He was a Northerner crossing the road with his wares
in the rain at Oshodi, Lagos.
He slipped, fell and his wheelbarrow overturned
emptying the apples.
They rolled hither, thither and everywhere –
North, South, East and West
Immediately, a crowd of Nigerians formed
And everyone started picking apples
Vehicles stopped and the usual Lagos frenzy
Focused at that one point in time
On helping a fellow Nigerian get back on his feet
Christian, Muslim, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, all of us
No one asked his religion or tribe
Without BATting an eyelid,
we Atikulated our humanity
and Obidiently displayed our better selves
We were all concerned and we all helped
Deep inside, we are instinctively united in this Nigeria
It’s only when we stop to think or they say so
That tribe, religion and politics arise to trouble us.
If Adam was allergic to apples in that first garden
human history would be radically different.
We need more apple moments.
©ChurchMind