Somehow The Mandate Is Lost Poem by Tony Adah

They told us that when democracy comes
All our ailments will be healed
Somehow it has put thorns in our heels
And lamely we limp like a frog
Somehow the crispy khaki are gone
With the arrival of the flowing gowns
And we are down.

Somewhere the factories are closed
In their stead the weeds have grown
It is not the Luddites that have
Fought the growth of factories and shut them down
Somehow it is quest of those holding our mandate
To consume only that that comes from abroad
And offer contracts to import even the ubiquitous air.
This is how our mandate has been squandered
And we are waiting with bowl at hand
For the next meal.