CHAPTER THREE

POLITICAL LEADERSHIP LOOPHOLES IN BOSEDE AFOLAYAN’S ONCE UPON

AN ELEPHANT

3.0 Introduction
This chapter examines leadership loopholes as portrayed in Afolayan’s second play, Once upon

an Elephant. It is understood that one of the biggest problems of the African society and her

political environment is bad leadership. Afolayan’s play highlights the rise and fall of a despotic

king and the inability of the council leaders to secure the wellbeing of their people, and their

failure as leaders. The flaws in their leadership is what the researcher examines in the subsequent

parts of this chapter.

3.1 The Author’s Biography

Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan is a literary scholar, playwright and poet. She is a Senior Lecturer in

the Department of English, University of Lagos, Nigeria. She holds a Doctorate degree in

Comparative Drama from the same university. Her debut play, Look Back in Gratitude, was

published in 2013 by Kraft, Once upon an Elephant is her second play. Bosede Ademilua-

Afolayan is married to Akintade Afolayan.

3.2 A Synopsis of Bosede Afolayan’s Once upon an Elephant

The play opens with the performance of a rite for a supposedly king’s son, Ajanaku by

Serubawon while Odejimi and Ogundele watch. Ogundele challenges the performance of such

rite since the present king, Akujobi is not yet dead-though terribly sick-and that Ajanaku is not

the king’s first son. Odekunle and Desola, who are both children of Odejimi and Serubawon

respectively, express their love to each another. In the course, Desola informs Odekunle of her

1
terrible dream which is about the disruption of their impending marriage ceremony. The

reader/audience learns of the king’s death from the discussion of these two lovers.

Amidst wild jubilation at the village square, Ajanaku is enthroned as the new king. He boasts of

his brawn and forte which he compares with that of ‘ajanaku’ – the Yoruba praise name for

elephant. Despite Odejimi’s anger at Ajanaku’s faux pas-laden speech at the ceremony,

Ogundele implores him to work with the new king for a successful reign. Odejimi cannot stand

him being his king so he exits to his house. Iyale, Odejimi’s wife, tries to convince him to return

to the coronation at the palace. She leaves him behind and heads for the coronation.

Subsequently, two women bring a land dispute to the new king’s palace for adjudication. After

listening to both parties, Ajanaku informs the women that the community will temporarily take

over the land from both women. They are to expect their judgment soon. Former king’s eldest

wife–Iya Agba–enters the palace. She speaks proverbially on the imminent downfall of the king.

Referring to her as being insane, Ajanaku sends her out of the palace. Iya Agba returns to the

palace to castigate Ajanaku for usurping the throne. She informs him that the palace rightfully

belongs to her late husband and Ajanaku’s father. Boasting of her larger-than-life status, Ajanaku

excoriate Iya Agba over the case of adultery which led to her being excommunicated by the

former king. Serubawon enters as Iya Agba refers to him as being the father of the present King.

Ajanaku laughs and informs that such an asinine comment further underscore Iya Agba’s

insanity. After her exit, the king asks Serubawon what she meant by calling him a bastard. After

evading the question, Serubawon enjoins the king not to bother about the opinion of a

supposedly mad woman.

At the meeting between the chiefs and the king, a man from a neighboring village is brought into

the palace. He asks the king to help his village from the hands of invaders who have maimed and

2
killed his fellow villagers. Ajanaku refuses to help because the villagers have not increased their

tributes to him. Angered by this response, the man replies contemptuously which made Ajanaku

draw closer to him. Seeing the king approaching, the man brings out a knife. He then stabs

himself and died on the spot. The king quickly goes inside and there was confusion. Odejimi

shows his displeasure at the king’s reaction to the people’s plea. Next, we see Desola and

Odekunle in a romantic mood at the kolanut farm. Without their knowledge, Ajanaku’s guards

creep in and seize Desola while Odekunle is beaten mercilessly. They take Desola to the king,

who is standing nearby, and he rapes her. At Lere’s house, Odekunle sits dejectedly and is being

placated by his friends–Yele, Lere and Dele. After much consolation, Odekunle relays what

happened at the kolanut farm. Ridiculed by his friends for not fighting Ajanaku during the rape

saga, Odekunle leaves their company.

People are gathered at Serubawon’s house for the marriage of Odekunle and Desola. Meanwhile,

Desola weeps uncontrollably in the house leaving her mother and friends baffled. She requests

for her father and relays to him what happened at the kolanut farm. Serubawon leaves at once

and is next seen storming into the palace to confront the king. Ajanaku confesses that he has only

continued the rite dictated by Serubawon by sleeping with the sixth virgin. Ironically, the sixth

victim has turned out to be Serubawon’s daughter. The king asks his guards to take him away.

Omoyeni visits Iya Agba to find out about the biological father of the king since Iya Agba called

Ajanaku a bastard at the palace. Iya Agba evades her question and Omoyeni informs her that her

own pregnancy is not the king’s but Delani’s. It should be noted that Delani should have been

her husband if not for Ajanaku’s use of threat and brute force. Omoyeni confesses to Iya Agba

that she has been meeting secretly with Delani all along. Later, Iyale brings Demoke, Yosola,

Dele, Lere and Odekunle to Iya Agba’s house. Also, Odekunle carries Desola with him. After

3
begging Iya Agba to give them audience, they inform Iya Agba about Desola’s illness and calls

for help. Iyale tells Iya Agba about how Ajanaku raped Desola. Serubawon enters and Iya Agba

divulges all his secrets. She informs all that both Serubawon and his wife connived to make the

former king send her out of the palace. This, they did by accusing her of adultery. She also opens

up on the amorous relationship that existed between the former king’s younger wife (Adebisi)

and Serubawon. Iya Agba asks Serubawon who the biological father of Ajanaku is and he

affirms that he is. Serubawon further explains that the cause of Desola’s sickness is ‘ijedodo’–a

medicine that feeds on the blood of a virgin to keep whoever has done it alive while the virgin

dies a slow and painful death. And that it has no cure.

In the final scene of the play, the whole village is in a convivial mood for the Jobele festival.

During his speech, Ajanaku asks for Serubawon and instructs his guards to bring him to his

presence. At this period, there is an unexpected sound of a dirge at the palace. Desola walks in

naked except for a short pant, and a girdle to support her bosom. Also, Odekunle and his armed

friends enter. Odekunle holds a big calabash, which he later places down at his feet. Iya Agba

comes in with Iyale, Demoke and Yosola,. All of them dressed in white, with girdles round their

waists. In an unexpected twist of action, Desola lurches forward and embraces Ajanaku. They

both stagger and Odekunle quickly opens the calabash, and brings out a red cloth sewn with

gourds and charm. He quickly places this on Ajanaku’s neck which leads to his gradual fall. Iya

Agaba informs others that Desola has snatched her life back from the brutal king. Immediately, a

guard comes in to announce that Serubawon has just committed suicide. Iya Agba discharges all

to go home as a new king will soon be chosen. Heavily pregnant Omoyeni is in distress–an

indication that she is about to give birth. All the women gather round her as they take delivery of

the new child.

4
3.3 Leadership Loopholes in Bosede Afolayan’s Once upon An Elephant
The focal thematic thrust of the play, Once upon An Elephant is that of despotic, tyrannical and

absolute leaders. Tragically, there are avalanche of these despots that had - and still - litter the

African space. When their legal and constitutional terms end, they use all means–mostly illegal–

to elongate their stay in power. What is more disheartening is that these rulers have not made any

significant improvement on the lives of the people they led. Hence, one begins to wonder the

justification for their ‘sit-tightism’. These are represented by King Ajanaku in the play. In this

context, Ajanaku – which is the praise name for elephant, represents dictators and despots

especially in their larger-than-life status and in self conceit. Etymologically, Ajanaku also means

the ‘killer of Ajana’. Historically, Ajana was a hunter who, according to legend, tries to capture

alive an example of every kind of animal, but was trampled to death by the elephant. Describing

the elephant in his poem, ‘Salute to The Elephant’, Adeboye Babalola writes:

Oh elephant, huge as a hill, even in a

Crouching posture
O elephant, enfolded by honour, demon
Flapping fans of war
Demon who snaps trees branches into
Many pieces and move on to the forest
Mountainous animal, huge beast who tears
A man like a garment and hangs him
On a tree
The sight of whom causes people to
Stampede toward a hill of safety
Ajanaku, who treads heavily.
The Elephant, therefore, is symbolic of a brutal, reckless leader such as Ajanaku in Once Upon

an Elephant. There have been many other Nigerian playwrights who have centred their dramatic

narratives on the issue of despots. They include a few plays by the Nobel Lauret, Wole Soyinka

such as Kongi’s Harvest, Play of Giants, Opera Wonyosi and King Baabu. Others works in this
5
category by other playwrights include Fred Agbeyegbe’s The King Must Dance Naked, Femi

Osofisan’s Yungba Yungba and the Dance Contest, Ahmed Yerima’s Mojagbe and Hope

Eghagaha’s Onawawi Shall Rise Again. The popular Nigerian poet of the first generation period,

Christopher Okigbo, says of the elephant in his magnum opus, Hurrah for Thunder:

The elephant, tetrarch of the jungle

With a wave of hand
He could pull four trees to the ground
His four mortal legs pounded the earth
Wherever they treaded
The grass was forbidden to be there.
There is also a popular Yoruba folklore in which the trickster (tortoise) persuaded the elephant to

become the king after the death of the occupant of the throne. Unknowing to the elephant, it is a

ploy to get rid of him since he has turned himself to a terror in the animal kingdom. Already,

tortoise has dug a pit—though covered with raffia mat—very close to the throne and when the

elephant comes–without pomp and pageantry to the new office, he fell. As planned, other

animals came out with weapons and they killed the elephant. This tells of the relationship

between the despotic ruler and his people. He is unloved by the people and they cannot wait for

his fall. Just like Ajanaku in the play, the elephant who believes that he can never fall, falls

unexpectedly and with ignominy. Names like Muammar Gadaffi (Libya), Robert Mugabe

(Zimbabawe), Sanni Abacha (Nigeria), Ben Ali (Tunisia), Hosni Mubarak (Egypt), Sekou Toure

(Guinea), Said Barre (Somalia), General Idi Amin (Uganda), Nguemma Mbasago (Equatorial

Guinea), Paul Biya (Cameroun), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) amongst several others, epitomize

this despotic African leaders. Corroborating this point in the author’s note, the playwright opines

that the play ‘takes a look at the issue of dictatorship, “sit-tightism”, or what may be referred to

as self–perpetuating syndrome of the African leader.

6
There are loopholes both in the personality of Olaniyonu—his personality as the king, as well as

in his despotic administration. King Ajanaku tried all dishonest means to be enthroned in power

despite the fact that he is not the rightful person to the throne. According to the African tradition

of primogeniture, the first child–Baderin–is supposed to be the successor of the dead king, but

Ajanaku uses all his dishonest means to arm-twist the elders to choose him instead. It is here

important to also note that instead of being chosen by the oracle or the kingmakers, it is

Serubawon who singlehandedly puts him on the throne. This epitomizes the political structures

we have today, particularly in the African society. The outlook and superficial aesthetics

suggests that the society mostly practices democracy, but in truth, the successful high offices

holders are somewhat handpicked by an institution which has cemented the name

“Godfatherism” for itself. Elections get rigged at will and the supposed ‘good people’ and ‘right

people’ don’t usually get the chance to the ‘throne’.

People are taught in the school of life to be responsible, diligent, sacrificial, selfless, honest,

sound-thinkers, godly, and visionary. We learn these from formal or informal processes of

acculturation or socialization. It is in this wise therefore that it can be understood that leaders are

not born, but raised. Put differently, who will be a leader is trained or made to do so. In contrast,

Trait theory of leadership attempted to describe the type of personality and innate qualities a

leader must possess to be able to lead well (Nwanegbo, 2009). The first was introduced and

analyzed by Thomas Carlyle in 1841 and further expanded by Ronald Heifetz in 1994. Trait

theory, according to Thomas Carlyle, classified behavioural characteristics that a leader must

possess and maintained that leadership qualities are inborn. He enumerated the qualities a leader

is expected to wield which include: creativity, energy, honesty and integrity, confidence, the

7
desire to succeed, initiative, flexibility, charismatic, knowledgeable and being able to control his

emotions.

The question therefore is: do we have a leader in Africa? Is

there any such person with true leadership qualities as

described hitherto in Nigeria? The answers are “yes” and “no”.

Yes, there are such persons, but no they are very few…

(Folarin, 2010).

One obvious reason for political leadership crises in our society is the quest and thirst for power

exhibited by political leaders at all levels. Political office holders, both past and present, are

guilty of lust to control governance without good plans to effect changes in the economic and

political life of the nation. They are just hungry for the political seats.

In Africa, titles have driven our men-politicians, soldiers, and even area boys crazy. Hence, big

sounding titles like President, General, Chief Doctor, Honorable Minister, Senator, Governor,

Alhaji Chief Dr., Rev. Colonel, Prophet Architect, etc have tended to make us lose a sense of our

calling and responsibility for mundane title contest and irrelevances. The culture of seeking and

taking titles extends to the area boys who also bear “Professor, Chief, Alaye baba” (Folarin,

2010). These power-driven individuals have no vision whatsoever toward the political

appointment. They only have the desperate and alarming urge or mission to become the king, or

governor, or president, as the case may be. This is the same with Ajanaku. Very early in the play,

we are able to witness a conversation between the leading kingmakers which begs the question

whether Ajanaku is the best—or even the next—in line for the throne:

8
 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 a 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, his seniors, what
happens to the process, what about that?
SERUBAWON: What about it?
ODEJIMI: If we must have a new king then, it is 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… 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 all of us in every way possible
(16-17).
Although we do not understand, at first, the real reasons for Serubawon’s actions; however, the

subsequent scenes gradually unravel the very filthiest of secrets that exposes the palace, the

throne and the centre of authority as a den of thieves, bastards and a depot of madness.

Unthinkable acts go down in and around the palace with nobody ever noticing, except for Iya

Agba who is the only true voice which really holds water. In comparison with Odejimi, a

member of the council and one of the kingmakers; Iya Agba is able to effect change and she

arguably singlehandedly changed the course of things. Odejimi is, on the other hand, ineffective.

And in spite of the fact that he is distasteful of the actions of Serubawon and the king, he remains

an onlooker as everything turns on its head.

Perhaps, the biggest flaw in Ajanaku’s personality and claim to the throne is rested on the fact

that he is actually the son of Serubawon, the ailing king’s most trusted officer who turned rogue

9
and orchestrated the fall of the throne. The African ruler, unfortunately, is there either by

inheritance because he is the heir, or by default through military coup or its civilian version,

namely election rigging. He may want power for economic, ethnic, or political reasons. His

coming to power may be circumstantial, and as such, he is at crossroads as to where to go, how

to go, and when to start going (Folarin, 2010). Olaniyonu is therefore a perfect example of such

leaders who comes into power through the backdoor without a vision, save the hunger and thirst

for rulership—a control freak.

One of the flaws of Ajanaku’s reign is highhandedness. He is a greedy and selfish ruler. He

increases taxes at will and frequently. He makes rash judgments to benefit the royal court and

never truly has the welfare of the people he leads at heart. We witness an instance where he,

instead of resolving a land issue among complainants, takes the citizen’s land for himself. After

hearing from both parties over the land dispute, Ajanaku rules…

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 are not
good examples. Laziness and selfishness are two of a kind.
Royalty cannot even boast of such 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… I said you may go to
your homes (33).
Poor judgment is associated with bad leadership. In our society, the manipulation of the judicial

system for politically selfish reasons is one of the plagues we are enduring day after day. People

aren’t confident in the system and justice is often not an attainable entity in dealing with people

at the upper echelon of the political and social ladders. Ajanaku, being a monarch, bodies the

judicial system of his administration. He represents the court and he makes the pronouncements

as well as the policies with which the kingdom is governed. Ajanaku also channels his

10
administration to accumulate wealth and have a ‘larger-than-life’ life. His highhandedness leads

to hardship for his people and in this instance in the play, it leads to a faceoff with one of his

subjects, culminating in the death of the young man.

AJANAKU: We know your plight. We also know that 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!
AJANAKU: Enough! (Silence.) What was my message to
your people just before the new planting season?
MAN I: You wanted 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 the coronation, we
did the same thing. Our people thought we needed time to
adjust to that frequent and sudden change before responding
to another one (44).
Tyranny is another attribute of Ajanaku’s reign. He subjects the people over whom he rules to

abject dejection and does whatever he pleases with anyone, anytime. His actions and choices are

unquestionable. This causes his fear to become a mainstay in the hearts of his subjects. For

instance, Omoyeni, his wife was already betrothed to Delani. In fact, we are made to understand

that Delani had worked without pay at Omoyeni’s father’s smith shop in order to cover up for

her bride-price, but after Ajanaku’s show of interest in her and with the threats he poses, the

possible reality if he is turned down left the family choiceless. Omoyeni herself never wanted to

be the king’s wife, but the fear of what he might do to her family or to Delani pushes her to

succumb to his love proposal.

Ajanaku is a breaker of the law and an empowered criminal on the throne. His personality and

actions draw clear resemblance with the leaders we have come to know in these parts of the

world. They spearhead systems where justice is only favourable to them. They commit several

11
atrocities underground and trample on the people’s rights without having to be accountable for

such actions. His need to seize and maintain rule at all cost demands that he sleeps with a virgin

every ninety days for six consecutive times. This culminated to the rape of Desola a few days to

her wedding. Interestingly, Desola happens to be the only daughter of Serubawon.

Other leadership loopholes in the play can be found with the characters of Serubawon, Odejimi

and Ogundele. These three represents the decision makers and the kingmaking council in the

kingdom. It is absolutely safe to mention that they fail their people. They are leaders of their

people, entrusted with the responsibilities of preserving the tradition and ensuring peace in the

land, yet they allow things get out of hands. Rather than staying the course and assisting the

incumbent king recover from his strange illness, these elders enthroned an illegitimate son.

Serubawon is a powerful man in the political structure of the kingdom. He is the priest, and is

always the one to be consulted for national issues regarding spirituality. He is, therefore, the

closest to the palace among the council members. He is also the head of the council of

kingmakers and chiefs. He wields so much influence and power that the palace and the entire

kingdom were vulnerable entities to him. Unfortunately, he had gone rogue and coveted all that

the king had, which we learn about as the play gradually moves to a close. We learn all about

him being the cause of the crisis which befell the kingdom—from his abominable escapade with

the king’s wife, to the slow-murder of the king, and to the enthronement of a bastard ‘king’. He

committed unprecedented crimes with impunity.

It can be argued that Odejimi has little or nothing to do with the enthronement of Ajanaku,

however, doing nothing while things go completely wrong may be viewed as enabling the wrong

—especially when we consider that Odejimi can do more, like Iya Agba does. Odejimi does not

want to be associated with the evil rule, yet he doesn’t ever summon enough courage to stand up

12
to the king or his supporter. The courage to stand against bad ruling is totally absent in the

character of Odejimi. This is the loophole in his character as a leader of his people. Ogundele, on

the other hand, is quick to accept whatever is done by Serubawon or Ajanaku. He poses as the

obedient, loyal dog to the throne, and as long as he gets his share of the cake he sees no reason to

whine. He discourages Odejimi in his plan to tell the other council members the secret actions of

Serubawon, and he accepts his share of the gifts—or bribery—deposited with Serubawon. He is

also constantly critical of Odejimi’s obvious displeasure towards the new king and his actions. In

the end, it is Iya Agba who stands up to the occasion and helps save the day, while these elders

and council members watch on as things fall apart. This beats the Yoruba proverb which says,

“Agba kii wa l’oja k’ori omo titun wo” (which translates into, “Elders don’t look on while things

go bad”).

3.4 Conclusion
This chapter successfully examined leadership loopholes in the personality and administration of

Ajanaku in Bosede Afolayan’s play, Once upon an Elephant. The loopholes in this analysis is

associated with Ajanaku’s reign are similar to that of the typical African despots. These are

highhandedness, injustice, lawbreaking and tyranny. Also, leadership loopholes are associated

with other members council of kingmakers, who, despite being in the position to secure their

people’s safety - betray them by enthroning a despot and fail to check his excesses. In short,

Afolayan mirrors, in Once upon an Elephant, the kind of leaders who are unfortunately the

reality of our society.

13