{"id":1726,"date":"2009-06-04T18:21:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-04T18:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ink.verticalplus.co.uk\/archive\/?p=1726"},"modified":"2009-06-04T18:21:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-04T18:21:00","slug":"kayode-isaac-needs-a-bullet-proof-vest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/kayode-isaac-needs-a-bullet-proof-vest\/","title":{"rendered":"Kayode Isaac needs a bullet-proof vest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bullet-Proof Vest<\/span>


Bullet-proof vest cannot prevent the envy of friends \u2013<\/span>
Their hatred, betrayal \u2013 which leads to stabs at the back<\/span>
It is helpless when rivals badmouth and murder one\u2019s character<\/span>
Neither can it prevent the plan to extinct one<\/span>
By colleagues at work, concealed in pleasant smiles<\/span>
While wining and dining at a restaurant<\/span>
Nor reveal subordinates who backbite to the belief of outsiders<\/span>
After a song of praise dedicated to one\u2019s presence<\/span>

Bullet-proof vest cannot alert one against the food poison of a wife<\/span>
Or her infidelity<\/span>
Neither can it avert the conspiracy of a brother,<\/span>
A close range ghostly ghastly attack!<\/span>
It will not stop the abuse and cruelty of a maniac, psycho father <\/span>
Or oppose the penetration of the doubt<\/span>
About the paternity of a child known only to the mother.<\/span>
When one\u2019s wayward daughter,<\/span>
With the help of her lover boy, robs one of his possessions<\/span>
And when a lost son, who had defied all upbringings,<\/span>
Pays assassins against one\u2019s name because he is the heir-apparent,<\/span>
Bullet-proof vest rests!<\/span>
When one\u2019s maiguard and housemaid<\/span>
Collaborate with their street friends to “clear and forward”<\/span>
One\u2019s belongings because \u201cOga too stingy\u201d,<\/span>
Where is Bullet-proof vest?<\/span>

Much of the battle of life isn\u2019t fought with guns and grenade<\/span>
A battle set on one\u2019s ignorance <\/span>
Against familiar faces<\/span>
Needs no bullet-proof vest<\/span>
Why wear one?  <\/span>


(<\/span>maiguard<\/span> means a particular type of security guard from the northern part of Nigeria while <\/span>oga <\/span>simply means the boss.)<\/span>

<\/font>* Kayode Isaac<\/span> is a reporter for a society magazine in Lagos, Nigeria.<\/font>
<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bullet-Proof VestBullet-proof vest cannot prevent the envy of friends \u2013Their hatred, betrayal \u2013 which leads to stabs at the backIt is helpless when rivals badmouth and murder one\u2019s characterNeither can it prevent the plan to extinct oneBy colleagues at work, concealed in pleasant smilesWhile wining and dining at a restaurantNor reveal subordinates who backbite to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prose-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1726\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}