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The land of the crabs

The land of the crabs

Ejike was my friend or need l say, he was our friend until luck shined upon him. He joined one of the new groups that sprang up all of a sudden. Initially, we all thought it was not worth joining these groups because they never said it as it was.

They embellished everything. If they gave you a penny, they reported it was a shilling. When they created a path, they would turn round to say they had built a road. That was the reason why we called them the "cult of liars."

Soon, things began to change for these cultists. Their leader took over the palace of the chief of the village and no one cared about the older chief we used to know.

Those who were close to him became very important. Their bicycles had dogs walking ahead of them to scare away others who may be blocking their path. Then something strange happened. One of them came out to tell us tales of what happens among these new cultists. "These people have learned the art of telling lies to a new form. They deceive the chief on everything. When the river was getting dried, they told the chief that it was our neighbours who have diverted the river. That was why we went to war until the rains came.

“The man who led the war diverted money meant to buy bows and arrows to fight the war and that accounts for the few cattle that have arrived in his ranch."

Paulinus, the man who had come out of the cult told us another story. "The chief wanted to meet me so that he could appoint me the head of the task force that collected weekly tax from farmers. Can you believe that my own friend, the man l introduced to the chief told the chief l had died six weeks ago?”

When Paulinus finished his story, it was like the whole place had been turned into a cemetery. No one could respond because a Yeweshie had come to say the Huno dances naked at night.

For the uninitiated, the Huno is the one who heads the Yewe Shrine. So, if an adherent, Yeweshie, comes to spill the beans, who can contest the truth or otherwise.

There had been other stories in the past. There used to be Wofa Kay, he was the one who would be referred to as a foot soldier in today's political-speak.

He did all the dirty job because he had fortified himself and was known to vanish at will. He was the one who led all the market square meetings whenever the various cultists decided to address the people.

Wofa Kay had been dreaming that when the cult he supported took over the village, he would be among the next batch of people who would be chosen to travel to Burma or Abyssinia. As a result, he did all that even a mad man would not do to catch the eyes of the leaders of the cult.

The day came and the people took their decision. Wofa Kay's cult won the day and the leader of the cult, one clever man called Opia became the chief.

What Wofa Kay did not know was that the white people who lived by the beach, and whose people were fighting among themselves, had decided to change the way the selection to Burma and Abyssinia was done.

It was no longer to be based on how fortified your body was or whether or not you could vanish. You must be able to recite the paternoster! "Why didn't they say this to us when we started the meetings that got them selected?" he asked anyone who was ready to listen to him. And none of these people could provide an answer.

There was one woman who had a word for him. "You have been tricked," she told Wofa Kay. But by then, he had become demented and would not even understand. The cultist have a way of playing their games and one needs to be careful in dealing with them. When they ask you to look up, keep your eyes down. These cultists!

Everyone concluded that Wofa Kay was a nut case and so stopped listening to him. But he had so much to say for those who cared to pay attention.

"We killed the man who was reported to have committed suicide on his farm. He was a stubborn man who refused to allow the chief to marry his seventh wife because it was against the custom. Chiefs do not take wives from the Abusa clan. Never!”

But the chief would not hear of this because the woman had the bosom that moved with rhythm. Her chest was full and firmly packed. Not the ones that you found on your way across the river where one sometimes is forced to question nursing mothers, if they had anything left in there. Some call it chale wote. Whatever name it is called, chief had a better taste for those that look like they are about to burst.

Wofa Kay confirmed all that happened. "I was the one who strangled the man and put a rope round his neck so that it would look like he hanged himself. The man was a stubborn man. The chief promised me things that never came my way."

There was one other story that he told the listeners one night. "You see, the chief is blind and dumb. Not in the real sense because it is Afetorgbor who causes that."

Afetorgbor was one man who would today be described as the National Security Coordinator. Every night, he went round the village to get information to present to the chief the next day. But it turned out that he massaged the truth and gave the chief only the information that he wanted the traditional leader to know.

For example, Wofa Kay said, "on the night that the chief's mother was sick and needed the services of the medicine man, Afetorgbor kept the medicine man in a room to fortify him Afetorgbor instead so that he would remain in office for ever.

The following day, he reported to the chief that the medicine man had committed adultery with the chief's third wife and this resulted in the summary execution of the medicine man. There was no mention of the chief's mother's sickness."

The reason why Afetorgbor wanted the chief's mother dead was because of the rumour that the woman was very powerful. Then, the chief’s mother died. "Even in this instance, Afetorgbor made me dump her in the river and reported that the woman drowned when she went to pray at the riverside."

To be continued

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