AKUEBUBE, THE SNUFF THIEF

AKUEBUBE, THE SNUFF THIEF

AKUEBUBE, THE SNUFF THIEF

There once lived a famous hunter whose name was Akuebube. He was successful in his trade and made a mark for himself. One day, while hunting in the wild, he had an accident that cost him both eyes. This mishap incapacitated the great hunter and placed him under the care of his younger brother who loved him so dearly. His younger brother did everything to ensure that Akuegbobe lacked nothing.

But like the Igbo saying goes: Ana ekwu na uririo oria ezuro ora, onye dalu ibi ana eto afo
(When the people complain that common diseases have not reached everybody, the man with the elephantiasis of the scrotum will be adding the protrusion of the stomach to his already complex disease). Bad luck, once again, located Akuegbobe. His younger brother died and left behind the blind and a widow named Mgborie.

Mgborie, who was a petty trader that dealt on snuff, could hardly feed herself, and the condition became so harsh for Akuebube. When he couldn’t bear it any longer, he found a way to adapt. Chicken started missing in the community, and things started disappearing.

It got to a point, his sister-in-law’s snuff was added to the items that mysteriously disappeared. The widow accused her blind brother-in-law who denied the allegation, and finally, she reported the case to the elders.

Akuebube was summoned and asked to defend himself. The blind looked up and broke down in tears. He raised his voice and sang:

Akuebube, Akuebube
O bu gini Ka m mere uwa ji akpuru m n’onu
O bu m bu mbu na enweghi ikwu?
O bu m bu mbu na enweghi ibe?
Anya m di ole na ole
Ogbenye di mbu adi
(Akuebube, Akuebube
What have I done that the world won’t stop talking about me,
Am I the first without a family?
Am I the first without a friend?
My sight is feeble,
But, from time immemorial, the poor exist)

The council could not do much, they all left feeling sorry for the blind. Mgborie thought things would get better, but she was wrong. It continued.

One day, Mgborie decided to see an end to that; so, she went to the market, bought dry pepper, ground the pepper, placed it where she normally placed her snuff.

At mid-day, Akuebube came around. He screamed Mgborie’s name and got no response. When he was certain the widow was away, he went to his usual place and took the snuff. He went to a safe place and unwrapped the snuff. As he generously scooped the snuff into his nose, like a strike from a Monday-hammer, the pepper hit his brain. Instantly, he lost balance and started screaming:
‘Mgborie has killed me, Mgborie has killed me.’

People that heard his wails ran to where he was and required from him the details. But he couldn’t say anything. He kept screaming: ‘Mgborie has killed me.’

The villagers summoned Mgborie, but all the widow could say was: ‘Only Akuebube can tell you what I did to him. I know absolutely nothing.’

Moral of the story:
Your condition is not an excuse to perpetrate evil.
Story by Gentleman Mike Ejeagha (the Greatest Folklorist of All Times)
Translated by  Royal kiss