Cancer and the child -By Kareem Itunu Azeez

Cancer and the child…
Itunumi Solace

He was just ten years,
Slumped at the latrine,
Then the body was with different lines.
This must be a descendants of our village people,
Its an attack from my enemies.
“Mummy I am feeling dizzy”
Sorry my dear, its malaria…..
Use this paracetamol
And like that no diagnosis. Its the Nigerian mentality

Few days after, he can’t move
He was rushed to the clinic, not the hospital
She was seriously deteriorating,
“Use antibacterial” he’s suffering from cholera
Oh, self care once more,
Chidera was dieing
Aishat was washing away….
Wuraola was seeing her last days,
Her parents were transporting her to her death
They lack education or the Nigerian mentality.

The doctors quickly diagnosed her,
“She has cancer” sir
“It’s your child that will have cancer “
She’s just ten years, children don’t have cancers
Her weakness was visible
Hades was around, the race of Zeus has come
The god of the underworld,
Dilly-dallying on the child health, is what they do
“Take her to the church’
” let’s recite some surahs’ on her”
It’s an attack from our village people
My enemies have attack again.

So Danjuma was taken to Kano…
Ikenna was transported to the village,
Nifemi was carried down to Ilesha
They believe the Dibia would cure him
The doctors were frustrated
A life needs to be saved
So back in the village, herbs upon concussion were drunk
No prescription!!
No dosage!!
No time frame!!!
Its our village people,

At the church, the pastor says fast,
Meanwhile his daughter with typhoid is in the hospital
The imam says, supplicate God, five times around her
Meanwhile, his son sustain medication in the hospital
But Wuraola lies in the church
Hoping for a miracle that is not there
When would Nigerians be liberated…
Few days to the final coming of Hades
She was smiling now,
She demands more food
“Those doctors don’t know their work” the father said
“If not pastor Orji, what would have happen” the mother said
Thank you Alfa, they smiled.
Yet the Doctor could see the dangers.
So they took the time bomb home.

After two days,
Wuraola was at the bus top
Chidera knew her time has come
Aishat was gonna miss her friends forever
Ikenna will miss the football field
Danjuma wanted to be a soldier
Nifemi had a future to be a medical doctor
But they killed him.
They killed them all, the innocent ones
Because they took not the right decision
They believe so much in pastors and imams
They forget humanity.

The autopsy read, Cancer of the Bone,
Cervical cancer
Cancer of the kidney
Leukemia!!!
Cancer of the brain!!!
The ten years child wrote
CANCER DIDN’T KILL ME MY PARENTS DID!
Danjuma wrote: ciwon kansa bai kashe ni ba
Chidera wrote: cancer emeghi ka m nwuo
Nifemi wrote: Akàn ko pa mi, o pa mi
Maybe a future could have been saved
Children’s too have cancer
Safe a life.

Solace sadly writes.