A VISIT TO PARIS

A Visit to Paris

Today on the TV, I saw Mr. President
exchanging handshakes
in France.
For Penta month, a radio station
was burnt to nothing
in my neighborhood,
except for the atlas
that has no room
for the station.
& I don’t blame
the President for not visiting.
I mean—perhaps he is waiting
for an alarm from
Arise TV morning news
or AIT evening news,
or even Channels TV afternoon news.
It could also be that Macron
will keep him busy
with some infrastructure,
insurgency-related matters
& some closed-door meetings
he forgot to share
the last time he laid his eyes
on Aso Rock, maybe.
Kidnapping news in Nigeria now
sounds like
a constant raindrop on the windowpane,
received with gratitude.
The defense minister says,
“His team will ensure that the menace
and proprietors are brought to book”
But the thing is—which
book will they be brought to?
Oh! I guess—he is referring
to banned books, which were
prohibited by the law since 1805?
Foresight, it feels like cropping
out the eyes of this country
from atlas.
Hindsight, I hold firm that
The Paris visit
will open concealed doors
to dreamers who now are defeatists.

A Nigerian writer from Imo State, and musician— Victor Unachukwu demonstrates a fervent commitment to addressing social issues through his work. By giving voice to the challenges faced by society, he seeks to spark meaningful change in society—with a sense of amplifying the voiceless in society. He is currently a master’s student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA, where he is currently pursuing his Masters of Arts in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing. He writes poetry, short stories, flash fiction and novellas.