Our Not My Business poem summary explains Niyi Osundare’s poem in clear, simple English. In the poem, a speaker watches his neighbours suffer arrest, abduction and dismissal. Each time, he decides it is none of his concern, until trouble arrives at his own door.

The poem has seven stanzas and 26 lines, and line numbers follow the official WAEC text. Keep your textbook open, read each stanza, then read the explanation below it. For an overview of the whole poem, visit our complete study guide.

Not My Business poem summary at a glance

In this Not My Business poem summary, you will notice a simple pattern. Three stanzas tell short stories of injustice against Akanni, Danladi and Chinwe. After each story, a three-line refrain shows the speaker’s selfish response. Finally, the last stanza breaks the pattern, as the danger reaches the speaker himself.

Stanza 1 (lines 1–4): Men take Akanni away

The poem opens with a violent arrest. One morning, unnamed men pick up a man called Akanni (line 1). They beat him until he is soft like clay (line 2).

Then they stuff him into the belly of a waiting jeep (lines 3–4). The poet never tells us who the men are or why they came. That silence makes the scene even more frightening.

Stanza 2 (lines 5–7): The speaker shrugs

Here we meet the speaker’s attitude for the first time. He asks what business of his this could be (line 5).

As long as nobody takes the yam from his savouring mouth, he feels no need to act (lines 6–7). In other words, his own comfort matters more to him than Akanni’s pain.

Stanza 3 (lines 8–11): Danladi disappears

Next, the attackers strike at night. They come to Danladi’s home and boot the whole household awake (lines 8–9).

They drag Danladi out, and he vanishes into a lengthy absence (lines 10–11). This time, a whole family suffers the terror of the raid.

Stanza 4 (lines 12–14): The same excuse

Once again, the speaker repeats his question (lines 12–14). Nothing has changed in his thinking.

Two neighbours have now suffered, yet his yam remains safe, so he stays silent. The repetition shows how firmly he holds on to his selfish view.

Stanza 5 (lines 15–18): Chinwe loses her job

This time, the injustice takes a different form. Chinwe goes to work one day, only to find that her job is gone (lines 15–16).

She receives no query, no warning and no investigation (line 17). Instead, she gets one neat sack, despite a stainless record (line 18). Her story shows that oppression can destroy livelihoods as well as bodies.

Stanza 6 (lines 19–21): Silence for a third time

For the third and final time, the speaker asks his question (lines 19–21).

Three people from different parts of the country have now suffered. Still, he feels safe, because his own plate is full.

Stanza 7 (lines 22–26): The knock on his door

Finally, the poem turns. One evening, as the speaker sits down to eat his yam, a knock on the door freezes his hungry hand (lines 22–24).

Outside, the jeep waits on his bewildered lawn (line 25). It waits in its usual silence, the same silence that surrounded every earlier arrest (line 26).

Notice that the refrain does not return after this stanza. The speaker can no longer claim that it is not his business, because the danger has reached him.

Putting the Not My Business poem summary together

Read as a whole, the poem works like a warning story. Each victim brings the danger a little closer to the speaker, yet he never acts. By the end, his silence has left him alone and unprotected.

Want to go deeper? Explore the themes of the poem, study its poetic devices, or test yourself with our questions and answers.

More Not My Business guides: complete study guide, themes, poetic devices, tone, mood and structure, setting and background, Niyi Osundare biography, questions and answers, objective questions.

Frequently asked questions

How many stanzas are in Not My Business?

There are seven stanzas and 26 lines, including the refrain that appears three times.

Who are the victims in the poem?

Akanni, Danladi and Chinwe, and finally the speaker himself.

What happens at the end of the poem?

A knock comes at the speaker’s door, and the jeep waits on his lawn.

Why does the refrain disappear at the end?

The speaker can no longer say it is not his business, because the danger has reached him.