The second son

Chapter one

Pace Setters Academy sat in the heart of Kafara, the capital of East Hendosia. The splendid landscaping, beautiful buildings, state-of-the-art technology at the disposal of the students, world class teachers and most of all, the multiple awards won by both the school and students made the school to be regarded as the best in East Hendosia and arguably the best in Africa.

      A gliding drone picked up on Ms. Maopa, a history teacher as she headed to class. At six foot three, she would already have stood out in a crowd but with her hour glass figure, well proportioned face and full afro hair which made her the school's number one choice for advertisements, she would have been a legend had she decided to pursue a career in modeling. Rumour even had it that she had to give up a fulfilling career to take up the job as history teacher. She never talked about herself however and met people's curiosity with a polite but dismissive smile and so no one ever got further than mere speculation.

     "Good afternoon Class", she said as she got to her class for the day, Higher level one B. "May the bright future we see ahead of us not dim as we get closer".

      "And may our strength not wane as we go faster." the class replied in a monotone.

       Ms. Maopa sighed inwardly. The beginning of an academic year was always like that- new students eager to get their hands on machinery and start some inventions, Wondering why they were being forced to sit and listen to talk about things that took place even before they were born. It would get better. She knew. It was just that it was always difficult at first. "Please record today, 1st of June, 2022. Ms. Maopa teaching higher level 1 B", she said for the benefit of the recording system that was latter used for revisions and even in some cases teaching inspections. Turning her full attention to the class, she continued. "Today, I'll be taking us back to the beginning, to how it all started. 

      "The history of Hendosia", she made a gesture. "Both East and West, can be traced to the kingdoms of Majuba, Mmiri and Jubirii. Which existed as far back as the 14th century. With an on going cold war between the kingdoms of Mmiri and Jubirii, the kingdom of Majuba known for it's great military might, having signed defense pacts with both Mmiri and Jubirii, played the role of peace keeper and mediator, diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Majuba were sealed with marriages, the Kings of Mmiri and Jubirii were expected to give their first daughters out in marriage to any of the sons of the King of Majuba regardless of if he had already been married. In return for the protection given to the other two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Majuba which had very infertile soil and was being threatened by a massive famine collected taxes in form of farm produce from both Mmiri and Jubirii.

      "In the late nineteenth century and with the colonization of Majuba, Mmiri and Jubirii by Britain, they were all amalgamation to form one colony : Hendosia.

       "After Hendosia gained independence in 1982. The Majubans campaigned for the drafting of a constitution which allowed for the equitable distribution of resources including farm produce, irrespective of derivation. The Mmiri people saw this quasi socialism as a way to continue the dominance of Majuba like the old times and threatened to secede which was met with zero tolerance by the federal government. The farmers from both Mmiri and Jubirii revolted and did not farm for a whole season which led to the famous national famine of 2005". She paused and let her eyes roam over the classroom , occasionally holding eye contact. It seemed the students were enraptured.

      " In 2012 there was a major out break of Ebola in the Eastern part of Hendosia and the Federal government, fearing an outbreak across the country, sealed the entire east. The Easterners were not allowed to leave and  no one was allowed to enter and the Federal government did nothing to curb the virus neither did the government offer medical aid. This outrageous behaviour of the federal government was seriously frowned upon by the countries of the world and when the Easterners asked again for secession, it was granted them. The virus was eradicated with the help of Amnesty international, the red cross and WHO, all without any form of assistance from the federal government.

      "So here we are, East Hendosia at ten, we are still alive and thriving. Any questions?"

A girl raised her hand and Ms. Maopa was glad, she did get to them after all. " Why does the East Hendosia constitution not define the process of change of government? Even though it is monarchial, is the crown to have a life term and if so, how would East Hendosia select a government afterwards?"

      Miss. Maopa smiled at one of her favourite students. She had said nothing about the East Hendosian constitution earlier, it wasn't only her student that needed that answer, the whole of East Hendosia wondered. Lafta was very small for her thirteen years. Small boned with narrow shoulders, she was currently looking at Ms Maopa with intensity as if daring her to ignore the question.  Ms. Maopa realized the whole class was waiting for her answer   "The Easterners hardly had enough time to decide. With the fear of a pandemic and desertion by the federal government, they had to act fast. A gathering known as the Enlightened Lovers of the East held, the East was declared East Hendosia and Mr. Iloruku Mashi asked to be the king."

   Another hand shot up "Ms. Maopa, if you say Hendosia granted the East secession, why are they warring with us now." This time, the question came from Benakali, a short boy in the front.

   "According to the life broadcast that was made by the president of West Hendosia, President Faustus Akemmi,  'the federal government apologizes for her gross neglect of the East during crisis but that was no reason for such extremist actions. The East would always remain part of the Federal Republic of Hendosia'."  She gave a conspiratorial sigh. "Apparently, they attribute the relative prosperity and technical advancement of East Hendosia to the monopoly of the mineral resources on our land and they want a part in it. Because of West Hendosia's dynamic foreign policy and given that East Hendosia does not belong to any international organization, the countries of the world have decided to turn a blind eye to this injustice."

    A girl at the front raised her hand. "Ms. Maopa, I have a question."

    " Yes, go ahead." Maopa encouraged.

    " It's not like what the other students have been asking." she looked around the class. " What I want to know is -"

    " Winifred just ask your question already !"  Another boy from behind shouted.

    " Kostas !"  Ms. Maopa scolded him, then to Winifred, she said go on.

    " You said the Kings of Mmiri and Jubirii would give their first daughters out in marriage to a prince of Majuba? "

   " Yes I did"

   " Well what if the princess was real old like maybe twenty and the prince, the oldest Prince of Majuba is only like five."

   Ms. Maopa laughed " Then the Princess would be required to wait until the prince came of age before they would be married."

   " Well that doesn't seem fair." 

   " The olden days was never really fair." Ms. Maopa answered and the girl sat down with a frown on her face.

   Another hand came up and Ms. Maopa smiled, so they did enjoy the teaching after all. This time, the hand belonged to Chuk, her class rep.

   "Miss Maopa, if East Hendosia doesn't have a clearly defined way of choosing a new head of state, what happens if the Ochia Iloruku well you know....... unexpectedly goes to meet the ancestors."