The Fall Of The Giant, Anukili The Great - Episode 8

 

On the third market day, the people of Aguleri gathered at the village square (Ama-ugunadegbe), to watch Anukili being dressed and prepared for the hut to be built on him. Music was in the air and people danced. An elder danced out and after some minutes of dancing, he ended the music. He greeted everybody there and introduced himself as the spokesman of the elders. He looked at the faces of his audience and said, “Today is a day that we have all been waiting for . A remarkable day. The day that the people of Aguleri will crown a king, who will bring the three quarters of Aguleri together and rule them as one community”.
“Here we have prepared all kinds of our native food, kola-nuts and kegs of palm wine are also available. Our masquerades and music groups are also here to entertain us and make the ceremony a remarkable one. What we are doing today shows that to be a king is not easy and as such anyone who ends up being crowned king should be highly respected”, he said.
He walked straight to Anukili and asked him, “Anukili do you think you can survive this?” “I don’t think so. I know I can make it”, Anukili answered. The man took some step back as he said to him again, “the people chose one man in the midst of the crowd and made him their king just because they knew of his good deeds. Kings are very patient

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. They are looked up to. They are called peace makers because they give listening ears to their people’s cases and judge with wisdom. They give out instructions and people listen to them and obey their words. They think and worry on daily basis about the welfare of their people. They are mighty, not by size but by their words of wisdom. Many wish to be the king, but they can’t be. Even those who forcefully took the throne of leadership in their hands were destroyed by force”.
“Anukili, do you think you have all these qualities?” He asked him once more. “Yes I do”, he answered.. “I know that I have made some mistakes in the past, but let us not forget that we all are humans and as such, no one is perfect. My apologies to everyone I have wronged. Mistakes are bound to happen as long as we live because we are humans. Making a mistake is never a problem but where the problem lies is when we fail to notice it, accept and correct it”.
“I admit that I have made mistakes but that was in the past. I believe that with time I will make amends for all the mistakes. The past is over, so I beg you all, let's live in the present and leave the past to remain past,” he said.
The villagers grumbled silently calling him Mr.

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. Preacher, classifying all he did to them as mistakes. The Elders cleared their throats in order not to laugh, to them it meant his preaching came too late, though it was interesting and touching. “We can’t make you our king because you possess not the quality of a good leader, your maltreatment is unbearable and thus we have lost the trust we once built upon you. But you are leaving us today by force.” one of them said under his breath.
The elder’s spokesman stared at Anukili and shook his head, “I’m sorry for you my son for it had been concluded a long time ago that you must die mysteriously today” he said to himself.
After moments of silence, he bitterly said to Anukili, “If you say you possess all the qualities of a good leader and you are also sure that you can survive the trial, step out.” Anukili stepped out and the man said to him, “Anukili I ask you for the last time, are you sure you are ready to have a hut built on you?” “Yes I’m ready”, he answered. Silence followed; afterwards the man called out four men from the three quarters and ordered them to build a hut on Anukili.                                                                                                                                  
"An animal that chooses to see the hunters' face, will surely receive bullets on its face". Twelve men and two elders came out and immediately started building the hut on Anukili with bamboo sticks and grasses. After they were done building the hut on him, they tied it round him with a very strong rope. Anukili asked to know why they were tying the rope on him. But they answered him saying, it is because we don’t want the hut to collapse along the road while he’s dancing. Anukili assured them that the hut will not fall off being that he is strong enough to hold and carry the hut. But they refused insisting that tying it was the agreement of the Elders of the three quarters of Aguleri. Anukili then asked them to carry on since it was the agreement, unknown to him that the elders had an unknown secret, a different plan for him.