On Matters of Neo-Colonialism
Thank you so much Mr. Man for thinking of us We’ve been saved (I said saved!) Saved by unregulated forms of trade Foreign direct investment is why we haven’t strayed And don’t forget our favorite, donor aid I swear to you we’ve been saved (I said saved!) Saved from our own hands by your economic policies There’s nepotism, despotism, corruption and an interruption to human rights in your ex-colonies But you, Mr. Man, you see the magic in mal-governance to create opportunities We’ve been saved
How can our lands be rich and yet the people are — We won’t say the P word (P word) Bankrupt, undergoing hardships, scarcity, and starved Subject to light famine, lack, shortages, and setbacks But we won’t say the P word (P word) We won’t say the P word Once it’s said, there’s no coming back That’s how a continent becomes a country The landing strip for woeful coos and used gift bags
Save the children Protect their souls Save the children Regain control Only you, Mr. Man, With the help of Mrs. Woman in these liberated times, Can turn us around You hear our pleas You know you can invade us again with ease You’ve gotten your hands in our back pockets You’re the ones secretly in charge of short fusing the sockets So, save the children Protect our souls
Don’t worry, We’re happy with the little that we have Starving isn’t all that bad when you have bottles and sand to make music with Blistering pain and rumbling stomachs go unnoticed in this grime and filth And when we’re really hungry, we can eat some of that sand or soak it in our mouths It’s delicious It’s all that we got in these times of financial fatigue Don’t worry, we know you think it makes us unique You can take our lands, our resources, and anything else that you want Because we have music and each other to hold in this miserable jaunt
Thank you, Mr. Man, Pillage and plunder It’s really no wonder we’re alive You’re cunning thievery revitalises our souls Your insults give meaning to our lives as we walk hours to our watering holes My pet giraffe cannot get enough of your generosity in allowing us to be Our histories do not define us now that we’re free This land now belongs to the likes of us savages We do the best we can amidst our government’s ravages
Save the children Protect their souls Save the children Regain control Only you, Mr. Man, With the help of Mrs. Woman in these liberated times, Can turn us around You hear our pleas You know you can invade us again with ease You’ve gotten your hands in our back pockets You’re the ones secretly in charge of short fusing the sockets So, save the children Protect our souls
Please Mr. Man, don’t hide behind games Even in the dark, we can see your shames We’re on our knees We’re the poster children for venereal disease Your anti-change rhetoric hidden in your almighty custodial power How dare we do more than cower Slavery wasn’t abolished — More like undernourished It lives on (On) It lives on Who’s controlling our revenues? If there’s plenty of resources, who’s benefitting? Mismanagement? Back-door politics? Let’s not lie to ourselves, As long as you intervene, our lands can’t remain green Your legacy blows on Capitalizing on our dependency We’ll call it what it is for the sake of transparency Dressed up as aid, but a spade is a spade You chuckle our way with your paternalistic narrative Imploring us to gather as one is imperative Let’s sit on daddy’s lap Maybe today we won’t get slapped Let’s see you through a new favorable lens Kiss you cheek for you noble intents Your bid to uplift the uncivilised Those you’d previously worked hard to minimise Reinforcing the presentation of my fellow men as feckless mules These are the rules
But shame on us (Shame on us) We shouldn’t question the establishment Horrible histories are long past Malpractices, you’ve worked hard to blast For that we thank you We idolise you, please tell us you feel the same If not, that’s okay, you can still stay It’s not like we have a choice anyway It’s a matter of subtle domination But Mr. Man, we don’t want to hate you Our stunted growth doesn’t have to burden us both Let’s be fair, correlation doesn’t always equal causation We’ll close our eyes and settle for some sincere donations Just hand enough to the right pockets and this will all be okay All be okay All be okay, kay, kay, kay, kay
Save the children Protect their souls Save the children Regain control Only you, Mr. Man, With the help of Mrs. Woman in these liberated times, Can turn us around You hear our pleas You know you can invade us again with ease You’ve gotten your hands in our back pockets You’re the ones secretly in charge of short fusing the sockets So, save the children Protect our souls
Life’s all about that financial gain Military power just doesn’t feel the same There are no limits to what your narcissism can achieve Resource management and administration you’ve got up your sleave Take from us as you wish, you merry band of thieves What do you stand on when you stand for nothing? We stand by you Mr. Man
We’ve got music and God, and we’re happy with that Blessed is he who doesn’t ask for much Scarcity of all kinds is our domain But God loves us, for sure God loves us, and for that we cannot complain So, continue on, Mr. Man and Mrs. Woman Continue on It will all be okay All be okay, All be okay, kay, kay, kay, kay