SCENE FOUR
The King's palace. Ajaka is seen pacing up and down Oluwo and Olubi sit down staring at him. A palace
servant brings bowls containing some
food.
SERVANT: (Puts the bowls down) Kabiyesi, I've brought your food and .........
AJAKA: What? You are just an imbecile. You saw me discussing with important people and you should jump into my throat, I am now convinced you deserve to be tied to a stake where you will be served leaves and tree barks like a goat that you are;
May you reincarnate into a two-homed goat when you come back to the earth again.
SERVANT: I am sorry Kabiyesi
AJAKA: I will deal ruthlessly with you if you do not disappear from my sight. Who do you think l am? Imagine the nonsense. He stood right there and stuttered;
(tries to imitate) Kabiyesi, I've brought your food and ...... If I did not quickly call him to order he would have even placed the food on my head. I have a big problem here, yet he came here to blab, Kabiyesi I've brought your food and .... Well gentlemen, let's go back to business and forget that donkey. Are you sure Elenre's's wife told you the truth?
OLUBI: We believe she told us the truth. You know that anyone who wants to catch a monkey will have to behave like one, jumping diligently from tree to tree. We were really able work on here.
OLUWO: I am sure if we try what she told us. It will work. She said just one broom stick will do it. I wonder why we did not try it earlier. A broomstick will finish that cow blinking away behind bars. You can imagine the woman was divulging the information we needed but she didn't know.
AJAKA: (Excitedly) Do you believe her? Some women like her are so powerful and they can see far ahead.
OLUBI: We believe her. All we should do now is to watch carefully as we try it. (Pointing to the guards)
AJAKA: You bring the man out here. (The guard walks briskly to a place demarcated with iron bars to serve as prison on stage. They bring out Elenre who is seen in handcuff. He is taken to the centre of the palace half where Ajaka, Oluwo and Olubi are waiting)
AJAKA: Elenre, you are in trouble. You are the one to suffer for the stubbornness of your colleagues. Since the gods have clipped your wings and you could not fly and disappear with the medicine, I will deal with you.
ELENRE: (Looking unruffled) What do you think you can do? What can a man born of a woman do to me, Elenre. The only thing you can do is to put me behind those structures. That is the limit of your power. What has the caver been able to do to the plantain tree? I ask you; what can the wood-carver make out of the plantain tree?
AJAKA: Elenre, you have made a mistake this time around. You will be surprised you are wrong. I wish you would live to tell the story.
(The execution ground is prepared. The executioner steps out. Elenre is asked to step on a raised platform. He does so. A large cloth is spread across, over him. His head is seen above the cloth. The executioner steps forward again with the single "blade of grass" removed from the thatch of a hut. The executioner flexes his muscles, roars and charges forward. He strikes Elenre with the "blade of grass." There is momentary blackout. By the time light flashes back, Elenre headless body is seen. Ajaka is seen, dazed and
shocked.)
AJAKA: Ewo tun re? Which one is this one? What is this? What am I seeing? (On Ajaka's right hand is Elenre's head. Surprisingly, the head talks Ajaka is dumbfounded and dazed more than anyone as he tries to shake off the
head.)
AJAKA: (Tries to shake off the head) Get off. Go away from me.
ELENRE'S HEAD: The man who is determined to die has finally met his executioner. I've reached my final abode right on your hand. And there I am going to continue to dwell.
OLUBI: (shocked) My Lord, this is a completely different problem (stammers). I have not seen this kind of thing before and my forefathers did not tell me this outrageous development ever occurred during ancient times.
OLUWO: (equally surprised) First, we had problem and could not execute him, with that done now, you cannot shake off his head. What kind of ghommid is this? This man is a spirit.
OLUBI: I am completely lost. This fellow must be a weird person running errands for evil spirits. Or how can one explain that a head that was struck off did not fall on the ground? Rather, it fell on the king's hand and he just cannot drop it.
AJAKA: (stammers) I am now hungry. I've thought of this problem of executing Elenre before eating. I did not imagine that the problem would be compounded. Only if I knew, I would have stayed away from the execution ground. Do I have to watch how he was being executed? No! Now, I cannot do anything. Not even eating. If I had stayed away, I wouldn't have involuntarily grasped this head that has glued to my hand. I cannot go out of the palace.
Hen? How can the people see me with a head, a whole Alaafin? Me, carrying a human head stuck on my hand? Let me try to eat before we send for some of the remaining medicine men.
(A palace guard goes to a corner where the bowls of food are placed. He carries them as others watch and place before Ajaka who is sitting with Elenre's head on his hand. He begins to eat. The bizarre is just beginning. Elenre's head is seen swallowing the morsels as Ajaka tries to
eat.)
AJAKA (astonished) See what is happening again. Abi iru wahala wo niyi. What kind of trouble have I brought unto myself? I wish I had not taken the decision to execute this man. Ha? Of what use is his execution to me now? . If I had known I would have allowed all of them to go to their homes as they pleaded. It would not have cost me anything. The man is just another spirit in human form.
OLUBI: (Watching the bizarre head as Elenre devours the meal) Look at the head as he is eating voraciously. What kind of development is this? The king's food is being eaten by the head. Emo wolu. The incredible has visited us surely.
OLUWO: One must not carry this head for long. One will just become famished and lean due to hunger. If this head is not removed now, the king will be finished slowly and steadily.
AJAKA: That is my greatest fear. Imagine I cannot eat now. Elenre's head has eaten all the food and my empty stomach is rumbling.
OLUWO: What can we do now? We just cannot continue to watch helplessly. This is beyond human understanding. What can we do?
OLUBI: We must bring in the best medicine men in the land. They should be able to do something about this. We must scream out for help. One who keeps quiet with his problem stands the risk of suffering silently.
AJAKA: (Stands up and gives up eating) I have given up. I am fed up because I cannot even eat. If I cannot eat the food, why should I sit close to the food with this mysterious and gluttonous head?
OLUWO: Kabiyesi, we should quickly send for the best medicine men to come and strike off this unwanted head.
OLUBI: This parasite should not be allowed for too long. The locust will easily destroy kabiyesi if we do not act quickly.
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