Kingdom Makes the King

THE CRADLE A leader leads because the people accepted to be led. Do not take followership for foolishness 1 The morning in Umuenyere had broken into a still and tragic atmosphere. The cold, strong and invisible hand of death had slapped Umuenyere so hard. This time around, it came in a cruel manner, not respecting the personality involved. People were dazed and hardly could they remember what to say about the tragedy. The giant wooden tom-tom called Ikoro was symbolic in Umuenyere. It was beaten in rare occasions. That morning, the Ikoro was beaten and the sound was strongly heard in far communities outside Umuenyere. As the Ikoro boomed, women and children were forced behind the door. Elders of Umuenyere had ventured into the jungles with some hired young men from Ama-uturu, which was a neighbouring community to Umuenyere. It had been a decade the Ikoro was beaten last. The booming sound of this giant tomom kept rising in tempo, expression grief and pains. Soon the elders emerged from the jungles with those young men from Ama-uturu carrying the royal carcass of Eze Ajala. The elders wore heavy faces, expression of what pains they bore in their heart. Now, regardless of Eze Ajala’s fame and glory as a king, he died in a most shameful manner. His fashion of death was said to be abomination and capable of attracting curse to the people. His inhumation was supposed to have drawn people from all countries of Africa, but then, the reverse was the case. He took his own life and should be thrown into the evil forest like a rejected gallinacean. His body could only be carried by strangers and not by the citizens of Umuenyere. Eze Ajala had woken up at midnight and tootled into the jungle. Like a hypnotised lion, he took his own life! As the ikoro kept booming, the village square went empty. Not even a fowl was found roaming at the square. As soon as those men that went to bring back the King’s dead body emerged from the jungle, they past the village square and went straight to the palace. At the palace, the elders of Umuenyere received the king’s body with grief. Though foul-play was suspected in the King’s death, the people’s speculation was vague. Fingers could not point at any person in accusation. After some rituals at the palace, the King’s Carcass, accompanied with the fetish music of Oboni, and was taken to the evil forest. That was a most shameful way of burying a king; but his treatment was appropriate for one who took his own life. He could not have been treated otherwise because the tradition made it so. * * * For eight market days now, the people had been very busy carrying out the necessary rituals that accompany the coronation of a new King. Ukandu, the son of late Eze Ajala would soon ascend the thrown of his forefathers. What a glory to be bestowed upon mankind! Though the original trend of coronation events had been alloyed with western culture, the rudiment was not lost, the in-coming king ought to be in the shrine for seven days and after which he would be crowned on the eight day. That was to enable some necessary rituals to be performed. The in-coming king would also have time to commune with the ancestors within those seven days in the shrine. The eighth day broke into a busy and happy day. Before the D-day, the citizens of Umuenyere were anxious and could hardly wait to embrace the dawn of that festive Eke day. Witnessing such festivity was usually once in a life’s time. Coronation of a new king was not a common event. It only took place on the event of death of a former King; so not too many citizens witnessed coronation twice in their life. Elders of the land have gathered at the village green where the event was to take place. They shared past experience as they drank palm wine. Drummers and dancers that would entertain at the occasion were very much ready. Tens of tents were mounted at the square. The citizens waited patiently as visitors from all countries of Africa flooded in multitude. It was now mid-day and the square had been crowded beyond its capacity. The citizens climbed one another in a fight to gain vantage. The music rolled and the dancers were caught by the fever. They responded accordingly to the beat, rhythm and tempo of the drum. All kinds of masquerades were heavily present. Sometimes the masquerades would threaten a chase on the multitude that would surge backward just to re-adjust when they were gone. Elders were seated in their rightful place waiting for the top of the hour for them to usher in their new king and present him to the world. The time ticked slowly, carrying with it excitement, fun and merriment. Amid the excitement came a booming sound of a gun blast which sent its echo back from a nearby river valley. That explosion had broken a pot of confusion among the people. This is because the sound was not expected to come from a gun but cannon. Some cannons were mounted in strategic positions, but the hour was not yet nigh for them to explode. While the citizens excogitated what the mater could be, some elders had made their ways to the palace to find out what had gone amiss. A moment later, a painful yell broke and it became obvious that cricket had swallowed a lizard. Pandemonium broke loose and the ceremony quenched like fire. The deafening news befell the people that Ukandu had been blasted on the head just a few minutes before his formal enthronement. Immediately Ukandu was shot by the assassin, a piece of his skull fell on the coronation arena and the people knew that a greater and more dangerous thing had visited cricket in its crevice. They were terrified, when they got to the palace to see Ukandu’s brain plastered on the wall and his lifeless body lay in ocean of his hot crimson blood * * * Men and women had gathered at the village square, and everyone was carried away by basketful of political philosophy that came out from the orator’s mouth. The people of Umuenyere thought he was a messiah who had come to rescue them and offer them economic salvation. They were made to believe that they would soon be free from poverty. That development would soon be brought to their door steps. That the little tax they paid to the government of Owanee would soon be lifted off. That the government will soon solve the problem of economic hardship, and education would be made free for whoever that wished to go to school. Water, roads and electricity would be made historic problems as government would make sure they were adequately provided. Those words were so suiting that even the deaf could read from the people’s countenance that things were already fine. He concluded by saying: “we can achieve all these things if only you will make me your king. Days are gone when kingship was inherited. Nowadays, the power to choose who leads you lies in the palms of your hands. Give me a chance and together we shall build our community”. He sounded too convincing that the people needed no consultation to give their consent. His speech was welcomed with a cheerful and thunderous ovation. The people applauded him for restoring their hope and confidence in the government. * * * It had been one month since Agwo ascended the throne of rulership in Umuenyere and since then, things had fallen out of shape. As soon as Agwo ascended the throne, he went gaga with powers. Draconian rules were foisted on the people and the citizens complained of high-handedness. He ruled the people with a strong heart devoid of water and blood. He was said to be eze onye akwalam, which is translated as `a king that does not take advice’. His judgments were harsh and widows who refused to come to bed with him lost their inherited properties in dispute. Agwo had surrounded himself with some notorious elders who were well known for perpetuating evil in Umuenyere. All the promises Agwo made to the people, he had fulfilled but in a reverse direction. The fund that was meant for electricity, roads, and portable water, had been squandered by Agwo to enrich himself. To offer security to the people as he promised, he established a vigilante group which was independent of the central police of the republic of Owanee. The name vigilante is ironical and misleading as these crop of men were nothing but disguised band of robbers. Agwo promised to lift the burden of tax payment from the people of Umuenyere, but since his enthronement, tax charges had quadrupled. Agwo recruited some youths and empowered them with arms to work in his palace as guards. The guards in collaboration with the vigilante had become so powerful that they oppressed the people of Umuenyere. They had every girl at their disposal and any girl who refused to offer them s*x was accused of one or two disgraceful crime. Smoking of Indian hemps was an hourly meal for these men and yet they arrested youths who smoke hemps and cigarette. “Man go survive”, was the slogan amongst the vigilante. Agwo’s rule was that of a tyrant administrator who had sworn to frustrate the citizens in order to satisfy his unbridled desire for power and wealth. * * * The youths of Umuenyere had tramped to the king’s palace in a mass protest against the injustices that characterised Agwo’s administration. They said they had endured enough of oppressions in their own community. The last incident that provoked those young men was the recent judgment delivered by the Agwo’s administration. There was a certain young man in Umuenyere whose name was Uwalaka. He was a handsome man whose `beauty` was adored by everyone. His handsomeness attracted ladies the same way a malodorous body would attract flies. Women flooded his house despite the fact that he had no serious handiwork. He was nicknamed ‘Baby-no-go-pass’. Despite his handsomeness, Uwalaka had a bad spot in his character. He claimed not to be a thief, but theft was often reported of any place he visited. This ugly character was seriously frowned at by the elders of Umuenyere. Uwalaka had visited his grandmother one evening and met the woman’s absence. He stood with his eyes flashing all corners of the compound. In a moment, he had seen a lump of meat that was being grilled at the fire place and after scanning round, he sallied forth into the kitchen, smartly he grabbed the meat and left. The old woman had returned and when she could not find her meat on the grill, she raised alarm. Neighbors had gathered and someone said he saw Uwalaka leaving the compound with a lump of meat. That was it; he had confirmed the people’s speculation. The news that Uwakala stole his grandmother’s meat had got to the vigilante and they did not hesitate in arresting him. They fined Uwakala, flogged him and forced him to dance in the nude at the market square. What a shame to Baby-no-go-pass! What a shame to manhood! Young men of Umuenyere were saddened by that shameful show and they excommunicated Uwalaka from their gethering. There was also a young lady called Ogbasaragi whose beauty was said to have come from the water. Men of Umuenyere broke their ankle in a bid to have Ogbasaragi. Her parents were so proud of their daughter’s beauty that they boasted that none of the men in Umuenyere was worthy of the damsel. They said that her suitor must be a man who lived in oversea. This boastful statement was so disgusting that some of the young men of Umuenyere hated Ogbasaragi. It came to pass that Ogbasaragi had gone to the stream and stole jewelry from her fellow girl who also came to bath in the same stream. That news shook Umuenyere. The new law was clear and should not have exception. Anyone who stole should be fined, flogged and forced to dance in the nude at the market square. Young men of Umuenyere received this news with great excitement. They had washed their eyes in the river, and waited to see the most beautiful and arrogant girl in Umuenyere dance in the nude at the market square but this never happened! They waited again with unusual curiosity for the vigilante to swing into action as they did to Uwalaka; but it never came. As their hope of watching the naked haunches and crotches of the beautiful damsel went sour, they knew that the rat had once again played a smart game on the cat. It was not long they confirmed their speculation. The news came like a wild fire that Ogbasaragi had gone to bed with the king for him to avert his judgment. The youths of Umuenyere went wild in madness. The male folks obviously felt down trodden. Their anger welled as they marched to the palace protesting against injustice. ‘A man stole and was stripped in the public, and now, a woman has stolen, why will she not be treated in like manner?’ this statement, they chanted as they as they went to the palace. * * * Agwo was seated at the balcony of the upper chamber in his palace. He usually sat there at leisure to observe pleasant scenery of the tropical meadows. As the king lifted his eyes, he saw from afar a multitude of protesters. He ordered his gate keeper to let them in when they would arrive. On arrival, the multitude was surprised to see the gate strangely open. That was unusual of a palace where most people with serious issues were asked to go back even before they approached the corridor of the gate. Seeing the ‘open heaven’, the youths’ morale was heightened. They chanted, danced, jumped and flooded in to the palace to meet the king. He who embraces a fight in a haste does not know that fight and death are inseparable twin. As soon as they had entered the palace, the gate keeper rolled and slammed the gate and went away with the key. They had been trapped in the slammer. The king’s servant came down afterwards to address the people. That was the tradition in the palace, one does give the king messsage directly, it must be given to the chief servant. “Greetings to you: the youths of Umuenyere”. “Greetings to you, the chief servant of his royal majesty”, echoed the multitude. After the exchange of greetings, the servant began to speak to the people. “The rabbit does not sniffle around in the broad day for fun and the toad does not leave the pool to cry on the mountain, unless there is trouble. I was sent by the king to get your message. I hope all is well”. The youths had a culture of blowing whistle whenever they gathered. The whistle was blown followed by a chant of slogan: “Company arise!” the rest thundered there response “Arise!” After chanting the slogan, their spokesman came out to address the king’s servant. “Greetings to you: the chief servant of his majesty. All is not well with us. It is only the unhealthy that visits a herbal home. That toad crying on the dry mountain is pursued by a snake. Whatever that warrants a baby-goat to bash a raffia fence must be indeed provocative and if not properly checked will lead to crisis. An elder that detests tears should endeavor to do unto one child as he has done to the other. Sometime ago, one of us was stripped in the public for taking a piece of meat from the fire place in his grandmother’s kitchen. We have looked into it and saw that is a mere peccadillo and should not have attracted such a grave punishment. Now, a woman, a young lady, stole an expensive jewel from her fellow woman and yet, nothing was said or done about it, the lips are to protect the mouth, but when they are corrupt, surely, the mouth will be malodorous. We do not like the activities of the men of the vigilante and we want the king to do something about it”. Immediately their spokesman ended his speech, the whistle was blown again and they enchanted the slogan. “I have heard your grieve and as a servant I am not suppose to speak in riddles, but you can be rest assured that the message given to the smoke must surely reach the sky. I shall take your words to the king and return to you his answers in a moment”, said the servant and he left to deliver the message. The youths waited for the servant to return the king’s words, but he never came. Moments later, the king came down himself. The multitude lay down to reverence him. “What can I do for you the youths of Umuenyere?” came the deep voice of the king. The whistle was blown once again followed by the chant of slogan and the people responded accordingly. That was absolutely disgusting as the king’s heart boiled in anger. He suffered himself not to lose his temper out rightly as the youths’ spokesman spoke to him on behalf of the rest. “The great king of our land, the benevolent moon that shines for all, the moon that gives light to both the rich and the poor, the king whose glory radiates like the heat of the sun, the sun which stands far up in the sky and yet, men feel its heat. As no man can cover the sun with the palms of his hands, so shall none stop your reign.” The speaker paused and the whistle blasted again. “We want to know why we have been denied justice. A man was stripped for stealing; did our new law not say ‘stripe man or woman who is caught stealing’? Yet the young lady who stole an expensive jewel has been freed to parade the entire community of Umuenyere like a proud peacock in an I-don’t-care attitude. She threw her white teeth at everyone as if all is well; she should be humble to hide her face in shame. We, the youths of Umuenyere want Ogbasaragi, the daughter of Okom Okpu to be stripped in the market square for stealing”. He ended his speech while the whistle was blown to indicate end of speech. Agwo was overwrought in anger and he yelled out for the palace guards. Five able body men of the vigilante reported immediately, brandishing their weapon. The muscles on their bare chaste budged like pairs of solid rock. The youths' heart failed as they saw those men with strong whips and machetes. Their bladder sent hot urine running in their pant. They had just realized that the open gate was a decoy to lure them into the snare. Instinctively, most of them ran to the gate, but there was no exit. Children yell in panic, and the grownups ran helter-skelter looking for a possible escape route. In the face of the turmoil, Agwo called out for more men, and just then, he saw two boys sailing over the wall. "No matter how high an eagle soars, it surely will end up in its small nest," said Agwo as he watched those two boys somersaulting over the fence. Now, more men of the vigilante had come from the palace, they came brandishing their guns with the same readiness and zeal which a newly married wife would display in performing her duties. "Children this way; and the rest of you that way!" Agwo had said and the leader of the vigilante took over the command. "Children here! Grownups there!" ordered the vigilante leader; his gun pointed at them in readiness to shoot any erring or rather rebellious youth. “Obo, why do you trash them with the weakness of a woman who is heavy with a baby? I may have to show you what a strong lash should be”, said the king with a fearful disposition. He ordered Obo who pretended to be lethargic to lie down for some lashes. The king flogged Obo strongly on his buttocks and ordered him to do in like manner to the youths. Having received some skin-bruising lashes, Obo transferred his aggression on the youths; he flogged them with malicious disposition. The other men had intensified their effort, not wanting to be taught how to flog by the king. After punishing the adults with twenty four strokes of whip, the king asked the children if they knew why they were on protest, and they said no, “You shall receive seven strokes of the whip for your ignorance”. The rest of the youths were also discharged but with buttocks that had bruised with contour stamps of the whip. Sitting on those pain-afflicted buttocks was like sitting on a red hot metal. While the rest of the youths were released, Uwalaka was detained for further torture. Apart from his previous crime of larceny, Uwalaka was detained and tortured for inciting the youths into protest. Later, the boys who sailed over the fence were fetched and severely punished with such skin-pilling hot lashes. Each of them got a gift of thirty two lashes that made their buttocks bleed and grow sores. 1 The morning in Umuenyere had broken into a still and tragic atmosphere. The cold, strong and invisible hand of death had slapped Umuenyere so hard. This time around, it came in a cruel manner, not respecting the personality involved. People were dazed and hardly could they remember what to say about the tragedy. The giant wooden tom-tom called Ikoro was symbolic in Umuenyere. It was beaten in rare occasions. That morning, the Ikoro was beaten and the sound was strongly heard in far communities outside Umuenyere. As the Ikoro boomed, women and children were forced behind the door. Elders of Umuenyere had ventured into the jungles with some hired young men from Ama-uturu, which was a neighbouring community to Umuenyere. It had been a decade the Ikoro was beaten last. The booming sound of this giant tomom kept rising in tempo, expression grief and pains. Soon the elders emerged from the jungles with those young men from Ama-uturu carrying the royal carcass of Eze Ajala. The elders wore heavy faces, expression of what pains they bore in their heart. Now, regardless of Eze Ajala’s fame and glory as a king, he died in a most shameful manner. His fashion of death was said to be abomination and capable of attracting curse to the people. His inhumation was supposed to have drawn people from all countries of Africa, but then, the reverse was the case. He took his own life and should be thrown into the evil forest like a rejected gallinacean. His body could only be carried by strangers and not by the citizens of Umuenyere. Eze Ajala had woken up at midnight and tootled into the jungle. Like a hypnotised lion, he took his own life! As the ikoro kept booming, the village square went empty. Not even a fowl was found roaming at the square. As soon as those men that went to bring back the King’s dead body emerged from the jungle, they past the village square and went straight to the palace. At the palace, the elders of Umuenyere received the king’s body with grief. Though foul-play was suspected in the King’s death, the people’s speculation was vague. Fingers could not point at any person in accusation. After some rituals at the palace, the King’s Carcass, accompanied with the fetish music of Oboni, and was taken to the evil forest. That was a most shameful way of burying a king; but his treatment was appropriate for one who took his own life. He could not have been treated otherwise because the tradition made it so. * * * For eight market days now, the people had been very busy carrying out the necessary rituals that accompany the coronation of a new King. Ukandu, the son of late Eze Ajala would soon ascend the thrown of his forefathers. What a glory to be bestowed upon mankind! Though the original trend of coronation events had been alloyed with western culture, the rudiment was not lost, the in-coming king ought to be in the shrine for seven days and after which he would be crowned on the eight day. That was to enable some necessary rituals to be performed. The in-coming king would also have time to commune with the ancestors within those seven days in the shrine. The eighth day broke into a busy and happy day. Before the D-day, the citizens of Umuenyere were anxious and could hardly wait to embrace the dawn of that festive Eke day. Witnessing such festivity was usually once in a life’s time. Coronation of a new king was not a common event. It only took place on the event of death of a former King; so not too many citizens witnessed coronation twice in their life. Elders of the land have gathered at the village green where the event was to take place. They shared past experience as they drank palm wine. Drummers and dancers that would entertain at the occasion were very much ready. Tens of tents were mounted at the square. The citizens waited patiently as visitors from all countries of Africa flooded in multitude. It was now mid-day and the square had been crowded beyond its capacity. The citizens climbed one another in a fight to gain vantage. The music rolled and the dancers were caught by the fever. They responded accordingly to the beat, rhythm and tempo of the drum. All kinds of masquerades were heavily present. Sometimes the masquerades would threaten a chase on the multitude that would surge backward just to re-adjust when they were gone. Elders were seated in their rightful place waiting for the top of the hour for them to usher in their new king and present him to the world. The time ticked slowly, carrying with it excitement, fun and merriment. Amid the excitement came a booming sound of a gun blast which sent its echo back from a nearby river valley. That explosion had broken a pot of confusion among the people. This is because the sound was not expected to come from a gun but cannon. Some cannons were mounted in strategic positions, but the hour was not yet nigh for them to explode. While the citizens excogitated what the mater could be, some elders had made their ways to the palace to find out what had gone amiss. A moment later, a painful yell broke and it became obvious that cricket had swallowed a lizard. Pandemonium broke loose and the ceremony quenched like fire. The deafening news befell the people that Ukandu had been blasted on the head just a few minutes before his formal enthronement. Immediately Ukandu was shot by the assassin, a piece of his skull fell on the coronation arena and the people knew that a greater and more dangerous thing had visited cricket in its crevice. They were terrified, when they got to the palace to see Ukandu’s brain plastered on the wall and his lifeless body lay in ocean of his hot crimson blood * * * Men and women had gathered at the village square, and everyone was carried away by basketful of political philosophy that came out from the orator’s mouth. The people of Umuenyere thought he was a messiah who had come to rescue them and offer them economic salvation. They were made to believe that they would soon be free from poverty. That development would soon be brought to their door steps. That the little tax they paid to the government of Owanee would soon be lifted off. That the government will soon solve the problem of economic hardship, and education would be made free for whoever that wished to go to school. Water, roads and electricity would be made historic problems as government would make sure they were adequately provided. Those words were so suiting that even the deaf could read from the people’s countenance that things were already fine. He concluded by saying: “we can achieve all these things if only you will make me your king. Days are gone when kingship was inherited. Nowadays, the power to choose who leads you lies in the palms of your hands. Give me a chance and together we shall build our community”. He sounded too convincing that the people needed no consultation to give their consent. His speech was welcomed with a cheerful and thunderous ovation. The people applauded him for restoring their hope and confidence in the government. * * * It had been one month since Agwo ascended the throne of rulership in Umuenyere and since then, things had fallen out of shape. As soon as Agwo ascended the throne, he went gaga with powers. Draconian rules were foisted on the people and the citizens complained of high-handedness. He ruled the people with a strong heart devoid of water and blood. He was said to be eze onye akwalam, which is translated as `a king that does not take advice’. His judgments were harsh and widows who refused to come to bed with him lost their inherited properties in dispute. Agwo had surrounded himself with some notorious elders who were well known for perpetuating evil in Umuenyere. All the promises Agwo made to the people, he had fulfilled but in a reverse direction. The fund that was meant for electricity, roads, and portable water, had been squandered by Agwo to enrich himself. To offer security to the people as he promised, he established a vigilante group which was independent of the central police of the republic of Owanee. The name vigilante is ironical and misleading as these crop of men were nothing but disguised band of robbers. Agwo promised to lift the burden of tax payment from the people of Umuenyere, but since his enthronement, tax charges had quadrupled. Agwo recruited some youths and empowered them with arms to work in his palace as guards. The guards in collaboration with the vigilante had become so powerful that they oppressed the people of Umuenyere. They had every girl at their disposal and any girl who refused to offer them s*x was accused of one or two disgraceful crime. Smoking of Indian hemps was an hourly meal for these men and yet they arrested youths who smoke hemps and cigarette. “Man go survive”, was the slogan amongst the vigilante. Agwo’s rule was that of a tyrant administrator who had sworn to frustrate the citizens in order to satisfy his unbridled desire for power and wealth. * * * The youths of Umuenyere had tramped to the king’s palace in a mass protest against the injustices that characterised Agwo’s administration. They said they had endured enough of oppressions in their own community. The last incident that provoked those young men was the recent judgment delivered by the Agwo’s administration. There was a certain young man in Umuenyere whose name was Uwalaka. He was a handsome man whose `beauty` was adored by everyone. His handsomeness attracted ladies the same way a malodorous body would attract flies. Women flooded his house despite the fact that he had no serious handiwork. He was nicknamed ‘Baby-no-go-pass’. Despite his handsomeness, Uwalaka had a bad spot in his character. He claimed not to be a thief, but theft was often reported of any place he visited. This ugly character was seriously frowned at by the elders of Umuenyere. Uwalaka had visited his grandmother one evening and met the woman’s absence. He stood with his eyes flashing all corners of the compound. In a moment, he had seen a lump of meat that was being grilled at the fire place and after scanning round, he sallied forth into the kitchen, smartly he grabbed the meat and left. The old woman had returned and when she could not find her meat on the grill, she raised alarm. Neighbors had gathered and someone said he saw Uwalaka leaving the compound with a lump of meat. That was it; he had confirmed the people’s speculation. The news that Uwakala stole his grandmother’s meat had got to the vigilante and they did not hesitate in arresting him. They fined Uwakala, flogged him and forced him to dance in the nude at the market square. What a shame to Baby-no-go-pass! What a shame to manhood! Young men of Umuenyere were saddened by that shameful show and they excommunicated Uwalaka from their gethering. There was also a young lady called Ogbasaragi whose beauty was said to have come from the water. Men of Umuenyere broke their ankle in a bid to have Ogbasaragi. Her parents were so proud of their daughter’s beauty that they boasted that none of the men in Umuenyere was worthy of the damsel. They said that her suitor must be a man who lived in oversea. This boastful statement was so disgusting that some of the young men of Umuenyere hated Ogbasaragi. It came to pass that Ogbasaragi had gone to the stream and stole jewelry from her fellow girl who also came to bath in the same stream. That news shook Umuenyere. The new law was clear and should not have exception. Anyone who stole should be fined, flogged and forced to dance in the nude at the market square. Young men of Umuenyere received this news with great excitement. They had washed their eyes in the river, and waited to see the most beautiful and arrogant girl in Umuenyere dance in the nude at the market square but this never happened! They waited again with unusual curiosity for the vigilante to swing into action as they did to Uwalaka; but it never came. As their hope of watching the naked haunches and crotches of the beautiful damsel went sour, they knew that the rat had once again played a smart game on the cat. It was not long they confirmed their speculation. The news came like a wild fire that Ogbasaragi had gone to bed with the king for him to avert his judgment. The youths of Umuenyere went wild in madness. The male folks obviously felt down trodden. Their anger welled as they marched to the palace protesting against injustice. ‘A man stole and was stripped in the public, and now, a woman has stolen, why will she not be treated in like manner?’ this statement, they chanted as they as they went to the palace. * * * Agwo was seated at the balcony of the upper chamber in his palace. He usually sat there at leisure to observe pleasant scenery of the tropical meadows. As the king lifted his eyes, he saw from afar a multitude of protesters. He ordered his gate keeper to let them in when they would arrive. On arrival, the multitude was surprised to see the gate strangely open. That was unusual of a palace where most people with serious issues were asked to go back even before they approached the corridor of the gate. Seeing the ‘open heaven’, the youths’ morale was heightened. They chanted, danced, jumped and flooded in to the palace to meet the king. He who embraces a fight in a haste does not know that fight and death are inseparable twin. As soon as they had entered the palace, the gate keeper rolled and slammed the gate and went away with the key. They had been trapped in the slammer. The king’s servant came down afterwards to address the people. That was the tradition in the palace, one does give the king messsage directly, it must be given to the chief servant. “Greetings to you: the youths of Umuenyere”. “Greetings to you, the chief servant of his royal majesty”, echoed the multitude. After the exchange of greetings, the servant began to speak to the people. “The rabbit does not sniffle around in the broad day for fun and the toad does not leave the pool to cry on the mountain, unless there is trouble. I was sent by the king to get your message. I hope all is well”. The youths had a culture of blowing whistle whenever they gathered. The whistle was blown followed by a chant of slogan: “Company arise!” the rest thundered there response “Arise!” After chanting the slogan, their spokesman came out to address the king’s servant. “Greetings to you: the chief servant of his majesty. All is not well with us. It is only the unhealthy that visits a herbal home. That toad crying on the dry mountain is pursued by a snake. Whatever that warrants a baby-goat to bash a raffia fence must be indeed provocative and if not properly checked will lead to crisis. An elder that detests tears should endeavor to do unto one child as he has done to the other. Sometime ago, one of us was stripped in the public for taking a piece of meat from the fire place in his grandmother’s kitchen. We have looked into it and saw that is a mere peccadillo and should not have attracted such a grave punishment. Now, a woman, a young lady, stole an expensive jewel from her fellow woman and yet, nothing was said or done about it, the lips are to protect the mouth, but when they are corrupt, surely, the mouth will be malodorous. We do not like the activities of the men of the vigilante and we want the king to do something about it”. Immediately their spokesman ended his speech, the whistle was blown again and they enchanted the slogan. “I have heard your grieve and as a servant I am not suppose to speak in riddles, but you can be rest assured that the message given to the smoke must surely reach the sky. I shall take your words to the king and return to you his answers in a moment”, said the servant and he left to deliver the message. The youths waited for the servant to return the king’s words, but he never came. Moments later, the king came down himself. The multitude lay down to reverence him. “What can I do for you the youths of Umuenyere?” came the deep voice of the king. The whistle was blown once again followed by the chant of slogan and the people responded accordingly. That was absolutely disgusting as the king’s heart boiled in anger. He suffered himself not to lose his temper out rightly as the youths’ spokesman spoke to him on behalf of the rest. “The great king of our land, the benevolent moon that shines for all, the moon that gives light to both the rich and the poor, the king whose glory radiates like the heat of the sun, the sun which stands far up in the sky and yet, men feel its heat. As no man can cover the sun with the palms of his hands, so shall none stop your reign.” The speaker paused and the whistle blasted again. “We want to know why we have been denied justice. A man was stripped for stealing; did our new law not say ‘stripe man or woman who is caught stealing’? Yet the young lady who stole an expensive jewel has been freed to parade the entire community of Umuenyere like a proud peacock in an I-don’t-care attitude. She threw her white teeth at everyone as if all is well; she should be humble to hide her face in shame. We, the youths of Umuenyere want Ogbasaragi, the daughter of Okom Okpu to be stripped in the market square for stealing”. He ended his speech while the whistle was blown to indicate end of speech. Agwo was overwrought in anger and he yelled out for the palace guards. Five able body men of the vigilante reported immediately, brandishing their weapon. The muscles on their bare chaste budged like pairs of solid rock. The youths' heart failed as they saw those men with strong whips and machetes. Their bladder sent hot urine running in their pant. They had just realized that the open gate was a decoy to lure them into the snare. Instinctively, most of them ran to the gate, but there was no exit. Children yell in panic, and the grownups ran helter-skelter looking for a possible escape route. In the face of the turmoil, Agwo called out for more men, and just then, he saw two boys sailing over the wall. "No matter how high an eagle soars, it surely will end up in its small nest," said Agwo as he watched those two boys somersaulting over the fence. Now, more men of the vigilante had come from the palace, they came brandishing their guns with the same readiness and zeal which a newly married wife would display in performing her duties. "Children this way; and the rest of you that way!" Agwo had said and the leader of the vigilante took over the command. "Children here! Grownups there!" ordered the vigilante leader; his gun pointed at them in readiness to shoot any erring or rather rebellious youth. “Obo, why do you trash them with the weakness of a woman who is heavy with a baby? I may have to show you what a strong lash should be”, said the king with a fearful disposition. He ordered Obo who pretended to be lethargic to lie down for some lashes. The king flogged Obo strongly on his buttocks and ordered him to do in like manner to the youths. Having received some skin-bruising lashes, Obo transferred his aggression on the youths; he flogged them with malicious disposition. The other men had intensified their effort, not wanting to be taught how to flog by the king. After punishing the adults with twenty four strokes of whip, the king asked the children if they knew why they were on protest, and they said no, “You shall receive seven strokes of the whip for your ignorance”. The rest of the youths were also discharged but with buttocks that had bruised with contour stamps of the whip. Sitting on those pain-afflicted buttocks was like sitting on a red hot metal. While the rest of the youths were released, Uwalaka was detained for further torture. Apart from his previous crime of larceny, Uwalaka was detained and tortured for inciting the youths into protest. Later, the boys who sailed over the fence were fetched and severely punished with such skin-pilling hot lashes. Each of them got a gift of thirty two lashes that made their buttocks bleed and grow sores.