Once Upon

An
Elephant
A Play

Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan
Other Works by the Author

Look Back in Gratitude

Ibadan: Kraft Book, 2013.

Nigerian Female Dramatist:

Expression, Resistance, Agency
London: Routledge, 2021.

“Conversations” Lagos: Malthouse 2022

ii
Once Upon
An
Elephant
A Play

Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan
Once Upon An Elephant
Published by
Accessible Publishers Limited
Formerly Rasmed Publications Ltd

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(c) Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan

First published, 2015

New Edition, 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, republished,
repackaged or utilised in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical or
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ISBN 978-978-8559-38-2

iv
 Dedication

To the memory of my Headmaster-father, Samuel Oluyemi

ADEMILUA, who made me stay in school.

v
 Acknowledgements

I am grateful to God, the giver of life, for inspiration.

I also wish to acknowledge Professor Adeboye
Babalola’s poem “Salute to the Elephant” (in Senanu
and Vincent (eds.) A Selection of African Poetry.) His
characterisation of the Elephant drawn from the oral
Yoruba tradition informs that of Ajanaku in this play.
Lekan Balogun, actor, playwright and director, deserves
appreciation for his help, which was instrumental to the
coming to life of this play.
My heartfelt appreciation goes to my children: Olamide,
Damilola and Gbolahan.

vi
 Author’s Note

Once Upon an Elephant looks at the issue of dictatorship,

“sit-tightism,” or what some critics have referred to as
the self-perpetuating syndrome of African leaders at
every level of governance. It amuses me why a mortal
would want to achieve immortality either by prolonging
their stay in ofÏce or by wanting to play god in the lives
of other men. This issue has begotten several plays by
seasoned dramatists such as Wole Soyinka ( A Play of
Giants, Opera Wonyosi and Kongi’s Harvest and King
Baabu), Femi Osofisan ( Yungba Yungba and the Dance
Contest), Ahmed Yerima ( Ade Ire and Uncle Venyil)
and Hope Eghagha (Onawawi Shall Rise Again). The
recurrence of this theme shows that there is something
wrong with African politics and politicians. Such an
aberration has also been culturally dealt with in Yoruba
folklore from which this play derives its title. The
play’s uniqueness lies in its use of suspense and irony.
Above all, it highlights the role of women as cause and
sometimes solution-provider in a story in which they
may be complicit.

Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan
Lagos, 2014.

vii
Introduction to Once Upon an Elephant

Bosede Funke Ademilua-Afolayan

Bosede Ademilua Afolayan was born on the 25th of
July, 1965, at Ikole Ekiti. However, she is a native of
Ilogbo-Ekiti in Ido Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti
State, Nigeria. She attended St Mary’s Girls’ Grammar
School, Ikole Ekiti, for her secondary education. She
proceeded to the Federal School of Arts and Science,
Ondo, for her A Level and had her first degree in English
at the University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University)
in 1988. She had her Masters and Ph.D. in English
(Comparative Drama) at the University of Lagos and
is now an Associate Professor in the Department of
English, University of Lagos, Nigeria. She is also a
Commonwealth Fellow. Her research interests include
comparative drama, women’s studies, diaspora issues,
oral traditions in African drama, political drama and
Nollywood studies. Dr. Afolayan’s articles have
appeared in reputable international and local journals.
She reviews international and local journals such as
NOLA, LARES, Ihafa and the University of Lagos
Journal of Humanities. She edited a collection of essays
entitled Nigerian Female Dramatists: Expression,
Resistance, Agency (Routledge, 2021) and a collection
of poems entitled “Conversation” in 2022. She teaches
dramatic literature courses, Theatre Workshop, and
Creative Writing in the Department of English,
University of Lagos. She is the author of two plays,
viii
Look Back in Gratitude and Once Upon an Elephant,
which was on the longlist of the prestigious NLNG
Drama prize in 2018 and is currently a recommended
drama text for JUPEB Literature since 2021.

Understanding Once Upon an Elephant

The play tells the story of Olaniyonu, a self-proclaimed
mighty Ajanaku (Elephant), who is single-handedly
enthroned with the veneration of the Olubori rites by
Serubawon, who manipulates the kinship process,
in spite of the open disagreement by some of the
prominent kingmakers because the reigning King,
Oba Akinjobi, lives though ailing. As soon as Ajanaku
is enthroned, he displays irrational attitudes that the
chiefs decry and warn against. Predictably, his reign is
marked by terror and abuse of ofÏce. At the height of
his tyranny, he wants to become immortal. Through the
encouragement of his architect-in-chief, Serubawon,
Ajanaku is to perform the Ijedodo rites. This dangerous
and highly efÏcacious ritual feeds on the blood of a
virgin whom he must rape. Incidentally, Serubawon’s
daughter, Desola, happens to be the unlucky victim
and, in fact, the sixth virgin to be used for the rites by
Ajanaku. However, Iya Agba truncates the process and
neutralizes the effect of the rites on Desola. Ajanaku
dies while Desola is cured. Serubawon, who sets the
whole dastardly act in motion, is exposed as the cause
of Oba Akinjobi’s strange ailment and Olaniyonu’s real
father. He also orchestrated the humiliation, banishment

ix
of Iya Agba from the palace and subsequent ostracism
from the land. Having been exposed and disgraced
accordingly, Serubawon commits suicide, restoring
peace in the land.

Oral tradition & Yoruba Folktale Aesthetics in Once

Upon an Elephant
Once Upon an Elephant was mainly inspired by
Adeboye Babalola’s poem, “Salute to the Elephant,”
which was itself based on Yoruba folk narrative about
the haughty elephant and the cunning tortoise on which
Ajanaku and Serubawon were modelled as a metaphor
for past and present African political leaders, tyrants, and
kingmakers. Yoruba oral literature can be categorized
into poetry, narratives, and theatre. However, there are
occasions when the three categories merge or overlap,
as in the case of Once Upon an Elephant, which
combines all three categories.

Yoruba narrative has four distinct, but often related,

modal types: “àló for nontrue; ìtàn for true accounts;
òwe for a parable or proverb; and àróbá for a narrative”
in which a conflation of character and literary mode
also presents to the audience a sense of the “‘comic,’
the ‘tragic,’ the ‘epic’ and the ‘picaresque.” These four
modal types are also found in Once Upon an Elephant:
it is àló because it is fiction; it is ìtàn because it presents
an account that is similar to a real-life situation; it is òwe
because both the story and characters are metaphors

x
for the human condition; and it is àróbá because it is a
narrative.

Based on the story of the Elephant of Yoruba folktale,

Ajanaku (Olaniyonu) can easily be identified. At the
same time, the Tortoise-figure who is also a central figure
in that story, can be seen in the person of Serubawon.
In fact, the song that Iya Agba (in her supposed state of
insanity) sings, “Erin ka re’le o wa jo’oba, erin yeeye;
erin yeeye” [“All hail, Elephant, come home to honor
and be crowned!”], is taken from the Yoruba narrative
in which the small but clever tortoise (Alábahun), using
his wit and intelligence, lures the elephant (Àjànàkú) to
his death on the pretext that the other animals plan to
crown him.

Themes in Once Upon an Elephant

The play dwells on several themes, chief among which
is dictatorship or what some have called “sit-tightism.”
It is about autocracy and the tyrannical actions of
dictators visible in Africa in the last few decades. The
play deals with this self-perpetuating syndrome of
African leaders. Although set in an African community,
the play provides a view of the nature of political
leadership in Africa over the years. The political history
of Africa is replete with stories of leaders who stay in
power beyond the stipulated number of years by the
constitution and those who seize power by force, usually
through a coup. From Idi Amin Dada in Uganda, Hosni

xi
Mubarak in Egypt, Lauren Gbagbo in Cote d’Ivoire,
Sanni Abacha in Nigeria, to Yaya Jammeh in Gambia
and others like Paul Biya of Cameroon, political
leaders have flagrantly disobeyed the constitution and
instituted a reign of terror in their domains.

Like these African tyrants, Olaniyonu, the self-

proclaimed Ajanaku, is a vintage example of those who
place themselves at the mercy of their self-conceit and
tyranny, who seek power and fame without any qualms
for whose lives are destroyed in the process and whose
dreams are truncated for theirs to be fulfilled. Similar
to Serubawon, then, he represents for us a timeless
lesson in human foibles. As the elephant of the Yoruba
narrative never bothered to ask the tortoise how he
can become King of the animals in the same jungle
where the lion lives with the other more agile, stronger
animals and jungle dwellers, Olaniyonu also does not
bother to address how Serubawon hopes to manipulate
such a long process of kinship, and how he wants to
deal with his father, who is still very much alive as at
that time. In short, he does not care about anything else
so long as he is the absolute ruler of the land. Since
the haughty elephant that meets a swift and predictable
death is also the moral of Ademilua-Afolayan’s story,
the play ridicules vainglory and the abuse of power
by both Serubawon and Olaniyonu as a metaphor
for brutish leadership and tyranny in Africa that is

xii
exemplified by the aforementioned African leaders and
their compatriots.

Another important theme is the dual role that women

play in the society. Seasoned playwrights such as Wole
Soyinka in A Play of Giants, Opera Wonyosi, Kongi’s
Harvest and King Baabu; Femi Osofisan in Yungba
Yungba and the Dance Contest; Ahmed Yerima in Ade
Ire and Uncle Venyil; Lekan Balogun in Alaafin Kanran;
and Hope Eghagha in Onowawi Shall Rise Again, are
some of the examples of plays which dramatize the reign
of terror by political leaders and the attendant woes of
the oppressed people. Interestingly, the plays show
women either as causes of the terror or perpetrators of
it. While in some of these plays, women are depicted in
negative roles, in Once Upon an Elephant, Ademilua
Afolayan “writes back” by showing women as causes
of dictatorship and as solution providers to the problem.
She does not deny that women can be ambitious.
However, she dramatizes how they can help to move
the society forward through what is unique to them.
Therefore, women are positively projected in Once
Upon an Elephant.

Festivals, rites and rituals

Some of the most important features of life in traditional
African societies are the observance of festivals, rites
and rituals. There have been several examples in
primeval Yoruba society where traditional cleansing

xiii
rites are used for individual and collective purging of
ills and the purification of (mis)deeds to effect renewal
and usher in a new lease of life for the society. These
acts are anchored on the people’s belief that such rites
provide occasions for the return of metaphysical beings
and wellness to the human society that is ravaged, and
in the structuring of their plot and creation of characters,
contemporary Nigerian dramatists, like their African
counterparts, often appropriate such rites to resolve
conflicts in their plays. In Once Upon an Elephant,
Ademilua-Afolayan uses a similar narration technique,
such as the Olubori and Ijedodo rites. Instead of using
the Jobele rite for a selfish and dangerous end, Iya Agba
uses it as a cleansing rite to revive Desola and finally
cure the land of its ailment.

Lekan Balogun, Ph.D.

xiv
This play was first performed at the Art’s Theatre,
University of Lagos, Nigeria, on Saturday, 8th of
November, 2014, by the members of the Theatre
Workshop Class made up of Year 1 students of
the Departments of English, Education, History,
Philosophy, Linguistics, African and Asian Studies
(LAAS) and Creative Arts. It was directed by Saheed
Bello and had the following cast and crew:

CAST
Olaniyonu (Ajanaku) Falohun Oluseyi Wale/
Onyemefolu Collins
Serubawon Adedapo John Ayo
Iya Agba Ilechukwu Chidinma/
Sobowale Oluseyi/
Adeboyeku Omotooke
Odekunle Samson Oloyede
Desola Chika Ezerie
Odejimi Emmanuel Afolabi
Omoyeni Beverley Garuba
Iyale Chika Nzekwe
Ogundele Emeka Jonathan-Ekeh
Odegbami Samuel Abiodun Aribo
Yosola Esther Ifedayo Adedeji
Yele Rebecca Naleh
Dele Damilola Adebayo
Lere Ganiu Mumin
Demoke Fayokunmi Oke

xv
Women I & II Stella Orji & Miracle Okpala
Guards I, II & III Matthew Arogunyo,
Sulaiman A. Keshinro &
Mustapha Asorin
Delani Damilola Dada
Man Damilola Dada

MANAGEMENT TEAM:
Secretary: Fauziyah Zakariyah
Financial Secretary: Mariam Adewumi
Stage Manager: Aramide Bada

CHORUS: Olorunfemi Yemisi, Esther Mba, Olabisi

Oyedepo, Naomi Olayemi, Foluwaso Sarayi, Damilola
Shittu, Maltida Abosede, Esther Anolu, Jennifer
Ogedengbe, Kafilat Shittu, Oreoluwa Adesuyn, Zulikha
Salimon, Oluwaseyi Tijani, Oyindamola Albert,
Ihuoma Alozie, Oluwalolade Fasanmade, Victoria
Lazarus, Titilayo Omomowo, Faith Fafore, Chioma
Chukwuman, Adebanke, Mary Adeniji, Seun Akerele,
Adebusayo Atoyebi, Anthony Onyeneke, Sharon
Ugwu, Zainab Usman, Rodiat Bello, Rebecca Adeosun,
Basseroh Emmanuel, Aminat Dikko, Uzoamaka
Nwadili, Fiyinfluwa Ajenifuwa, Oluwatoyosi Esan,
Oluebube Ojimade, Morenike Badiu and Olamide
Thanni.

xvi
DANCERS: Ruth Martins, Winner Onyeoziri,
Oluwaseyifunmi Olalekan, Amarachi Mbata, Sharon
Ademouh, Folabi Ogunkanmi, James Adebanjo,
Temitayo Arowolo, Susan Ali, Olamide Oyerola,
Chizara Kanayochukwu, Lydia Okorie, Odunao
Adeojo, Helen Iwu, Tracy Uwechue, Eniola Oniyo,
Damilola Oladipo, Ayanfe Robert, Oluwagbemi
Owokoniran, Quadri Godo, Kingsley Nnanta, Frank
Ossai, Oluwadolap Olusanya, Temitope Adeniji and
Oluwamayowa Durojaiye.

PUBLICITY: Oluwatomisin Esan, Oluwatoyosi

Kenku, Kehinde Omolabi, Oluwaseyi Tijani, Rodiat
Bello, Adebusayo Atoyebi, Abibat AbdulRaheem,
Bukola Lawal, Regina Agbadiuno, Qawiyah
Haroon-Tejumola, Anthony Onyeneke, Chizara
Kanayochukwu, Oluwamayowa Durojaye, Emeka
Ekeh-Jonathan, Wwinner Onyeoziri, Samuel Obayomi,
Temitayo Arowolo, Soliat Sunmola, Oluwatobiloba
Ayodeji, Samuel Akinmoye, Razaq Aminu, Ihuoma
Alozie, Yusuf Ishola, Ibukunoluwa Shoaga, Stella
Orji, Esther Mba, Abosede Oritumi, Temitope Adeniji,
Oluwaseyifunmi Olalekan, Seun Akerele, Esther
Anolu, Baseeroh Emmanuel, Adaora Ugwu Adanma
Ahamefuke and Daphe Chinyere.

xvii
TECHNICAL CREW: Zulikha Salimon, Jennifer
Ogedegne, Adebanke Ajibade, Chioma Chukwuma,
Oreoluwa Adesuyan, Sabina Archer, Gbemisola
Nelly, Mary Adeniji, Kasumi Said, Rebecca, Folabi
Ogunkanmi, Titilayo Omomowo, Aminat Dikko,
Adaora Ugwu, Oluwaseyi Tijani, Zainab Usman, Abibat
AbdulRaheem, Baseeroh Emmanuel, James Adesanjo,
Abosede Owumi, Oluwaseyi Olalekan, Emmanuel
Oyinlola, Timileyin Francis, Oluwafunke Adebobode,
Kehinde Omoluabi and Emmanuel Oteikwu.

xviii
Dramatis Personae

Olaniyonu/Ajanaku - the tyrant king

Iya Agba - wife to former king
Omoyeni - his wife

Serubawon}
Odejimi} - Guild of Hunters and Elders
Ogundele}
Odegbami}

Iyale - Odejimi’s wife

Odekunle - his son, Desola’s lover.
Desola - Serubawon’s daughter
Yosola - her friend
Demoke - Serubawon’s wife

Yele}
Lere} - youth/Odekunle’s friends
Dele}

Delani - Omoyeni’s former lover

Dancers, Singers
Guards and Townspeople.

xix
 Once Upon An Elephant

ONE

Grove. Metallic clinking of the gong and chants of

Ogun in the background. Sitting on a stool, bare-
chested, is Ajanaku. Standing to his sides are two older
men, Odejimi and Ogundele. Serubawon appears from
within. He is also bare-chested and ties a red cloth to
his waist. Performs some rites and stops.

Serubawon: It is done. Rise!

Ajanaku: Are you sure?

Serubawon: Sure, I know that only four of us are here.

Ajanaku: Thank you.

Serubawon: Thank me when everything is done after

seven big markets. But, do not see your father
until after you have had the last bath.

Ajanaku: When is that?

Serubawon: I will tell you.

1
Once Upon An Elephant

(Ajanaku exits through the point Serubawon comes in.)

Ogundele: What other bath does he need after the rites

we have performed?

Serubawon: That aspect involves only me. You may

not bother as such.

Odejimi: He asked what rite, not the person involved.

(Silence) I hope it is not what I think, Serubawon.

Serubawon: How can I know what you are thinking?

Odejimi: Olubori rites, of course.

Ogundele: But it can’t be that one.

Serubawon: Is there any better way to prepare a mortal

to represent his ancestors?

Ogundele: What?

Odejimi: But you can’t do that.

Ogundele: You should have at least asked us.

Serubawon: What difference will my telling you have

made?

2
 Once Upon An Elephant

Odejimi: Answer his question, Serubawon.

Serubawon: What difference will that make, I ask

again? The rest is just a few steps away. I can only
urge both of you to stand by me. The young man
is more prepared for this task than I had initially
thought. Quite strong-willed and confident; the
more reason no one should ever be underestimated.

Odejimi: Do you know the meaning of what you are

giving that young man?

Ogundele: Do you know exactly what you are turning

him into with these rituals?

Serubawon: He was here. You should have asked

him. People call him a rascal for his youthful
misdemeanour. Riddling often makes it impossible
to know the true meaning of names. But, if we
took our gaze away from such market ranting, we
would find that the young man has a destiny to
fulfill. The only reasonable thing we can do is to
help him get to where he is headed.

Ogundele: And you know exactly where he is headed?

Serubawon: He brought gifts. When you are done

asking why he should be King, you can pick yours

3
Once Upon An Elephant

from the hut inside the grove. (He turns and goes
in.)

Odejimi: A-ah! What did he say?

Ogundele: Spirit of our fathers! Serubawon, that boy’s

father yet lives! Our King lives!

(Serubawon comes out with a big calabash. He squats

and washes his hands in it.)

Serubawon: Of what use is a king who cannot perform

his duty? You both saw what was left of him a few
days ago. Of what use is that near carcass?

Ogundele: Carcass?

Serubawon: Yes, carcass. What else is left if not a

lifeless bunch gasping for life that slowly ebbs
away?

Odejimi: Sickness is different from death. He lives

despite being a mere carcass you think you saw!

Serubawon: Some illnesses are worse than death,

Odejimi. Can we just be honest for once?

Odejimi: Don’t tell me about honesty!

4
 Once Upon An Elephant

Serubawon: How long has he been ailing?

Ogundele: Of what significance is that? Besides, what

have you done to help him? You are his medicine
man and his best friend. What have you done
to help your friend and King recover from his
ailment?

Serubawon: What have I not done should be the

question. What herbs have I not been administered
to him? What ritual baths has he not taken? What
medication and concoction has he not been fed
with? Everything! The only thing I have not done,
and will not do, is to take his place or even allow
his condition settle cobwebs on the royal stool.

Odejimi: What medicine man leaves his patient to

die simply because the herbs he tried weren’t as
effective as expected?

Serubawon: What man will allow a strange ailment to

strike him down?

Odejimi: Are you saying he asked to be inflicted with

the ailment? What is this talk?

Serubawon: It is time we move on after all these years.

That is “this” talk! (He takes the calabash in and
returns shortly as Ogundele speaks.)

5
Once Upon An Elephant

Ogundele: Akinjobi may be ailing, but he is not insane.

He is only ill and not insane. Our customs still
recognize him as the King, as do our people. Ours
is to stand by him and nurture him back to good
health!

Serubawon: Are you both listening to me at all?

Akinjobi dies slowly. Nobody can help him now;
nothing can bring back his hand of time because
his horse has finished its race. Nothing---not even
the best herbs on earth!

Odejimi: How can you know that? You are not our
ancestors; they can tell that.

Serubawon: I don’t have to be anybody’s ancestor to

know that Akinjobi’s sun up in the sky is about to
set, and another one is preparing to emerge in its
full glory. That is the way of the world. We mustn’t
live our lives the way it is not meant to be lived.
If a door closes, another one opens so people can
enter and go out at will. Akinjobi’s door closes
soon. We mustn’t, because he is our King, shut the
door on the faces of others. Our culture knows no
stagnation. It is senseless creating one!

6
 Once Upon An Elephant

Odejimi: Our world, which knows no stagnation, also

rests on order and structure. This is not the way to
uphold our ways.

Serubawon: By having new and fresh blood prepared

to straddle that height and ensure our continuity
of life?

Ogundele: What about those who came before him?

What about his brothers and his seniors? What
happens to the process? What about that?

Serubawon: What about it?

Odejimi: If we must have a new king, is it even your

duty to single-handedly determine? We have a
Council that does that.

Serubawon: And who heads that Council that picks

the King? We are the kingmakers. What difference
does it make?

Odejimi: Even at that, our King has other sons worthier

than that…

Serubawon: That what? It is with tomorrow in mind

that we do favours for today. Why are you so
ungrateful? That “that” has always supported us
in every way possible.

7
Once Upon An Elephant

Ogundele: So do the others.

Odejimi: Is that reason enough to sell our souls to

treachery? So, we must because he assisted us
in the past, hide our tongues in our cheeks, and
violate tradition in the process?

Serubawon: What is the tradition without the three of

us here?

Odejimi: You planned it very well to have just the three

of us here.

Serubawon: Well, like I said, he brought gifts; yours

are inside. (He exits).

Odejimi: Is this what our guild has become? Tell

me, Ogundele, what has happened to our sense
of thought? What about the King’s other sons,
especially Baderin, the first son? This is pure
usurpation of his right. He is the eldest, and that
should count for something. We must inform the
other elders.

Ogundele: No, we cannot.

Odejimi: Why not?

8
 Once Upon An Elephant

Ogundele: They won’t believe us. What are we doing

here in the first place?

Odejimi: But he invited us. Truth never goes astray. It

is falsehood that earns a gash on the head. Let us
tell everyone the truth.

Ogundele: How many people do you think recognise

the truth these days? (Chuckles) The truth! That
sounds almost like a word we have not heard
before. Odejimi, there is no point holding ourselves
up for more ridicule. Didn’t you hear him before
he left? He must have been planning this for a long
time. Unfortunately, we just helped him achieve
his purpose. It must stop here. This is enough. We
must stop playing fools.

Odejimi: So, we just fold our arms and allow him to

enthrone that boy without even the slightest regard
for our tradition?

Ogundele: What do you suggest instead, bring war on

him? He didn’t even tell us when the bath would
be done. So, we cannot possibly know when to
stop him. But we both know what he intends to do.

Odejimi: Exactly why we need to act fast. Our King

lives. That is like demanding that he dies so that
that rascal can be King; not even his brothers will

9
Once Upon An Elephant

know or can even do anything about it by that time.

That boy cannot be King when I am still alive!

Ogundele: It is fine to be angry, Odejimi. But anger,

our fathers say, is the brother of hopelessness.
You may be angry, but I am worried. Why will
Serubawon do this? Akinjobi is his friend.
Olaniyonu is nothing but a rascal from childhood.
We all know that. Why devise this plot to have him
enthroned? Are you thinking what I am thinking?
We are clutching at nothing until we know why he
suddenly wants our values twisted.

Odejimi: So, what do we do instead?

Ogundele: Let us hope the rest of the Council rejects

his choice.

Odejimi: What if they don’t?

Ogundele: Well, it means they, too, will not recognise

the truth if we tell them.

Odejimi: But we cannot just fold our arms.

Ogundele: Who says we are going to fold our arms?

Let us attend to our ailing King and try to bring
him back to good health. At least by doing that, we
can stall whatever plans Serubawon has. Unless a

10
 Once Upon An Elephant

king dies, another one is never enthroned; that is

custom!

Odejimi: And you think that is enough?

Ogundele: Shall we just do that first? (They move)

Wait, Odejimi, what about the gifts inside?

Odejimi: Who cares about his gifts? (He exits. Ogundele

hesitates and goes back inside to pick the gifts)

Light fades.

11
 TWO

Bush. Under a big tree. Desola stands and sits at

intervals. She looks around intermittently. It is apparent
she is waiting for somebody. Odekunle creeps on her
silently from behind.

Odekunle: Hiyaa! (She jumps up with fright)

Desola: You scared me.

Odekunle: It’s a shame you are afraid when it is only

me.

Desola: What kept you?

Odekunle: I had to pretend to be unwell for a few days.

I didn’t know another way to make my father
ask me to stay home. Otherwise, he would have
insisted that I joined in the hunt.

Desola: Has he gone?

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Odekunle: Not one of the hunters is left out. Don’t

forget our King’s coronation ceremony is a few
days. So, it is certainly a big hunt in order to have
a sumptuous feast.

Desola: Would you rather prefer that?

Odekunle: Nothing is more important to me than you

are.

Desola: Hm!

Odekunle: What?

Desola: Nothing (Silence) Why are you silent?

Odekunle: Nothing.

Desola: Then, say something.

Odekunle: What?

Desola: That you love me.

Odekunle: But you know I do.

Desola: I want you to say it.

Odekunle: Desola, daughter of Serubawon…

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Once Upon An Elephant

Desola: What? (They both laugh and embrace.) He

said your parents could come formally to ask for
my hand after the next harvest.

Odekunle: Your father said that? He did? Ah, Ogun,

our patron-god, I thank you. (He starts to sing and
dance). Did he tell you himself?

Desola: He told my mother, and she told me.

Odekunle: I am really happy to hear this. That means

we can stop our secret meetings in the bush.

Desola: Who says this is a secret?

Odekunle: What do you mean? People know we met

here?

Desola: Yosola knows we meet here. She always sees

me on the bush path over there whenever I am
coming to meet you.

Odekunle: You scared me at first. I thought you wanted

to say everyone in the land knows.

Desola: No, only Yosola knows because she is my

friend.

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Odekunle: Well, I guess Yosola can keep secrets. But

that will be over soon.

Desola: I can’t wait, Odekunle.

Odekunle: Same thing with me, but we have to.

(Silence)

Desola: What are you thinking? I hope you will sleep

well tonight.

Odekunle: Next harvest. I wish it were yesterday.

(They both laugh and embrace.)

Desola: But I am happy and scared at the same time,

Odekunle.

Odekunle: Why are you scared? I thought this is what

both of us have always wanted.

Desola: I am not scared of getting married to you,

Odekunle. In fact, that has always been my
prayer. But what if something goes wrong? What
if something…?

Odekunle: May Ogun forbid. Don’t say that!

Desola: I hope it doesn’t. There was something Yosola

told me.

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Once Upon An Elephant

Odekunle: What?

Desola: She said she had a dream that scared her.

Odekunle: What dream? (Silence, she turns her back)

Please don’t scare me.

Desola: I don’t mean to, Odekunle. But I had the same

dream a few days ago.

Odekunle: What did you see in your dream? (Pause)

Please tell me, what did you see?

Desola: Terrible thing. Everybody was there. A big

crowd. All sorts of people. It was our wedding
ceremony. You were with your friends, drinking
and chanting a lot of ijala. I have never seen you
that happy. I was also very happy. Indeed, I felt
like some goddess incarnated in human form; the
people were my devoted worshippers. It was time
for me to chant my ekun iyawo and bid my parents
farewell that I was finally going into my beloved
husband’s warm embrace. Every young girl looks
forward to that moment and there is mine, right in
front of me, but..!

Odekunle: But what?

16
 Once Upon An Elephant

Desola: I lost my voice. Everything in my head was

blank, like some strange darkness have consumed
me. The harder I tried, the harder it was for me to
remember anything. I began to sweat and cry at
the same time. My mother also began to cry, and
you. You were so angry and humiliated that you
threatened to kill me if I did not sing. I was trying
to explain but could not find my voice. Odekunle,
tell me it was just a dream, please!

Odekunle: (Sighs) Have you told anybody?

Desola: No, just you. Why?

Odekunle: It is not a good thing to tell people bad

dreams.

Desola: But, Yosola told her mother and she wants me

to tell my father.

Odekunle: You cannot tell your father.

Desola: Why?

Odekunle: The whole marriage may be affected.

Desola: How do you mean? (Silence, he turns away)

What is it? What are you hiding from me?

17
Once Upon An Elephant

Odekunle: You know I won’t hide things from you.

Your father and the hunters’ guild have been
having some quarrels lately.
Desola: How does that affect the marriage?

Odekunle: My father and yours have been the most

at loggerheads, especially regarding the choice of
Prince Olaniyonu.

Desola: Prince Olaniyonu? I thought they said the

Elders chose him.

Odekunle: No, your father did.

Desola: But he couldn’t have done that alone.

Odekunle: I don’t know how, but he did.

Desola: But that was not what he told my mother.

Anyway, it is too late for anyone. Olaniyonu will
be crowned in the village square in a few days.
The whole community is already agog with
celebration.

Odekunle: That is it.

Desola: What?

Odekunle: He is taking the crown. People think---

18
 Once Upon An Elephant

Desola: Forget what people think, Odekunle. Let us

think about ourselves for now (Silence). What are
you thinking of?
Odekunle: Of you.

Desola: What exactly?

Odekunle: Desola, can we…

Desola: Can we do what? Say it!

They embrace.

Light fades.

19
Once Upon An Elephant

THREE
Village Square. Ajanaku’s coronation. Heavy drumming,
singing and dancing. He addresses the people.

Ajanaku: It is amazing. How the words of our fathers

often come to pass! When I was an infant grappling
and struggling to suckle from my mother’s breasts,
my father already saw the greatness in my childish
grasp. He saw this crown firmly placed on my head.
He would call me “Ajanaku”. He would say, “He
is Ajanaku, more than ‘I have caught a glimpse
of something,’ for when you see an elephant,
you surely have seen something huge, awesome,
imposing…even impregnable like a rock”. And,
when I started to crawl on all fours, tumbling
and wobbling my way through infancy, and then
fought with little children my age and brought
them down in swift childish combats, my father,
obviously amused and pleased, would say, “Isn’t
he really showing the strength and behaving like
Ajanaku?” But what exactly does an elephant do
to creepers, and thorns, and bushes, and thickets,
20
 Once Upon An Elephant

and a whole forest of trees standing in its way? He

tramples them!

Serubawon: The assembly is for the people and to the

King belongs the crowd. Surely, the populace may
gather, but only the King can unite them.

Ajanaku: Indeed? I had thought that if a cock crows on

earth, its peers in heaven respond. But do we have
such corresponding gestures from those who twirl
around us like cracking whips wielded by excited
teenagers behind a masquerade?

Ogundele: Will my lord accept our assurances of

utmost support to his monarchy?

Ajanaku: Indeed?

Odegbami: Perhaps there are things my lord has heard

or seen. We will ask that he let his Council deal
with them as deemed appropriate by our customs.

Ogundele: Many hands are required to rub camwood

on the body. It is by coming together that a task is
thoroughly done. Our elders have decided to stand
by royalty.

Ajanaku: Like locusts that draw strength from numbers

to strike down a branch from the farm?

21
Once Upon An Elephant

Odejimi: The baldness that afÒicts the vulture is

hardly the result of its carrying heavy loads. There
is hardly any reason to doubt the support of the
elders.

Ajanaku: Indeed, the gods may confer greatness,

but the King enjoys it. We will not follow in the
footsteps of our predecessors and their weak
approach to resolving matters. Everyone should
know that ours shall mark a new beginning and
the beginning of an end that will last forever!

All: Kabiyesi o!

Ajanaku: We have been given power to rule, and rule

we shall. Celebrate!

(He exits, followed by the Council of Elders, except

Odejimi, Ogundele and Odegbami. Villagers also sing
and dance out.)

Odegbami: Let us go into the courtyard and continue

the celebration.

Odejimi: What do you make of that? Or am I the only

one who heard what I heard?

Odegbami: To what are you referring, Odejimi?

22
 Once Upon An Elephant

Odejimi: The royal speech. Perhaps it is more

appropriate to call it the declaration of war.

Ogundele: The declaration of war on who?

Odejimi: Are you saying you didn’t hear that, or you

didn’t understand it either? Which one?

Ogundele: I do not want to find enemies where there

are none for myself.

Odejimi: Even when the enemy is bent on getting to

the bottom of what happens between you and your
wife in your bedroom at night?

Odegbami: You may be right, Odejimi. It sounded

rather strange to me. What manner of a child
would berate his lineage and openly call his father
a weakling and a failure?

Odejimi: The hedgehog does not live in the grassland

but in the forest. Certain things are proper, and
certain things are not.

Ogundele: Such is the time we are living in, Odegbami.

Times are changing.

Odejimi: Whose time? His father did not…

23
Once Upon An Elephant

Ogundele: Can we leave his father out of this

conversation? We have a new king; let us start
thinking of how to help him, not pick holes in a
monarchy that has hardly begun.

Odegbami: Better to start on a good footing.

Ogundele: And what he said isn’t? Shall we join the

others?

Odegbami: Certainly.
They exit.

Light fades.

24
 Once Upon An Elephant

FOUR

Odejimi’s house. He walks in. Sits down thinking. Music

in the background. Iyale, his wife, rushes in.

Iyale: A-ah, Baale mi, are you here? Are you not
supposed to be at the palace with the other elders?
(No response) I came to pick up my blue gele. The
other women said blue suits royalty as if something
is wrong with yellow or green. (She rushes in and
comes out shortly, holding the blue headgear.)
Baale mi, are you still here?

Odejimi: Haven’t you found your blue gele?

Iyale: This is it. But I wonder if it is gele that is important

or giving our new King a befitting welcome into
royalty. (Silence) Baale mi, are you all right?

Odejimi: Did I complain of sickness?

Iyale: Are we quarreling?

25
Once Upon An Elephant

Odejimi: Am I holding a cane?

Iyale: Oh, I know what you are thinking.

Odejimi: What?

Iyale: You cannot solve all the problems in the world,

Baale mi. Think less of what you cannot handle.
Do you even think it is only you that worry about
Olaniyonu? Until a dog begins to have stomach
troubles and then vomits, it will never listen to any
advice to desist from eating food from the ground.

Odejimi: Haven’t you seen your blue gele woman?

Why not leave me with my worry?

Iyale: Let me tell you, how do you think I have managed

to keep my position among our women? It is
because I don’t give advice when it is not needed.
People will not listen to you unless they can’t help
the situation. That is the only time they listen even
to the most foolish ideas, just for their burden to
be lifted. Worry less, Baale mi, what you can’t
help, let it be.

Odejimi: How can I let it be, Iyale? Everything is just

wrong. Why are people not seeing that things are
wrong?

26
 Once Upon An Elephant

Iyale: How do you want them to see it if it doesn’t affect

them and make them cry? Our people don’t bother
much about things that do not threaten their peace.
Nobody tells the blind that fire is burning. If he
cannot see it, he will feel the heat and smell of the
smoke. When fire burns the dog, it will also burn
the hunter holding the rope attached to the neck of
the dog. That is if the hunter is foolish enough to
hold on to the rope as the dog burns. That is what
Iya Agba says most times.

Odejimi: Iya Agba? Can you talk about sane people?

Iyale: Iya Agba is insane? Do you also still believe

what people are saying? (Chuckles) Oh, why am I
telling you? Aren’t you one of them?

Odejimi: There is nothing that kills faster than talking

too much. Get a handle on your mouth, Iyale.

Iyale: It is hardly the people who have problems. Do

you know what is troubling this land?

Odejimi: You know?

Iyale: Yes, and it is excessive worrying. Why do we

waste time thinking instead of doing something
about what troubles us? Iyale won’t stop talking
about it, even if you insist she talks too much.

27
Once Upon An Elephant

Okarakara is calling and blood drips from its beak.

It says it will not stop calling even if its mouth
tears into shreds. If a problem persists, one should
not stop calling for help.

Odejimi: And thinking about a problem is not part of

finding a solution? Iyale, please just take your gele
and leave my presence.

Iyale: You are not the only one who knows or feels
things, Baale mi. You can ask me what I think we
should do when you are done.

Odejimi: You? Before now, I thought you talked too

much, but now, you are ridiculous.

Iyale: Life is a bunch of proverbs, Baale mi. You can

never know it all. Iya Agba speaks the truth (She
exits)

Odejimi: Iya Agba? No wonder everybody is insane!

(Sighs)

Light fades.

28
 Once Upon An Elephant

FIVE

Palace. Ajanaku is in Council with the elders. Two

women and a man are present.

Ajanaku: If my memory isn’t failing me, this same

land issue was tackled by my father. I thought a
decision was taken on it. Why do we still have to
deal with it?

Serubawon: The case is a complicated one. Your father

couldn’t tackle it for fear of hurting either of the
groups.

Odejimi: But he suggested that they should work

together, mutual benefit of some kind. That makes
sense, at least, considering how tricky the subject
is.

Ajanaku: Whose land is it?

29
Once Upon An Elephant

Woman I: The land belongs to my ancestors, according

to the story my father told me before he died.

Man: My fathers had tilled the soil before her father

was born. I had been farming on the same land
before she was born.

Woman II: Liar!

Odegbami: Hold your tongue!

Ajanaku: What is on that land in dispute?

Man: Cocoa is on one side, my lord. Vegetable is on

another, and there are palm kernels on the rest.

Ajanaku: You have all that on the same piece of land?

Ogundele: It is an expanse of rich soil, Kabiyesi.

Ajanaku: Indeed?

Man: I work day and night with my only son on the

farm. These thieves want to take it from me!

Woman I: It is you who have stolen the land that

belongs to us!

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Odejimi: It is all right. Perhaps my lord will allow us

to say a few words.

Ajanaku: Go ahead.
Odejimi: (Turns to Woman I) You, what do you do?

Woman I: I sell Okro in the market.

Odejimi: (Turns to Woman II) And what about you?

Woman II: My husband is also a farmer. We both...

Odejimi: I didn’t ask about your husband. What do

you do?

Woman II: She is my mother.

Odegbami: He says what do you do, not who is your

mother?

Woman: I also sell yam tuber in the market.

Ajanaku: Are you her only child?

Woman II: No, my lord. There are five of us. The rest
are men.

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Once Upon An Elephant

Ajanaku: And what have your brothers been doing

while this old man tilled the soil alone, with only
the support of his little boy?

Woman I: My lord, the late King was a friend to our

father. He had already ordered the land to be
returned to us.

Odejimi: He asked what your sons were doing, not

what Oba Akinjobi told you.

Ogundele: It is obvious why her children didn’t work

on the farm. Who doesn’t know that laziness is a
very terrible disease?

Odegbami: Even at that Ogundele, if this land issue

was not resolved by our late King. Why did she
say it was?

Ajanaku: Is that question really necessary, Odegbami?

It is evident that all they want is the farm’s produce,
not the hard work that goes with it.

Man: Thank you, my lord. May our ancestors continue

to guide you.

Ajanaku: At the same time, you have been very selfish.

How can only you sit on that rich expanse of land?
An individual does not make a crowd. Both of you

32
 Once Upon An Elephant

are not good examples. Laziness and selfishness

are two of a kind. Royalty cannot even boast of
such a diverse and robust harvest. From now on,
we will manage the farm, including everything
on it. We shall tell you our decision on it in due
course. Let us have the next case (Man, Woman I
and Woman II are still waiting). I said you may go
to your homes. (They all get up reluctantly, still
confused. They move out dejectedly)

Odejimi: But the old man has obviously worked on

that farm. I had thought my lord would consider
that, at least.

Ajanaku: How about the women who truly own the

land as customs demand?

Odejimi: Why didn’t they do something while it was

a thick forest? Why come out to claim it now that
the harvest approaches?

Ogundele: But it still does not change the fact that he

was selfish. How can only one person plant cocoa,
palm kernel and vegetables at the same time? (Iya
Agba enters)

Iya Agba: The King who buried coral beads and digs
them up for people’s benefit will have their names
remembered only differently.

33
Once Upon An Elephant

Ajanaku: What is she doing here?

Iya Agba: Because a child committed the first act and

was not caught, he was happy. He forgot that
misfortune does not kill; indulgent happiness kills.
Ogundele: You shouldn’t be in the palace.

Iya Agba: Really? And, what are you, people? They

deceive themselves greatly; whoever collects
rainwater with a sieve. Do you know what fate
awaits a treacherous arrangement? Whoever
incites a terrible force to fight will rue his folly.

Ajanaku: What are you all waiting for? Get her out of
here.

Iya Agba: (She starts a song as the singers pick up the

chorus). The leper said two things, one of which
was a lie; he said that after he had struck his child
with his palm, he also pinched him severely with
his fingernails. (She starts to sing again.) Erin ka
re’le o wa j’oba, erin yeeye; erin yeeye (Singers
pick it up). You can only fool yourself when you
claim to have done the impossible! You remember
the tale of the Elephant, don’t you? (She exits
singing. Ajanaku is furious)

34
 Once Upon An Elephant

Ajanaku: (gets up in anger) What was she doing here?

That mad hag?

Ogundele: We were also surprised, my lord.

Ajanaku: Nonsense. She mustn’t come to my palace

again. Make sure she doesn’t! We must not set our
royal eyes again on her. (He storms out)
Odegbami: Who knows what she wants?

Ogundele: I wonder.

Odejimi: Have you forgotten she used to live in this

same place?

Ogundele: Since when has she lost that privilege?

Odegbami: Is her madness so serious she doesn’t know

where to head for?

(They all leave, talking.)

Light fades.

35
Once Upon An Elephant

SIX
Palace. Sitting with her back to the inner chambers
is Iya Agba. Shortly, Ajanaku comes out, followed by
Omoyeni, his wife.

Omoyeni: There is your visitor.

Ajanaku: What are you doing here again?

Iya Agba: Are you talking to me?

Ajanaku: Who else would I be talking to? What do

you want in my palace?

Iya Agba: “My palace” is never the right word for a

king worthy of his position to say, Olaniyonu.

Ajanaku: You must call me by my rightful name. I am

Ajanaku, conqueror of lands and forests!

Iya Agba: Oh, true indeed. The lizard may resemble

a crocodile, but they are undoubtedly different. I
thought you had changed.
36
 Once Upon An Elephant

Ajanaku: How can you know? Madness is the worst

enemy of memory; you lose every sense of time
and roam the street in mental darkness. Don’t you
experience it daily?

Iya Agba: Then, you must remember your moment of

madness. It plagues you, as I can see.

Ajanaku: What happened in the past has no meaning

to me.

Iya Agba: If it meant nothing to you, indeed you won’t

be running from it as you are trying to do. It is
only people who forget; our ancestors don’t.

Ajanaku: What do you know about ancestors?

Iya Agba: They don’t forget wrongs but never overlook

rights. What you took from me and others will be
returned in time.

Ajanaku: The only thing that follows you is the shame

of your adulterous past. My father did the right
thing by having you excommunicated. You defile
this ground of my palace by standing on it.

Iya Agba: Your palace? I thought this place belonged

to my husband, Akinjobi.

37
Once Upon An Elephant

Ajanaku: Akinjobi is dead. His palace died with him.

Iya Agba: You still deny Akinjobi the honour he

deserves, even in death, after deceiving and lying
to him. What will a nestling do for its mother other
than become mature and fly away?

Ajanaku: Your guilt follows you around. Isn’t it

obvious I am destined for this?

Iya Agba: Shame. You only kill a man, not his good
deed. Come to think of it, whoever thought it wise
to have you defile this ground and desecrate the
throne by sitting on it must have lost their head.

Ajanaku: It is you who have lost your head. Leave

here now, or I will have you thrown out. Get me
the armed guards. (Omoyeni exits)

Iya Agba: (She dances and sings - Erin ka re’le o wa

j’oba, erin yeeye; erin yeeye. (The singers pick it
up.) What is being thrown out by you compared to
what you did many years ago? Is caressing a dead
body not better than killing it?

Ajanaku: Oh, caressing, of course. I almost forgot that.

Isn’t that what you enjoy doing most?

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Iya Agba: Did you enjoy doing it? Do you still

remember how it tasted? Indeed, you have turned
it into a duty, running after everything in wrapper
without shame (Omoyeni returns with two palace
guards). This pathetic one is also under your spell.
How great is your power!

Ajanaku: What exactly do you want, mad woman?

Iya Agba: Just to be sure that I am still mad, I needed

to hear from you. (Facing Omoyeni) Are you not
Ajasa, the blacksmith’s daughter? (No response)
Are you not Adunni’s daughter? I thought they
said Delani worked in your father’s blacksmith
furnace for months to pay your bride price. Or, is
the “madness” of Olaniyonu so intense that you
also forget what Delani has done to have your
hand in marriage? You forgot the young man’s
hard work in your father’s smithy to marry you.
And, what is this I see protruding heavily in front
of you? Whose child will that be?

Ajanaku: And how does that…

Iya Agba: Let her speak! (Silence) So, you also decided
to join our company of madness. No wonder he
recognises it. How can he if he is not living and
raising bastard children with another mad woman?
The owner of a habit will not travel and leave his

39
Once Upon An Elephant

habit behind. They will travel together. You really

have matured in your rascality. Your father will be
so proud of you, Olaniyonu. (She sings Erin ka
re’le o wa j’oba, erin yeeye; erin yeeye etc.; the
singers sing along.)

Ajanaku: I am Ajanaku. It is from childhood that the

Elephant has been greater than the buffalo.

Iya Agba: Really? The real Elephant belongs to

the forest; all other ones are pretenders. To the
rafter belongs the load; the shelf only pretends.
(Chuckles) Olaniyonu, no matter how much rain
beats the tree stump, it cannot change its position.
Yes, you are Ajanaku; so big now, mighty, full of
strength, but with vain glory and an empty brain.
You are doomed to fail. (She sings Erin ka re’le o
wa j’oba, erin yeeye; erin yeeye… the singers sing
along.)

Ajanaku: You are completely insane and incurable!

Iya Agba: As you proclaimed many years ago, you

deceived my husband with your deceitful conduct.

Ajanaku: Nobody listens to the rantings of a mad

woman.

40
 Once Upon An Elephant

Iya Agba: Your days of lying gradually end; you will

soon find out. (She sings Erin ka re’le o wa j’oba,
erin yeeye; erin yeeye…the singers sing along.)

Ajanaku: (beats his chest) I am the King; I am the law,

and you stand forever accused.

Iya Agba: You stand forever plagued by your deceit.

Ajanaku: I am not the one living on the outskirts of the

land; you are. If anyone is plagued by anything, it
is you. Your husband, my father, is gone. He should
have killed you; perhaps part of his mistakes. You
can at least heave a sigh of relief that nobody can
kill you again for your unfaithfulness.

Iya Agba: My husband and your father? Oh, it’s a pity

you still live on that lie. Better if you had killed
me than…

Ajanaku: Of what use is killing you? What for? I think

my father was right after all. Who would wish to
take over the dung beetle’s habit of rolling dung
about? Why waste such royal effort on you? You
are already dead. What use is left of a mad, old
woman?

Iya Agba: Did you hear him? Did you hear the liar
and brute rascal? How is your father? They say his

41
Once Upon An Elephant

hand turned our tradition upside down (Serubawon

comes in and greets Ajanaku). Ah, just as I asked
about him.

Ajanaku: Can you see now that your madness is

incurable? My father, the late King, is dead, yet
you call Serubawon my father.

Iya Agba: Is that? Tell him, Serubawon. Tell the bastard

child who his real father is.

Serubawon: What is she doing here? What are you

doing here?

Iya Agba: Isn’t it timely that we three are together after

all these years? Why not tell him so that he might
know who he is?

Serubawon: Guards, get her out of here!

Iya Agba: You cannot run away from your past,

Serubawon. The nose cannot become so big that
it takes speech out of the mouth. Tell him he is
nothing but a huge dirt on a white cloth, a black
pigeon in a poultry of well-bred fowls. Tell this
rascal wearing the crown that he does not belong
in this household. Tell him a goat, a dishonest goat
and a shameless baboon sired him. Tell this goat
he has no place in a horse’s stable. Tell him! (She

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 Once Upon An Elephant

sings Erin ka re’le o wa j’oba, erin yeeye; erin

yeeye…the singers sing along.)

Serubawon: (To guards) I say get her out of here!

Iya Agba: Don’t touch me! If a war captures one

by mistake, a curse will never. Akinjobi has his
legitimate sons; this one is never one of them.

Serubawon: What are you waiting for? Are you mad?

I said bundle her out!

Iya Agba: Stop your deceit before it is too late,

Serubawon. Wrapping the hilt in leather will not
keep a machete from breaking loose! (Guards try
to grab her.) If you dare, lay your hands on me!

Ajanaku: Bundle her out! (Guards lift her as she

struggles with them.)

Iya Agba: A disdainful look does not kill Serubawon.

Tell him he sits on a stool that will burn and roast
him alive! (She is taken out. Ajanaku paces with
anger. Guards return)

Serubawon: How did she come in here? Answer me!

Guard I: We…we don’t know, my lord!

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Once Upon An Elephant

Serubawon: What do you mean you don’t know?

Every child in this land knows she is insane. How
did she gain entrance into the palace?

Guard I & II: (Variously) We were in the courtyard,

my lord! We didn’t know when she came into the
palace! She must have used the restricted door, my
lord!
Serubawon: Mad men! What were you doing when
she was using the restricted door? I said what were
you doing when she used that door? Be vigilant.
That is why you work in the palace. Be vigilant!

Ajanaku: Let them be! (Silence) What are you waiting

for? Get out! (Guards run out. He paces about
angrily) “A huge dirt on a white cloth”; “a black
pigeon in a poultry of well-bred fowls.” What does
she mean I am a goat? Serubawon, what was she
talking about?

Serubawon: Don’t tell me you are giving any useful

thought to her words. Who would give serious
thought to the ranting of a mad woman?

Ajanaku: She called me a bastard. What about that

one? She said it more than once.

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Serubawon: There is nobody in this land who doesn’t

know that she is insane. She can say anything. She
is completely insane.

Ajanaku: She called me a goat in a horse’s stable. A

pigeon among fowls. What does that mean?

Serubawon: You should not give any thought to a mad

woman’s rant. Your father learnt that too late. But,
when he did, he put her in her proper place, where
all mad people go. Don’t bother yourself about her
ranting.
Ajanaku: I don’t want to see her again. She mustn’t
come to this palace again. Do something about it.
I don’t care what, just do something about it! (He
exits angrily. Serubawon is shaken. He also exits.
Omoyeni is alone, disturbed).

Light fades.

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Once Upon An Elephant

SEVEN
Palace. Elders are in Council. Ajanaku is with them.
Some visitors are present. Serious discussion is in
progress.

Ajanaku: Shall we hear the case before us?

Odegbami: Perhaps my lord will consider the plight of

the people of Oguno before any other one?

Ajanaku: What do you mean?

Odegbami: Two of their people are here to ask for

our help. As we know, the people of Oguno pay
tributes to us, and they have never failed. Now
that they need our help, we cannot afford to turn
our back on them.

Ajanaku: Who says we cannot afford to do anything?

Who is commanding us to do things?

Odejimi: What Odegbami meant was that...

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Serubawon: He understands what Odegbami meant.

Ajanaku: Let him explain what Odegbami meant to

us.

Odegbami: Pardon my approach, my lord. But these

people are here. They can explain things by
themselves.

Man I: We beg Your Highness to listen to our plight.

For several moons now, we have been invaded at
will by some group whose identity we don’t know.
They have taken our children away. Our land is
continually threatened. We don’t have the power
to match these people. We may be helpless, but we
have the assurance that you can help us.

Ogundele: How long has this been happening?

Man I: Several moons. The pains have even dulled our

sense of time. We live our lives in absolute fear
and trepidation.

Ajanaku: We know your plight. We also know you

deserve no mercy.

Man II: Aah, we beg you! Our people are in bondage.

They die every day in a strange territory. They cry
in a foreign land!

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Once Upon An Elephant

Ajanaku: Enough! (Silence) What was my message to

your people just before the new planting season?

Man I: You wanted an increase in the tributes we pay.

Ajanaku: Why hasn’t that royal request received a

positive gesture from your people?

Man II: But we increased the tributes before your

coronation upon your request. Just after your
coronation, we did the same thing. Our people
thought we needed time to adjust to those frequent
and sudden changes before responding to another
one.

Man I: We would never disobey you, but we have

children to feed, my lord. If we keep increasing
the tributes at the rate you asked for them, there
will be nothing left to feed our children.

Serubawon: Are those children not the same ones in a

foreign territory?

Odejimi: I don’t think that is the right question,

Serubawon. These people are in pain.

Ajanaku: Who cares if they all die? (Silence) We will

help you, but you must bring the tributes before
any other consideration. That is our stand!

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Man I: Aaah!

Man II: Please have mercy on us!

Man I: Only a few people are left. Most are old women
and babies whose parents have been killed or
abducted.

Man II: We cannot even go back to our village. Our

assailants will kill us if they lay their hands on us.
Please help us.

Odejimi: What exactly do you want?

Man I: You have hunters here, great hunters. They can

help us get back our people taken away. We shall
be eternally grateful to you.

Ajanaku: Shall we move on to the next case?

Man I: (Angrily) What kind of a man are you? You are

supposed to help and not push us away like some
useless lepers. What did we do to offend you?

Serubawon: Watch the tone of your voice, Gbeleyi.

Man I: Then tell him how cordial our people’s

relationship with yours has been before this
time. Tell him we are not just neighbours. We are

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kinsmen from the same lineage. We don’t deserve

this kind of treatment from him. This is not the
way to treat family!

Ajanaku: Really?

Man I: Your father didn’t treat us like this! He didn’t

make paying tributes a condition to help us in
times of need. He loved us, and we loved him in
return. He was very good to us. That was the mark
of a good leader!

Serubawon: You talk out of sense, Gbeleyi.

Ogundele: What insult! How can you say that?

Man I: Why won’t I say that? We are helpless people

in urgent need of assistance. Must he further
humiliate us?

(Silence. Ajanaku rises slowly and goes to him.)

Ajanaku: How well did you know my father?

Man I: He was my friend, my very good friend, and a

kind man.

Ajanaku: Did you know how he died? (Silence) I

will tell you: first, he lost his voice, then his

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limb, and finally his eyes. He couldn’t move for

several moons, confined to a spot like a vegetable,
gradually diminishing like salt placed where dew
can touch it.

Odejimi: We will ask your highness to please stop.

Ajanaku: (Raises his hands to ask for silence) After

that, he became completely lost to his ailment;
decaying and smelling. No herbs could cure him.
He lost every sense of time and of ever being a
human being. He was simply reduced to nothing!

Man I: This is outrageous! How can you say this about

your father?

Ajanaku: He may have been kind but lonely when

it mattered. He was alone and miserable. I am
not my father! Guards! (Two guards standing by
rush forward.) Seize this fool and strip him of
his clothes. Put him outside under the scorching
sunlight so his weak bones can slowly burn
unprotected. He will learn what it means to be
humiliated! (Pandemonium as Man I struggle.
They remove his buba, and he suddenly draws a
knife. Guards back off. Elders react)

Man I: Come and remove my sokoto if you dare!

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(Silence and tension. Guards stand away, terrified.

Ajanaku approaches him slowly. Man I also retreat
slowly.)

Man I: You speak ill of your father. That is insanity!

Ajanaku: I am your king. You will not dare lay your

hands on me!

Man I: You will not humiliate me!

(Silence, tension rises. Man I stabs himself. Ajanaku

turns quickly. Serubawon and Elders lead him in. Man
II rushes to Man I as he slowly goes down. Guards
carry him out. Elders return.)

Odejimi: Why would he do that?

Ogundele: That served him right. You don’t come into

a palace and slap the King; that is tantamount to
desecrating tradition.

Odegbami: Slow down, Ogundele. Those men were

under much pressure. We cannot totally blame
them.

Ogundele: Even when he drew a dagger at the King?

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Odejimi: What did you call that, stripping him naked

in the presence of the whole world? He tried to
defend himself.

Ogundele: By threatening everyone with a dagger? He

could have stabbed one of us. Maybe he should
have stabbed you in the eye.

Odejimi: Did he look like someone who intended to

stab?

Ogundele: Why did he draw the dagger in the first

place?

Odejimi: What about the condition Ajanaku gave to

help rescue their people from the hands of their
abductors? Was that fair to a people who held
allegiance to us?

Ogundele: What exactly do you have against this King,

Odejimi?

Odejimi: What do I have against him? Nothing.

Ogundele: I don’t believe you. You hardly see anything

good in what the King does.

Odejimi: I can never see anything good in someone

who takes a crown through the back door.

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Ogundele: That is it!

Odejimi: That is what?

Ogundele: They asked the bird Awoko, “Did you insult

the king?” Awoko replied, “When would I have
time to insult the king, given the task of singing
two hundred songs in the morning, two hundred
in the afternoon, and two hundred at night?” You
must stop your disdain for that young man.

Odejimi: Who says I hate him?

Ogundele: Your attitude does. Secret designs only ruin

a community that works for its improvement.

Odejimi: Where are you getting these ideas from,

Ogundele? Who says I am working on something
in secret?

Ogundele: But you will support people like those men

who just came here and tried to kill him?

Odejimi: I will support whatever is honest and done in

good faith.

Ogundele: Ajanaku is the king. Start living in that

reality!
(Lights fade on them slowly.)

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EIGHT
Bush. Odekunle and Desola are together. She rests on
his lap. The mood is romantic.

Desola: Sing that ijala for me again.

Odekunle: Which one?

Desola: The one you sang at the last Omo Ode rites.

Odekunle: There are so many of them. Which particular

one?

Desola: The one about hunters who failed to catch any

game.

Odekunle: Oh, that one? But I have better ones.

Desola: I like that. Sing it.

Odekunle: All right (Clears throat and begins to sing)

You can’t really enjoy the song while sitting.

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Once Upon An Elephant

Maybe we should dance. (They both get up. He

starts to sing, and she dances. He also begins to
move. Ajanaku’s bodyguards creep in on them
without being noticed.) I have composed a special
one for our wedding.

Desola: Really? Odekunle, I trust you. Let me hear that.

Odekunle: No, wait till that day.

Desola: Please. Just a bit from it.

Odekunle: All right. (He chants and they start to dance.

Guards pounce on them.)

Guard I: Stop. You run; you die! (They are afraid)

You stand on this side (Guard II drags Desola to
another side). Face the other side!

Desola: Please don’t kill me! (Ajanaku appears)

Ajanaku: Bring her here!

Odekunle: You can’t take her anywhere! (Odekunle

struggles; he is thrown to the ground by the guards.
He is pinned down while Ajanaku approaches)

Ajanaku: I am here because of her. I am not interested

in you. But, you will both do as I say, or you die

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(Silence. He gives instruction as he moves out).

Bring her to me! (Guard II drags Desola out.
She pleads as she is dragged out. Guard I stand
with Odekunle. Desola can be heard crying and
begging.)

Desola: Aaah, Kabiyesi, please don’t do this! Aaaah!

(She screams)

Light fades.

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NINE
Lere’s house. Odekunle sits dejectedly. It is apparent
that he has been crying. Yele, Lere and Dele are with
him.

Yele: They did that to Desola in your presence? What

did you do?

Odekunle: What could I have done?

Dele: He asked what you did, not what you couldn’t

do!

Odekunle: They were armed, and I was alone.

Dele: They were armed; is that what you did, trying to

find out if they were armed while they took your
woman’s pride?

Odekunle: (Crying) Nothing. I….I couldn’t do

anything!

Lere: That was cowardice, my friend. Sheer cowardice!

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Yele: Didn’t you hear him? He said they were many

and armed.

Dele: Stop saying rubbish, Yele. They seized his woman

in his presence.

Lere: He did nothing.

Dele: They spread her flat on the ground in the bush.

Lere: He did nothing.

Dele: Then, they forcefully and vigorously took her

pride.

Lere: He did nothing.

Dele: Well, you can as well continue with the leftover

and do nothing!

Yele: I don’t think this is the right thing to say to a

friend at a time like this. We should be consoling
him.

Lere: What are we supposed to say so that he will be

consoled?

Dele: I am not surprised. It is only a bastard child

who doesn’t resemble his parent. Who does not

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know in this land that his father is also a coward?

(Odekunle springs up and grabs him.)

Odekunle: Don’t you say such things about my father!

Dele: Why didn’t you fight back over there? (Others

separate them)

Lere: We are really sorry this happened, Odekunle.

Yele: Where did this really happen?

Odekunle: At the kolanut farm.

Lere: But the Kolanut farm is right in the heart of the

thick forest. What were you both doing there?

Yele: What sort of question is that? You have two

lovers, and you are asking what they are doing in
the corridor at night.

Odekunle: That was our secret meeting place.

Dele: Did you hear that? They had a secret meeting

place, but we didn’t know about it. And we are
supposed to be his best friends. This is just fine.
The snake that travels alone gets killed by the
farmer.

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Odekunle: She insisted we shouldn’t tell anybody.

Dele: So why are you telling us now?

Lere: Still, you should have tried to defend yourself.

Weren’t you holding a cutlass or something?

Odekunle: You think I didn’t try to do something? Do

you ever imagine I will just fold my arms and let
them assault Desola without doing something?
They meant to kill me. They threatened to harm
her (He bursts into tears again). He threatened to
kill her if I fought them. He would still have had
his way. He always does, and nobody stops him!

Yele: He threatened?

Lere: He? Who?

Yele: But I thought you said they were many and armed.

Dele: You see? He is changing his words again. And

you expect me to pity this coward and liar.

Odekunle: I am not lying!

Lere: Who threatened? Who is “he”? (Silence)

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Odekunle: What would you do to him if I told you?

What can you even do to him?

Lere: But, at least let us know.

Odekunle: (Sighs not talking)

Yele: You wanted us to know. Isn’t that why you came

to us?

Odekunle: And you have! What else?

Lere: Please, you can’t keep this to yourself. Whoever

conceals a disease from his medicine man is
beyond help.

Dele: Why are you begging him? The wife was the one
they made love to, but it was the husband who got
pregnant. (Silence)

Odekunle: All I want you to do is see Desola. Let me

know how she is doing. I can’t face her. I feel
humiliated. Our meeting in the bush was my idea.
Perhaps this would not have happened to her if I
didn’t suggest it.

Dele: There he goes again, blaming himself.

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Odekunle: What exactly do you want me to do? You

said I am a liar and a coward. What else is there?
Let me be. Just let me be!

Lere: Who did this to you? Who?

Odekunle: (Sighs) Ajanaku.

All: (exclaim) What! Otio! Ogun o! (Silence)

Lere: Why would he do that?

Dele: What does he want?

Yele: What does he want? What is wrong with him?

This is madness!

Dele: Somebody has to stop him.

Lere: And, who might that be? Wherever the jackal

lurks, the chicken must give the place a wide berth.

Dele: What are you saying?

Lere: Exactly what I am saying, caution!

Dele: When are we going to end this season of

cowardice? Let us march to the palace and confront
him.

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Yele: The baboon does not send an ultimatum to the

leopard, Dele, slow down!

Dele: So, we should let him destroy these young ones

just like that? What is wrong with us in this land?

Yele: Whether a gun has a trigger or not, who would

permit it to be pointed at his head? It is foolish to
take foolish chances.

Dele: Then your idea of standing up against tyranny is

foolishness?

Lere: It is foolishness and stupidity together if you

don’t have the right resources. Dele, think about
it. Whatever we must do should be done with
caution. We are talking about challenging a king.
This is different from setting a trap for a rodent in
the bush.

Dele: So that is how you see it?

Yele: What he meant is that this needs careful thought.

Unless an elephant has swallowed something, it
doesn’t turn its bloated stomach to the hunter. We
are angry because of what he did to our friend, but
caution, anger does not know that its owner has no
leg to stand on.

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Lere: Unrestrained daring makes the acrobatic

masquerade to expose his private in public. Daring
pleasurable activities also require restraint, not
to talk of challenging a merciless tyrant on the
prowl. Are we strangers in this community? Don’t
we hear how cruel and chaotic his decisions have
been?

Dele: You all surprise me with your utterances. If a tick

fastens onto a dog’s mouth, does one ask a jackal
to dislodge it?

Odekunle: Can you just stop your empty boast, Dele?

One’s hands should not be more powerful than
one’s mouth. Oh, how the hand of time turns and
deals with us for our wrongdoings! What did we do
when this same Ajanaku forcefully took Delani’s
wife? We all said, “Good for Delani,” and called
him names because he was not our friend. An
orphan, but a good one. We were so reckless with
the things we said about that young man. Yet, he
had worked hard in your father’s smithy to marry
your sister and raise his own family. Because it
involved our friend, we used the cord of friendship
to sever the cord of truth. And you were the most
antagonistic.

Dele: Well, Delani’s case was pathetic enough. But

how about Omoyeni, who decided to leave him?

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Is she not Yele’s sister? What did his parents do

about it? Yele’s mother was happy. Who doesn’t
want to be the in-law of the King?

Yele: So, this is the time to spread blame?

Dele: Didn’t you hear him now? As if I was the only

one who poked fun at Delani.

Yele: How do we know he would do something more

terrible than that?

Dele: Indeed, how are we to know?

Lere: Well, what do we do now that he has done?

Dele: Are you asking me?

Lere: I am asking us. (Odekunle gets up, moving

towards the exit)

Yele: Odekunle, where are you going?

Lere: What are you planning to do? (He exits without

responding)

Dele: What is wrong with him?

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Lere: What won’t be wrong with him?

Yele: Can we just talk about what to do?

(Lights fade slowly)

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TEN

Serubawon’s house. Desola sits brooding, sobbing

quietly. Yosola, her friend enters.

Yosola: You are here. And your mother said she hasn’t
seen you since sunrise today. (Silence) Are you all
right, Desola? What is it? You should be happy
your head has spoken well. Your in-laws wait
anxiously for you to join them. Smile, my friend.
Your prayers are answered. (Desola bursts into
more tears.) What is the meaning of this?

Desola: You don’t know?

Yosola: Know what?

Desola: Can’t you see?

Yosola: See what?

Desola: No prayers were answered here, Yosola. This

is a torrent of curses.
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Yosola: Don’t say such things, Desola. It is dangerous

to think of evil when preparing the bridal bed.

Desola: And, you think mine is really a bridal bed, or

of shame? How can I face the people? What am
I going to say to them? How do I begin? How do
I explain it to people of this land. I am finished,
wrecked, ruined, and destroyed totally!

Demoke: (Entering) A-ah, kai! Don’t say that again!

What is wrong with you? What is it, Yosola? What
is wrong with your friend?

Yosola: I don’t know. She has not spoken to me.

Desola: Maami, you don’t want to know what has

happened to me.

Demoke: Nothing bad will happen to you. Listen, I

will carry your children’s children with my back.
I don’t know why Eledua gave only you to your
father and me. We tried our best to have other
children, but nothing. I know you will have a
hundred. I will not be tired of carrying them on
my back, either.

Desola: I am not going to have any children, Maami.

Demoke: Don’t say that. May Ogun forbid!

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Desola: Where was Ogun when he was doing it?

Maami, where was Ogun when he was doing it?

Demoke: Do what? Who did what? (Desola sobs)

Yosola, what is your friend talking about?

Yosola: I don’t know. Desola, what are you saying?

Who did what?

Desola: Ah, Yosola, I am finished. Look at the people,

plenty of people, drinking, laughing, and waiting
for my white handkerchief with my pride glowing.
But, there will be no white handkerchief, only
ashes of shame, torn baskets, gunpowder and
jeers!

Yosola: Don’t say that.

Desola: He has taken it, Yosola. He took it!

Demoke: Took what? Who took what?

Desola: I have to talk to Baami. I have to talk to him!

Demoke: I am your mother. Talk to me.

(Serubawon enters with Odegbami)

Serubawon: What is the noise about? What is going

on here?

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Demoke: It is your daughter. Help me, egbami o!

Serubawon: Can you all leave us? We want to be alone.

Demoke: You cannot be alone now. We have to get to

the root of this.

Serubawo: Root of what?

Demoke: Desola, talk, this is your father.

Desola: He took it, Baami!

Serubawon: Who talks what?

Desola: He has killed me, Baami. He dragged me out

completely naked out of this honourable house
into the jeering laughter in the marketplace. I am
naked and empty!

Serubawon: Will you just talk to me? Who took what?

Desola: Ah, Odekunle…oh, ‘Dekunle o!

Yosola: Ehen, what did you say? My brother did what?

Demoke: What did Odekunle do to you?

Desola: Ah, Odekunle…aah!

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Yosola: Did you both…! Ah, Desola, don’t tell me

you..!

Serubawon: What? What did Odekunle and Desola

do? (Yosola gets up suddenly and runs out. They
call her to no avail.)

Odegbami: Well, I think we are making some sense

of the noise and cries. Desola, what did you and
Odekunle do?

Desola: Odekunle did not do anything to me!

Serubawon: Odekunle did not do anything to you, so

who did?

Desola: Aah, Baami!

Serubawon: Stop crying and talk to me!

Demoke: Don’t shout at her. Can’t you see she is in

pain? (Also sobbing) Desola, please, you promised
not to shame me. You said no matter what happens,
you will not shame me; you will not make me cry.
Please don’t shame me.

Desola: I…I want to talk to Baami alone.

Demoke: But I am your mother, Desola, please.

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Desola: Let me talk to Baami o!

Odegbami: Serubawon, whatever it is, our ancestors

will help you to tackle it. (He exits)

Serubawon: So, what is it?

Desola: We went there as usual. Odekunle and I.

Demoke: Went where?

Serubawon: Will you allow her to talk?

Desola: The Kolanut farm. Then he came with his

guards all armed. Then they seized Odekunle and
gripped me..!

Light fades.

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ELEVEN

Palace. Ajanaku is with Omoyeni; she is pregnant.

They are in a romantic mood.

Ajanaku: (Playfully) Has he kicked you today at all?

Omoyeni: A-ah, six times! Six good times. Oh, there

he goes again!

Ajanaku: (Laughing loudly) That is my kind of strength

another elephant sired from my loins. From the
loins of Ajanaku, who tramples the forest and
homestead alike!

Omoyeni: Who doesn’t know that? O-ooh, there he

goes again!

Ajanaku: (Laughing more loudly). He knows his father

is here with him. Let me touch him. (He places his
hand on her protruding tummy.) Now, see that. He
becomes calm.

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Omoyeni: Oh, he smiles.

Ajanaku: He did?

Omoyeni: Yes, he just did. I know that whenever he

does smile.

Ajanaku: Amazing! (Ajanaku laughs very loudly.

Serubawon enters. They both pay no attention to
him)

Serubawon: Olaniyonu, we need to talk. (Silence.

Ajanaku continues to play with his wife) This is
very important. We must talk now! (Ajanaku
nods at Omoyeni to excuse them. She gets up
reluctantly).

Omoyeni: Don’t tarry too long, my lord. Your son

needs his father. (She exits).

Ajanaku: Did you hear that, Serubawon. Whatever

brought you must be brief. Ajanaku’s son needs
his father.

Serubawon: How could you do that?

Ajanaku: Perhaps my memory fails me. Do what

exactly?

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Serubawon: You make me sick when you pretend.

After everything I did to make you what you have
become, how can I?

Ajanaku: Have you come to remind royalty of the

services long offered and duly compensated? You
chose the wrong time, then. Perhaps it should have
been in an open arena, with people to applaud you
if that is what you want (Omoyeni peeps from the
door; she is not seen).

Serubawon: Who is talking about any service?

Ajanaku: Well, then speak your mind.

Serubawon: What did you do with the ninety-day rite?

Ajanaku: I did what you wanted of me. And, now

that you mentioned it, I think it is okay to talk.
Sometimes, I wonder if that was not a curse, what
I had to do for me to stay alive, and thanks to your
mistake.

Serubawon: I did what was necessary for you to sit on

the throne.

Ajanaku: And you also turned me into your plaything,

don’t forget to add that. Is that not the sixth and
last one? Then, let us have your all-too-important

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 Once Upon An Elephant

final ritual bath, and I can sneeze you and your

rites out of my troubled life for good! Don’t
worry. Keep the position you have...the King’s
most loyal subject, his confidant and medicine
man, everything you have except the throne. Who
knows what plans you had initially?

Serubawon: What in the name of our ancestors are

you saying?

Ajanaku: Is your ninety-day ritual not enough burden

for a king to bear, with all the opposition coming
from every quarter? You think I don’t know
that my chiefs do not like me, starting from that
ingrate Odejimi? All I do the whole of my life on
the throne is to count days, every ninety days! But
you should thank me for keeping my word. I keep
my words, Serubawon, for you and I to maintain
our positions; you, the Chief Priest, and me, the
miserable King at the mercy of the Chief Priest,
and don’t question my judgement about it!

Serubawon: Is that why you have been reckless?

Ajanaku: Me? Reckless? Did you really want me to sit

comfortably on my father’s throne? Did you? Or
did you just want a toy, a foolish fool that would
run and pant at your every beck and call?

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Serubawon: You are out of your mind.

Ajanaku: Of course, insane even. But, be honest with

me for once, Serubawon. You didn’t find any of
my brothers willing to run errands for you, so you
picked me. And, of course, the foolish Olaniyonu
believed you, Serubawon, and you had your
way. Perhaps Iya Agba was right after all. I am
Ajanaku, the big and senseless Elephant stalking
the community in shameless foolishness. I sit on
the throne. But you hold the rope and the hook
in your hand. And me? Just the miserable fish
swallowing gullibly and hungrily without sense.
So whatever appeals to you, you do with the hook,
the rope and the fish, how brilliant can that be!

Serubawon: What is this nonsense talk?

Ajanaku: Oh, thank me for keeping my word,

Serubawon. Thank me for a job well done. I have
had the sixth virgin. So do your job, but thank me
for keeping my word!

Serubawon: You kept your word! (He sits down slowly,

very dejected.) You kept your word and ruined
something much, dear. How could you? Couldn’t
you have chosen carefully? Couldn’t you have…?
Oh, this is madness! (He breaks down sobbing
quietly.)

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Ajanaku: What is wrong with you, Serubawon? What

is the meaning of this you are doing, whimpering
like a child desperately in need of its mother’s
breasts?

Serubawon: It shouldn’t have been that girl. It shouldn’t

have been her!

Ajanaku: Who should it have been? When did we start

making specific selections about the virgin that
serves our purpose?

Serubawon: Not that girl, Ajanaku, not that one!

Ajanaku: What girl? Which girl?

Serubawon: The one at the Kolanut farm.

Ajanaku: Oh, that one? Stubborn bastard. She nearly

ruined the rites with her resistance and stubbornness.
I should have killed her when I finished. And the
idiot had one silly, hungry-looking boy cuddling
her right in the bush when my men burst into them.
She even begged me, and I almost pitied her. Can
you believe that, Serubawon? I almost listened to
her. How disastrous that could have been! Thank
your ancestors, Serubawon. That fool could have
ruined everything we built together in the last few
years. (Chuckles) But, I tell you, she was the only

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virgin I ever enjoyed despite her stubbornness, so

very fresh!

Serubawon: Stop laughing! (Panting with anger) Did

she beg you? How can you be so heartless and she
begged you?

Ajanaku: What should I have done? Listen to her plea.

Serubawon: That girl begged you!

Ajanaku: A rite is a rite and must be performed. That

was your very word!

Serubawon: You should have listened to that one!

Ajanaku: (Shouts angrily) How could I have? What do

I care about your ninety-day rites? That was your
idea. Mine is to keep my word and find the right
girl and I did! (Omoyeni comes out quickly).

Omoyeni: My lord, are you all right?

Ajanaku: (Panting with anger) I am fine. Leave us

alone!

Omoyeni: I heard your scream and I thought…

Ajanaku: Leave us alone!

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Omoyeni: Well, don’t tarry. Your son awaits his father.

Ajanaku: Let him wait! (She is shocked) Get out!

(She exits hurriedly, and Serubawon cries softly.)
Did you come here to cry about a girl or is there
something else? Is there anything else? (No
response) There is nothing anybody can do for
her now. You said it yourself. She must have been
cursed, or chosen by our ancestors, or both. To be
the one I will lay my hands on means her destiny
wanted to serve my purpose. Is that not what
you told me? When you are done crying over the
moral behind it, think of Jobele rites. After that,
we don’t have to worry about more virgins. Yet,
if you think we need another one, my men will
begin the search immediately. (He moves towards
the door, about to enter.)

Serubawon: She is there in my house. She will neither

eat nor drink or even be consoled. Every single
day is spent in pain, and you caused it.

Ajanaku: What are you talking about? What is she

doing in your house? (Silence) What are you not
telling me? (Serubawon gets up slowly, going
towards the door dejectedly.) Do not turn your
back on me! (Serubawon stops but does not turn
to face Ajanaku.) Who is she? Whose daughter is
she?

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Serubawon: (Turns sharply) You should have asked

before laying your cursed hands on her. You should
have listened when she begged you. You should…

Ajanaku: I did what I had to do!

Serubawon: (Rushes to him and grabs him suddenly)

You did what you are not supposed to do! (Both
breathe heavily in anger, and Serubawon chokes
him. He calls the guards. Two palace guards rush
in and pull Serubawon away) I made you King to
be helpful to me. I didn’t ask you to ruin me. You
should have asked who she was whose daughter
she was. You should have applied restraint!

Ajanaku: Get him out of here! (Guards bundle

Serubawon out. He shouts as he was carried out.
Omoyeni rushes out again. Guards return)

Omoyeni: Are you all right? My lord, are you…?

Ajanaku: (Shouts after Serubawon) It is not my

business to ask questions but to perform a rite!
Never, you dare, do what you just did to me again!
(He pants)

Omoyeni: Talk to me, please. My lord, talk to me.

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Ajanaku: Out, all of you. Get out! (Guards run out)

Omoyeni: My lord, it’s me, your wife.

Ajanaku: So what? Get out!

(She dashes out. Ajanaku paces about, dirge

underground)

Light fades.

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Once Upon An Elephant

TWELVE
Night. Iya Agba’s house. Iya Agba grinds pepper; she
sings a song. Omoyeni comes in slowly behind her. Iya
Agba does not turn but speaks.

Iya Agba: There is nothing here for you to steal. Don’t

waste your time.

Omoyeni: I have not come to steal anything, Iya.

Please, I need your help.

Iya Agba: Well, you made a mistake with that one too.
How can a mad person help someone sane? Isn’t
that ridiculous madness?

Omoyeni: (She kneels) The last time you came to the

palace and asked for the King’s father. I thought
you should know he has joined his ancestors. Why
did you ask?

Iya Agba: How can a mad woman know that?

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Omoyeni: I don’t think you are. I don’t believe it. Is

there something you know about him?

Iya Agba: Why should that bother you? (She gets up

and goes in.)

Omoyeni: Please don’t go in. There is something I

have to tell you (Pause). Everybody says Iya Agba
is mad, but Iyale says Iya Agba understands. I also
believe her. But I don’t really know what Iya Agba
understands.

Iya Agba: Greet your husband for me. (She makes to

go in.)

Omoyeni: He is not the father.(Silence. Iya Agba turns)

But I can’t tell him.

Iya Agba: Who is not whose father?

Omoyeni: My husband, the King. He is not the father

of my child (Iya Agba looks at her intently and
then bursts into laughter)

Iya Agba: That the calabash faces downward is no

antisocial behaviour; the calabash is only acting
according to its nature. So, it is not only Iya Agba
that is mad. This land must be swelling with mad
people!

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Once Upon An Elephant

Omoyeni: (Sobbing) I am in pains. I have lived my life

in painful silence all these several moons.

Iya Agba: Only mad people live in painful loneliness,

child.

Omoyeni: What should I have done? People blame me

for leaving Delani. But I had to. I just had to give
in to his love advances. I had to, at that time!

Iya Agba: Whose child is it? (Omoyeni sobs) Who is

the father of your child?

Omoyeni: It is Delani. We were meeting secretly.

Iya Agba: Well. The handcuffs are fine, but has anyone
seen the blacksmith fashion one for his children?

Omoyeni: Well? What?

Iya Agba: There is only one thing to do.

Omoyeni: What is it?

Light fades.

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 Once Upon An Elephant

THIRTEEN

Iya Agba’s house. Iyale leads in Demoke. Odekunle

carries Desola on his back. Also with them are Yosola,
Dele, Lere and Yele. Iyale signals to them to wait. She
goes inside. Shortly, Iya Agba’s voice is heard, laughing
as she comes out. She has a long chewing stick in her
mouth. Iyale is behind her.

Iya Agba: (Laughing) You will not kill me with your

tongue, Iyale. Why will I not brush my mouth in
this land? You want your people to start singing
my name about town that Iya Agba is not only
insane, but her mouth also smells. (She pretends
not to see the crowd. Iyale signals to them to
greet. Everybody goes down as appropriate except
Desola, who lies on her back on the ground) Let
me tell you, I do not only do this early in the
morning. It is also a night ritual.

Iyale: Iya Agba, your children are greeting you.

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Once Upon An Elephant

Iya Agba: I can’t remember having any child for

Akinjobi.

Iyale: I mean your children, the villagers.

Iya Agba: Did they say I have been adopted as mother-

efÏgy? Nobody told me that. Who would even talk
to a mad woman except Iyale, my only friend?

Iyale: Please, Iya Agba, they are here, all around you.

Iya Agba: Where? When? How?

Demoke: Iya Agba, we beg...

Iya Agba: Don’t come near me! Iyale, what is this you
have done?

Iyale: Pardon me, Iya Agba. I had to. There is real

trouble in the land.

Iya Agba: Trouble is never a new thing in this land.

Iyale: This is different. Demoke and her daughter need

your help. In fact, these people need your help.

Iya Agba: These people? Is that the names of your

husband’s new hunting dogs?

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Iyale: Iya Agba, these people are your children. They

are greeting you.

Iya Agba: Me? Does this place look like your palace?
Or do I look like Ajanaku, your King? Greet me,
the mad old woman?

Iyale: Yes.

Iya Agba: Now, I know everybody in this land is mad.

Iyale: Iya Agba, they are really greeting you.

Iya Agba: Do you know what you are doing, Iyale?

Remember, this is a dangerous place to come to
in this land. Madness grows all around here like
trees. Is that not what these same people say, even
in the market? You better get your husband’s
hunting dogs out of here before they are infected
with madness.

Iyale: They can’t leave, Iya Agba.

Iya Agba: They have to.

Iyale: It is not for them but for Desola’s sake. You told
me never to tell anyone what we discussed. I have
kept that promise until now. But you will pardon
me, I have to say this. Remember you told me that

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Desola is your special daughter. These people are

here because of that same Desola.

Iya Agba: You think you can fool me?

Iyale: I am not fooling you, Iya Agba. As the sky does

not grow grass, so the soil of the graveyard does not
allow the dead to read trails. Some situations offer
people no useful signs to help them understand.
Please, this is one of such situation. (Iya Agba
does not budge. She turns away. Demoke goes to
her, kneeling and sobbing, and so do others)

Demoke: We beg you, Iya Agba. The shin often forces

the stream to speak out. Some matters one cannot
ignore often force one to take irrational actions. I
know I have wronged you seriously. I beg for your
forgiveness, not for my sake, but my daughter’s.

Iyale: You told me Desola was born on a day something

good happened to you in spite of the tribulation
you suffered in the hands of this land. Because of
that, you adopted her as your daughter. You even
pray for her sometimes. Iya Agba, your Desola is
here. She dies slowly. She needs your help. She is
dying.

Iya Agba: Where is Desola?

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Yosola: She is right here. (Iya Agba turns, sees Desola

lying on the ground and rushes to her.)

Iya Agba: Ah, my child! Can’t she sit up?

Yosola: She can’t. She cannot even talk again.

Iya Agba: And, you people still exposed her to this
cold? Why didn’t you bring her inside?

Dele: But you just said...

Lere: Shut up! (Odekunle and Yele quickly help her up

and carry her inside.)

Iya Agba: What was it? What happened to her?

Demoke: It was Ajanaku.

Iya Agba: Who?

Odekunle: The king.

Iya Agba: What about your husband? What does he

have to do with this?

Demoke: I don’t know. He has not said anything. He

only looks at her every time and sighs deeply.
When I ask, he says nothing.

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Iya Agba: Serubawon is a terrible liar. He must know

about this. (Serubawon enters)

Serubawon: Yes, I do. (Everybody turns. They are

shocked.) I know what happened to her. (He kneels
in submission) Please, Iya Agba, I need your help.

Demoke: You know what happened to Desola, and

didn’t tell me. Ah, Serubawon, you are wicked!
(She pounces on him. Iyale tries to disentangle her
hold but to no avail)

Odekunle: This is not the way to help your daughter!

(Silence Demoke gradually leaves Serubawon, but
she continues to sob quietly.)

Iya Agba: Serubawon, what did you call me just

now? (Silence) I want you to call my name again
(Silence. Iya Agba shouts at him). I said, call my
name!

Serubawon: Fadeke!

Iya Agba: Fadeke. Omofadeke Adunni…that was my

name. But you lied and cheated, then used your
treachery to change my name. Suddenly, I became
that mad woman, and then Iya Agba, all because
you wanted to cover up your atrocities. I was once
a respected queen in the palace of Akinjobi. You

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turned my husband against me. You connived

with Adebisi, my younger wife, and Demoke,
your wife, backed up your lies. She even swore to
what she never saw, and both of you crashed my
world. Akinjobi believed you because he trusted
his friend and medicine man. What else will
the elders do? Tell me, that night I saw you and
Adebisi in her room doing what only my husband
had the right to do with his wife, did you think I
was going to expose you? Did Adebisi not tell you
that I swore never to say anything provided you
stopped the abominable act? She did, but you both
have enjoyed it so much that you couldn’t stop.
You completely betrayed the trust of those close
to you. No one can turn back the tide of time. It is
too late now to cry. I cried miserably, but that was
in the past. I have only one question for you. Who
is Olaniyonu’s father? (Silence) Who is Ajanaku’s
father?

Serubawon: (Quietly) I am!

Demoke: Aah, I am dead! (People are shocked.)

Iya Agba: The unthinkable happened, and a series of

other calamities. While Akinjobi was legitimately
sharing the bed with his wife, unknown to him, his
blood was also mixing freely with that of a bastard
child. Soon, he developed a strange ailment. The

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same Serubawon sharing the bed with his King’s

wife was also his medicine man. And, to cover
up their sacrilege, they arranged for Olaniyonu
to come into the bathroom. That boy forcefully
took what belonged to his father. I was accused
of adultery, and Demoke swore to what she never
saw!

Demoke: Please don’t say more! (Serubawon is

dejected. He moves to his wife.)

Serubawon: I am sorry, Demoke. Please forgive---

Demoke: Don’t touch me! Iya Agba, I beg you. I know

I do not deserve to be in your presence for what I
have done. But, for the sake of motherhood, help
me.

Iya Agba: What do you know about motherhood? How

can I help you when I don’t know what Serubawon
has done? Your husband is here. Let him tell us
what he did to your daughter.

Demoke: What did you do? What did you do to my

daughter?

Serubawon: (Sighs) It is Ijedodo.

Iya Agba: What did you say?

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Iyale: Ijedodo? What does that mean?

Iya Agba: Is that what you said, Serubawon? Did you

say Ijedodo?

Serubawon: (Reluctantly) Yes.

Iya Agba: Oh, how can you do that? Ah, it is finished!

Demoke: What is finished? Please, tell me what is

finished.

Iya Agba: How can you be terribly wicked? Ijedodo has

no cure. It feeds on virgin blood to keep whoever
has done it alive, while that virgin dies a slow and
painful death!

All: (Variously) Aaah! Paga! Ogun o!

Demoke: (Holding Serubawon) Kill me! Just kill me,

too! (Odekunle suddenly rushes in and returns
with a cutlass aiming at Serubawon. Dele, Lere
and Yele hold him. Serubawon gets up quickly,
removes his buba and faces Odekunle.)

Serubawon: Leave him alone! Let him do it! (Silence.

Dele, Yele and Lere gradually leave Odekunle) Go
on, strike me. I deserve it. Go on, do it…do it!

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Once Upon An Elephant

(Odekunle hesitates) Strike me, I say! (Moments

of hesitation by Odekunle)

Iya Agba: Give me the cutlass, child. You have a great

future ahead of you. Do not, out of anger, rename
yourself. Go on, give it to me. (Silence. Odekunle
sobs quietly as his knees buckle and he sinks to the
ground with the cutlass. Yosola goes to embrace
him.)

Serubawon: You should have allowed him. You should

have allowed that boy to strike me dead because
I deserve it! Desola’s life ebbs away. There is no
cure for her condition and you know that, Fadeke!

Iya Agba: How can you be so sure?

Serubawon: Because there is nowhere I can find the

only thing that can!

Iya Agba: Well, it’s your luck. You have everything,

the prince, the King, and the throne. You have
everything.

Serubawon: I have nothing. Desola is dying. Ajanaku

is not mine anymore. I can’t even recognize him. I
have lost everything! (Voices from outside. There
is a short argument between a man and a woman)

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Voice I: Please don’t do this! You cannot do this now,

please!

Voice II: I can’t do what? Haven’t you ruined my life

already? It ends today! (Delani runs in, followed
by Omoyeni)

Omoyeni: He is here, Iya Agba. You wanted me to

bring him.

Delani: So, you tricked me into coming here, Omoyeni.

You tricked me.

Iya Agba: Sit down.

Delani: What is happening here?

Iya Agba: What does it look like? I said sit down!

(Delani sits) Tell them what you told me the last
time you came here (She looks around, confused,
afraid and unsure). These are the same people you
know, are they not?

Omoyeni: But, Serubawon is ....

Demoke: Forget Serubawon. He is nothing!

Dele: What does she have to tell us? What good thing
can come from the mouth of a betrayer?

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Once Upon An Elephant

Omoyeni: He threatened me. Ajanaku threatened me.

I loved Delani and have not stopped loving him.

Yosola: But you are carrying Ajanaku’s baby. What

kind of love is that?

Omoyeni: He would have killed my parents. Who

doesn’t know how rascally he behaved before
they made him King? Who could have stopped
him from doing so? I had to give in to his love
advances to protect my parents and the man I love.

Dele: Stop saying the man you love. It is annoying!

Omoyeni: But he is still the father of my child! (Silence)

Lere: What did you just say?

Delani: The child in her is mine.

Iyale: Aah, not again!

Yele: You have turned the palace into a breeding ground

for bastards!

Omoyeni: Beg him for me. He insists I have to publicly

announce that he is the father of my child and not
the King.

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 Once Upon An Elephant

Lere: That is the right thing to do.

Omoyeni: Don’t you understand? Ajanaku will not

only kill me; he will kill my parents. He will kill
him, too!

Dele: Then, that solves the problem you created.

Delani: Madness is in your liver. How can you say that?

Dele: What is more insane than what both of you have

done?

Serubawon: She doesn’t have to (Silence). There is a

bath Ajanaku needs to do, after which he becomes
unconquerable to anyone.

Iya Agba: You want to make him immortal. What kind

of man are you? Where on earth have you ever
heard that any mortal being rivals the divine?
When do you plan to do that?

Serubawon: During Jobele festival.

Lere: In three days?

Serubawon: We have what will end all of this.

Iya Agba: And, what is that?

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Once Upon An Elephant

Serubawon: (Points at Omoyeni’s tummy) That one!

Omoyeni: (Springs up and runs to hide behind Iya

Agba) No, please don’t do this! (Delani quickly
picks up the cutlass on the ground.)

Delani: You dare not touch her! (Iya Agba goes to sit
down quietly.)

Iyale: Is there no other way? (Silence) Iya Agba, please

say something!

Iya Agba: What?

Iyale: Anything. Just anything apart from this!

Iya Agba: (Sighs and sits down slowly) I…I don’t

know!

(Demoke and Yosola cry silently, and so does Odekunle.

The rest of the people are in painful silence).

Light fades.

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 Once Upon An Elephant

FOURTEEN
Palace. Jobele Festival. Music and dancing. Everybody
is present. They are all dressed in wrappers, all bare-
chested except the women, who tie a wrapper around
their bosoms. Ajanaku is dressed in a long white robe
with a white cap on his head. The Elders are all present
except Serubawon. Shortly, Ajanaku calls for calm.
Silence everywhere.

Ajanaku: Let us thank our ancestors for standing with

us in wealth, stormy weather, sickness, and good
health. In the very recesses of our hearts, let us
all clamour for a continued relationship that our
harvests might remain bountiful, our young men’s
vitality to perform their duties, and our wives’
safe delivery. Jobele festival is a time of renewal,
but, for me, a time of ascension into immortality
(Pause). Where is Serubawon?

Ogundele: Perhaps he is ensuring everything is in its

proper place, my lord.

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Ajanaku: This is not the time to tarry.

Odegbami: (To a Guard) Get him here quickly! (Guard

exits) Shall we proceed with the rites, my lord?

Ajanaku: Certainly. (Drumming and dancing

commence. It gradually builds up to a crescendo
and stops suddenly. A lone voice chants a very
powerful dirge. People begin to wonder. Ajanaku
rises slowly.) What is that song? I said what song
is that? (Desola walks in slowly. She is naked
except for short pants and a girdle covering her
bosom. Everybody is shocked.) Who are you? I am
your King. Answer me! (Odekunle and his friends
enter. They are all armed. Odekunle holds a big
calabash, which he places down at his feet. Iya
Agba comes in, with Iyale, Demoke and Yosola.
They are all dressed in white, with girdles around
their waist) Mad woman, what is the meaning
of this? (Odejimi approaches Odekunle with
surprise.)

Odejimi: Odekunle, what is this? What are you trying

to do?

Iya Agba: Don’t touch him!

Odejimi: He is my son!

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Iya Agba: Not now! (Desola suddenly lurches forward

and embraces Ajanaku. They both stagger. She
pulls back, holds on to the neck of his white
apparel, and tears it. She staggers and falls face
down on the throne. Odekunle quickly opens the
calabash, brings out a red cloth sewn with gourds
and charms, runs to Ajanaku and places it around
his neck. Ajanaku screams as Odekunle steps away.
People watch with utter consternation and shock.
Ajanaku gradually begins to react strangely as he
goes down slowly.)

Ogundele: What have you done?

Iya Agba: To who?

Ogundele: Him!

Iya Agba: Ask him. Is he not your King? But for her,
she just snatched her life back from your tyrant
(To Demoke). Go and get your daughter. She will
live. (Demoke and Yosola rush towards Desola
and raise her, tending to her. She suddenly sneezes.
Demoke and Yosola cry with joy. Guard runs in,
shouting from outside.)

Guard: My lord! (Enters, sees Ajanaku on the ground,

and goes to him slowly.) My lord, your highness!

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Odejimi: Where is Serubawon?

Guard: He is dead, my lord. His body dangles on the

iroko tree!
(People express consternation)
Iya Agba: Whoever wishes to die a decent death should
live a decent life. As one lives, so one dies, and so
shall one be buried. What are you still waiting for?
Go to your homes. There is nothing anybody can
do to help this one. When these people are ready,
they will announce the name of your new King.
(Omoyeni and Delani run in. She looks around
and goes to Iya Agba.)

Omoyeni: Is it done?

Iya Agba: What do you think? Delani, you can finally

have your wife and child (Omoyeni suddenly
clutches her stomach). What is it? Are you all
right?

Omoyeni: He is coming!

Iya Agba: Is it time?

Omoyeni: Yes…yes, it is time!

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Iya Agba: Well, let him come! (The women quickly

form a circle around her.)

Light fades.

Blackout.

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