26/05/2026
Renew the Hopelessness
Crowds danced in the streets. Musicians sang campaign songs. Traders closed their shops just to attend rallies. Old women said, “Finally, a savior has arrived.”
But after one year, the future refused to renew itself.
Fuel prices climbed like monkeys on electric poles. Rice became so expensive that families now took pictures with bags of rice during weddings instead of serving it. Transport fares doubled every month. Even generators began to sound tired from too much suffering.
At first, government officials blamed “the previous administration.”
After six months, they blamed “global conditions.”
After one year, they blamed citizens for “not being patient enough.”
Meanwhile, ministers drove brand-new convoys through potholes large enough to swallow motorcycles. Government spokesmen appeared on television smiling confidently while citizens shouted at their TV screens during blackouts.
One day, an old mechanic named Baba Tori became famous in Kambala after a journalist asked him:
“How is the economy treating you?”
Baba Tori laughed so hard that he removed his cap.
“Economy? My brother, even my generator has stopped believing in this government.”
The video spread everywhere.
Soon, satire comedians became more trusted than government press conferences. Churches organized “prayer against inflation.” Tailors started sewing smaller pockets because nobody had money to keep inside them.
Still, President Balogu continued giving long speeches.
“My dear citizens, prosperity is coming.”
People began replying from their houses:
“Tell prosperity to greet us when it reaches our bus stop.”
By the third year, even party supporters stopped arguing online. They simply posted crying emojis and pictures of empty cooking pots.
One evening, the president traveled abroad for an economic summit while citizens queued for fuel under heavy rain. A young student watching the news sighed and said:
“Our leaders travel business class while the country travels backward.”
That sentence became the unofficial slogan of frustrated citizens across Kambala.
And so the nation learned a painful lesson:
Campaign promises are cheap during elections.
But governance is expensive after victory.
