CHAPTER 1
He had been standing there for more than thirty minutesnow. He could have been standing for much longer becausehe did not care whether time passed. The only thing thatbothered him now was the monstrous sight before him. Thesurface of the creek—the entire surface of the creek—wascovered with a thick layer of glistering brown crude.
A sickening smell of crude oil hung about the entire place, asmell that offended his olfactory sense. His father's fishingnets lay in a tattered heap beside him. As his gaze fell onthe heap, a tear rose from his eye and ran down his cheek.He looked in the direction of the fish pond, which now lookedlike a graveyard. The once robust and beautiful species offish were floating on the surface with no iota of life in them.
"Tamuna!" his father called.
"Yes, father," he answered.
"Come, let's go home."
Tamuna gathered the battered fishing nets and put themin the big basket, the one meant for carrying home fish.His father took one last glance at his devastated fish pond,shook his head, and set out for the return journey home.They walked slowly in silence.
The surrounding block of mangrove forest look vacant,deathly, and scotched. Tamuna stumbled on a protruding rootof a dying tree of mangrove origin (another victim of manyyears of oil pollution) and almost lost his balance.
"Tamuna!" his father called.
"Yes, father," he answered.
"Be careful or you'll injure yourself."
"Yes, father," Tamuna answered.
When they got home, Tamuna set out for the stream, whichwas about four kilometers away. The stream water is itchyon the skin, even after a bath, due to the oil pollution andgases from the oil flares. For the average inhabitant ofTembeli Kingdom, there was no choice. Oilgate, the majormultinational oil company in them, had donated a pipe-bornewater scheme to Tembeli, but it had broken down long ago.No genuine effort had been made to resuscitate it.
Tamuna hurriedly made two trips to the stream, took his bath,and prepared for school. Other domestic chores were left forthe younger ones.
After breakfast, Tamuna got into his school uniform andleft for school. The bush path, the shortest route to school,seemed lonelier than ever. Tamuna, however, was notbothered that he would have to trek to school withoutcompany. Instead, he looked forward to his academicactivities at school.
Tamuna attended Tembeli International School, a schooloriginally built for the wards of the expatriate communityin Tembeli Kingdom. Also in attendance were the wards ofprivileged citizens of Tembeli. By virtue of their associationwith the government or the white community or their financiallocus standi, they could afford to foot the bills for the school.
Tamuna is a peasant boy—no more or less than all otherpeasant boys born in his generation in the oil-rich Kingdomof Tembeli. When he was a kid, a mere toddler, an eventtook place in his town. He was nearly fourteen but could stillremember vividly the event that marked a turning point in hislife.
His father, Ledum, was a farmer. Ledum cultivated a fewcrops to meet the needs of his immediate family, but hisarea of specialization was fish farming. As the saying goesin Tembeli, he carved a niche for himself in fish farming. Heloved fishing so much that, sometimes, when he went to bed,he would murmur new strategies that he intended to employin his fishing practice. He claimed he received inspirationfrom dreams in terms of how and where to go fishing.
Ledum owned many fishing boats and nets. Fishermen fromfar and near came to him to borrow his boats and fishingnets. In return, such fishermen paid with a portion of theircatches. It has always been said that if one wants to be moresuccessful than one's peers, one should do what others havenot done. Such was the case with Ledum: he was the firstfish farmer in Tembeli (and beyond) to own a fish pond. Hispopularity grew throughout Tembeli Kingdom and other areas.A mere mention of his name could fetch one a great favor.
Besides being a wealthy man, Ledum was a man noted forhis love for truth. This singular quality endeared him to allmen, women, and children. He was fearless; he would alwaysspeak the truth—to the amazement and disappointment ofsome of his kinsmen. Ledum became a man who could betrusted, one who could be given the mandate to steer othersto clear waters without any sign of fear. Ledum became thecustodian of the people's dreams, hopes, and aspirations.He was elected to one office after another. He became a vitalhuman force in Tembeli Kingdom, and he could easily getpeople to support whatever noble view he had.
Oilgate saw him as a threat to their continued exploitation ofthe natural oil wealth in the bosom of Tembeli Kingdom. Theymonitored him very closely.
A time came when Oilgate awarded a contract to one of itsindigenous contractors to lay oil pipelines through TembeliKingdom in order to transport crude oil from their crude oilflow stations to their terminal for export. Farm lands weredestroyed, and newly planted crops were bulldozed in theprocess. The site was a disaster. Ben Sare, the leader of theTembeli Liberation Movement, supported men of Ledum'scaliber. He mobilized support for adequate compensation forthe affected farmers. In the end, however, no compensationwas distributed.
Oilgate's pipe-laying contractor was forced to stop hispipe-laying job amid protest from the host communities.Consequently, the military government of Muzanga moved inand mobilized mobile policemen. They stormed the protestground, beating and arresting key players in the game.
Ben Sare escaped. Ledum also escaped, and so did othernotable leaders of the liberation movement. The militarygovernment of Muzanga was disappointed.
Ledum was trailed and arrested in his house after severalweeks of fruitless search. He was bound in handcuffs andbeaten into a coma. His entire household was in tears.Tamuna wept his soul out. Ledum was later bundled into apolice jeep and driven to the state capitol. He was locked upand charged for taking the law into his own hands.
The sight of his father—his beloved and cherishedfather—being treated like a criminal shattered Tamuna'schildhood dreams. His dreams of growing up under the careof his all-powerful father were dashed.
If the police can mistreat my father the way they did, no soulin Tembeli Kingdom is safe, Tamuna thought. Some daysafterward, when his father came out of the police cell (lookingthin and sickly), it dawned on Tamuna that something had tobe done to protect his father. Something had to be done toprotect the Tembeli Kingdom. The goose that lays the goldenegg must not be allowed to die, Tamuna thought.
His father told his immature mind how Oilgate, in a deadlyromance with the military government of Muzanga, wasgradually carting away the oil wealth of Tembeli Kingdom.
After nearly ten years, his father's words still echoed inTamuna's subconscious mind.
"My son, these people want all of us dead. They have suckedour oil—our God-given oil—leaving behind cries of agony.How can you smack a child and tell him not cry?"
"See, my son. Go to the sites where they flare theirgases—the palm trees there can no longer bear fruit. Tilapiacaught at some of the flare sites have lost the ability tochange color; they become rubbery when cooked. Somestaple foods of Tembeli Kingdom can no longer germinateand grow in our soil. Why? They have debased our soil andmade it sterile. The red and white varieties of cocoyam andmammy yam have become extinct. Even the local varietiesof rice and oil palm have been recording lower yields overthe years."
Ledum continued, "As a boy, my father used to buy meand my brothers Christmas clothes from proceeds from hiscatches. He made these catches not in the river, but just atthe waterfronts where boys would gather leisurely to catchfish. But today, fishermen in Tembeli Kingdom spend abouteight hours or more in the river (at long distances) only toreturn with no catch at all.
"Oil pollution has killed nearly all our fish and driven thesurviving ones to the very high seas.
"The swamp of the mangrove forest, home to what used tobe countless periwinkles (a traditional delicacy of TembeliKingdom), is equally threatened. The periwinkles aregradually becoming extinct. Pollution has gradually driven offthe monkeys and antelopes, which used to inhabit the forest.
"Top of the heap of endangered animals are the inhabitantsof Tembeli kingdom. Traditionally, the people depend on rainwater to drink and do their domestic chores (because thecreeks and most rivers are salty). Decade of gas flaring hasmade the rain water acidic and full of salt.
"My son, we don't bury the dead and go to remove thebodies. That is not our custom. Nevertheless, Oilgate hasforcefully removed the graves of our ancestors to the oceansto get access routes to their well heads. We must fight them.Only men like Ben Sare can fight them adequately. We needmore of such men in this great kingdom to win the fight.
"They have guns and bullets, but we will not fight back withguns and bullets. We need just one weapon: education.
"You must go to school, my son, and acquire as muchlearning as you can. You must read like Ben Sare so you canfight them with your pen and wisdom."
As fate would have it, Tamuna was instantly successfulwhen he started primary school. He was the pupil everybodywanted to beat academically. He finished primary schoolwith flying colors, and he won a scholarship, the Ben SareAcademic Award for Excellence, to attend the prestigiousTembeli International School (TIS).
At school, Tamuna was determined to excel. He read hisbooks. He was neither going to disappoint his father norhis kingdom. He was not going to disappoint Ben Sare,the liberator, whose scholarship earned him a place atTIS. Tamuna longed to meet him, but he knew he hadto be like him first. He must gain knowledge—plenty ofknowledge—and then he could join in the struggle to savehis beloved kingdom.
CHAPTER 2
At school, Tamuna continued to shine like a million stars.As the year passed by (and he graduated from one class tothe next), his academic brilliance dazzled all who came incontact with him—students and teachers alike. His superiormental abilities were always displayed whenever the needarose. One such occasion was during his speech, on SpeechDay.
Speech Day is an annual event in Tembeli InternationalSchool that brings together parents, guardians, resourcepersons, and all the crème de la crème of society. Suchevents provide an excellent opportunity for students topresent topics of interest with a view to mirroring the school'sacademic standards.
* * *
Today is Speech Day, and Tembeli International School islooking the part. Grass has been trimmed throughout theschool's compound. The main road leading to the school hasbeen adorned with white painted stones. When observedfrom a distance, they are impressive to behold. Here andthere, one can see red and white patches on tree trunks.Flowers have been planted in designated areas of theschool's compound.
The school's auditorium, the venue of the speech, lookedmagnificent. The seats shone, and the stage waited inyawning anticipation. The microphone was adorned withaluminum decorations that glittered and danced with graceas the gentle breeze from the standing fan blew from side toside.
The staff at Tembeli International School did an excellent jobat making the school ready to host the august visitors. Thestudents also worked tirelessly to keep the compound neat.Tamuna was not a part of the tidying up process, however,because he had been chosen to deliver a speech on thisgreat occasion.
Tamuna was seated under the foot of an umbrella tree,sending his thoughts on errands in preparation for thespeech.
He heard the sound of approaching footsteps. His chain ofthought was immediately broken. He knew instinctively thatthe footsteps were headed toward him. He glanced sidewaysand saw Anita walking toward him, a smile of innocencewritten on her face. Anita's approaching form made Tamuna'sbrain flash back in time to his mind-blowing presentationduring a history lesson. His presentation was titled TheScramble for Africa.
Most of Tamuna's classmates had been of the opinion thatcolonialism was the best thing to happen to Africa. They hadbased their arguments on the gains of colonialism, such asWestern education. Tamuna had a different view entirely,having read wildly and widely.
Tamuna told his classmates the following: "The white mancame to our beloved continent, Africa. For 500 years, thewhite man carted away our young men into slavery. Ourentire workforce was destroyed. The youth, upon whoseshoulders the future of Africa rested, were forcefully removedto Europe during the transatlantic slave trade. There, theywere made to tame plantations of the white men. They weresubjected to conditions below the crudeness of nature, belowthe lives of the lower species.
"When Europe entered the era of the industrial revolution,machines took the place of human beings in production.Slaves were no longer needed; thus, the slave trade wasabolished. When they recognized that their fast-growingindustries in Europe needed raw materials, they turned toAfrica and used colonialism as the tool to perpetrate theirselfish motives.
"For another one hundred years, Africa lived in bondageunder the tutelage of colonialism. They came with theirschools. The primary aim of these schools was to trainAfricans to help them administer their colonies (insteadof training them to be self-reliant). Colonial schooling waseducation for subordination and exploitation. It createdmental confusion and developed underdevelopment.
"They made our economy totally dependent on theirs. Theyused economic jargon to support their dubious intentions.They made us believe in international trade, that we shouldproduce goods for export. We were told that our cocoa, palmproduce, groundnuts, etc. should be exported to Europebecause we had a comparative advantage over Europe inthose crops. They dubbed them cash crops. What they failedto explain to us, however, was that local industries could beset up to use the goods rather than exporting them to theWest."
Tamuna received a standing ovation from his class when hefinished his presentation. It was clear that he had exhibited animpeccable mental prowess. Tamuna became the cynosureof all eyes. Everybody wanted to be identified with him.
After school that day, Anita walked up to him and said flatly,"Your presentation blew my mind away."
Tamuna was extremely pleased that such a frank remarkcame from Anita because she was one of the few studentswho exuded confidence in his class. Not only was shebrilliant, but she was also one of the few privileged studentswho were chauffeur-driven to and from school.
All the trappings of the upper echelon didn't matter toTamuna, though, because he was determined to prove toall that superiority came from how sound one was upstairsrather than how much one had in his or her pocket.
"I have looked for you everywhere," Anita said.
Tamuna was brought back to the present. "How are youdoing, Anita?" he asked.
"I am fine. Thank you," she replied. She sat down beside himand observed him calmly.
"I broke away from the confusion of the moment to seewhether I could put finishing touches on my speech," Tamunasaid.
"That is all right. You know, a lot of people out there believein your ability to add bite to the occasion."
"Bite? But I haven't got the teeth of an Alsatian—how can Iadd bite to the occasion?"
Anita chuckled and said, "Look, I came to tell you one thing:you must not let me down with your presentation."
Before Tamuna could respond to the statement, Anita gotto her feet and walked toward the school's auditorium, thevenue of the speech.
* * *
At precisely 10.00 am, it was clear that a sizable number ofguests had arrived for Speech Day at Tembeli InternationalSchool. The school's alarm was sounded a couple of timesto announce to all that the event was about to commence.
Students started to detach themselves from the groups theyhad formed, and they started to head in the direction of theschool's auditorium.
As usual, the auditorium was beautiful. The only differencewas that tables and chairs had been arranged on either sideof the stage for the guests.
(Continues...)
