Abuja Poem by Chris Jibero

Abuja
Abundance
Budding
Undaunted
Jazzy
Amazing beauty conceived
And delivered by prolific parents

Abuja
More captivating than a flawless damsel
In her enthralling blooming beauty
The bright tropical sun for many
That come basking under her caressing rays
In day time
Like lizards from their warrens
Their veritable launch pads
A magnet of men and women hustlers
Standing sexless at par
Jostling noiselessly to make it big
With every arsenal at their disposal

Abuja
Clean and therapeutic like Ikogosi spring
Orderly and peaceful like a Novena Mass
Adorned by graceful gardens
Palatial hotels and exquisite eateries
Determined to empty the purses
Of fun seekers

Abuja
Speedily devouring every ghetto
And bush on its trail-blazing paths
Replacing them with beautiful boulevards
Magnificent mansions
And alluring sweet-smelling foliage
Driving the brave poor to hilltops
That surround her scenic elegance
Like a pride of lions whose bodies
Are shields and fortresses
For their lovely suckling cubs
And forcing chicken-hearted others
To retire prematurely to their villages
To gnash teeth at the rich
Who they hold culpable for their fate

Abuja
Fending for both the poor and the wealthy apiece
And stampeding those who live in fakery
Cruising in white lies
Flaunted in big cars blessed with good roads
Tools of deception
That double as mobile homes and offices
Cos rents have taken permanent abodes
On rooftops of sky-scrappers
That dot your enchanting landscape

Abuja
A melting pot of youth
Converging in service
Hopeful of hooking up
With politicians, contractors, business people
And top civil servants as sugar daddies and mummies
Their anticipated ladders to a better tomorrow
A city dispensing love on pay-as-you-go basis
Cos all are in business day and night
Striving to excel

Abuja
Overflowing with security personnel
In eye-service loyalty to their masters
In their hooded siren-hooting vehicles
The good and the bad, minus the ugly,
Striving side by side for supremacy

Abuja
One decision well-taken
May you never grow chaotic
Like your elder sister,
Lagos