Court!!!
The clerk echoed from a standing position in the customary court of King Abulu as he entered the room filled with his chiefs and the two aggrieved parties over a border piece of land.
Silence took over the space as his majesty made his way to the sacred judgment seat made of burnt clay at one corner of the courtroom. He was mumbling words all to himself as he walked. Perhaps something bothers him, but no one could tell. In their silence, all the family members of the two gentlemen who had been at loggerheads over a piece of land looked bewildered at the appearance of King Abulu.
Image by Clement Eastwood edited with canva.com
His majesty sat on the terracotta-made throne, the palace clerk started singing his praise name:
Abulu!
King of the forest,
Liked by the leopard with sharp fangs,
Kept is water still,
Dug a well for all to fetch,
Yet dried on the skin,
King of Adoche,
The impartial judge from the gods,
One who cared even in his sleep.
Abulu, Adoche hails!
Silence again enveloped the room. Then, the king cleared his throat.
What brings my people here? What is it that bothers you that could not be settled with love? King Abulu asked.
Amaju was the first to signify as King Abulu asked him to tell his side of the whole matter.
Live long, His Majesty. My brother here had encroached upon the and my father gave me as an inheritance. It is the only inheritance from our late father.
Amaju spoke with a high level of emotions.
While he was to complete his speech, Obikwe, his younger brother, raised his hand to the king's attention. He wanted to stampede the many lies Amaju had spoken but the king turned him down and asked him to wait for his turn to speak.
Amaju narrated how their late father had appeared to him in a vision and asked him to take possession of the land that was supposed to be shared across every child born by their late father.
Obikwe, with tears gathered like drizzling rain across his face, stood in the courtroom and started to speak.
May you live long my king. Our poor late father had only one piece of inheritance. The custom of our land does not permit him for any reason whatsoever to release it to one of his children alone let alone appearing in a vision to only one where he instructed him to possess it.
He calmly sat, trying to wipe the tears off his eyes. One could hear humming by spectators in the courtroom. They were wondering how their father could be appearing in a vision to Amaju and not to any other child.
King Abulu cleared his voice to speak.
Amaju, Obikwe.
When brothers fight to death, strangers inherit their possessions.
This is the wise saying of King Abulu. He further stressed that Amaju was acting under the influence of greed against his brother.
Amaju and Obikwe were so touched by the short judgment of King Abuku. They hugged each other and went away after paying homage to the king. In a family reunion party, they shared the inheritance and never again was it heard that they had to fight.