Not My Business
"Not My Business" is a free-verse poem by Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare. It appears in Cluster 2 ("Poems from Different Cultures and Traditions") of the AQA Anthology, a set text for GCSE English/English Literature courses in the United Kingdom.[1][2]
Background
A commentary on Osundare's work in Newswatch described "Not my Business" as a poem written during a period of military dictatorship in Nigeria, and noted its later use on school reading lists in the UK.[3]
Summary
The poem is structured as a series of short episodes in which named individuals are detained, disappear, or lose their livelihood. After each episode, the speaker insists that the events are "not my business" so long as their own comfort is not affected. The final stanza turns the poem back on the speaker, implying that the same violence eventually reaches them.
They picked Akanni up one morning
Beat him soft like clay
And stuffed him down the belly
Of a waiting jeep.
Themes and analysis
Literary discussion of the poem has focused on its portrayal of social apathy in the face of oppression and the consequences of refusing solidarity with others.[4][5] Another reading frames the poem as reflecting contemporary conflict in Nigeria and the ways public indifference can allow harms to spread.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Pilgrim, Imelda; McNab, Lindsay; Thomas, Peter (2002). Working with the English Anthology for AQA A, 2004–2006. Heinemann. ISBN 9780435106041.
- ^ "A guide to AQA GCSE poetry (AQA A Poetry Anthology sample)" (PDF). ZigZag Education. 2002. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
- ^ Ette, Mercy (June 18, 2007). "Marriage of the Spoken and Written Word" (PDF). Newswatch. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
- ^ Fasasi, Khabyr A. (June 2025). "Investigating Meaning and Message Variations in Poetic Interpretations of Osundare's "Not My Business"". Journal of the English Scholars’ Association of Nigeria. 27 (2): 53–65. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
- ^ Bright, Febisola Olowolayemo (June 2013). "Reflection of the Struggle for a Just Society in Selected Poems of Niyi Osundare and Mildred Kiconco Barya" (PDF). Language in India. 13 (6). ISSN 1930-2940. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
- ^ Chiedu, Rosemary Ebele; Onovwiona, Solomon (2018). "An X-ray of Niyi Osundare's Not My Business: A reflection of ethnic conflict in present day Nigeria". Journal of Pristine. 14 (1): 56–64. ISSN 2250-9593.