We leave, we’ve left, we ask why,
We grow debt, we buy, we say “good-bye”,
We tell lies, the exchange rate, it’s too high,
We don’t dull, we lose friends, we break up,
Split homes, break homes, con peers, no network,
We abandon roles, we don’t serve, because there’s no service,
Over there, no danfo, no traffic,
For the dream of a better life in…
Yankee, in Jand, for Masters, as slaves,
To Canada, to Saskatchewan, for peer pressure,
For the safety, the money is sure,
A few for come for school, a lot because it’s cool,
For the promise, for the posts, to start afresh,
This LDR is changing, “New family, who this?
We hope to bridge the gap between our dreams and our reality…
We get here, only to find…
The struggle is realer than was televised.
It’s so hard, it’s so true,
This was a lie, as we cry,
We hide accents, we fake accents, we fake names, we fake smiles,
We walk miles up hill, as we pay bills,
The people, they are different,
They are so cold, it’s so cold,
We say I do, fake vows, with new friends, with fake friends,
We ring home, we miss home…
Exchange rate, it’s so high, it’s so hard,
We have kids, childcare, no help, no friends,
Culture lost, language lost,
Now, we have room to serve, as room service,
New food, who this taste?
Our mirage evaporated!
Finally, we awaken, we realize, we miss home,
Who left? Who is left?
We look back, we reach out,
We plot our return, next 10 years maybe less,
We will return but we don’t return,
We love home from afar, we do our part,
I’m lucky I left, I hate that I left,
We dread the return, where do I start, where does it end?
Arise O Compatriots, we belong to this land, its chaos and its earth.
We can try to escape but Nigeria calls… obey!
She keeps calling, missing her own…
How and when we answer that call to serve our fatherland with love and strength and faith is up to us, but the call remains, relentlessly, a constant reminder of where we truly belong. To serve with heart and might!
Japada!