A RETROGRADE STEP

A RETROGRADE STEP When slave trade was at its peakIfed Epkotu, the great warrior chiefStood at the main junction of his domainTo free slaves passing through his chiefdom He fought the slave traders to a stand stillNot minding if the captors were deadIncluding the white masters they servedSo he hated everything they brought to his land He refused to give his land for their churchesAlong with the establishment of schoolsAnd banned the location of any marketIn a bid to stop the illegal trade of human beings Noble was his act, but with grave consequencesThat has spanned over a century after his ruleWhen he was tricked, cornered and arrestedBy the invading power, he was never seen again Today, in the village where my ancestors livedThere are no colonial churches in sightOnly the new generation Pentecostal missionsChallenging the shrines that reigned supreme Today, there are no markets in the entire chiefdomPeople have to go to the stalls of other villagesBefore they can buy what to cook for the dayBefore they can feed the hungry mouths Today, there are no schools for our childrenThey have to go the ones built in other villagesBefore they can have any form of formal learningAnd so many are left behind in the new ways We invoke you, Ifed Ekpotu, the great warrior chiefTo come back from your mysterious captivityAnd restore the wheel of progressive livingFor our land of freedom cannot wait behind