𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗠
~ 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘞𝘪𝘴 The drums have gone silent. The banners now hang weak in the wind. Footsteps that once shook the streets in consultations now walk slowly into uncertain silence. Aspirants came with hope, with posters, promises, and persuasion. They moved from compound to compound, from elders to youths, believing that someday, somehow, their names would meet the ballot. But politics, like the harmattan wind, sometimes changes direction overnight. In Ahiazu, four men and one woman prepared for battle, yet when the curtain was lifted, the name announced was not among the contenders in the arena. And the people stood speechless. Not because consensus is evil, for the Party is supreme and discipline sustains structure, but because hearts were already invested in a democratic contest that never came. Now the questions float quietly in the air: How do we heal disappointed hearts? How do we gather wounded loyalists? How do we convince party faithfuls that tomorrow still belongs to them? For vi...