Simba and the Hyenas – A Short Story
By Fadi Dabbousi
It is a tense moment as a tempest brews under the silhouette of a rising sun that struggles to absorb the dew drops, enduring a love story on the soft grass of the Savanna. Birds chirp cautiously, while the critters busy around, scouring the battlefield for fauna or flora. Wild boars, beasts of prey, and others dance in the choreography of a daily routine as if perfected instinctively by nature; a wonderful world of creation. ALLAHU AKBAR!
As the survival of the fittest gains momentum, the rulers of the kingdom appear gradually with their undertones of growls, snaps, and purrs! Then the ground begins to rumble! The lion coughs, and all the subordinates scatter: some vanish into holes; some under tall elephant grass; some jump onto trees as if they were fitted with springs! Simba goes to frolic under a baobab tree, making plans for the day. After all, the lawless underworld of the Savanna is treacherous, rowdy, chaotic, and summarily aggressive.
Then a clan of hyenas appears in the distance. Their distinctive cackle seems to tease Simba as they begin a dance of intimidation. But are they tempting the lion? It is more like a confused wiggle of fear than a challenge! They let out a strange laugh, one that told their failures. Hyenas usually feed on the remains of carcasses left there by other animals. This time, they are watching Simba’s every move. A wildebeest trots behind the tree, unaware of the danger that is lurking in the shade just a few meters away. The hyenas begin to drool. Oh yummy, they muse, as they dream of stealing it from the lion that is about to take it down.
And the scuffle begins! Simba charges and brings the wildebeest down with one Karate kick. Its jaws lock onto the soft vocals of its prey. Now, the hyenas begin to close in, thinking that Simba will let go easily. They snap, cackle, and scream as they attempt to ruffle the surroundings; but the lion is unperturbed. The wildebeest succumbs! Simba’s pride is nowhere to be found. “Lone ranger,” the hyenas thought, “Ah at last, what a perfect opportunity!”
They surround Simba and attempt to bite at its legs with short bursts of aggression; fast and furious! Unfortunately for them, Simba is no ordinary lion! He is the ruler of the Savanna. His pride and the teeming supporters of his political dominance begin to come around. “Let the King begin, we shall follow,” they whispered to each other in their various dialects. Simba was a unifier, but each one knew their role and position! He was focused on the prize at hand, and how it may bring benefit to the whole savanna.
The lionesses sprang into action chasing the dirty devils away. The others followed! Scuttled, the insidious plans of the hyenas that run as fast as their legs could go, were not workable. Outdone by the pride, each hyena found itself in the grips of a lion’s jaws……then they went limp!
The throne that the pack of invidious characters wanted to shatter remained. Simba, finally, got the nod, to once again, reign the Savanna; and all the land!
***
I thought that Bryan Acheampong was a suitable challenge in NPP’s upcoming Flagbearership contest. I thought that his was a super brand in the making. I thought that Kennedy was also a power to reckon with, but never for a minute did I think that Bawumia would be blamed for a series of skirmishes between the Mamprusis and the Kusasis, that have spanned for seventy years, way before he was born, which claim they use as a reason for losing so many parliamentary seats.
The truth of the matter is that my NPP people made countless unforgivable mistakes; so much so that we almost lost the 2020 elections had it not been for the good will that Ghanaians had maintained for Nana Akufo-Addo. To be honest, we had too many bloody fools and leeches in government. The mistake was that people were allowed to influence appointments for which money was paid. For example, those in charge of recommending MCEs and DCEs were enjoying the fruit of their labour! Believe it or not! I will call you stupid if you don’t because we had many appointees from obimanso take up positions in a government whose victory they hardly worked for! I won’t mention names now, but wait for my new book, “Many Years of Fears, Toil and Tears”! They will feature in capital letters. And the appointment influencers? They remained buried in the ripples of embarrassment!
Their greed, indecency, and unshakable commitment to stuff their pockets, bellies, and bank accounts ruined NPP’s 2024 bid. They had another insatiable thirst, one that spelled doom for us, “sex for jobs”! Did anyone hear that a Northerner or a Muslim did that? Why is it that whenever an idiot wants to make a case for their candidacy, they abuse Muslims and Islam? Using and abusing Muslims is the red line, a reason why my Zango folks did not vote as expected.
We over did tribalism, religious bigotry, and all sorts of discriminatory traits. We found ourselves in the unenviable position of fighting to recover in good time for the 2024 elections! Alas, the shadows of NPP’s sins chased the elephant everywhere it went. The defeat wasn’t only heavy, but crippling! There were other factors that contributed to our loss in 2024. The 7th of December fell on a Saturday. Automatically, that translated into the abstinence of all Sabbath worshippers! The other more profound reason that dawned upon me in the latter days of our campaign was that many were busying themselves and their surrogates crisscrossing our strongholds paying and convincing voters not to vote for a Muslim Northerner. Shame on them all! Shame!!!
So when Bryan Acheampong said that Dr Bawumia was a victim of circumstances, he was right! But has he or anyone asked who created the circumstances of foolhardiness? Has anyone asked how the circumstances came into being? No, because they know that their answers are self-indicting. Almost every constituency in Ghana, even in our strongholds, experienced a drop in votes. How about the Ashanti seats that we lost to the NDC, were they due to a Mamprusi/Kusasi problem? I heard an idiot say that in his constituency, the Kusasis told him that they would vote skirt and blouse. Another dunce claimed that Dr Bawumia’s wife was from a minority group; I mean, really, and so what!!! Listen, you people ought to bury your heads in a jute sack. You are basing your campaigns on bigotry rather than issues. It is the discrimination that I personally suffered that has prompted me to write my upcoming book. I hate racism, discrimination and bigotry of any kind, and due to that, I cannot belong in camps that promote divisiveness and fuel racial rhetoric. I am sorry folks, but one more statement against Islam, Muslims, or Northerners and I will tell each blasphemer their custom-tailored love story!! I am shockingly disappointed!
The nerve!!!