BAILED

Immanuel Taiyewo Fawole

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Characters (in order of appearance)
Otun
Osi
Gbolahan
Balogun
Iyaloja
Segilola
Aderopo
Adeoti
Aya Agba
Singers, drummers, dancers.

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 Movement One
The scene opens to a palace setting. There is a vacant throne in sight.
There are four seats for the chiefs on the two sides of the throne. OTUN
and OSU are seated on the two seats closer to the throne. OTUN is at
the throne’s right while OSI is on the left. The two men are looking
distraught. They cough intermittently throughout the scene.
(Ki lon sele)

OTUN: This has never happened in the history of our town. That a king
will spend just seven years on the throne and join his ancestor
before eyes could even blink. This is strange.
OSI: If one says this matter does not leave one confounded, one is only
good at being a liar. This is nothing but a shock. A big one that
should amaze even the gods.
OTUN: Is it today that a man is knocked down by iba in this village?
OSI: Abi.
OTUN: And with the right egboogi carefully selected by Fadare, such a
man is restored to sound health and becomes strong again like a
bullet.
OSI: But with the case of our king, leaves refused to listen to the voice
of Fadare. Osanyin turned a deaf ear to his oriki from the lips of
Fadare. Hmm. What a pity! The great elephant has fallen.

As they speak, a young, literate man, GBOLAHAN, walks in. He’s

wearing a nose mask. Behind him is a big bag. There’s an envelope in
his hand. The chiefs look confused on sighting him.

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OTUN (looking at him disdainfully): Young man, identify yourself.
Where are you from? How can we help you?
GBOLAHAN (speaking muffledly through the mask): Good afternoon,
my name is…
OSI (cuts in): Young man, if you want us to listen to anything you have
to say to us, you have to remove that thing covering your face. (To
OTUN.) It’s not the season of masquerades. Is it?
OTUN: Of course not.
OSI: What then is this? Is this the new madness the white man brought
into the world, making masquerades of our young men?
OTUN: I’m amazed too. (To GHOLAHAN.) To have our audience, you
must remove that thing covering your face. You’re not here as the
mouthpiece of our ancestors. Are you?
GBOLAHAN (Shaking his head and reluctantly lifting the nose mask
from his mouth): My name is Gbolahan Peters. I am a Molecular
Biology and Genomics student at Redeemer’s University in Ede.
OSI: Ede Mopo Arogun. Are you Timi’s masquerade?
GBOLAHAN: No, sir. I am a student.
OTUN: How can we help you then? Our town is currently in mourning.
We do not have time to waste on someone disguising as a
masquerade. (GBOLAHAN stretches the envelope at OTUN.)
What is this? I cannot read.
GBOLAHAN: It is a letter of introduction, sir.
OTUN: Letter of introduction?
OTI: Do you want to marry one of our daughters?
GBOLAHAN: No, sir. Not that kind of introduction. I’m currently
working on my dissertation, and I’ve decided to use your village
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 for my fieldwork. So, I’ve come to introduce myself as a
researcher in your village and also seek the support of everyone
throughout my stay here.
OSI: This book people will not cease to amaze me. Why do they keep
coming to our village? They leave their big big buildings in their
cities and come to our little village to work. What do they always
look for that’s not in their cities?
OTUN: You speak my mind, Osi. What’s spectacular about our village
that keeps drawing them here? Anyway, young man, you’re
welcome.
GBOLAHAN: Thank you, sir.
OTUN: We are glad to have you here. It is our joy to see people from
other places come to our town. We hope that by the time you’re
leaving, we will have something tangible to point at as your own
contribution to our town.
OSI: Yes. We will give you all the support we can give. Welcome.
GBOLAHAN: Thank you, sir. And I won’t disappoint you, sir.

While he speaks, another chief, BALOGUN, enters. His cap is in his

hand, and his head is hung in sadness.

BALOGUN: It has happened again. Death, the man with the big club,
has done his thing again.
OTUN (standing with OSI): Where? Where has he struck this time?
BALOGUN (sitting. The two other chiefs are beside him): Oluwo’s
house. Oluwo has gained eldership over us through death.

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OSI: Ah! Not again. Not again. Only some days ago, our king was taken
from us through strange circumstances that even the gods cannot
explain. Now Oluwo. (Heaves a deep sigh.) If Oluwo can just die
like a cockroach smashed against the wall, what is the fate of the
rest of us?
OTUN (meditatively): This situation leaves one bewildered. How can
people who sang and danced with us some days ago die just like
that?
OSI: The death that kills one’s peers does nothing but speak in parable
to one.
OTUN (to BALOGUN): How did they say he died?
BALOGUN: They said he complained of cold for four days. And he did
not stop coughing in his last two days.
OTUN: Ahh! Just the same way the king died?
BALOGUN: Exactly the same thing I said too. Death speaks to us in
parables. Who might be the next?
OSI: Did Oluwo not have a taste of Fadare’s herbs?
BALOGUN: They said he did. But just as the king’s ailment proved
defiant to herbs, it did again in the case of Oluwo. I think the gods
are angry with us.
OSI: What could we have done to anger them?
GBOLAHAN (scaredly): What if you’ve not angered the gods? (The
chiefs turn in his direction.)
OTUN: What do you mean?
GBOLAHAN: What if the gods have no hand in the death of your king
and Oluwo?

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BALOGUN: So, who or what could be responsible for their death if not
the gods? This matter is beyond our human comprehension. Only
the gods could be responsible for it.
GBOLAHAN: As I see it, this is a communal infection. If I have your
permission, I could look into the matter with the help of my team.
OTUN (hisses): What does a child like you know about the death of a
king and his chiefs? The death of a king is never physical.
BALOGUN: Yes. This matter is the head of an elephant. It is no load for
a child like you.
GBOLAHAN: I believe my coming here is to help proffer solutions to
your challenge.
OSI: How do you want to do that? What solution do you want to proffer
that Fadare hasn’t proffered? He has been speaking with leaves and
concocting with them before your father put you in your mother.
OTUN: Osi, you don’t have to explain to him. Maybe he thinks this is
child’s play. Anyway, we will get back to you. We need to go and
do the needful rites on one of us who just departed. One of the
guards will lead you to Iyaloja’s house, where you will lodge
tonight. (Exits with the other chiefs.)

Light out.
(Me le gbe)

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 Movement Two
A simple sitting room setting. IYALOJA has just returned from the
market. As the scene opens, she places a basket of items on the floor,
removes her headgear as it’s molded on her head, and places it on the
table at the center.

IYALOJA (sitting): E ku ile. Se daada ni mo ba’le o?—trust I meet

everyone well. (No response.) Where is everyone?
GBOLAHAN (entering): E kaabo, ma—welcome, ma. (Prostrates.)
IYALOJA: Ah! Our friend from Ede. Good evening. How are you?
GBOLAHAN: I’m very fine, ma. How was the sale today?
IYALOJA: We bless Eledumare. It was better than yesterday. We pray
for more tomorrow. And how do you find our town? Hope it’s not
too low for your expectations.
GBOLAHAN: Not at all. It is very peaceful. And the people are so
welcoming. Where would I have laid my head tonight if not for
your hospitality? Thank you for receiving me with open arms.
With this amount of support from you, I know that my goal of
being here will be accomplished.
IYALOJA: Ko to pe. We are doing this for God and our children. By the
way, where are these children? I called them when I arrived, but
none of them answered me.
GBOLAHAN: They were here some minutes ago.
IYALOJA: Feyintola! Segilola.
SEGILOLA (entering with a loaf of bread in her hand): Iya wa,
welcome. (Kneels.) How was the market?
IYALOJA: It was sweet. Where is your sister?
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SEGILOLA: She’s in the backyard. I’m making her hair.
IYALOJA: Where is your mother?
SEGILOLA: She went to Fadare’s house to check up on Baami.
IYALOJA: Hmm. No problem. I will go and check up on him later too.
What is this in your hand?
SEGILOLA: It is a gift that our guest brought from the city. (Handing
over the bread to her.)
IYALOJA: Ah. E se—thank you. (Collects the bread and notices the
devoured parts.) You couldn’t even wait for me before you start
eating it.
SEGILOLA: None of us ate it. The rats in the house ate it. You know the
rats in this house have become so big and stubborn. They put their
mouths on anything they see now.
IYALOJA: That is not a problem. (Cutting off the devoured part of the
bread.) We are used to it already. You can go and meet your sister.
GBOLAHAN: What are you trying to do, ma?
IYALOJA: What does it look like I’m doing?
GBOLAHAN: Do you still want to eat the bread?
IYALOJA: And why should I not? Did you not buy it so that we may eat
it?
GBOLAHAN: Of course, I bought it so you may eat it. But now that rats
have eaten it, it’s no longer healthy for consumption.
IYALOJA (burst into a reel of laughter): No longer healthy bawo?
Because of the small portion eaten by rats, do you want me to
throw away this succulent bread? (Eats a mouthful.) Hmm. City
bread. It’s also so tasteful. And you want me to throw it away.

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GBOLAHAN: It is not safe to eat food items already eaten by rats, ma.
Have you heard about Lassa fever?
IYALOJA: Sasa kini?
GBOLAHAN: No. Lassa fever. It is a kind of virus obtained from the
urine, saliva, and faeces of rats that have been infected with the
virus. It becomes deadly to any man who contracts it.
IYALOJA (laughs hysterically while also mouthing the bread): Deadly
my foot. You these book people will not stop amazing me. Since I
was young, I have lived with rats and other rodents in the house. It
is normal that they eat from us. They even poo and urinate in our
foodstuff. Look at me today. Do I look sick or on the verge of
dying to you? (Eats another handful of the bread.)
GBOLAHAN: Ma, the world has changed. Things are no longer the way
they used to be. Lassa fever is very real, and it has killed many
people. As harmless as rats look in the house, they are deadly. We
must do something about the ones in this house.
IYALOJA: You don’t have to make a mole out of a mountain, my son.
This matter is just a plantain stem, which does not require a
cutlass. Let me tell you something. (Whispers) My husband’s first
wife is the one disguising as a rat in this house.
GBOLAHAN: I thought she’s with your sick husband.
IYALOJA: You are still a young boy, aren’t you? I understand her plan.
She’s trying to use her witchcraft against me and my sons. Since
our husband married her, she has never conceived any male child.
All her six children are girls. In my own case, all my four children
are boys. It is because she knows that she will leave no heir for our
husband that she wants to kill me and my sons. (Sings a song of
abuse.)
GBOLAHAN: What if that is not the case, ma? What if you are wrong?
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IYALOJA: What do you know about me and my family? (Eats another
cut of the bread.) See, aside from the fact that I have sons and she
doesn’t, my own children are better than hers. My first child works
in a big company in Lagos. My second and third sons are at the
university, while my last child is in a boarding school in Ikire. He’s
going to become a medical doctor. That is why my senior wife is
trying to kill us with her witchcraft. (Stretching the bread at
GBOLAHAN.) Do you care for some?
GBOLAHAN: No.
IYALOJA: More for me then.
GBOLAHAN: What about your husband? You mentioned that he’s with
Fadare. What’s the nature of his illness?
IYALOJA: My husband. He’s only reaping the fruit of his labour.
GBOLAHAN: How?
IYALOJA: It is his first wife that’s dealing with him. If he had not
married her, she wouldn’t be punishing him as she is today.
GBOLAHAN: But why will she punish him? Did he offend her?
IYALOJA: Were you not listening to me? Is it not obvious that she’s
punishing him for bringing me as a competition to her? She’s
jealous of me.
GBOLAHAN: She might not know anything about your husband’s
condition.
IYALOJA: That is a lie. She’s punishing him for marrying a woman
prettier than her. (Sings another song of abuse.) During my days as
a young woman, I was the goal of every young man in this village.
They all wanted me to themselves because of my beauty. I finally
decided to marry Adeoti because he’s from a good family. Not
because of his cocoa farm, as many think.
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GBOLAHAN: When did your husband’s illness begin? And what
symptoms did he begin to show when his illness started?
IYALOJA: Well, it started after he ate the bread that my senior wife
bought for him when she went to Lagos.
GBOLAHAN: Did rats also eat the bread like this one?
IYALOJA: Yes, they did. But does that matter? It’s not the first time any
of us is eating such bread. In case you’re thinking it Sasa fever,
you’re wrong.
GBOLAHAN: And the symptoms?
IYALOJA: He complained of chest and muscle pain. He stopped going
to the farm. He also complained of headaches. I finally took him to
Fadare when we could no longer treat him alone.
GBOLAHAN: But why didn’t you take him to the hospital instead?
IYALOJA: I told you that my senior wife is the one doing him. Do you
then think book knowledge is what will cure him? Fadare is also a
husband of witches. Only he could save my husband from the
enchantment of my senior wife.
GBOLAHAN: And has your husband’s condition improved since he got
to him?
IYALOJA: Hmm. I won’t lie to you; for the past two weeks that he’s
been there, there’s been no improvement. In fact, it’s just as if his
condition keeps getting worse. I don’t know what to do.
GBOLAHAN: Does Fadare even have a name for your husband’s
condition?
IYALOJA: No. He doesn’t. He only said that the gods are angry with
our village. The same illness that killed our king killed Oluwo.
Now, my husband battles for his own life too. The world is against
us.
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GBOLAHAN: That means your senior wife is innocent. Isn’t it?
IYALOJA: I didn’t say that. She is a witch. She wants my husband to
die. (Kukute o Mira jigi)
GBOLAHAN: Is Fadare’s house not far from here? I would like to see
your husband and see if I could know precisely what might be
wrong with him.
IYALOJA (standing): No problem. I’m just about to go and see him.
(Takes a bite from the bread and hides the rest somewhere. As the
two of them stand to leave, IYALODE’s last born, ADEROPO,
staggers in.) Aderopo, what’s wrong with you?
ADEROPO: Maami. Maami. (IYALODE and GBOLAHAN quickly go
to rescue him from collapsing.)
GBOLAHAN: Aderopo, what’s wrong with you? How do you feel?
ADEROPO: My head feels light. All of my joints hurt. My head… my
head. It aches. (Collapses in GBOLAHAN’s hands.)
GBOLAHAN: Aderopo. Aderopo.
IYALODE (agitatedly): Aderopo. Please, don’t do this. Gbolahan, help
me look at him. What’s wrong with him?

Lights out.
(Olugbo gbe)

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 Movement Three
The same setting as movement two. We see a hale and hearty ADEOTI.
IYALOJA, AYA AGBA, and GBOLAHAN are also in sight.

ADEOTI: Who could have known I would ever use my two feet to walk
into this house again? After all I went through at Fadare’s house, I
thought I would join my forefathers.
IYALOJA: We thank Eledumare for restoring your health.
ADEOTI: At a point, I was beginning to see my father waving at me to
come over to him. His eyes look red as though they were going to
spit fire.
AYA AGBA: Hmm. We thank the gods for being merciful.
ADEOTI: My wives, there’s a very thin line between life and death. I
was already on the other side of life. Only God brought me back.
IYALOJA: I thank my head for not making me a widow, as some people
planned.
AYA AGBA: I thank my father and mother in heaven for not making the
world give me a name that’s not mine.
ADEOTI: And I also thank this young man, Gbolahan, and his people
from Ede and Lagos for their role in getting me and others back on
our feet. If I had remained in Fadare’s house, I would have died
like our late king and Oluwo. Thank you for bailing us from the
claws of death.
GBOLAHAN: It is a pleasure to see you in full health.
ADEOTI: You also saved my son from dying. What would we have
been saying today if not for your knowledge and the willingness of
your people to help us? Thank you.

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GBOLAHAN: We are happy for you and your family. We also
congratulate the whole town for the victory over the illness that
was taking the men and women of this town one after the other.
ADEOTI: We thought it was the gods that were angry at us.
GBOLAHAN: No. The gods have no hand in this at all. This is nobody’s
fault as well. So, no accusing fingers should be pointed at anyone.
Also, it is important to rid the house of rats and other rodents. It is
through them that you contracted the virus that almost cost you
your life.
ADEOTI: We didn’t know. If I had known, I wouldn’t have sacrificed
the two rams I loved so much to the gods.
AYA AGBA: After all these years, who could have thought that Fadare
would encounter something bigger than him?
ADEOTI: Maybe the gods got tired of speaking to him.
IYALOJA: All the same, we are glad that you’re whole now. (As she
speaks, ADEROPO walks in. He goes to greet his father and then
his mother.)
GBOLAHAN: Aderopo, how do you feel now?
ADEROPO: I’m very fine now.
GBOLAHAN: Your head doesn’t feel light anymore?
ADEROPO: No, sir.
GBOLAHAN: Good. (ADEROPO walks away.)
ADEOTI: To think that Aderopo was very ill some days ago. Now, he is
as strong as a palm wine tapper’s climbing robe. If only I had the
power, I would ensure that everybody in this town knows the
danger they expose ourselves to by living with rats and rodents.
Everybody needs to know. The gods are not responsible for every

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 calamity that befalls us. We also bring some upon ourselves. We
must all know. (Just in, celebrative music begins to play from off-
stage. Soon, drummers, singers, and dancers manifest. OTUN,
OSI, and BALOGUN lead the crowd.)
CROWD: Ara e wa wo’ran
Ee
Ara e wa wo’ran
Ee
E wa w’oba t’aye wo
Ee
E lo sinmi ariwo
Awa ti l’oba kan to m’oye
Oun lo tun ile aye wa se o
ADEOTI: Otun, Osi, Balogun, what is going on?
OTUN: It’s a good question you asked. But we won’t waste your time at
all. It’s a good thing that is going on? (To others with him.) Isn’t it?
CROWD: Beeni.
OTUN: It is because of you that we got a remedy to the strange disease
that killed our king and Oluwo. If a man can wrestle with death
and come out victorious, such a man shouldn’t be treated casually.
He is a true choice of the gods.
ADEOTI: You still leave me in the dark. I don’t understand all that you
are saying.
OTUN: Because of your victory over death, the gods have chosen you to
be their representative in our village. They have chosen you to be
our new king. (Prostrating with others.) Kabiesi o.
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ADEOTI (confused): Hope you are not mistaken about which Adeoti the
gods have chosen.
OSI: Kabiesi, we are not. You are the choice of the gods.

A member of the crowd raises a song. Everyone dances for some time.
(Ara e wa woran e)
(Oni lodun awa o)
Lights out.

THE END.

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Glossary
Iba: Fever
Egboogi: Herbs
Osanyin: The god of leaves, herbs, and nature, who’s also known for
healing.
Oriki: Praise poem

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