Men, Not Gods.

Author’s note

The change is in our hands.

Vic’Adex on the poem’s beginnings and its continuing life.

I wrote Men, Not Gods in 2014 to challenge the apathy of many Nigerians: the habit of blaming somebody else when nobody does what anyone could have done. In the poem, men blame the gods for woes created and sustained by human choices. The poem recalls epic scenes from history and stakes a claim that enduring feats were accomplished by people who chose to act. Some faced incredible odds and did not win, but their sacrifices became crucial to victories that followed. By Christian tradition, even the Almighty enters human history by becoming one of us. The poem therefore returns responsibility to human hands. Its life on stage brought a different kind of response. At War of Words 5, the refrain became something the audience could carry together. King Olulu, the slam master, called it “the best performance of the night”. In 2024, its tenth anniversary became an invitation: take the work, respond to it, and let another voice enter the conversation.

Man must learn to take responsibility for himself, he must no longer tranquillize himself with the lies of a fixed fate, he must not lull himself with the lullaby of groundless false hope. He must be bold enough to dare for his dreams. Selah.