Who Go Fit Survive for Nigeria

This is a sample from a poem by Gil Scott-Heron called 'Who will survive in America'. Gil was a great spoken word artist and musician, who spoke against several ills of the society. He has inspired me a lot especially with this piece i sampled. i read it all the time, and the message is so genuine, true and revealing. so i asked myself, how can i get this message across to my people in a way that they can relate to it? Then, i decided to sample it. Enjoy.
P.S I'm the first writer to sample a poem. so always remember, i started this movement. lol


We living as we do scatter scatter
And the new word to have is prosperity
People don’t even want to hear the preacher teach or preach unless he is talking about economic breakthroughs
And Nigeria is now yama yama
Instead of filled yanfu yanfu blessings
The children who were nurtured to become greats, woke up one day digging Politician and 419 as role models
Nigeria was greeted good morning and we had not yet opened our eyes. (Fuel subsidy)
The signs of lies were placed beneath our beautiful
We learned to our surprise, untold tale of scandal
Many decades buried in the pit pushed down daily by nasty debris
Naija was a bastard the illegitimate daughter of the military whose legs were then spread around and a rapist known as democracy – demo dey crase
Peace, equality and justice were the revolutionary code names that preceded the ghen ghen in the military regimes crotch
What does success really mean?
All I want is a good home, a wife and children and some afang soup to feed them
After all we have experienced and not learned from
Build a new route to Aso rock if you get odeshi
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?

David-Clay Onah

GIL SCOTT-HERON lives on.


Writers note:
Scatter Scatter: Topsy- Turvy
Yama Yama: something that causes an irritable look or disdain
Yanfu yanfu: a lot, plenty, in abundance
Ghen ghen: action, a sound that comes before action. Signal for danger
Odeshi: Supernatural power