Tortoise as the Smartest in His Kingdom: Intervened During Hunger Crisis

By Ben Wuloo Ikari

Tortoise as the Wisest and Smartest in His Kingdom is an Ogoni (African) folklore creatively told to instruct humans using animal subjects as interventionists.

In this story, King Tortoise, as in many Ogoni stories, is considered the wisest and smartest yet one of the creepiest and smaller creatures in the animal kingdom. As a result, in an era that witnessed a devastating hunger crisis never seen in the animal kingdom, Tortoise stepped up and used his smartness and an instance of creepiness to mobilize and help his kingdom survive the hunger/plague. With his wisdom, after mobilizing struggling animals and persuading them to donate a portion of whatever food they might have, no matter how small, the animals were able to collect several million tons of food and shared among themselves. With his leadership, members of his kingdom subsequently planted more seeds that grew and produced lots of food that lasted for a long time. These efforts helped end food scarcity in the animal kingdom even though they still have to seek food to this day.

By his efforts and in collaboration with others—among them monkeys, lions, parrots, and horses—animals then and today have been fortified, as they vowed not to allow another hunger crisis destroy them. Nevertheless, they face one serious threat today, and it’s global warming and climate change, which also threaten human beings.

Although millions of animals, fishes, other aquatics, birds, and plants died by the time Tortoise came up with a solution, a crisis that could have wiped out all animals was averted. King Tortoise pulled the plug while the food was about to be shared. He asked other animals to group themselves by name and called himself All of Us. As sharing began, his name was first on the list. The sharer announced the name All of Us, and King Tortoise stood up and attempted to claim all the food, arguing that his name meant all the food belonged to him alone. This move angered all the animals. Sadly, they were badly beaten and broken by hunger that fighting Tortoise was not an option. At this point, King Tortoise laughed. He beat his chest and said he was kidding yet proved he was the wisest of all in the kingdom. Irrespective of his wisdom, he declared, “I am also very humble and committed to servicing my kingdom, hence the intervention.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664175587

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