Homeless not Hopeless: A Protest against Global Oppression and Impoverishment

Abstract

thematic concern of this paper is to zero in on the problems being faced by the homeless citizens of the world: the down-trodden, the hoi polloi who are perpetually at the receiving ends of the avaricious machinations of the political class. The blue-blooded, Nigerian poet, Sola Owonibi through the medium of poetry registers protest against the universal impoverishment and oppression of the homeless individuals by the privileged. Homelessness is a global phenomenon which does not spare the advanced countries in the world. The setting of this poem, though, is in Nigeria but it has a universal implication. The downtrodden masses are the perpetually exploited production tools deployed to achieve the bourgeoisie's and political jobbers' economic and political goals. The poem lays bare the socio-economic oppression and impoverishment of the poor masses whose existence is inextricably linked with the rich's continued existence. The squalid living conditions of the masses are the delights of the political class who live in aplomb and opulence at the expense of the underprivileged citizenry. Put simply, this paper is an expose of the deplorable socio-economic and political situation of the masses all over the world, most especially in the developing countries. It further does a dissection of the homeless masses as by-products of structurally and individually induced problems. Homelessness, structurally speaking, can be caused by lack of affordable and habitable shelter, unemployment due to changes in industrial economy, insufficient income, de-institutionalization of the patients with health problems, and the erosion of family and social support. The individualistic perspective to homelessness may be traceable to bad governance and its attendant problems. The data for the paper are drawn from Sola Owonibi's Homeless Not Hopeless. This poem subtly awakens the consciousness of the privileged members of society as well as chastises the conscience of the political class in order to bring about positive change in the living conditions of the dehumanized and homeless citizenry. In a nutshell, this paper is a social commentary on the masses' hopefulness in a state of hopelessness in Nigeria and other parts of the globe.