by Sam Akande
Likra Majara:Even if Frank Kaars was still Mayor of Le-Croff, I would trounce him like Muhammad Ali did George Foreman in Kinshasa. This region was already sick of that man. He would have been sent packing. I’m not intimidated by Frank.
Interviewer:Why are you the right one for Le-Croff? What differentiates you from the political clump?
Likra Majara:The Democratic Advancement Party has set our region at naught. Frank neglected it to frolic with strippers. Ricor Marsh’s profanity on television is a besmear to the office. Their drug law is abysmal. I could go on and on.
Interviewer:Should we expect a booming Le-Croff under you?
Likra Majara:Unequivocally! I’m here to overhaul Le-Croff.
Interviewer:Lira, thanks and all the best.
Likra Majara chortled.
Chapter Thirteen
H ustings intensified with a week to the general elections. Candidates jostled for selection by unveiling what they had in stock for the citizens.
Patriccar Island was buzzing with campaigns, but all eyes were on Le-Croff.
Lilian Loixe, who was on her final lap as prime minister, reiterated that a win for Likra Majara would be a perfect send-off gift for her.
The Democratic Advancement Party’s shortfalls were aggressively brandished as the antithesis of good governance.
Competitors milked the Frank Kaars scandal to demolish the party like a wrecking ball.
Likra Majara, thirty six, lofty and a frontrunner in the Le-Croff mayoral tussle, came from a prominent family. His father was a diplomat and his mother an erstwhile minister for housing in the country. Likra’s elder brother represented one of the districts in Le-Croff at the National Parliament.
Majara, in his trademark bow tie, laid bare his agenda before an attentive audience.
“A vote for me is a secured future. Transparency, integrity, and diligence are my benchmark. For too long Le-Croff has been subjected to torture by the Democratic Advancement Party. Their loggerheads with the central government has stunted our growth.
“The Liberation Party will, however, elevate the region from the trenches.
“I will work closely with Terre de Gloire. Doing so is very pragmatic.
“A vote for me is an end to archaic drug laws. Sixteen years for cannabis possession is outrageous. That’s why I will legalise it like other regions where the Liberation Party is in charge.
“We have been plunged into the dark ages by a rash and egotistical mayor. Debris of the alluvion he caused still lays in our region. It would be foolhardy to believe that someone from the Democratic Advancement Party won’t be another mountebank like Frank Kaars.
“We now have the druthers to efface them from Le-Croff.
“I will initiate a small business grant which would aid our economy. Tourism alone can’t sustain it. This is why the region needs someone like me who can be trusted to reshape our landscape, deviating from harmful antics.
“The harbingers of dubiety must not remain in the driving seat. It will culminate into a mishanter. A vote for me is a pathway to rebuilding Le-Croff, and together we shall revivify our beloved region.”
There was buoying up for Likra Majara by the captivated beholders.
Bahati Kellan, clad in a red dhuku, purple blouse and blue jeans, reached out for the seal of approval from electors:
“Le-Croff has been dragged through the mud and is in tatters due to ham-fisted administrations.
“Martin Luther King said a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus. Therefore, I’m moulding the sphere for progress.
“With global warming posing a significant danger to the world, as your mayor I shall roll out a Clean Air strategy which will curb emissions, reducing pollution. Electric cars would be adopted in compliance to the Clean Air strategy.
“As your mayor, the student debt of nurses, doctors and teachers is to be written off if they have practised in Le-Croff for more than three years. In addition to that, they will be well-paid.
“As your mayor, the bogus vehicle tax that is unfair would be lessened. The funding for community policing is also to be propped up to ensure the safety of lives and property.
“Both the Democratic Advancement Party and the Liberation Party are the same. We shouldn’t let them take us for a ride!”
“Bahati! Bahati! Bahati!” There was approbation from enthusiasts.
“As your mayor, I shall embark on the construction of new houses. Affordable housing is of prime concern to me.
“The incorporation of universal design into Le-Croff, making our city accessible to all, regardless of age or disability, would bring about the realisation of potentials and a premium quality of life.
“Job creation, start-up loans of thirty thousand liquets, assistance with child care is what I’m pledging to you.
“The repugnant and bleak rules on marijuana must not continue. That’s why legalisation and regulation is uppermost.
“Arise from your forty winks. Let’s carve Le-Croff into notability.”
Carols of “Bahati! Bahati!” spouted like a fissure vent.
Ricor Marsh also tried to soft-soap the region into retaining him:
“I come cap in hand. Please do not throw out the baby with the bathwater. The Democratic Advancement Party shouldn’t be condemned to damnation because of one man. You have been let down. I’m truly compunctious about it.
“Everyone deserves a second chance and the Democratic Advancement Party is no exception. We can make atonement for our transgressions if handed a new slate.
“When the chips were down I held Le-Croff from crumbling. There’s nobody who is more credible than me because they haven’t gone through the furnace.
“Economic stimulus, decriminalisation of cannabis from class A to C, a vibrant tourism sector, the vehicle tax increase will be on those of ten years. These are some of the things I hope to pursue. I have heard your cries.
“He who errs, and admits it, has a desire for knowledge.
“Thank you.”
I weep for the Democratic Advancement Party. Ricor is a namby-pamby candidate, Chanley Kuplor told the press.
Aspirants had all put their best foot forward, but the final say laid with the electorate.
Chapter Fourteen
R everberations of realignment sprang across Le-Croff like a wildfire. Upshot of the election, which seemed predictable, had swerved to an unforeseen conclusion.
Bahati Kellan sunk the main parties and dashed the outgoing prime minister.
Lilian Loixe’s expectations of Likra Majara snapping up Le-Croff for the Liberation Party was a farewell gift for her.
Strangely, eight other regions went to independents.
The Democratic Advancement Party became an extinct species. Like dinosaurs in Patriccar Island, their six-year reign in Le-Croff was aborted by Bahati Kellan. Some schools of thought opined that the Democratic Advancement Party planted their own demise. They cited Frank Kaars’ scandal and the Unified Alliance persistent antagonising of Ricor Marsh as the mainspring.
Krux Karv gave an exposition on why Likra Majara lost:
Likra’s pride buried him, he shared on Rantpage.
Rebuttals percolated in like a freshet.
Muldt Conteri was right: You are a snake, came a comment.
You are sad because your ten million can’t be recouped. Krux, don’t dare go near Bahati. Jasper and the Great Patriots will chase you off. Buy yourself an ounce of shame with your money, Krux was chided by another.
Bahati’s clean sweep caused an hysteria:
Le-Croff is liberated from maladies. Bahati is someone who isn’t out of touch. She will listen to the masses, said an elated Jasper Jabari.
The Liberation Party still had most of the regions and the central government in their palms, despite the atypical master stroke by Independents which cost them eight of their mayors.
However, there was contention that the party might be kicked to the curb in three years because the gospel of Jasper Jabari and the Great Patriot
s had begun to sieve through Patriccar Island.
Chairman of the Democratic Advancement Party, Albert Guites, was waylaid by the press:
Reporter One:You must have envisioned your party’s poor showing.
Albert Guites:We gave it our all, but Le-Croff has plumped for Bahati Kellan.
Reporter Two:Could primaries have produced a better candidate than Ricor Marsh?
Albert Guites:Ricor was an excellent choice because of his wealth of experience.
Reporter Three:Can the reputation of the Democratic Advancement Party ever be regained?
Albert Guites:We are going to bounce back, I can assure you. We have learnt from our misadventure.
Reporter Four:Chanley Kuplor and the Unified Alliance were against Ricor Marsh. Shouldn’t there be a roundtable talk?
Albert Guites:The Unified Alliance have been anti-Democratic Advancement Party. Everyone is fed up with them. They will be disbanded.
Reporter Five:The Unified Alliance in Le-Croff would be expelled like elsewhere?
Albert Guites:They must be shown the door if we are going to reform our party.
Reporter Six:Why now? This might bring about another dissension.
Albert Guites:The Unified Alliance would be an impediment to the reformation of our party, so ejecting them is a unanimous decision.
Ricor’s longing for the axing of the Unified Alliance had finally materialised.
Jasper Jabari, Vinor Magarbaa and the Great Patriots were among the exultant gathering as Mayor-Elect Bahati Kellan, garbed in a black-with-gold dhuku, brown blouse on top a black pair of jeans and gold stilettos, gave her acceptance speech. Bahati was so electrifying, even the moon and the stars glinted at her presence.
Bahati’s speech:
“We are now awake, galloping forward. I’m chuffed to have been picked to serve Le-Croff. It wasn’t a smooth sail but, with you by me, we made history. An independent outshone the main parties, which is a testament that the hoi polloi pull the strings.
“My administration will consult with YOU, because good governance is about equality, inclusiveness, rule of law, and efficiency. Stakeholders should have a say on legislation, not just lobbyists. I shall inaugurate a citizens forum. Knowing where the shoe pinches will birth a formidable region.
“Them versus us and vice versa doesn’t do anything except stoke the fans of hatred with suspicion. The proceeds of division is calamity. And calamity shuts out the evolution of any society. Le-Croff is bigger than any of us. Her interests must supersede political leaning. That’s why I’m extending an olive branch to both the Democratic Advancement and Liberation parties.
“Earlier, I received congratulatory calls from Mayor Marsh and Likra Majara. They ran a very competitive campaign. But I salute Ricor Marsh. He has championed the refashioning of the Democratic Advancement Party and presided over Le-Croff through the entropy.
“To those who donated, those who knocked from door to door, Jasper Jabari and the Great Patriots, thank you so much for your faith in me. No one can excel in isolation. The blossoming of Le-Croff will no doubt be goaded by interdependence and coalescence.
“Maximum blessings!”
Chants of Bahati! Bahati! Bahati! heralded a new dawn for Le-Croff.
- The end -
