Dear mothers

Dear mothers

If you waited for us since last night
wait no more, we won’t return home
we lived in our days and died in our times
bury our bodies in national colours
for we died fighting, howbeit without
wielding swords but lending our voices

Dear fathers

You said a man must fight
not because he hates what’s in front of him
but because he loves what is behind him
we fought for our siblings
and the generations to come

Dear brothers

Tell our friends to forget about us
give out our clothes and share our books
but tell them to engrave our names
on the breastplate of their hearts
for we lived in our days and died in our prime

Dear Sisters

Tell our teachers to erase our names
in the attendance register
tell them to allocate our seats to someone else
we were murdered yesterday
we never wielded a gun nor a sword
our only crime was singing the national anthem
they taught us in school

Dear Claude

You said if we must die
then let us nobly die
not like hocks planted in an inglorious spot
we died fighting to live right
we died fighting for hoisting our national colours

Tell who cares to listen to always remember us
for we lived in our days and died in our prime
but I beg you, bury our bodies wrapped in the national colours
for we shall hoist it again in the next world
we died for Nigerians and Nigeria