Balogun — The Warlord

About five decades ago, there was a village called Oke Imole. Oke Imole was terrorized by surrounding kingdoms because it was a small and developing village. The people had good resources and fertile soil that supported their farming.

The village had vast cocoa lands with plenty of cocoa trees. However, they did not have enough manpower to secure or protect what they had.

As a result, other kingdoms frequently attacked Oke Imole and took over parts of its cocoa land.

The King tried everything he could to protect the land, but he failed.

One day, he decided to take it upon himself to go to the land and fight for what was rightfully his. His wife, the Queen, was strongly against the idea, but the King had already made up his mind. Nothing and no one was going to stop him.

He went with his warriors and palace guards. When they arrived at the land, they began fighting against their opposition. The battle was fierce, and the King was badly wounded.

The commander of the palace guards was quick enough to rescue the King and escape with him.

The King was so badly wounded that he could no longer participate in decision-making or the ruling of the kingdom. As a result, the second-in-command took over the administration of the village.

In Yoruba traditional political structure, the second-in-command was called the Basorun, who served as the Prime Minister.

The King had a male child, but the Prince was not in the village at the time. He was staying with his grandfather in another village, the village where his mother, the Queen, was from.

A few weeks later, Basorun called Balogun, the commander of the warriors, and had a discussion with him.

“Is this how we are going to remain silent and allow other kingdoms to take over our village until we become nothing?” Basorun asked.

Balogun laughed.

“Your King is a fool. Was he not supposed to consult me first? Instead, he was acting high and mighty. Now he is badly wounded. But since you have consulted me, I will go with my warriors and take over that land.”

He paused and looked at Basorun.

“But you must promise me that whatever I ask for after I reclaim the land, you will give me.”

“Yes, I will grant whatever you want,” Basorun replied.

A few days later, Balogun took his warriors to the cocoa land. The battle was fierce. Balogun had strong backing from his gods, and he eventually conquered over one thousand men from six different kingdoms and took control of the land.

He placed his men on the land to protect it.

Finally, Oke Imole was free from oppression by the surrounding kingdoms.

But the people soon discovered that they had exchanged one form of oppression for something even worse.

Basorun called Balogun before the chiefs of the land and asked him what he wanted as a reward for his great achievement.

Balogun stood before them.

“I want seventy percent of the cocoa land,” he said.

The chiefs immediately erupted in shock.

But Balogun continued.

“I want my warriors to be regarded as free men in the village.”

In those days, warriors were considered slaves rather than nobles.

“And finally,” Balogun said, “I want the throne.”

At this point, the entire palace descended into chaos.

Balogun stood up.

“If you do not grant me my wishes, I will take them by force. We had an agreement.”

He stormed out angrily.

Basorun could not say a word. He was speechless, while the remaining chiefs murmured among themselves.

From that moment, Balogun began his reign of tyranny.

He forcefully took the King's wife. He forcefully married young girls in the village. Every household was forced to pay dues to him. He tortured the people, and many wanted to flee the village, but there were warriors everywhere to intercept anyone who attempted to escape.

For a long time, the people of Oke Imole lived in fear.

Then, after some time, the Prince returned to the village after hearing how sick his father was and how a tyrant had taken over his father's throne.

The Prince returned with only one mission:

To bring down the tyrant.

One day, the Prince appeared before Balogun and the other chiefs. They began exchanging words, and the argument became heated.

Balogun threatened to kill the Prince, the King, and the Queen.

The Prince became angry. He brought out a bottle filled with water and poured it over Balogun.

Slowly, Balogun fell to the ground and began to drool.

Everyone present was shocked.

The Prince then began to speak.

“Some people believe that whenever they help others, they become entitled to control their entire lives.

“Balogun believes he has all the power on earth and can continue his reign of tyranny forever.

“But he does not know that he is nothing more than an ant before God.

“My grandfather conducted research into Balogun and discovered that he got his powers from the River Goddess. He also discovered that it was a taboo for Balogun to come in contact with water from the river.

“That is exactly what I poured on him.”

The people stared at Balogun in disbelief.

The Prince turned to the people of Oke Imole.

“People of Oke Imole, let us live selfless lives. Let us help one another and love one another.

“Whatever you do for the kingdom, consider it a privilege and do it with your whole heart.

“Never allow the good you do for others to become a reason to control or oppress them.”

The people of Oke Imole finally understood the lesson.

Power should never become a tool for oppression, and helping others should never be used as an excuse to demand ownership of their lives.