(For President Muhammadu Buhari)
Give me the key to the room in the courthouse of impunity;
I want to deliver a verdict against the rule of law.
Give me the instrument of unchecked power;
I want to unfurl my whims and caprices.
Give me the seat in the chambers of impunity;
I want to reign in terror and anarchy.
Give me the scepter of untrammeled power;
I want to rule arbitrarily and imperiously.
Give me the crown in the sacristy of impunity;
I want to reestablish the kingdom of my first coming.
Give me the appurtenances of Mephistophelean power;
I want to enlarge the coast of my illiberal mind.
Give me the bulldozer in the commodious yard of impunity;
I want to pull down the edifice of constitutionality and accountability.
Give me the pen of ruthless power;
I want to codify a new set of Decrees for the good of democracy.
Ademola writes from the University of Manitoba, Canada.
