I Will Not Pray for VDM

By Graciano Enwerem

I will not pray for VDM.
I won’t beg you to cry for him.
Don’t cry for him,
Cry for yourselves—
You, the blind men dancing in the fire,
Thinking it’s disco lights.
I won’t pray for VeryDarkMan,
He doesn’t need your pity-prayers.
He’s not the lamb—he’s the knife.
He’s not the fallen—he’s the finger pointing
At your decay wrapped in perfume.
I won’t pray against GTB.
I won’t waste breath on the EFCC
That’s become a comedy skit in a uniform.
No—
I pray for you.
You, who sip your tea
While the country burns from the handle up.
You, who wear chains
But call them bracelets from Dubai.
You, the goat on the grill,
Smiling at the aroma of your own flesh,
Boasting of the seasoning
As if death tastes like jollof.
I pray for you,
The man who claps for the hangman
Because he thinks the rope is a necktie.
I pray for the woman
Who posts Bible verses on Sunday
But defends oppressors on Monday.
I won’t pray for justice—
Justice doesn’t beg.
Justice walks in shadows
And kicks doors when it’s tired of waiting.
Don’t cry for him—
Cry for your sons who will grow up thinking
Silence is a survival strategy.
Cry for your daughters
Who will inherit your fear like family land.
You cheer as they lock up VDM,
You throw a party because your corrupt uncle’s name
Was almost dropped like cold amala on a clean shirt.
You celebrate—
A pig clapping because the butcher spared him today,
Forgetting tomorrow is market day.
You, roasted grasshopper,
Shining with oil
That drips not from joy
But from the fire consuming your spine.
You call it “blessing”
While your bones weep.
You tweet “good riddance”
When the voice that dared to speak
Is dragged, gagged, and stomped on,
But your turn will come—
Not by prophecy, but by pattern.
Your silence is a signature on your own verdict.
I won’t pray against the thieves in office,
They have overdosed on prayers—
They eat Ramens of Amen like chin chin.
Their pastors anoint their hands
That dip into pension funds.
I won’t waste breath on the thieves—
They’ve turned prayer houses into laundromats.
Their altars are built with stolen bricks,
Their holy water is the people’s tears.
Let them feast—
The same teeth that chew the nation
Will gnaw their own hearts when the plate is empty.
I pray for you.
You who think immunity is woven into your agbada,
That your connections are bulletproof vests…
Nemesis drives a danfo with no brakes,
And your bus stop is already marked.
You who dance on the graves of the brave,
Don’t forget—
The ground remembers footsteps
And tombs don’t forgive applause.
Don’t cry for VDM—
Cry for yourself.
Cry for the day you beg for a savior,
But all the brave ones are buried
Beneath the rubble of your applause.
Because one day,
There’ll be no voice left to shout
When your child is dragged from a bus
For a crime invented on paper.
When your salary disappears
Into someone’s offshore account.
When you scream for help
And the only answer
Is your echo.
Cry for yourself—
You who were born a lion
But trained by the system to only bark.

#freevdm

#verydarkman

#gtbank#GTB#efccnigeriaefccchairman

#EFCC#IWillNotPrayForVDM

#gracianoenwerempoetry#Grrr#grrraciano