Slowly it moves,
A ruffle in the sea,
Strange to know,
Hard to see,
An hungry shark?
Or a food fish?
It causes controversy.
"If we close eyes for the evil ones to move away,then we can as well expect to miss the gesture of the good ones. Don't we know that there is nothing called good that won't have its negative sides
Moreover,this decision will bring us more fortune than harms,if he comes in,he will do great things, he will build new roads for the markets and increase our wealth.
Is it not with our very open eyes that we saw the wonderful things that the man has done for Imure,have our children not always begged to be accepted into the man's building at the neighboring village or we are one of those thinking the man's arrival had just been coincidental with the prominent rise of Imure over the months.
Are we just going to sit down here deceiving ourselves that we had enough time until the rival village start to dominate us and enslave us" Those were the sane words of Kulaja that brought the scene into significance.
It was a gathering of five,Adeoke,squarely sat on his traditionally adorned throne,was flanked by two sturdy men who could be called his guards while the rest sat on the mat,well entertained with a calabash of kola nuts and palm wine gourds.
Kulaja,the current speaker was seated between Adenle and Asake,while Kurunmi,who could be termed a pessimist with that expression on his face,was further away from the three, giving two or three hums of disapproval at the sermon of his fellow chief .
One would have expected that he was the one to come up quickly with his opposition but instead it was Asake,the woman well into her fifties and well signified with neck and wrist beads was the one who stepped up after the words of Kulaja had been well digested.
"No need to even talk too long,Kulaja" She started, "It is only a liar that says his evidence is somewhere but the truth will surely come after its evidence. Have we not regretted ourselves by not allowing a new school in the village, have we not seen the great progress we've made ever since the new teachers took over the school.
Can't our children now speak and write fluently. Will all these things have come to us if we have not given them a try,the white man is no difference, the white man is not a spirit or an ancestor, he won't suck blood or send thunders from the sky,he is a human like us willing to help and bring new things to the village. He is a man who we should rather beg to come to our midst and teach us the modern way to wealth"
That was the view of Asake in accordance to Kulaja's . To her,the white man was not a monster,he was not to be dreaded as many had publicised. The man had been to Imure,he had resided there for months and there was a never a case of him sucking blood or doing mysterious things. The only mysterious things he had done had been good and great,he had built an enormous farming structure for the Imures and he had done their road just a few months of his stay with them.
There was a big silence after Asake's words, like to assume they all bought the idea,but no one would have actually expected Kurunmi to incline so easily without an argument which was eventually beckoned to by the ominous coughs that came not long after.
"I greet all the elders and our honourable king" Kurunmi began with a bow to Adeoke,who gave him the go-ahead with a tactful nod, "I also appreciate the wise words of the elders so far,but I want us to see another side to this. I want us not to just look at things through rose coloured spectacles.
The white man,I have known and heard a lot about him,even the deaf and the blind would have heard and seen about his prominent outputs in Imure,but can anyone also pretend not to know that there is a wolf behind the white man's sheep clothing. If no one have heard, I have heard and seen how this man enclose the Imures in his big building and make bad use of them.
If you give out the goat,then you have to release the rope. Has it not been a long time we were enslaved under the white men,only our ancestors could relate well how much they suffered from those ghostly aliens.
Are we going to invoke the curses of our forefathers by allowing the white man to take over us again, because one thing I know is that if you offer the white man a cap,he will still wish to have your head"Kurunmi laid his opinions and certainly was met with scowls and murmurs from the others,he was distinguishably the odd man in their midst.
"No one is talking of slavery,Kurunmi,the white man won't enslave us,"Ajani who had been silent for the aeon broke the jinx in a fierce objection to Kurunmi's dark words,
The white man is not coming with his fellowmen to enslave anybody,he comes alone and does good things wherever he was welcomed. The white man wouldn't have waited for our call if he was to enslave us,will death ever ask of anyone's choice before it strikes. If the white man wants to enslave anyone,he can do so easily, the white man has power,the white man has good riches and the man has a strange modern rod that can control life in the meanest silence.
The white man will not wait for anyone's choice before he enslaves them if he really wants to"Ajani's wild words stormed the wind but it was merely met with a chuckle on Kurunmi's face,an expression that never suited his old,shrank face.
"The white man has power,he has wealth and he has a silent gun,what more can he have to put anyone into captivity. The white man is like termites in their haven,he attacks not until you break the edge,the white man will wait for your call so as to make him look a sheep and when he comes into your gathering,he puts off the sheep's fur and turn to the real beast he is.
The white man will come with riches but he will also come with vices,he gives you structures and take away your valuable culture and treasures. If there was ever anything greater than peace,life and freedom, if the white man comes in with such thing,then I,Kurunmi,will lay the palm frond first for the man's calf to tread into the village"
The choice of words had never been hard for Kurunmi,to call him a perfect pessimist is an understatement. Every good thing has its dark sides and Kurunmi know just perfectly well how to hit nails on the those dark sides.
His attention winning words were again contradicted by increased whispers and gestures but no other responses,the murmurs only grew and grew until the gentle raise of staff ordered everything to come into silence as Adeoke had decided it was the time he talked after hearing out his elders.
"I thank you all for your contributions," He commenced and the elders responded with humble bows before he continued,"It is true that the grey hair of the old will not allow the people go wrong and whatever a tall child sees while standing, he will never see as far as a dwarf man rooted on his seat.
I appreciate that we still have sensible elders in the village and you've all talked well. One thing I want us to know is that whoever becomes great has one time been a weakling and no moment lasts forever. Those men that enslaved our forefathers,where are they now?Have they not all gone?Is it not better to be enslaved by the white man than the Imures to shamefully take over us.
The white man's era won't last a long time,the white man has somewhere he will eventually return to and even when the white man enslaves you,he gives you food and water,he builds good structures for you and construct the beautiful road for your markets,all of which he will not take along when he leaves. The white man's stay is worth to be endured and the man,I trust would not do anything worse than if we are captivated by our fellow men.
The white man is a merciful man who can be dangerous when you step on his toes,let's tolerate him and see the best version of the angel incarnate. The white man is coming in here,he is a one time chance that might never resurface in a century,he is like a rainfall in the summer,no matter where it catches you,you definitely still appreciate it. I will call on the white man and he will dwell with us,he will revolutionize us and bring us even higher to the Imures."
Adeoke's speech flowed with the prettiest of dignity,an overwhelming silence that showed he was never to be objected. He had chosen to walk in the route of the other elders while Kurunmi sat as quietly ever like a defeated Samson. There was nothing left to disprove, Adeoke has given the order,the white man is coming,the beast or merciful angel will arrive.
Kurunmi's shoulders lifted in a shrug,it is only a matter of time for that identity to be justified.
YOU ARE READING
REMOULDED
General FictionEarnest wrote a letter back to his cousin which triggers unusual happenings in the dorp and also signal to his very own fall and remoulding. A story that cuts across love,culture, tragicomedy and cities. (Word count: 50,000 to 55,000 words)
