“Echoes of chains; the Malaria struggle in Post-colonial Africa” - Busayo Akindolie

Africa my Africa

Africa my home and land

Rich and blessed with precious minerals

On whose back the Nations stand

A place of resiliency, a place of power

Yet in the face of malaria the Nation cowers

Little by little the parasite pokes

Leaving the host with shrivels to croak

Mothers, children, and men alike,

Malaria by thy hand

Lots have died

The colonial masters, they tried to see

How a disease so wicked came to be

Their motive and drive for economic gain

Through research and data, they exploited your pain

II

Though you’re free and independent

The irony of your independence so transcendent

Your colonial masters have taken a new form

A form of control that leads you to conform

The legacy of colonialism still echoes today

Even on the global stage, you’re told to stay away

The quest for treatment birthed in the North

To decide your fate Africa, based on your worth

Without a care the North decides

On a course of treatment by which the South must abide

Racist treatments that make the anopheles grin

My people suffer for the colour of their skin

III

Now the truth shall set us free

The truth so plain that all can see

The truth that Africa is still in chains

A chain that binds but hope remains

Africa my Africa, you will rise again

From the sins of colonialism that caused you pain

A resilient nation on whose back the nations thrive

We await an Africa that will soon revive

References

1.     Bump, J. B., & Aniebo, I. (2022). Colonialism, malaria, and the decolonization of global health. PLOS Global Public Health, 2(9), e0000936. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000936