See the full poem text and summary of Not My Business by Niyi Osundare (8 stanzas of 26 lines) and download the PDF with likely questions and answers.
Stanza 1
- They picked Akanni up one morning
- Beat him soft like clay
- And stuffed him down the belly
- Of a waiting jeep.
Stanza 2
- What business of mine is it
- So long they don’t take the yam
- From my savouring mouth?
Stanza 3
- They came one night
- Booted the whole house awake
- And dragged Danladi out,
- Then off to a lengthy absence.
Stanza 4
- What business of mine is it
- So long they don’t take the yam
- From my savouring mouth?
Stanza 5
- Chinwe went to work one day
- Only to find her job was gone:
- No query, no warning, no probe –
- Just one neat sack for a stainless record.
Stanza 6
- What business of mine is it
- So long they don’t take the yam
- From my savouring mouth?
Stanza 7
- And then one evening
- As I sat down to eat my yam
- A knock on the door froze my hungry hand.
Stanza 8
- The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn
- Waiting, waiting in its usual silence.
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