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Chapter Six
The arrival
of Aremo in Ilu-Nla brought many speculations as not a few believed Ojebunmi
the deported woman could be the choice of marriage in the Palace. Some people
in the town condemned Olu’s action out rightly, and openly saying that Ojebunmi
was not a virgin for the Royalty. Nevertheless, not a few were saying that
Ojebunmi was a diamond thrown overboard by the ill-informed and blindfolded
people, who could not differentiate between a stone and an unpolished diamond.
However, the
majority acknowledged that Kabiyesi knew what was good for the Palace and that
of which Ilu-Nla could be proud of.
They must
consummate the marriage before the duo of Aremo and Ojebunmi could embark on
the foreign journey that is now the talk all around Ilu-Nla.
Kabiyesi had
sent messages to Robert assistants to be in the Palace to brief Ilu-Nla about
their foreign land that the precious lads of Ilu-Nla would soon be visiting.
The narrative
was not short of jaw dropping, astonishing exclamation from all the invited
guests by Kabiyesi. To the visitors, it was strange that Kabiyesi had to deploy
teams to hunt for Deer and Antelopes when it was a common individual enterprise
in the community.
In their
land, their family recognizes them when they kill a hyena or a leopard. The
community recognizes you when you single handily kill a Lion and you become a
celebrity if you could kill a lioness and come home with the cubs! Lions hunt
in-group.
The foreign visitors made Kabiyesi
ordered for palm-wine when they informed the chief of Ilu-Nla that there is
seasonal migration of animals in their country and the stomping of hooves could
be heard far away as an hour’s journey, the stomping from the migrating animals
sounds like thunder claps, if one were lucky to be in the vicinity. Some
villages who could lay ambush on the animals could kill enough animals to eat
for a whole year with mouthfuls of meat at any meal.
The mountains in their country stretch
as far as the eye could see and would take months to transverse with occasional
specks of peaks belching smokes. For those strong enough to scale the summits,
they came back with stories of ice forms there. Often these mountain peaks are
buried in the clouds.
Since the
white-man came to their Country, they have stopped killing of the animals and
they often visit the mountain, taking some natives with them to help them with
carriages.
When asked the name of the foreign
country, the pronunciation was, a mouthful and it made all listeners laugh and
Kabiyesi joked that if the name of the country came out of the mouth of the
narrators as thunder clapping, definitely there was some truth in their
narratives.
When Dr. Roberts visited Olu later
in the day, he confirmed all the stories, but he added that there are many
countries of different tribes and languages in the mentioned lands and they
could only have informed Kabiyesi about their own country but Roberts quickly
mentioned that he had visited many of the tribal countries treating diseases.
However, The countries are not as forested as the country of Ilu-Nla.
The countries comprise many chiefdom
and they are always fighting taking slaves and rustling cattle, which are their
major source of wealth; but the weaker tribes often, avoided raiding or going
to war by paying annual tribute to bigger or stronger tribes. However, the
inter-tribal wars are no longer frequent since the coming of the white man. At
any sign of approaching hostilities, machinery is set-in to make peace reign.
Kabiyesi then informed Roberts that
it used to be like that in his region, but that has since seized, and that has
been the reason many towns and villages by way of acknowledging him as their
head and paramount king, pay him annual tributes.
Roberts’s
presence in Ilu-Nla readily gave the white man a pronounced recognition with
his ability to cure all diseases. Those with ailments were surprised that with
few chalks from Dr. Roberts, they were healed. This was why Kabiyesi requested
Dr. Roberts for a private talk in the palace and all geared towards how Roberts
could teach them how to be able to handle the diseases after he might have
left.
The suggestion from Kabiyesi
prompted wild laughter from Roberts and all the Oloris rushed in to see what
was untoward that was happening between Kabiyesi and his guest only to discover
that it was more laughter from the Whiteman and they all busted laughing too. They have never witnessed laughter from the
man whose second name seemed to be Smiles.
Roberts told Kabiyesi that to be
able to handle diseases like him requires special training which will take
years to study. Kabiyesi asked him again that to study the magic of treating
disease will take years when he believed Roberts could just teach them how to
make the multipurpose chalks and to give them the needle and the implements
that they might inject themselves. Roberts calmly educate Kabiyesi that
treating people is no magic, that even the Oloris could master the tricks if
given the formal training which made Kabiyesi interjected that if the art is so
ordinary that even women could do it with some training, he would be happy if
Roberts were willing to train the community members the art.
Since Roberts had a few days to stay
before going back, they agreed that some member of the community followed him
to acquire what Roberts explained to be health attendant training that they
might be able to do the likes of what the assistants who came with him were
doing.
When Roberts left the Palace,
Kabiyesi called his Oloris and Palace drummer and crier to brief them about his
discussion with the Whiteman. For the Drummer and the Crier, they needed to be
informed because the meeting with the Whiteman and the decision taken had
become part of the history of Ilu-Nla to be part of the repertoire to be handed
to the next generation.
In Private Olori Atinuke advised
Kabiyesi that the best he could do is to send a Palace member for the training
because whoever acquires the Whiteman magical feats will become the most famous
individual in Ilu-Nla more than the Kabiyesi himself. Knowledge is power she added
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