Friday’s announcement of the release of the Oriire captives sent Nigerians into a state of collective rejoicing. It beautifully confirmed the universality-of-griefs thesis: that whether in Nchatancha in Enugu, Kaura Namoda in Zamfara, or Ilu-Abo in Ondo State, our shared humanity possesses a single colour. Yet, in the midst of this euphoria, let’s reflect on a pertinent ancient fable from the kingdom of animals — a huge forest — where animals once wrestled with deception.
Long ago, Ìjàpá, the Tortoise, the famed trickster lord of the animal world, grew deeply jealous of the popularity of Ẹkùn, Leopard, as the forest circumciser. He devised a con plan to de-escalate Ẹkùn’s admirable place in the hearts of the forest inhabitants. To ruin his rival’s popularity, Ìjàpá secretly hid a stolen calabash (igbá) containing undiluted palm wine inside the den of the fearsome but likeable leopard.
Having perfected this gambit, Ìjàpá called a town meeting of all animals. Feigning a broken heart and weeping profusely, he announced that a theft had occurred which, if not drilled deeply down into, stood the risk of destroying the very ligaments of the community’s relations. He then led the entire animal population straight to the evidence of Ẹkùn’s guilt that he himself had planted.
