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Mthabisi Tshuma, Showbiz Reporter
OUTSPOKEN poet Dr Gasolo has implored the public to do away with illicit drugs in his latest offering titled ‘Yekelani iNtshenku’.
Dr Gasolo said it is high time that the abuse of drugs is dealt with in order to ensure its total eradication.
“To me, Yekelani Ntshenku is not just a poem, but it’s a plea and prayer to everyone out there that ‘let’s stay away from these drugs and substances’. Let’s treat drugs like Covid-19. I know at first we used to wear our masks only for the police, but as we began to see the real impact of Covid-19, we started wearing our masks for protection.
“So my plea to all the drug dealers out there is ‘please stop it’, not because you are afraid of the police, but because you are thinking of the future,” said Dr Gasolo.
“Each time I perform this poem, I become emotional and it’s my wish that this issue of drugs become a thing of the past so that I won’t have to perform it again. It’s so painful and I don’t enjoy performing it,” he said.
Dr Gasolo said the idea behind the poem came to him sometime last year as he was going around some townships in the city of Bulawayo.
“I was surprised to see a lot of young people, ‘Ama 2000’, looking like old people just because of these drugs. I first performed this poem in an anti-drug campaign in Entumbane sometime last year. I was very happy with the response from the audience.
“In December last year, as I was performing at a wedding in Matshetsheni, I ended up performing it there because of the impact of intshenku I saw in the young people who were there. Over the weekend, I performed it at a Christian Book Launch in the city and I was surprised by the response. “The response from the audience made it clear to me that the drugs issue is a very serious one in our communities.” – @mthabisi_mthire
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