When Hunger lifted the Ballon D'or
Oluwagbenga Abiola@oluwagbengaabiola322369
14 days ago
“When Hunger Lifted the Ballon d'Or”
It was not Osimhen.
Not Okocha.
Not even Mikel with all his Chelsea juice.
No.
The first Nigerian to lift the Ballon d’Or…
Was Hunger.
Yes Hunger, son of Broken Promises,
Nephew to Failed Budgets and Brother to Hardship,
He wore jersey number 0,
Because even his account balance reflected his reality.
The award night was glamorous,
Held in the fuel queue beside a dysfunctional ATM,
Broadcast live on every Nigerian's worried face.
Trophy? Pure gold.
Though Hunger preferred the taste of Amala.
The red carpet was a dusty street in Ajegunle,
He stepped on it barefoot,
Because shoes are for players with sponsors, not survivors.
He waved at cameras powered by generator fumes,
Flanked by his coach, Frustration, and assistant coach, Sapa.
The announcer cleared his throat with sorrow:
"And the Ballon d’Or goes to... Hunger! For his unmatched consistency!"
Thunderous silence erupted.
No one had the strength to clap.
He climbed the stage like he climbed every struggling household,
Dribbled around job loss, tackled by recession,
But always onside with the Nigerian economy.
He lifted the trophy like he was lifting rice from N70 to N1,200.
His speech? Iconic.
"To those who said a Nigerian could never win this…"
"You forgot I’m in every home, every pot, every prayer."
"I dedicate this to all the unpaid salaries, inflated markets, and weak naira."
"And to the government, I couldn’t have done it without your lack of effort."
The stadium wept, not with joy, but low blood sugar.
Even Lionel Messi shook his head in Yoruba.
Hunger, with collarbones as sharp as his skills,
Walked off the stage, Ballon d'Or in hand,
And whispered:
"Until governance changes, I'll keep winning."
And truly,
No one could bench him.
Not even Tinubu’s "renewed hope" tactics.
@oluwagbengaabiola322369
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