3.
THE OLD CHIEF
The old chief rained insults upon the two officers that had
brought his son before him. They were dumbfounded because they had never
bargained for what they had met at the house of the bald, potbellied, old chief
with some grayish hair at the beard and side of the temples. More so, according
to the norm, gray hair signifies wisdom and good judgment. But that was an
utter anomaly! The elderly man hadn't reciprocated their fair judgment and
discretion at all. They were supposed to present his son, Bale, or any other
accused fellow before only the serving chiefs, as was the tradition of the
village and he knew!
“So you two, Dada
and Ofa?” said the old chief, “You have the guts to arrest my son according to
the law of the stupid chief you just had? Is this how you two also want to
repay me for my kindness? Or have you forgotten that during my reign that I
made you two and so many ungrateful idiots like yourselves what you are today?
But I still believe that when the time comes, the people of this land as a
whole would come to realize how stupid they were and then they will all clamour
back for their old chief, me! The rich and influential chief Onidoti Adugbo,
the not so rigid man that gives them freedom to do as they choose!” He beats
his hand on his chest boastfully on his chest as he spoke, “then I shall deal
with you two and all other ungrateful ones yourselves personally.
The stream that forgets its source would dry up! Then you
will remember that you two are not really qualified to put-on this uniforms in
the first place. Or have you both quickly forgotten?” But none of them could
answer the question. Some few moments later, some whitish substance dropped
from the skies on the cap of the taller police officer. And immediately,
everyone looked up and saw some birds flying away. The old chief smiled, and
then continued, “I think you two need to fly after those birds and arrest
whichever of them that had done that. Didn't you see that one of the birds had
not just broken the law of the land, but had also insulted a law officer? What
nonsense!”
 |
|
“... Is this how you two also want to repay me for my
kindness? ”
|
They stood
motionlessly, and then suddenly the old chief yelled, “Now will you get out of
my sight before I get angrier with you fools!” They turned and walked away.
Bale giggled as he watched them leave. His father heard his giggle and suddenly
turned towards him and yelled, “and don't ever be caught again doing something
the new chief forbids. I have been trying to avoid anything to do with that
little boy for so long. And I wouldn't
want to do so because of one of my stupid sons. Do you understand?”
He nodded affirmatively. “Now you too get out
of my sight!” yelled the old chief.
4.
THE KING MUST HEAR THIS!
The new chief was
appalled when the news got to him. He had to be careful not to rekindle old
rivalry between the former village chief and himself since he knew the latter
still harboured some resentment toward him. “I know what to do,” said the young
chief to the two officers that had brought the earlier matter to his notice, “I
must tell this directly to the king. Maybe he would have some words with him. I
personally have for long been trying to avoid putting my legs into the same
shoes with him. And it isn't that I'm scared of him, but I still just accord
him the respect he deserves. Remember that
our elders have this saying that if a child has more cloths than older
people; never can he have more rag collections than them. But if he or any of
his offspring willfully violate any of the laws of the land again, then I swear
we shall show him that no the law is no respecter of anybody!”
The two law officials nodded in agreement as the new chief
made his points. Then the taller one said, “I think it's time we settled this
once and for all,” he paused awhile and then continued. “The old chief has the
largest piggery in this village. And we know what pigs feed on…”
“DIRTS,” said the
shorter officer. “And that is why he isn't happy that you or anyone at all
would think of tiding up this land of ours. But come to think of it, the
selfish old chief has a way of sanitizing his own environment,” concluded the
taller officer.
“Hmm” the chief sighed, “I have always thought of that,
perhaps I admit I was a bit scared of offending him and a lot of rich
livestock's farmers who had made a lot of fortune from the trade in the land.”
“But no one is stopping them from trading,” interrupted the
shorter officer again, “all what we are trying to tell them to maintain is
proper sanitation rule. For instance, look at neighboring villages, such as the
Onimototo, the Gbalegbata and the Ilumimo villages; there is none where their
domestic animals are allowed to roam the streets freely without limits.”
“That's true,” agreed the chief. “But you know that my own
power is limited. The cockroach wants to dance, but the fowl would not just
allow it. So I will have to discuss a lot of issues with the king as the
overall ruler of the kingdom. With matters like this that concerns the high and
mighty of the land; I will need his backing and those of some other elders. ”
“Please do”, said
the taller officer, “and we, the community police are solidly behind you too!”
“Thank you,” the
chief answered in return. “Let me get there before it becomes too dark.”
To be Cont'
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