Growing up, our grandfather and elders in the family would gathered us together and tell us tale of stories that happened in the animal kingdom. Lion and Tortoise usually play protagonist roles in most of the tales and at the end of each story; our elders would ask us what we actually learn from the whole episode.
One of such tales that catches my attention necessitating writing this article was on the issue of pandemic in the animal kingdom. The story has it that in one particle year, hunger struck the entire world to the extent that all animals in the forest had no single food to eat. Many of these animals were dying and one day, one particular animal raised a suggestion for them to fly to heaven, as there were abundant foodstuffs there.
With this novel idea, every animal buy into it. The snag in the whole thing is that not the animals could fly to heaven to meet God to get foodstuff from his store. Since the flying birds have feathers, they unanimously resolve to contribute each to other non-flying animals. The flying birds with good mind then contributed one feather each to Tortoise to enable him fly alongside with them.
As they were all flying and when it was just few miles to their destination, the cunny tortoise declare that there is something important he needs to tell them. Tortoise said, ‘it is very likely that when we get there, the angels of God will give us food.’’ He then declared that the Angel will give people food according to their names and that is why they need to declare to one another on how they shall be refer to on arriving at their destination to avoid conflict on who the food is directed to.
One after the other they began to identify themselves by their normal names such as Dove, Cassowary, Katahe, Duck, Hen, Ostrich, Vulture, Owls etc and when it was the turn of Tortoise, he declares, he shall be identify as ‘‘I am all of you’’ . Exactly, all of them accepted that these are what they shall be identify with when they finally get to their destination.
On getting to the heaven, the angel of God came to greet them and demanded to know what they came for. The animals hinted that there was serious hunger on earth and they came to get foodstuffs from God’s store. Then, God directed his angels to go into the store and provide them enough food to take care of their lives.
The first angels brought hundred bags of rice. On getting to where the animals were seated, he said, ‘’ the foodstuff is meant for all of you’’. Then, the entire animals pointed to Tortoise’s direction that he is the one named and referred to as ‘’All of you’’ This was how the Tortoise through his cunny and greedy nature cornered the entire food meant for all the animals. Senses came to the sense of other animals when Angels declared to them that the foodstuff s in the store have finished.
On the proclamation from the Angels, all the flying birds got infuriated. It then dawn on them that Tortoise played plank on their senses by identifying himself as ‘’All of them’’ in a bid to claim all what belongs to all. As they have no other option, they begged Tortoise for a share and Tortoise said no. This infuriated other animals the more. The attitude of the Tortoise not to carry other animals along on what was giving to them prompted each flying birds to demands for their individual feather, which out of their magnanimity they contributed to Tortoise to facilitate its flying to heaven.
Indeed, Tortoise refunded them their feathers. When the flying birds returned to the earth, a thought came to the mind of the Tortoise to jump down to the earth since he has no feather to ease its’ flying. As was his rumination, Tortoise jump down and landed its back on the rock. The fleshy Tortoise back scattered and after healing, the inedible mark remains there. This accounts for the reason why the Tortoise has cracky back till day.
The tales I have depicted above is akin to the scenario playing out in Kogi State where a section of the State believes they must take all what belong to all and even claim other belonging as theirs. How I wish the people in this category can draw a lesson from Tortoise’s story. Greediness does not pay as the end of a greedy person and his generation is always very disastrous. Disastrous comes in when other people came to their senses and demand for their share of belonging on what the greedy person has accumulated to himself over the years. To crown it up, kindness does not make one a fool.
– Shaibu Stephen Ojate, a Journalist and public affairs commentator, writes from Abuja.
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