Revolutionary Tenor In Derrick Agberen’s “Beat the Drum of War!”

By Hilary Akuburunwa

Derrick Agberen has written to convey his angst about the deterioration of Nigeria’s sociopolitical and socioeconomic issues. His couching of this revolutionary poem has, indeed, authenticated that one of the best times, to use the ink creatively, is when one is angry. Derrick Agberen is a revolutionary poet and an activist who genuinely seeks a functional State, devoid of repression and other oppressive tendencies. The social analyst, who has regularly fronted revolts against plundering, rape, cultism, and other societal deviances, is known for his regular supply of textual interrogations of political maladies which he weaves to advocate for sociopolitical redemption. This status of his is clearly crystalized in this poem which authenticates the imperativeness of a revolution against a torturous leadership, peopled with incorrigible looters. The work is an eighteen-stanza poem.

Agberen begins the portrayal of his resentment for the Government in the first stanza which begins with a rhetorical question. He reveals the ease which characterises the practice of democracy then bemoans how laborious it appears to be practised in Nigeria, a democratic State. Agberen in this stanza tries to uncover an agonizing irony as he says that democracy is “cheap” but still cannot be afforded by the people. These heartrending, contrastive realities, according to the poet, are grave enough, to birth a revolt which he hyperbolically calls “war”.

In the second and third stanzas, the poet advocates for an egalitarian society — a society where citizens can exercise their fundamental human rights without the fear of repression or favouritism. In these stanzas, he bemoans the extant crime of embezzlement and the monetization of power. He decries the situation when he says, “… outcomes are heavily determined by money, and the mandate of the people, stolen” (4). Agberen’s lamentation in this line alludes to the 2023 Presidential election whose results have been rejected by a huge section of Nigerians on the grounds that it was marred by conspicuous, electoral irregularities. This stanza also appears to be a foreshadowing of the Tribunal’s verdict on the Presidential election. The poet seems to have envisaged the ruling of the Tribunal as he reiterates the issue of a stolen mandate. As a continuation of his exposure of social decadence, in stanza seven, he clearly pans the Judiciary which the people have lost hope in due to its unyielding diversion of justice.

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Agberen’s revolutionary tone is resounding in stanza fourteen. He says that the “anger”, which permeates the faces of Nigerians, is a corollary of accumulated grievances for the Nigerian dehumanizing Government. He asserts that a revolution is due when he instructs, “Beat the drum of war” (34)!

In stanza thirteen, a preceding stanza, the poet states the need for a change. He charges Nigerians to preempt the current, repressive leadership through a revolution. Agberen instructs, “We must change… the… government… the economic system… Beat the drum of war” (31-32)! To foreground that the thrust of the poem is a revolt, Agberen declares that Nigerians have had enough of the agonizing Government. This is evident in the culmination of the poem as he says, “Enough is enough” (46)! He further commands, “Beat the drum of war” (47)!

In the other stanzas, Agberen investigates other distressing, sociopolitical issues. He exposes the lingering issues of insecurity, abjection, legislative incompetence, and other issues, plaguing the progress of the Nigerian State. The work’s sociopolitical depth and evocative potency are deserving of laudation. Agberen, in this work, has demonstrated investigative gallantry. He has boldly X-rayed and confronted issues which many Nigerians are too cowed to interrogate. Religion, ethnocentric policies, and class consciousness are other issues which he examines in his work. These are endemic to the Nigerian political system, and in the work, Agberen quests to rile up the repressed masses to repudiate the policies of the current Government and to revolt against it. Agberen believes that a revolution is needed for the actualization of a society without plundering, insecurity, marginalization, and other corrupt practices. Agberen has, clearly, cemented his status as a fearless writer and activist who seeks a society where sanity reigns.

Akuburunwa is an English language teacher, a literature teacher, a proofreader, an elocution teacher, and a critic who studied English language and literature at the Delta State University, Abraka.

It reads;

Who can tell me the price of democracy?
Democracy is cheap, yet the people cannot afford it.
Beat the drum of war!

In democracy, everyone has equal power to decide elections, but in the reality, political outcomes are heavily determined by money; and the mandate of the people, stolen.
Beat the drum of war!

We take the political power of money for granted.
How looted money shapes politics and what to do about It?
Beat the drum of war!

Fundamental reforms to bring democracy back into line with its egalitarian promise…
And the people, given equal opportunities in all regards…
Beat the drum of war!

Ethnicity, religion, zoning, and political classes have played major roles in militating the practice of true democracy.
Political competition, ethnocentric preferences, religious rivalries, resource allocation… They pose a major threat to democracy.
Beat the drum of war!

The corrupt, political class, its dwindling electoral participation, the ruling class, shrinking, civil liberties, and weak democratic institutions explain her democracy.
Beat the drum of war!

Is it the Judiciary? That has been so watered down by corruption.
Where do her hopes lie?
Beat the drum of war!

Weak democratic institutions, unfree and fair elections, violation of human rights, no freedom of expression…
Where do her hopes lie?
Beat the drum of war!

Hardship on the faces of the people, affording three square meals, a marathon to run…
Where do her hopes lie?
Beat the drum of war!

Her security situation, deteriorated; and the economy, so poor…
Bad governance, the major problem…
Beat the drum of war!

Our hope, ideas, and dreams of a better society should not be overtaken by fear but should be handled with bravery; we must attempt to overthrow the old order rather than allowing the old order to strive to maintain its power.
Beat the drum of war!

Challenging the established political order and the eventual establishment of a new order radically different from the preceding one…
Beat the drum of war!

We must change not only the system of government but also the economic system, the social structure, and the cultural values of the societies.
Beat the drum of war!

The expression of anger on the faces of the people is a result of accumulated grievances and dissatisfaction about the system of governance that has cared less about the people.
Beat the drum of war!

When the rights of the masses are absent together with the rule of law, suffering under the likes of nobility, dictators, bad leadership; under the watch of the colonial masters; and nothing is done about it.
Beat the drum of war!

We must defend motherland, mobilizing in mass numbers.
Where are the resistance?
Where are the civil societies who can speak for the oppressed against the oppressors?
Beat the drum of war!

The denial of everybody of their birthrights in the land of their birth can never make a stable society.
No basic needs and unequal access to social amenities…
Beat the drum of war!

Enough is enough!
Enough is enough!
Enough is enough!
Beat the drum of war!