white note” for there
Or you wan smell the mess of this riffle!?”
Officer Mess stopped a driver on the highway.

“Oga officer, I get my license for here,
I get particulars, I get everything for here
Make I show you? The driver humbly asked.

Wetin be license? Wetin be particulars?
Na your particulars employ me?

Na dem put me for road?
In fact, thunder fire your mouth there!
If you no give me “white” today,
You go sleep for here. Officer Mess retorted.

Sadly. The driver’s one hour journey
Lingered into an eternity
Just to avoid the blind bullets
From this legal robber on the highway

Here’s officer Mess in a beer shop
Drinking liquor more than its bottles
He had conquered ten bottles already,
And more to surrender to him

His eyes have become red like a traffic light
His black uniform is soaked with salivas,
While communing with a company of air
He stood up and staggered
Like a tree tossing about with winds

Here now is officer Mess seeking solace
In the cool arm of a dirty drainage

Alas!

Another day, officer Mess shot a young man
And the young dream went the way of all flesh 

City protested, but hijackers took the stage

Those who went to voice against the vice

Did not come back home. Some were held.

Some brought dead. Others injured.

But here’s officer mess, walking majestically

In the ambience of soft tap on his shoulder

By handicapped laws and blind justice

Alas! The guilties roam the streets, the innocents are hid behind bars

The poem focuses on highway extortion and the numerous unethical and filthy actions of police officers. The author described how a young person was brutally murdered by a police officer, yet nothing was done about it. Numerous protesters suffered injuries, were arrested, and were killed. All because justice has lost its sight and the law lost its impotence.

Ogbeni – a man (Mr.)  in Yorubaland
White note – 50 Naira

Written by: James T. Abel Adesitimi