Nigeria We Hail Thee........ - by David Lilly-West

Nigeria, we hail thee,Our own dear native land,Though tribes and tongues may differ,In brotherhood we standNigerians all, are proud to serveOur sovereign Motherland. Our flag shall be a symbolThat truth and justice reign,In peace or battle honoured,And this we count as gain,To hand on to our childrenA banner without stain. O God of all creation,Grant this our one request:Help us to build a nationWhere no man is oppressed,And so with peace and plentyNigeria may be blessed. Nigeria we hail thee, but our voice is breaking,Not from pride alone, but from the pain we carry We call your name in the night when gunshots won’t sleep Hail thee? Yes, but save thee is the prayer we are praying,How can we hail thee when those who lead thee leave us to chase their holidays? You are our own, our dear Native Land,Yet our children wander far from home, displaced by fearFor 139 days, children have been taken from their classrooms, torn from family and friends, left to wake up to strange faces,The soil that fed us now drinks our blood,Let it drink rain again, let it drink peace again Though tribe and tongue may differ, that was our beauty,Now difference is used as a dagger,Fulani, hausa, Yoruba, ijaw we bleed the same red Though tribe and tongue may differ, let that difference be our strength not our weakness In brotherhood we stand, but brotherhood is shaking,How do we stand when we cannot stand at the market without looking over our shoulders,Teach us to stand again, not just side by side in line,But shoulder to shoulder watching one another. Our flag shall be a symbol, let it mean what it says,Green for fields we can farm without fear,White for truth that is not buried,Justice that doesn’t sleep while innocent weep. O God of all creation, this is our one request,Not oil, not gold, not bigger towers in Abuja,Just nights that are quiet, roads that are safe,Children that return the same way they left. Help us to build a nation where no man is oppressed,No hand is kidnapped, no village is erased,Where uniform protects and power does not crush,Where to be Nigerian is not to be endangered. And so with peace and plenty, that is the blessing we will wait for,Not just plenty in the market, but peace in our sleep,Let it be more than a final line we sing,Let it be the first thing our children actually live….. And so we dream beyond this dustof morning drums that call no fear,children running home, not from the danger,but to the danger, books held tight, their names called loud. We dream of a field without a farmer looking back,a flag that does not bow to grief,a nation that breathes, not prays, and peace held close. So help us build a nation, broken not, with plenty kissed each palm. And when that day arrives, it will, O Nigeria,we will not break thee with our voices,we will ROAR theeNigeria, we hail thee,our own dear native land,BLESSED. HAPPY 66TH BIRTHDAY NIGERIA

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