The Land of My Birth

Our Prayer and Our Song

This is the land of my birth; I say the land of my birth,
I say this is Nigeria, my Nigeria, the land of my birth,
I will never leave her shores, I will never run away,
I will always believe in the green, the white and the green.

The fertile soil and the rivers of life flowing in between,

The arable agricultural land and the dignity of labour,

This is the land of my birth beautified with Costus Spectabilis.

I say this is the land of my birth, yes the land of my birth.  

Yes, there are trials everywhere, left and right, just everywhere.

Hypocritical, insincere, egocentric, self-seeking and artificial leaders,

Corruption in high places, unaccountability and insensitivity,

And then Boko Haram, the ugliest and the most dreaded one.

But in the face of all that, this is still the land of my birth.
We should never relent, but stand up and keep strong.

My Nigeria is a beautiful country and the giant of Africa, they say,
The land flowing with honey but tears flow down our cheeks,

The land full of mineral resources but it is blood that we harvest.

A combination of two opposites, and irony institutionalized,

The land of natural and human riches yet poverty is still palpable.

A people once described as the happiest people on earth,

But now I can hardly think of any people who are sadder.

But riches and money do not always translate into the progress.

Let us stop for a minute, count our blessings one by one.

We have no Tsunamis, no Earthquakes, and no Tornadoes.

But Tsunami Presidents, Tsunami Governors and Tsunami Lawmakers.

Yes, we have all been raped by present and past leaders,

We have been bombed and we have been tear-gassed,

But we cry out and pray and hope that one day upon time,

Nigeria and Nigerians will be great again and truly the giant of Africa.

This is the prayer we sing and the song we pray.

Happy 52^nd Independence Nigeria.

Written by Chidozie Mario