09/07/2025
Title: The Drum That Refused to Echo Lies
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In the village of Owerre, drums spoke louder than words. Every event—birth, death, war, marriage—was announced through a beat. And the greatest of these drums was called Uduka. Tall, carved from iroko wood, its voice could reach the ears of distant forests and sleeping hills.
No one knew exactly how old it was. But elders said it once refused to sound during a war started on a lie. Since then, Uduka had only responded to the truth.
The drum had a keeper, a boy named Tobe, just thirteen, but with eyes that saw things others missed. His father had died years back, leaving the sacred duty of Uduka to him.
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One harmattan morning, the air full of red dust and cold silence, something strange happened.
Chief Oba, the ruler of Owerre, called a gathering. He said some villagers had plotted to poison his food. He named three people: Mama Ezechi, a widow who sold herbs, Ogbuefi Nnamdi, a farmer, and D**e, a young hunter.
They all denied it.
The chief, red-faced and trembling with anger, ordered Tobe to sound Uduka and announce their shame.
But when Tobe struck the drum, it stayed silent.
He hit again.
Nothing.
The crowd murmured.
The chief growled.
Tobe stood in fear, sweat dripping down his spine. He whispered to the drum. Begged it to speak.
Still, it was quiet.
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That night, Tobe wept. He was afraid the chief would punish him. But in his dreams, a voice came—low and steady like rain on a thatched roof.
“Do not beat a lie into the wind. What is not true cannot echo.”
The next day, Chief Oba sent guards to seize the accused.
But as they dragged them to the village square, a child came running.
She had overheard the palace cook confess.
The real poisoner was the chief’s own nephew, hoping to take his seat.
The lie unraveled like dry raffia.
The people were stunned.
And when Tobe was asked to strike the drum again, he tapped it gently.
Boom.
Uduka answered.
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From that day, Uduka became more than a drum. It was the soul of Owerre.
Whenever someone lied in the village, Tobe would touch the drum. If it stayed quiet, the village knew to look deeper.
They called it the Drum of Conscience.
And they called Tobe the Boy Who Guarded the Truth.
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Moral Lessons:
1. Truth has a sound and lies cannot echo it.
2. Silence can be a powerful way of protecting the innocent.
3. Even a child can guard a community with courage and honesty.
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