By Akeem Lasisi
The ship has traversed a thousand rivers
Through the Lagoon, across the Nile
And the Columbian spheres
After the diligent ride through the waters of life
Culture asserts its essence
Heritage rings the royal bell
The sailor is back on destiny’s bed:
The crown has found a potent head.
Prolific were your strides through the walls of knowledge, Kabiyesi
From the Eko Boys base to Howard tower
Pharmacy is the habitat
But in the spirit of your versatile lineage
From pharmacy to governance the switch was smooth
Now after a fruitful race in the business field
Heritage rings the royal bell
The crown has found a potent head.
in the world of Omo Alade continuity is king
Where the past, the present are Siamese twins
Now for the sake of your glorious crown, Kabiyesi
Oduduwa again descends in a convoy of gods
Ogedengbe Agbogungboro glides back to his industrious land
Orunmila on the right, Obatala on the left in immaculate white
In honour of this paramount day
A compelling parade of our living gods
But beyond their sacred awe
There is a sobering tune from their talking drums
The deities are asking why their children are yelling of hunger
Amidst our idle forests and sleeping gold
Why the children are wallowing in thirst amid the ocean
Ajaka is curious and Awo is piqued:
As our race of enviable firsts
Becomes a famished unit in the federal trap
But the world applauds your unfolding dream, Kabiyesi
The muse is moved by your maiden moves
Because you know the earth is all we share
You are putting a smile on the city’s roads
Healing the market pulse
You empower the women from the royal purse
Because you are conscious of the ides of idle youths
Because you know the type of children that hunger breeds
You preach a sustainable reunion with our abandoned soils
Connecting the youth with our eager soils
In your anointed epoch, Kabiyesi
Rain will not abandon her romance with our lovely farms
The sun will be generous with chlorophyll and punctual with cryptochrome
Woe onto the raven that pretends as a pigeon securing our hope
Woe, the cattle that trample on our costly sweat
As you step into the sacred shoes of your fathers great
A hail of blessings for the green and grey
Rats will cry as nothing but rats
Birds will retain their trademark songs on healthy trees
Weddings at night, namings at dawn:
The people shall cry as a people of infectious joy.
