Member Poem

Real men are scarce
Even more scarce than the new naira note
In the regime of Buha-Fiele
With statistics straining to produce matching data.
But a real man is a stranger to this generation
He is mocked and termed weak by his peers
Called names by his friends such as
‘Woman wrapper’
‘Weak man,’
Yet he knows his role and plays it well
To keep Eve’s daughter,
Her children safe, hale and hearty.
She was created from underneath his arm
To be shielded and defended by him
To be a personal portion of him,
Provided for by him
Exist as his own flesh.
Generations come and go
With man variously born and bred,
Many uncouth and untrained in the affairs of manhood,
Like an untrained child handling a gun,
They desire and acquire brides
With no experience in handling Eve’s daughters.
Varied calamities have befallen the weak,
Women and children
Even these men themselves
Resulting from the gross insensitivity
Of man’s untrainedness
Who stand on wrong assumptions, the real man;
Means ability to bed and impregnate a female,
To make a woman obey his commands,
To be desired erotically by Eve’s daughter,
To deprive and starve her into submission,
To subdue her with chores and more chores,
To create harder chores to keep her in servitude,
Make her cry day by day
Render her helpless and frustrated.
Yes! He is a real man that accomplishes this feat?
Alas! This portrays a perfect description of fake and unreal men
Who hide their insecurities and cowardice
Under woman torture
Straining their neck muscles at the weaker vessel,
Yet hiding from the strong whip,
Who poses as responsibilities that give men a daily glare,
Putting a three-square meal on the family table,
Sufficiently clothing the nuclear home,
Defending them from visible and invisible danger.
From present, looming and future domestic and environmental catastrophes,
Scratching Eve’s daughter exactly where she itches.
A real man is sensitive enough to give of himself
And substance before requests are presented
Perceiving and building latent talent in the Eve-portion he receives,
Raising her proudly on his sturdy shoulders,
Cheering her on to shine her inherent light
Proud of the Eve-progeny that bears his name.
A real man bears patiently
With the faults in the she-package,
Knowing that he brings to the table his own share
That she deals with daily.
A real man never hits a woman!
He never puts a trap in the way of a woman,
Never abandons her with a project she desires to execute,
But defends downtrodden women and children
With his life.
Real men are hard to come by.
They have travelled to the moon
Or to Jupiter,
Sheer chance brings one face to face with a real man.