by Sheriff Olanrewaju
each head carries a spiky dagger, so big, against whoever incurs
their anger around the sandy fortress, often compared to Mount Sobi.
what creatures brazenly boast of menacing mandibles to strike uninvited ants?
like the Indian haladie, deep in their muddy mansion, basking in the elation
of the masses’ inaction, they cut all incoming chunks with their two edge blades,
without resistance in their base, where public revenues slip into private avenues.
is empathy now a malady at the centre for siphoned candy? the words the soldiers
throw at ants: ‘lancers for the trespassers’. please, let no ant dare jaywalk, lest its waist
gets savagely wasted, broken by the hounds manning the land where riches abound.
a termites’ mound, a complex architectural imitation of the green dome at the centre,
where dissenting voices of sneaky sinners who wear the badge of ‘sin-haters’ echo,
in such sessions where they selfishly call the shots that loosen the knots tying the different zones.
are you aware that occupants of that hemispheric house, where the privileged few
and the swollen headed pose for pictures with swaggersome steeze, worry neither about the sun
nor the storm with minds at ease? their molded mansion is mainly moist, relax,
there is no such thing as grid collapse—
covered with treasures and constant supply of amenities, cheese and fura
flow underground in the okiti ọgan, milk and cakes, stocked in its opulent chambers,
you may call them affluent termites protecting a queen, but all I see are errant tyrants
and adamant looters, sadly treated—tenderly, as insects representatives.
behold, their leaders don diadem in that rocky, palatial den, where the gains from stolen
resources are shared as cellulose—do they also take lessons from humans?
men who do so in cryptos, satoshis, and gold, surrounded by soldiers always on their toes,
or vigilantes brandishing intimidating amulets, like the cherished trinkets from the basket
of an Ikot bride. indeed, all within the termites’ territory have their fair share of the bribe.
but like cursed greedy lots, soon would they drown in the honey jar, sweet but murky.
do the soldiers sleep at night? no. nibbling is all they do, distracted and overwrought,
feeding to stupor, lost in the lust for food—enmeshed in fun, untouchable, they think
of themselves. sincerely, they can ‘make anyone disappear’. that threatening utterance
within their sphere is more than just a blabber to smear, and even when a fellow
is made to vanish, immune in the mound, in a minute they might mourn, but in minutes
after that, they maintain the movement of the masses’ millets, into new nesting sites,
at night, as in broad daylight—no wonder the number of termites in the hood
is smaller but weightier than others in the roofs, heavier and healthier
than dwellers in the woods. the arrival of ọfafa—the anteater. unenvisaged.
the insurmountable marauder, so fierce and ferocious, carries the strength of the groundhogs.
is that what poachers do? on the surface: the mound looks solidly molded,
as if by the most gifted craftsmen, but the unholy site is surprisingly holey, made porous
by those opportunistic lancer wielders—but little did they know that ọfafa lurks around,
monitoring their every moves. without even a single tooth, ọfafa’s exceptional sense of smell
becomes weapon. with a tongue so long to reach crevices where ears of corn are stowed,
how then would the chubby queen and others be spared—the bellies of the termites
are the goldmine of yeasts, and ferocious ọfafa would have to feast.
Sheriff Olanrewaju (Author Jahid)
Sheriff Olanrewaju is a performance poet born in Kwara, Nigeria. Excerpts from his debut collection, Agonies of a Bereaved Poet (BlueOlive Publishers, Quebec), won the 2011 & 2013 IWA Poetry Prize, Texas, USA.
Sheriff won the Al-Hikmah University School Anthem Prize, 2009, and his winning entry remains the university anthem. He also won the Wax Nigeria Poetry Contest 2025, His poems of 2025 appear or are forthcoming in Poetry magazines, Wax Poetry Magazine, The ANA Review, The Heralds, and elsewhere.
Sheriff is a proud alumna of Al-Hikmah University, where he facilitated creative writing and book publishing workshops for HUI students. His latest collection, Apa-Ola, Songs of Applause and of Awakening, exudes richness and cultural renaissance in his writings.
Roger Camp
Roger Camp is the author of three photography books including the award winning Butterflies in Flight (Thames & Hudson, 2002). His documentary photography has been awarded the prestigious Leica Medal of Excellence. His work has appeared in numerous journals including The New England Review, American Chordata and the New York Quarterly. He is represented by the Robin Rice Gallery, NY.