The Fox and the Cock In Contemporary Nigeria, By Babafemi A. Badejo
Actually, the foxy southern Nigeria has more unrealised power.
The cock has inadvertently shown the fox it lacks the power the fox attributed to it. Unlike the case in my childhood story, the south needs not do the extreme, but only use this realisation to fortify and strengthen its comparative advantages. This being the case, the erstwhile conception of powerlessness should lead to more protection for farmers all over Nigeria.
The space between the two buildings within a compound in which I grew up as a child in Ijebu-Ode was our play area. It was for football and running around during the day, and a knowledge sharing spot in the evening. It was where we learnt critical thinking through Yoruba stories and proverbs. Without knowing it, as children, we were learning Yoruba philosophy and worldview in a play mode. Out of interest, an older man would share different stories. His stories were more exciting because we participated in them, as he got us to sing in accompaniment to the narratives. At the end of each story, he would ask all of us children what lessons we had learnt from the tales. I learnt about the fox and the cock during one of those knowledge sessions.