Not my Business

1
Not my Business

• The poem is most likely set in Nigeria.
• The poet, Niyi Osundare, used his poetry to
  object to the cruel dictatorship that ruled his
  country.
• He describes how a variety of people are
  mistreated maybe by the secret police or the
  army.
• He says as long as they leave him alone its none
  of his business and then they come for him.

Dictatorship a form of government in which the
ruler is an absolute leader (not limited by a
constitution or laws or opposition etc.
2
violence
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?
Metaphor stuffed him down the belly/of a waiting
jeep. Gives us the idea of the group in control
as a brutal and wild animal. The poet is angry at
the situation in his country. The voice in the
poem wants to stay out of politics but if people
do not get involved they risk being treated
cruelly.
3
Danladis arrest made to sound violent and
sinister?
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?
a lengthy absence could be a long term in
prison or death. By using these words the poet
makes Danladis fate unclear.
The repetition of the lines at the end stresses
that arrests and injustice were a regular event
under this government.
4
Youre Fired
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?
Last comes Chinwe, who has been a perfect worker
(she has a stainless record) but finds that she
has been given the sack without any warning or
reason. no query, no warning, no probe shows
they do what they like. No trade unions to defend
her.
5
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.
Suggests the his fear and shock
The lawn is made to sound like a person because
it is bewildered (puzzled and frightened) like
him.
Repetition tells us that this event has happened
before to other people. He has been waiting for
it to happen to him but done nothing to prevent
it as long as he had enough to eat.
A jeep is a machine, it has no feelings so it
stresses the unemotional arrest. It sounds
sinister and automatic like a robot.
6
What we think the poem is about

• We live in a country which is a democracy. We
  have laws, and if we break them, we are punished.
  
• Those laws are made by a democratic process. Most
  people over 18 can vote for a member of
  parliament to represent them.
• We have a free press. The newspapers are not
  controlled by the government and they can print
  different points of view and criticism without
  fear of arrest.
• Not My Business criticises people who allow
  injustices to go on within a country as long as
  it does not affect them. The poet is suggesting
  that if no one stands against injustice and
  dictatorship, it will, eventually, affect their
  lives.

7
Feelings and attitudes

• The speakers says that what happens to other
  people is not his problem.
• But he is scared when it looks like the same
  thing will happen to him.
• The way the poet describes the abuses show that
  he is actually very angry about them.
• The message is that you should not ignore these
  abuses or one day it will happen to you too. He
  thinks people should stand up against oppressive
  regimes.

Regimes means A form of government
8
Structure
In each of the first three stanzas the first four
lines tell a story. The poem has a very clear
structure - we are told the time of each of the
episodes and what happened, followed by the
refrain What business of mine is it...? Except
for the last occasion - because it is clear now
that it (the state terror) is everyone's
business.