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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Dec 2016 : 10:47:30
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Smiling Forest Revisited - 17
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Seventeen
Operation No Shadows and the fall of the mighty Bajub, Mukisa, Da and others
As the long dark years of Loony’s reign of terror slowly and painfully unfolded in Smiling Forest, those animals schooled in the science of personality realized with chilling effect that they had a psychopath for a ruler. Loony displayed all the characteristics of a typical psychopath: he was in constant denial and conflict with others; he was clearly incapable of guilt; he was completely selfish and had no regard for the rights or interests of others; he was a pathological liar who consistently made promises he never kept or fulfilled; he showed great indignation whenever his views or positions were challenged or his integrity questioned; he was incapable of accepting blame, making mistakes or learning from experience; and he would stop at nothing to satisfy his bloated ego or go ahead with his plans, however ill-conceived and harmful to others they were. He was in effect, a mad fox in power.
So it was that the animals, half scared out of their wits and half amused, watched Loony launch his most absurd project to date – Operation No Shadows – which he said was a new aspect of his faultless system of powercracy and his infallible personal philosophy of Me-Alone. Wherever he looked, Loony saw the ugly shadows of his recklessness and brutality which followed him everywhere. Wherever he looked, Loony saw images of misery and destitution; he saw hunger and malnutrition and disease; he saw death and destruction; he saw blood and tears; and he saw and smelt the stinking rot of corruption perpetuated by him and those animals closest to him. Overwhelmed and confused, Loony decided he did not want to see any of his shadows ever again. He therefore launched Operation No Shadows to eliminate all his ugly shadows in accordance with the dictates of powercracy and his infallible philosophy of Me-Alone.
Starting with his critics, Loony embarked upon a blizzard of arrests, detentions, sackings and killings. So many animals were arrested by the Mental Surveillance Unit that after some time, it was impossible to keep up with the numbers. Political opponents and journalists were routinely hounded and if this failed to break them, the harassment was extended to their friends, families and even distant relatives. Many animals, including members of the armed foxes, were forced into exile while many more were thrown into jail or simply disappeared. But in spite of the dirty work of what he came to call his electric broom, Loony’s ugly shadows seemed to multiply in Smiling Forest. He was stupefied to see that the more people he had arrested tortured or killed, the bigger, longer and uglier his shadows grew.
Operation No Shadows soon turned in full force on Loony’s own inner circle. Hitherto untouchable folks like Bajub the wolf suddenly found themselves arrested and detained – publicly humiliated and mercilessly broken. Bajub, the initiator and head of the notorious Loony is Always Right Movement, was one of Loony’s most ugly shadows. His thugs had committed more atrocities than even the armed foxes themselves and Bajub himself displayed a total disregard for the law, bragging openly that he was totally above all laws of Smiling Forest. Bajub engaged in dubious business activities for Loony, hoarded scarce commodities to hike their prices so Loony could reap more profits, and did just about anything he felt like doing in Smiling Forest. He had grown fat and wealthy and soon, rumor had it that in fact, Bajub was almost as powerful as Loony himself if not more powerful than Loony. The widespread currency of this particular rumor was why some animals felt that his arrest had to do with the Great Leader’s rising fears that Bajub could overthrow him and become ruler of Smiling Forest. Bajub was roughed up and thrown into Smiling Forest’s most notorious jail, which Loony callously called “my five-star hotel”. Bajub was never to see the light of day again because like many other inmates of Loony’s “five-star hotel”, Bajub died under mysterious circumstances. Loony had it announced that he died of high blood pressure, but many animals knew otherwise. The word around Smiling Forest was that Bajub was in fact deliberately poisoned by Loony because he knew too much about the brutal fox’s dark deeds.
Operation No Shadows neutralized some key members of Loony’s killer squad of brutal armed foxes and civilian spies. Brutal armed foxes like the notorious Sir Veggi and Red Face died under mysterious circumstances after been grabbed and thrown into Loony’s “five-star hotel”. These and other brutal armed foxes who formed part of Loony’s death squads were eliminated because they knew too much about all the evil deeds Loony had committed – the poisoning of prisoners like Bajub and the mysterious shootings of journalists and lawyers, like the lawyer who represented Bajub the hyena. This hapless lawyer barely escaped with his life after some armed foxes ambushed him and almost blew his head off with gunshots. Da the camel, director of the notorious Mental Surveillance Unit was another high profile victim of Operation No Shadows after his arrest on charges that he was involved in a plot to overthrow Loony. No one ever knew what happened to Da the camel because he simply disappeared into thin air after his arrest. Loony announced that Da had escaped a cohort of armed foxes that was transporting him in a truck to a prison on the distant island of Jamboree. Of course, no animal bought the ludicrous story. They knew without doubt that Da, once among Loony’s most loyal agents, had simply been killed and perhaps buried in some unmarked grave or thrown into the fabled old well at the outskirts of Loony’s home village. Some stories had it that Da’s body was in fact chopped up into small pieces and fed to Loony’s crocodiles at his palace.
Operation No Shadows also hit Mukisa the brown monkey. Mukisa, a naturalized citizen of Smiling Forest, was one of the wealthiest animals in the land. He owned countless stores and properties and was notorious for his perpetuation of bribery and corruption within the Loony administration. Mukisa was known to publicly brag that he could get anything he wanted because money talked louder than noise. It was clear that he had given many a bunch of cash to the Great Leader himself, but he was one of his ugly shadows that Loony could no longer tolerate. Mukisa was thus one early morning woken up in his pajamas and hauled off to jail by his former buddies in the Mental Surveillance Unit. He was accused of harboring treasonable thoughts against the Great Leader. Rumor had it that Mukisa the brown monkey was beaten so hard that he did something the animals found too embarrassing to speak of.
Next to fall was Duru the buzzard, arguably the wealthiest animal in Smiling Forest and one of the closest confidants of the Great Leader. Duru ran a multiplicity of businesses and held shares in a countless number of lucrative concerns both at home and abroad. He drove the most expensive cars in the land and lived – with the exception of Loony’s palace - in the most expensive mansion in Smiling Forest. He contributed generously to Loony’s personal accounts and managed some of Loony’s numerous businesses for him. At public events, Duru the buzzard was often seen perched proudly on the right hand side of the brutal fox, often exchanging glances and whispers with the arrogant ruler. But he was one of Loony’s ugly shadows and so had to be chopped down in line with the dictates of Operation No Shadows and Loony’s personal philosophy of Me-Alone.
Operation No Shadows grew more and more frantic and brutal as time passed. Divisional commissioners, district chiefs, local chairmen and petty bureaucrats who hitherto prided themselves in being close to the Great Leader or in the Great Leader’s good books suddenly found themselves under the sharp and unrelenting clutches of the Mental Surveillance Unit. They were arrested at odd hours, roughed up and publicly humiliated. They were charged with anything from fraud to sabotage to harboring treasonable thoughts against the Great Leader. And they were all thrown into Loony’s notorious “five-star hotel”. Some of them were lucky to escape with their lives. Some came out with life-long disabilities due to the cruel torture they suffered. Some simply died under mysterious circumstances.
Sadly, Loony also saw his ugly shadow among the petty traders of Smiling Forest and so sent the Mental Surveillance Unit after them. Fishmongers, vegetable vendors, bakers and bread sellers, cab drivers and butchers, money lenders and changers, were rounded up and hauled into jail on charges of public extortion and subverting Loony’s Vision Weeny Weeny. The bewildered animals never realized that their real crime was being an unwilling extension of Loony’s ugly shadow that now ominously loomed across the landscapes and skies of Smiling Forest. Often, these petty traders were deprived of their hard earned property and ordered to leave town or stop doing business altogether.
Finally, Loony saw his ugly shadow among the increasingly large number of poor beggars sitting at street corners in the Smiling Forest capital and nearby cities. These beggars included poor widows with children to feed, cripples and blind men and women who could not earn a day’s meal without begging, and extremely old people who depended only on begging for their daily sustenance. Loony unleased his fierce armed foxes and police upon these destitute animals. They were roughly pounced upon, grabbed, and hauled into waiting trucks. After all the beggars were rounded up and gathered in one place, they were rudely insulted and called pests and undesirable vermin that were soiling the good reputation of the Great Leader. Begging, they were told, was banned in Smiling Forest and any person caught begging again would be severely dealt with. After their release, the sad beggars all crawled and shuffled to their homes crying and beating their heads and praying to the Great God Yallah to please kick this wicked fox and his cruel enablers off their breaking backs. Their pain and outrage was shared and their prayer universally and constantly repeated by the majority of animals in Smiling Forest. They couldn't wait to see Loony's cruel backside leave their beautiful Smiling Forest.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2016 : 08:19:55
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Smiling Forest Revisited - 18
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Eighteen
Loony’s last year in power and how he suffered a crushing defeat in the ring
Loony the fox always wanted it both ways. He wanted the best of all worlds. He wanted to both eat his cake and keep it at the same time. He knew he was a heartless tyrant who was deliberately bullying and oppressing the animals of Smiling Forest. But he wanted to be considered a kind and generous saint and benefactor of all the animals. He was a dark-hearted idol worshipper but wanted to be considered the most clean-hearted and most devoted servant of the Great God Yallah. And so he draped himself in flowing white robes as befits a pious saint and carried around all kinds of religious regalia, complete with a small white copoti cap of the kind worn by the pious sheeks of Smiling Forest, most of whom had become fanatic goat holders for the brutal and greedy fox. Even as he inflicted horrendous acts of brutality on the animals and unleased the notorious Mental Surveillance Unit, his callous minions in the Loony is Always Right Movement, and the killer Gugula squad on them, Loony assumed a fake air of piety that almost made the animals puke with disgust. As far as Loony was concerned, it did not matter that he was a cruel and heartless tyrant and idol worshipper; it was enough that he pretended to be a kind and pious animal. To hell with everything and everyone else!
Throughout his long reign of brutality and terror in Smiling Forest, Loony made sure that every five years he conducted a national wrestling contest in Smiling Forest. These wrestling contests were designed to legitimize his rule and to show that he was not only a strong ruler, but also the undisputed and beloved choice of the animals of Smiling Forest. Any animal that wanted to wrestle with him was welcome to do so, Loony would announce. And if anyone ever threw him down, he solemnly swore by the Great God Yallah, he would step down and they would become the new rulers of Smiling Forest. He always followed this oath by also swearing to the Great God Yallah that no one would ever throw him down and that he would in fact be the ruler of Smiling Forest for a billion years. Loony would set a date for the grand wrestling contest and appoint a team of referees to officiate the event. Then he would declare a campaign period during which all contestants could go around Smiling Forest to seek the support of the animals and perhaps visit their spiritual masters in search of charms and jujus to help them throw their opponents down. However, none of Loony’s opponents were ever allowed to use Smiling Forest radio and television to address the animals, and journalists who reported anything critical of Loony were immediately picked up by the Mental Surveillance Unit, the regular armed foxes, or the killer Gugula squad and severely dealt with, even killed.
At such times Loony would travel the length and breadth of Smiling Forest, surrounded by heavily armed foxes, baring his large teeth, flexing his muscles, switching his large tail this way and that, this way and that, widely opening his horse’s mouth, and asking all the animals if they had not seen all the great work he had done for them and wondering why some of them were so ungrateful as not to in fact worship him. During these so-called campaign tours, Loony would promise those who supported him all kinds of developmental goodies and threaten to starve to death all who did not support him. “For 400 years the greedy red animals colonized you and did not do a single thing for you,” he would loudly cackle, baring his teeth, flicking his tongue, tweaking his nose and lashing out at the nearest animals with his large tail. “And after the greedy red animal colonialists left, for forty years Talkmuch Dolittle colonized you and did nothing for you. I created rice for you when you were starving and ordered water from the skies for you when it refused to rain. I built you air to breath and have driven all your sicknesses from your miserable bodies. I have even made it possible for your wives to have children when you couldn’t do it yourself because I have magic powers. But some of you who are nothing but donkeys still refuse to support me and say you support so-called donkey oppositions. If you support donkey oppositions then you are also donkeys and you will starve to death and go to hell. Because I will tell you right now that no one can ever defeat me in a wrestling contest and if anybody ever defeats me, then I am no longer your ruler and I will concede defeat and go back to live my life as a champion farmer. But no one will ever defeat me and I will rule this forest for a billion years and if you don’t like it you can go to hell.” He would pound his chest and shake his large tail and grin at the skies and shake his fist at the animals, some of whom would screech and scream and clap for him to avoid being picked up by the ubiquitous Mental Surveillance Unit, LARM agents or the killer Gugula squad.
For many years Loony was conveniently declared the winner of all these staged wrestling contests. In some cases, when it appeared that his opponents were about to throw him down, the carefully selected and appointed referees would surreptitiously intervene and pull his opponents’ legs or grab their necks and raise a cloud of dust behind which they would suddenly shout that Loony had won again! All accusations of cheating made by his opponents were simply ignored and Loony would be crowned in yet another lavish inauguration ceremony, complete with flamboyant new titles and much drumming, dancing and clapping by Loony’s numerous cronies and hangers-on. Loony used these opulent occasions to remind everyone that he was the undisputed champion and favorite ruler of all the animals and if any animals did not like it they could go to hell. Putting on his most notorious and arrogant sneer, the one that made his face look like a broken piece of dark wood with ashes for eyes, Loony would howl and grunt and cast aspersions on those he called unpatriotic animals who were agents and stooges of greedy red animals who wanted to come back and colonize Smiling Forest again. “I strongly remind all of those unpatriotic animals who did not support me that no one can ever defeat me in a wrestling contest,” he would rant. “If they think that they can be supported by the evil animals of the red forests to defeat me, then they must be fools. No wrestler can every throw me down and no stupid red animals will ever tell me what to do or install their puppets as rulers of this forest. This is my personal forest and I will rule this forest for a billion years whether they like it or not. If you don’t like it and if they don’t like it you can all go to hell! It’s a mad day!”
In the 22nd year of his brutal reign of terror, Loony decided to call for another wrestling contest to legitimize his rule yet again. He had noticed how angry the animals were and was a bit wary this time, placing as many obstacles as he could in the way of any potential challenger. He made it almost impossible for anyone to challenge him by imposing an age limit for potential contestants and raising the registration fee by a whopping 500 percent. He believed that apart from himself, no one could afford the outrageous fees to register to challenge him in the ring. And when some animals protested the unjust conditions and rules of that year’s contest, some of them were beaten to death, some tortured and raped by the killer Gugulas, and some thrown to jail on spurious charges of disturbing the peace. Unfortunately for Loony, these cruel measures and the stringent conditions he imposed forced the animals to pool their resources and unite behind one contestant for whom they paid the exorbitant fees. Loony was so shaken when he saw that the animals had united that he almost cancelled the contest. But that would have made him look like a coward, and Loony dreaded the very idea of being known for the coward he actually was. So he allowed the challenger to register and preparations for the grand contest to go ahead as planned.
As usual Loony appointed referees for the contest, hoping that in case he was in danger of being thrown down, they would intervene as usual and pull his opponent’s legs or grab his neck so Loony can sit on him and be declared the winner. Having appointed the referees, Loony then marched across the length and breadth of Smiling Forest, baring his teeth, switching his large tail this way and that, and making guttural noises and threats designed to scare the animals into supporting him as usual. “No one can ever throw me down,” he loudly boasted with his horse’s mouth. “I am invincible and if anyone thinks that they can throw me down, then they are fools and *****s and can go to hell. If the so-called donkey oppositions think that they can unite and pick one contestant to challenge me, then they don’t know themselves and they can go to hell. I will win this contest with the greatest landslide victory ever and will rule this forest for a billion years whether you like it or not.” He repeated all the rude insults he habitually hurled against the animals and dared anyone to raise their voice or even look at him with bad eyes. “I own this forest and if anyone thinks they can challenge me, let them come. I swear by the Great God Yallah that they will even forget their names! I will personally dig a big hole and bury them nine feet deep!”
But by this time, the animals of Smiling Forest had grown sick and tired of the mad fox’s unbridled cruelty and crass rudeness. They were tired of his rude insults and his tireless bragging that he was the personal owner of Smiling Forest and would rule them for a billion years. They were tired of living in a state of crippling fear and tired of the hundreds of Mental Surveillance Unit agents and liars snooping into their private lives and making life unbearable for everyone in the land. They were tired of the bullying and the endless whipping and the biting poverty they suffered under Loony’s brutal regime. And they were tired of being told that they lived in a haven of peace and prosperity when they were starving and their children were drowning to death in their hundreds as they tried to take the perilous Backway to the rich forests of the red animals. And they were determined to support the unity contestant and help him throw Loony down. “You just wait,” they whispered to each other, “we will teach this brute a good lesson this year!”
On the day of the great contest the animals of Smiling Forest formed a great circle to watch the event of the century. The drummers beat their drums and everyone shouted and ululated, urging their contestants on. Loony’s supporters called him lion and sang the “Loony will never die” song. When he arrived at the venue clad in all his red jujus and small animal horns, Loony sprang into the great wrestling ring and started doing the traditional baaku dance. He stamped his feet and wiggled his waist and thrust both hands to heaven and to the sides and gnashed his teeth and shook his butts to the accompaniment of the frantic drumming and clapping. He rushed this way and that, this way and that, and trotted like a horse to the rhythm of the drums, glancing this way and that, this way and that with wide, fiery eyes in the manner of the great wrestlers of old. He yelled and shrieked and did the somersaults and banged his chest with both his palms to scare his opponent, who stood calmly in his spot, flexing his muscles and waiting for the referee to blow his horn.
When at long last the referee blew his horn and said “let the games begin”, Loony and his challenger met in the middle of the ring and locked bodies in the famous rofoe style. The animals held their breath. Loony shivered as he felt the hard muscles of his opponent squeeze his body in what felt like a death grip. The wrestlers pushed each other back and forth in the ring, jumped around in tight circles, and pulled and heaved and raised a great cloud of dust. Their muscles grew taut like steel rods and Loony started casting secret glances towards the referee. Suddenly, Loony felt himself flying in the air, swung round and round in circles as if he did not weigh anything at all. He frantically whistled again and again, giving the usual signal for the referee to intervene and pull his opponent’s legs, but nothing happened as his opponent gave him one last swing and smashed Loony’s body with all his might onto the hard ground below. Loony shrieked as his back crashed against the earth; he saw fire and involuntarily let out a frightful yelp and another sound that no one heard because of the loud cheers and the mad drumming and clapping from the audience. Loony could hardly breathe as the victor sat on his chest and grabbed his neck, waiting for the referee to declare him winner. The animals could not believe their eyes as the referee ran over, lifted the challenger’s arm into the air, and declared him the winner of that year’s national wrestling contest. The animals burst into thunderous applause, clapping and shouting that was almost heard by the animals in nearby forests. As he clumsily sprang up to his feet in a confused daze, Loony heard the referee announce that from now on, the challenger was the legitimate ruler of Smiling Forest and that Loony was now the outgoing ruler. That night, word quickly spread around Smiling Forest that Loony was going to concede defeat and congratulate the winner the following morning. The animals could not wait!
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2017 : 08:59:24
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Smiling Forest Revisited - 19
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Chapter Nineteen
How Loony admitted defeat then insisted that he was in fact the winner
The animals of Smiling Forest could not believe their ears or eyes as they listened and watched General Loony admit defeat on national radio and television. They held their mouths and wiped tears of joy and shock from their eyes as they listened and watched the fox who had described himself as invincible and threatened to rule them for a billion years humbly concede defeat and promise to retire peacefully to his home village to become a champion farmer. Surely, this could not be real? Surely, this could not possibly be happening? The animals watched and listened, their hearts beating like a thousand drums in their chests as the defeated Loony, looking tired and broken, delivered his unprecedented admission of defeat.
“You animals have spoken,” Loony cackled through his horse’s mouth, revealing his large teeth. “Through you the Great God Yallah has spoken. I can hear the voice of the Great God Yallah saying Loony, this is it; your time is up. I happily submit to our will and the will of the Great God Yallah. I admit defeat and I will never question the decision of the Great God Yallah or go against the will of you, the animals of Smiling Forest. I admit defeat because our system is rig-proof and the best and most transparent in the world.” Loony let out a plaintive yelp of defeat and bared his teeth in a futile attempt to smile and hide his pain. He went on to say how much he loved the animals of Smiling Forest, how much he loved the female animals and the young animals in particular, because without the female animals and the young animals, he would have been a total failure. “I love you all and I will even die for you,” he whimpered, “and I thank you all for loving me back.”
“I have been your ruler for 22 years. But after 22 years the Great God Yallah has finally spoken,” he cackled, struggling to hold back his tears. “After 22 years I am now defeated. You animals say you want another ruler and now you have another ruler. I am no longer your ruler. I came 22 years ago on the sixth day of the week in the seventh month. I go 22 years later on the sixth day of the week in the 12th month. 22, 22, six, six. That means the Great God Yallah has spoken and this is destiny and I will never question the will of the Great God Yallah. I know that the contest was totally free and fair because our wrestling system is rig-proof and no one has ever cheated and no one can ever cheat. So I am happy to accept defeat because our system is open and fair and I do not want to contest the will of the Great God Yallah. I was thrown down before you all. And to those of you who were in my government, if you have no job do not cry. You can come to my home village and become a farmer like me because I will become a champion farmer. It’s a mad day.”
Loony rattled on and on about how the Great God Yallah had spoken and how as a total devotee and servant of the Great God Yallah whom alone he feared, he would never contest his defeat. The animals could see that Loony was severely confused. Several times he ended his rambling rant and stood up as if to leave only to sit back down and start rambling again. It seemed as if the throne was so sweet to his backside that he couldn’t bear not to sit on it, for just one last time, one last time.
Finally, after a long and rambling rant, Loony’s speech was over. At the same time, Smiling Forest erupted in the wildest jubilations the animals had ever seen. Large crowds of animals drove their cars in the streets honking their horns, doing the V for victory sign, and shouting “down with Loony!” at the top of their voices. Even the armed foxes joined the jubilations, celebrating the fall of the wicked fox that had ruled them with an iron fist for 22 long years. Loony was devastated to see how happy the animals were that he had been defeated and would no longer be their ruler. He was devastated to see animals climb tall buildings and rip to pieces large posters bearing his ugly face. He was devastated to see animals cast his images to the ground and dance on his face, stamping on it, wiggling their butts and even doing the unthinkable on his face. He was devastated to be forced to see and admit for the first time in 22 years that so many animals in Smiling Forest were sick and tired of him and were so happy to see him go. His amazement turned to crippling fear as word spread that the incoming government was in fact going to arrest and have him prosecuted for all the horrendous crimes he had committed over the past 22 years. Even though this was not the official position of the incoming government, Loony was scared out of his wits. He was so scared that his large tail shrunk and the hair fell off his ears. Then suddenly, it occurred to him that he could use this as an excuse to insist that the contest wasn’t fair and that he was in fact the winner of the wrestling contest because the referee cheated for his opponent.
Exactly one week after accepting defeat and congratulating the winner whom he described as the new ruler of Smiling Forest, Loony summoned national radio and television to his palace to announce that he totally rejected the outcome of the wrestling contest and that he was no longer stepping down because he was in fact the winner.
“Last week I told you that I was defeated. Today I am telling you that I was not defeated,” he thundered to the stupefied amazement of the animals. “Today I tell you that I totally reject the outcome of the contest and nullify the victory of my opponent because it was never a victory. My agents have done their investigations and we have found cheating and anomalies, and we have found that the referee cheated for my opponent. We know that when the dust was high and no one was looking, the referees jumped into the fray and pulled my legs and grabbed my neck so that my opponent could throw me down. I felt them pull my legs and I felt their claws on my neck but I thought it was just my opponent. Moreover, some of the animals, over 300, 000 of them were not allowed to support me. They were told the big lie that I had already been thrown down and there was no need for them to come. So I am not accepting any damn defeat and if you don’t like it you can go to hell. I command all of you to go right back and prepare for a new contest. I will appoint new God-fearing referees and I will engage my opponent again. I am doing this because I was cheated of my victory by referees who did not fear the Great God Yallah and were cheats and liars. I am never stepping down and I will continue to rule this forest for a billion years. I fear no one and I am invincible. If you don’t like it you can go to hell!”
Loony’s strange declaration poured cold water on the hopes and spirits of the animals. There was a universal groan and a moan, and shrill cries of utter disbelief at Loony’s strange action. He had promised to hand over power the following month, and he would be the legitimate ruler of Smiling Forest until that date. Now, he threatened to continue ruling the animals again, whether they liked it or not, and in the process, he could bring about violent conflict in Smiling Forest. The animals could not help remember Loony’s many boasts that no one could ever defeat him in Smiling Forest and that even if someone threw him down, he would never step down from power because he personally owned Smiling Forest and the lives of all the animals of Smiling Forest. It appeared that Loony was indeed determined to rule them for a billion years even if it meant violence and loss of life and limb in Smiling Forest. Loony followed up his threats by deploying heavily armed foxes all over Smiling Forest were they set up road blocks and mounted sand bags as if in readiness for combat. Loony expected the animals to come out in protest so that he could crush them all with rapid gun fire, arrest the victor and all his team for inciting the protests, kill or thrown them into jail and sit calmly back to continue ruling Smiling Forest with total impunity. But the animals did not come out to protest. They simply ignored the armed foxes and went calmly about their daily activities. And so Loony’s evil plot was foiled and suffered a still birth. Rather than go out to protest, the animals used their voices like never before to ask Loony to step down from power and to let him know in no uncertain terms that they were taking their forest back.
Loony was dumbstruck to see the very outspoken reactions of the animals. All kinds of animal groups put out statements condemning Loony’s about face, rejecting his claims of victory, and asking him to just step down and hand over power to the winner. From student groups to lecturers’ groups, doctors, nurses, businesses, journalists, lawyers, pharmacists and other professionals, everyone came out and asked Loony to step down. “We are sick and tired of your callous brutality!” they shouted. “We don’t want you anymore! Leave us in peace! We want our forest and our lives back! Go away! If you don’t go we will refuse to work!” It was clear that no animal feared Loony or his notorious Mental Surveillance Unit, or his armed foxes anymore. The animals had tasted power and they were now going to make sure that Loony felt the weight of their muscles.
The animals of Smiling Forest were so happy to see that everyone in the world supported their calls for Loony to step down. Messages of congratulation to the winner poured in from all over the world, from the distant forests of the red animals and the brown animals, to the forests of the beard and turbaned animals whom Loony considered his closest allies. Even Vulad da Pudding, the callous dictator of the red forest of Rizzi congratulated the winner. Everyone put out statements asking Loony to respect the will of the animals of Smiling Forest and step down from power. The association of neighboring forests sent high level envoys to talk to Loony, but Loony rejected their appeals and mediation, declaring that no power on earth could tell him what to do in his personal forest. “I own this forest and I will rule this forest forever and no power in the world can make me change my mind. I won the contest. The referees were thieves and cheated for my opponent. I must have a re-match because I have rejected and totally annulled the declared results of the past contest. So let no one tell me what to do or to step down!” he insisted fuming at the nose and mouth.
Having failed to convince him to step down peacefully, the association of neighboring forests decided that they were going to send in an intervention force to remove Loony by force if he refused to respect the will of the Great God Yallah and the animals of Smiling Forest. Their position was supported by the universal association of world animals and all forests across the world. Loony remained defiant, too scared to imagine himself as an ordinary fox again. “I will fight courageously, patriotically and win,” he cackled, trembling in fear, fear of being known for the coward he actually was. Loony transported his own family to safety in the distant forest of Miriki where he owned a multi-million dollar mansion and dug his heels in. He ordered the armed foxes to be in a heightened state of alert, threw off his flowing white robes, and now prowled angrily around within the walls of his palace in military fatigues to demonstrate his manliness. As the sun set on the last day of Loony’s last year in power, the animals of Smiling Forest remained hostage to the evil greed of the mad fox. Across the once peaceful Forest, families worried and prayed for peace. They wondered just how Loony would get out of power, for that was the only option left to him. A few speculated that he would negotiate his way into exile in a distant forest. Most animals however, believed that Loony would not go voluntarily. They believed that the most likely end to the saga of the mad fox in power is that one, his own armed foxes would forcefully grab and drag him out of power, or two, that the association of neighboring foxes will send in troops that will forcefully flush him out by either capturing him alive or shooting him dead. Either way, it would be good riddance for the long-oppressed animals of Smiling Forest.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2017 : 07:55:37
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Smiling Forest Revisited - 20
Loony’s last stand and how he stoutly insisted he was the winner
By Baba Galleh Jallow
As the deadline for Loony to step down drew nearer, the confused fox grew more and more insistent that he was the true winner of the contest in which he was smashed to the ground before the very eyes of all the animals of Smiling Forest and the entire big wide world. He insisted that the referee had stolen the match for his opponent and that he was never going to step down unless there was a rematch in which he would appoint new, God-fearing referees. He lodged a complaint with the Supreme Court whose judges he would appoint from the neighboring forests of Sirali and Nigari to come nullify the results of the match and declare him the winner. Every day brought a new barrage of meaningless threats to never quit power from Loony. And every day saw him more and more isolated as members of his inner circle fled and members of his cabinet absconded to neighboring forests and issued statements asking him to accept the reality of his defeat and step down.
But Loony remained adamant. He increased the number of heavily armed foxes on the streets of Smiling Forest and bragged that he would fight to the death to safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of Smiling Forest. Having trampled upon the rule of law and the constitution of Smiling Forest for 22 years, Loony suddenly became an ardent advocate of respect for the constitution and the rule of law. He suddenly became a fanatic disciple of constitutionalism and frequently quoted constitutional provisions that he tried to tweak to suit his purpose of abrogating his opponent’s victory and staying on in power. But the majority of the animals of Smiling Forest called his bluff. The victor insisted that come the end of Loony’s term, he would be sworn in as the new president of Smiling Forest. Movements cropped up everywhere with defiant and revolutionary slogans like #SmilingForestHasDecided and #LoonyMustGo! A furious Loony ordered the Mental Surveillance Unit to crack down and arrest any animals seen wearing T-shirts with these slogans and to close down all radio stations that dared to talk about his defeat or any of these movements. Four radio stations were immediately shut down and several animals picked up and sent to Loony’s notorious “five star hotel.” Armed foxes that were thought to be sympathetic to the victor were also grabbed and taken to unknown destinations. But nothing shook the animal’s determination to bring Loony’s reign of terror to an end. The hashtags #NoRetreatNoSurrender and #WeAreTakingOurForestBack mushroomed and multiplied around Smiling Forest, encouraging the animals to stand their ground and show Loony that true power belonged to them and not to Loony and his brutal government.
But many ordinary animals were scared of war and decided to leave Smiling Forest. The once happy and peaceful animals of Smiling Forest suddenly found themselves displaced and becoming refugees either in the rural areas of Smiling Forest or in neighboring forests. They cursed Loony and expressed their amazement that Loony could be so cruel and hard-hearted as to want to hang on to power even if it meant bringing war to their peaceful forest. Whole families fled Smiling Forest and often had to beg for food and shelter in neighboring forests in an attempt to save their lives. Curses rained down upon Loony like a violent hailstorm, but the mad fox firmly shut his eyes and stuffed his ears with mud to make sure that he neither saw nor heard the voice of reason and the world urging him to step down, convincing him that his time was up and that the Great God Yallah had indeed spoken.
Just nine days to the end of his term, Loony’s evil plot to hold the animals of Smiling Forest suffered another devastating blow: The mercenary judges he hired from the distant forests of Sirali and Nigari refused to come to Smiling Forest. They declared that they were not ready to back up his unjust claim to power. Loony was more furious and confused than ever before, but there was little he could do as the lone mercenary judge in Smiling Forest Chief Justice Fagbe da Log declared that the court could do nothing unless it had a quorum in several months’ time. Fagbe da Log suggested somehow that Loony should just negotiate his way out of the mess he had created. But Loony, his teeth firmly clenched, decided to immediately launch another attempt at hanging on to power. He declared that he was going to make a law that would grant amnesty to any animal that had committed a crime for the past two months and that he was in fact a forgiving fox, a fox of peace and security and a fox who had the greatest faith ever in the Great God Yallah. Opening his horse’s mouth big and wide, he thus addressed the animals: “I know that some of you are running away saying that Loony wants to bring war into this forest. That is not true. I am a fox of peace and security. I assure all of you animals that peace will prevail. But only my own personal Supreme Court can validate the results of this match that that crooked referee stole for my opponent. The so-called Association of Neighboring Forests is interfering in the internal affairs of my personal forest, and they are declaring war on my personal forest. But let them come here. I will show them who I am. I will face them and fight them and defeat them so badly they will leave their shoes and flee for their lives. I will rule this forest for a billion years and if any one doesn’t like it they can go to hell.”
The truth was that by this time Loony was extremely rattled around both by the approaching fierce armed foxes of the Association of Neighboring Forests and especially by some strange stories making the rounds around Smiling Forest about something called “Dragon Fire”. He was particularly troubled that this so-called “Dragon Fire” was said to be ‘quasi invisible’ and had laser beams and other frightful capabilities for ferreting out its targets and incinerating them. Loony heard the strange rumors but was both mollified and petrified when he read about them from someone called “Winged Scorpion.” What do they mean dragon fire and winged scorpion? Whoever heard such frightful names? Loony shivered and his teeth clattered like plates as he sat alone in his big private room pondering these strange things. He was so shaken that several times, he got up and prowled around the room, shaking from head to foot and wondering just what they mean by dragon fire and winged scorpion. The latter name sounded particularly frightening; for while he was certainly no stranger to scorpions, the idea of a winged scorpion sounded too spooky for his rattled nerves.
Meanwhile, efforts by the association of neighboring forests to mediate the impasse and convince Loony to step down peacefully continued. The neighboring forest of Nigari, whose president was the chief mediator kindly offered Loony asylum if he agreed to step down. Less than a week before Loony’s term expired, Muhari the giraffe, president of Nigari Forest traveled for a second time to Smiling Forest in a last bid to make the mad fox see reason. But the animals of Smiling Forest were not optimistic. They knew Loony was a psychopath and psychopaths never see reason, unless it is reason that serves their own interest or reason backed by force or a very credible threat of force. While his victorious opponent slated to become the new leader of Smiling Forest in a few days sounded optimistic that the impasse could end peacefully, and said Loony could stay in Smiling Forest, many animals were skeptical and believed that Loony would only leave power if he were to be physically grabbed and forcefully dragged or driven out of power. Some of them reasoned that the Great God Yallah was a God of miracles and would perhaps perform a miracle that would make Loony accept his faith to become an ordinary fox again. Everywhere in Smiling Forest and around the world, animals hoped and prayed for such a miracle as they waited to see what became of Muhari the giraffe’s latest trip to Smiling Forest. The animals were not surprised when they saw Muhari the giraffe stomping angrily out of Loony’s palace, his mediation efforts having proved futile. In fact, Loony had rudely told Muhari to his face that he should go take care of the rebels in his own forest rather than meddle in the internal affairs of Smiling Forest. He roundly told Muhari and everyone in the Association of Neighboring Forests and the whole big wide world to go to hell because he would never allow himself to be cheated of his legitimate victory. “I will rule this forest for a billion years and if you don’t like it you can go to hell Muhari!” he angrily ranted. “You say your armed foxes will attack me. Let them attack. Bulay bulay bulay, I will show them who Loony is!”
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2017 : 08:08:43
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Final Chapter
Chapter Twenty One
By Baba Galleh Jallow
How Loony eventually fled into exile and the smile returned to Smiling Forest
Loony’s refusal to step down in the face of several mediation efforts heightened the threat of war and greatly worried the peace loving animals of Smiling Forest. Increasingly concerned about their safety and the safety of their families and loved ones, more and animals sadly trekked into exile to neighboring forests. Judging by what he said and the way he behaved, it became crystal clear to the animals that Loony did not care a hoot whether they lived or died, whether their blood and the blood of their innocent children and relatives in the armed foxes was spilled or not, or whether Smiling Forest became a raging battleground in a war whose consequences no one could imagine. The animals now saw that all Loony cared about was Loony and as far as he was concerned, Smiling Forest may as well be burnt to ashes if that would allow him to stay on in power for as long as he lived. But the animals also clearly saw that come what may, Loony must go because the odds were just too stacked against him. And they were just totally sick and tired of the mad fox in power. They knew that it was never again going to be 'Loony bark animal run'.
Loony was devastated when in a surprise tactical move that confused the mad fox to no end, the Association of Neighboring Forests suddenly invited the victor to attend the summit of presidents in the neighboring forest of Mili. This sudden and unexpected development really spooked Loony who repeatedly gnashed his teeth and furiously switched his tail this way and that to emphasize his anger. What evil plot are they hatching, he wondered. But of course, no answer was forthcoming and Loony began to throw furtive glances this way and that for a possible escape route just in case the Association of Neighboring Forests had some funny trick up their evil sleeves. It was widely reported in the international media that while the Association of Neighboring Forests was ready to send their armed foxes in to get Loony, the victor himself preferred a peaceful resolution to the crisis. But while the animals of Smiling Forest also preferred a peaceful resolution, they hoped and prayed that the victor would not reject the use of force to kick Loony out because that was clearly the only way the mad fox could be persuaded to leave power. When some animals interviewed on the international media were asked if they shared the victor’s optimism that Loony would leave power peacefully, their answer was a categorical no. Loony would only leave power if he were physically kicked out either through the use of force or the very credible threat of force against him. The mad fox had proven over and over again that the only language he understood was the language of force, which he habitually inflicted on innocent animals and which was the only way to take him out of power.
Four days to the expiry of Loony’s last term in office, Smiling Forest remained in an unpredictable limbo thanks to Loony’s evil and ill-fated plot to stay in power after his crushing defeat by the candidate for the coalition of independent animals. No one knew how the impasse would end, but many were convinced that Loony had to be forced out because he could not be reasoned with to leave. The unimaginable alternative to forcing him out would be many more years of Loony’s brutal dictatorship which the animals even dreaded to imagine. So while every animal held their breath and some fled into exile, they were unanimous that if getting Loony out of power meant war in their small beautiful forest, they would prefer that to extending Loony’s brutal regime over them. They were just sick and tired of the evil fox who dressed up in the garbs of piety but habitually engaged in the most devilish behavior for the past twenty two years. Shouts of ‘Loony must go no matter what’ resounding around Smiling Forest and the Smiling Forest Diaspora as the animals waited for their fate and the fate of their forest. Some hoped Loony would leave without a bloodbath while others hoped that he would remain stupid enough to insist on staying so he would be captured and made to pay for his innumerable crimes against the innocent and peace-loving animals of Smiling Forest.
Three days to the expiry of Loony’s term and the mad fox still remained defiant. But he was now openly showing signs of extreme fright as demonstrated by a call he placed to the president of Libiri Forest asking her to please make it possible for his mercenary judges to travel to Smiling Forest to settle the impasse peacefully. Watching him on TV, the animals saw that Loony’s face was white with fear. His increasingly dry face looked like a powdered rock with rough edges and cracks for lips. His eyes were small, round and white with fright. And he sounded rattled and cagey on the phone. His speech was dry and slurred, making some animals think that he was either drunk or on drugs. “My sister I greet you in the name of the Great God Yallah,” he cracked. “I am calling to personally beg you my sister to please beg the Association of Neighboring Forests to allow my judges to come and settle this matter peacefully. Let the judges come right now please, my good and best sister ever. Please I beg you to let them come now because right now I just want peace and security,” he cackled, his voice shaking. “I swear to the Great God Yallah that I will obey the constitution of Smiling Forest and we will all make peace and live happily ever after.” When the president of Libiri Forest asked him to issue a statement making the same plea, Loony readily agreed. But everyone knew that Loony was up to his dirty tricks again. In fact, in order to give the impression to the animals of Smiling Forest that he was still in firm control of the situation, Loony was secretly recording his conversation with the president of Libiri Forest. As soon as he hung up, he had the video broadcast on national radio and television and loudly bragged that he Loony, was the one and only one who could resolve the crisis. But the wise animals of Smiling Forest knew that Loony’s mind had gone blind, his reason totally clouded by the thick fog of his evil deeds, so that he stumbled from one blunder to another even as he tried to be clever.
His betrayal of the trust of the president of Libiri Forest was a particularly fateful blunder by Loony. The Libiri Forest president who was also president of the Association of Neighboring Forests was extremely furious. She granted interviews to international media in which she roundly condemned Loony and called him a dishonest cheat of the worst sort ever to walk this earth. Loony’s betrayal further infuriated all members of the Association of Neighboring Forests and strengthened their resolve to kick the mad fox out of power come what may. And so they accelerated their preparations to remove Loony by force. News spread that more and more fierce and heavily armed foxes from the forests of Sunulep, Nigiri, Libiri and Ghini were now amassed on the Smiling Forest border, waiting to move in, pounce upon Loony and take him out. In fact at this time there were reports that some of the armed foxes had actually entered Smiling Forest and encountered no resistance from the Smiling Forest armed foxes. Muhari the giraffe, still angry at Loony’s rude treatment of him sent fighter jets from Nigiri Forest. These zoomed across the skies of Smiling Forest, their loud noises adding to Loony’s fright and heightening the anxiety of the ordinary animals, who continued to flee into exile in their thousands. Loony was rumored to have lost all capacity for sleep and grown extremely irritable. His legendary ratatoi was fast coming back as small white cracks of fear appeared at the corners of his hot dog lips. Meanwhile, the Association of Neigh boring Forests flew the victor into Sunulep Forest where he awaited his inauguration as the new leader of Smiling Forest.
Driven more by his growing fear of capture and possible death than by concern for the peace and security of the animals of Smiling Forest, Loony secretly welcomed the presidents of the neighboring forests of Muriti and Gini to Smiling Forest. Their mission was to "persuade" Loony to leave. Two days of behind the door conversations passed before news started leaking that Loony had finally agreed to go. When the deadline for him to step down was just hours ago, it was announced that Loony had requested a few hours extension, which was granted by the Association of Neighboring Forests. Loony now knew that this was indeed the end of the road for him. The armed foxes chief had made it clear that he would not order his soldiers into battle on behalf of Loony and with that support gone, Loony knew that the die had been cast. He either had to leave, or fall into the hands of the fierce armed foxes from neighboring forests, and then he would either be killed or put in chains and dragged before a court of law to answer for all the innumerable crimes he had committed as the brutal dictator of Smiling Forest.
And so it was that one historic evening, the animals of Smiling Forest watched the mad fox who had vowed to rule them for a billion years stepped off their beloved soil onto a plane that carried him off into exile in the distant forest of Ekuta Guana. There he would live in exile, hosted by another notorious despot, the infamous Obinga Guma aka vampire, who was said to be so rich that his clothes were made of gold while the animals he ruled were so poor that they ate mud for survival. The Smiling Forest animals were so relieved that they could hardly jubilate. Most animals just broke down and wept, and praised the Great God Yallah for finally ending the tyrannical rue of the mad and brutal fox who had terrorized them for twenty two long years. Many months later, as the smile started returning to Smiling Forest and life got back to normal, pictures started circulating around the world of a frail and confused looking Loony lounging around in the thick and muddy jungles of Ekuta Guana. That was the end of many many dark days in Smiling Forest.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Smiling Forest Revisited
