An Analysis of “Not My Business”, a Poem by Niyi Osundare
This article is an analysis of “Not My Business”, a poem by the Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare.
This analysis covers the following sections:
- The Poem
- Structure of the Poem
- Content Analysis
- Title Analysis
- Language and Diction of the poem
- The Mood and Tone of the Poem
- About the author
NOT MY BUSINESS
They picked Akanni up one morning
Beat him soft like clay
And stuffed him down the belly
Of a waiting jeep.
What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?
They came one night
Booted the whole house awake
And dragged Danladi out,
Then off to a lengthy absence.
What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?
Chinwe went to work one day
Only to find her job was gone:
No query, no warning, no probe –
Just one neat sack for a stainless record.
What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?
And then one evening
As I sat down to eat my yam
A knock on the door froze my hungry hand
The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn
Waiting, waiting in its usual silence.
About the poem
“Not My Business” was published in 1990 in Niyi Osundare’s collection, “Songs of the Season”.
The poem is Niyi Odundare’s way of calling out the oppression that he saw around him and across the country, Nigeria. The satirical tone captures the tyrannical nature of the leadership in Nigeria at the time it was written and the helplessness and indifference of the people in the face of tyranny.
Further to this, the poem is also Niyi Osundare’s way of pointing out the selfish nature of humans in the face of other people’s suffering. Osundare also uses the poem to educate the public on the need to stand up against injustice and that the trouble of another you overlook today may become yours tomorrow.
Structure of the Poem, “Not My Business”
The poem, “Not My Business”, by Niyi Osundare, has four stanzas with twenty-six lines. The first three stanzas have seven lines each, while the fourth stanza has five lines. The poem is free verse, it has neither meter nor rhyme. The poem uses enjambment, and the first four lines in the first three stanzas tell a story, while the last three lines serve as a refrain. This gives the poem a song-like structure. Stanza four continues the story but leaves the reader to imagine the end as the speaker’s situation takes a sharp turn.
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Content Analysis of “Not My Business”, by Niyi Osundare
Content Summary
“Not My Business” by Niyi Osundare is a narrative poem. It speaks of the tendency of humans to keep silent when things go wrong because they believe the consequences do not affect them. As long as they are not the ones wronged, they stay quiet. The poem paints the human case and the often overlooked end; though the injustice may seem not to affect the silent person, one day, it eventually will. In this case, it is political oppression and the passive observer who reports the situation.
The audience is the society, and the aim is to address the prevalent attitude of not caring about what happens to others, especially in Nigeria and other African societies. The message is that what affects one affects others and should be treated as such. People should do something about situations around them, even when they are not the ones affected directly. Keeping silent in the face of tyranny because the tragedies do not affect you directly is discouraged because next time, it may be your turn.
The speaker appears to suffer apathy and described his disinterest and inaction when violence was done to others. His reason for not interfering to help the victims is stated in the refrain,
“What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?”
He is scared his supply would be stifled if he got involved, and as long as he can keep his benefits, then everything happening is fine. The air of his regret is felt in the end when the jeep came for him as well.
Stanza by Stanza Analysis
Stanza 1
Stanza one paints a picture of a suffering man under a dictator or power within a neighbourhood. The men who did the beating are not afraid of being challenged and seem to have the authority to do as they please. Akanni, the man beaten, is helpless, beaten ‘soft like clay’ and was taken away in a jeep. This raises the theme of oppression of the weak by the powerful; this is typical of what happens under dictatorship and was common in Nigeria in the 1980s.
“They” refers to the ones in power or their representatives, and “Akanni” represents the common man who suffers under their power. The common man was “picked up”, suggesting he was arrested or kidnapped, and the “jeep” is a symbol of power or wealth, often associated with the upper class or military in Nigeria. Akanni’s survival is uncertain, as suggested by the use of the word “stuffed” to describe how he was placed in the vehicle.
After the first four lines comes the refrain
“What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?”
The refrain is a rhetorical question. It captures the disinterest and indifference of the speaker, who, in this case, represents the people who refuse to speak up against negative actions, injustice, or poor leadership because they are not directly affected. The speaker, from the description, is Akanni’s neighbour who witnessed such a scene early in the morning, but his concern was not the well-being of his neighbour but that “yam” stays in his “savouring mouth”. The speaker shows no care or sympathy.
Stanza 2
In the second stanza, the harassment takes place in the night, an ominous time and event which the “whole house” had to experience. In this case, the neighbour, Danladi, was taken away, and he was not seen again.
The speaker once again uses imagery to paint the situation. Words like “booted”, “awake”, and “dragged” show the cruelty of the ones in power and the helplessness of the victim. The “whole house” awoke when the perpetrators arrived, suggesting that the oppression is not done in secret but in the open, people know about it but are unable or unwilling to speak up or do something about it.
This violent act taking place at night with such brazenness shows that the people in power disrupt lives, create terror, and mete out inhuman treatment to the subjects at any time, even at night.
Finally, Danladi was dragged out, then off they went him “to a lengthy silence”. This suggests that Danladi may never return, or he was probably murdered and no one heard from him again.
The speaker once again concludes the stanza with the refrain,
“What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?”
This shows he is not moved to action despite multiple people who, the poem suggests, are his neighbours, being harmed. He only cares about his benefits and savoury food.
Stanza 3
The person who experienced the violence and ill treatment in stanza 3 is Chinwe. The speaker laments the unjust treatment that Chinwe received at work, where she was dismissed without cause. This is captured in lines 17-18.
“No query, no warning, no probe –
Just one neat sack for a stainless record.”
The writer uses the expression “stainless record” to express how unjust the termination of Chinwe’s employment was, as she had done nothing to deserve that.
Again, the stanza ends with the refrain, reinforcing the unwillingness of the speaker to get involved, to seek justice for those unjustly harmed, or take action of any form against the oppressors, or to relieve the victims of their pains.
Stanza 4
This is the last stanza, and its focus is on the speaker in the poem. This time, the knock came as usual, but this time it was the speaker’s home. The visitor is unexpected, and the knock is ominous. Interestingly, the knock came at the same time the speaker was settling down to enjoy his sumptuous meal. This is suggested by the lines 23- 24 –
“As I sat down to eat my yam
A knock on the door froze my hungry hand.”
The twist of fate in this stanza is almost humourous, though in a dark way. The fear crept up the speaker’s spine and heightened as the jeep waited on his lawn. It is obvious that something he had perceived as not his business has become his immediate concern.
Lines 25-26 confirm that the jeep in his lawn is the same one that picked up Akanni, the same one the speaker had seen many times, and he recognized it at first glance.
“The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn
Waiting, waiting in its usual silence.”
(stanza 4, lines 25-26)
This time, the refrain does not recur. The situation is now at the speaker’s doorstep, waiting in silence to envelop him.
Final thoughts
The three people who were oppressed, Akanni, Danladi, and Chinwe, represent the three major tribes in Nigeria. This shows that the experience cuts across the nation, and all the tribes feel the same pain. It also shows that the leadership does not care for its people, whatever their tribe.
Furthermore, Akanni and Danladi are male, while Chinwe is female. This shows that the oppressors do not care about your gender. They mistreat men and women alike.
The reluctance of the speaker to speak up or take any action hinges on two possible reasons based on the refrain of the poem:
- He is powerless in the face of the harassment and can only seek to save himself.
- In does not care about others but only for his own gains.
However, stanza four voids whatever excuse the speaker may have for refusing to say something or do something about the oppressive situations his neighbours find themselves in. The lesson, therefore, is that refusing to speak up when one is unjustly oppressed, be it or not your tribe or gender, does not necessarily mean that you are safe.
Title: Not My Business
The title, “Not My Business”, reflects the passivity and detachment of the observer in the face of injustice. This highlights the central theme of the poem – injustice and the pervasive nature of apathy. The title suggests that individuals remove themselves from societal issues when it does not directly affect them. This detachment is often borne of the mindset that as long as their personal lives are going as they suppose, what affects others is none of their concern.
Considering the title in the light of the author, the nation, and the people, it denotes the writer’s critique of the oppression and injustice that the people in power meted to the citizens and the indifference of individuals in response to it.
To pass the message in a non-violent way, Niyi Osundare chooses a common phrase, “Not My Business,” as the title of the satirical poem.
Language and Diction of the Poem
Niyi Osundare’s choice of words contributes greatly to the impact of the poem, “Not My Business”.
The use of the acceptable everyday language, not my business, makes the poem more relatable, and the message is easily received by the readers.
Secondly, Osundare uses strong verbs to paint the action of “They”, the powers that be, who oppressed the masses, and the suffering of the citizens under them. Words and expressions like “picked up”, “beat him soft like clay”, “booted the whole house awake”, “dragged”, etc., paint vivid images of the situation in the minds of the readers.
Lastly, he uses repetition to emphasize the apathy of the observers, the speaker in the poem being one of them. He repeatedly asks, “What business of mine is it / So long they don’t take the yam / From my savouring mouth?”.
Mood and tone of the poem
The mood of the poem is one of fear, panic, and indifference. The poem opens with the line: “They picked Akanni up one morning”.
The writer used “They” to identify the powers that oppress the people suggests that everyone is aware of who the powers are and what they are capable of. The people are afraid to name the powers by name for fear they would catch up to them and come after them, too.
Secondly, the description of the harm the powers inflict on the victims and their helplessness in the face of adversity also suggests that the perpetrators are much stronger and those they harass are weaker, which increases their dread in the face of their oppressors. This is confirmed by the speaker when “They” came for him (lines 24, stanza 4).
“A knock at the door froze my hungry hand.”
Finally, the description of how Akanni was “stuffed” into the jeep (line 3) and how the jeep was waiting in silence in the speaker’s lawn (line 26) is ominous.
The use of the refrain in the poem highlights the speaker’s indifference in the face of oppression and the tone in which it is presented, chilling and detached. This detached perspective of the speaker in the face of injustice also captures a resignation – what they do, they do, not my business.
Juxtaposing the serious report on the inhuman act that “They”, the powerful, are doing, and the speaker’s lack of concern creates a satirical feeling. This, therefore, causes the reader to contemplate the situation addressed in the poem.
About the author
Niyi Osundare was born in 1947 in Western Nigeria. He is a renowned academic, an award-winning poet, author, and literary critic. He studied at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (BA), the University of Leeds (MA), and York University, Toronto (PhD).