Greed is harmful

  

In the play "Parliament of Owls," characters like Money Bags misuse their power to enforce unfair laws, manipulate situations for personal gain, and suppress dissent using violence. These selfish actions contribute to inequality and cause suffering among the birds while making the reign of Royal Owl smooth and eternal.

Money Bags is drunk with power.He tells Oyundi that he cannot be threatened since he is powerful and the instruments of power lie in his hands.He comes up with the Moonlight bill which is unfair to the birds but favours the owls.  Influenced by leaders like Money Bags and Royal Owl, the Parliament of Owls enacts laws that primarily benefit owls while adversely affecting other bird species .Tel Tel is tasked with deceiving birds into supporting the Moonlight Law by fabricating imminent threats to the kingdom's safety .When Tel Tel refuses,he is replaced with Arumi Tidi.The Moonlight Law specifically bans activities like moonlight twittering and night-time movements for non-owls after 6 p.m., mandating all birds to sleep by sunset.This bill will undermine the rights of birds that twitter in the moonlight and omnivores that hunt in the night. Notably, owls exempt themselves from these restrictions, illustrating their privileged status above the laws they enforce. Additionally, the law introduces unfair taxes during a period of impending hunger among birds, justified as necessary for kingdom protection.Iron Lady exposes the law as a scheme by Money Bags to loot funds from the coffers of birds and channel them to private investments in unknown trees in deep forests,labeling it as theft and robbery sanctioned by parliament. Because of her stand she is send out of parliament and denied the opportunity to vote. Feathered beak is also kicked out of parliament for criticizing the way the speaker was conducting the debate on the bill. According to Straight-Eyed the bill is away of getting funds to gag rebel owls and other birds and bury the truth to never see the light of day.  Following the law's enactment, Money Bags seeks further control over the bird kingdom once his request for the tender to provide tender care to the birds is approved by Royal Owl.He even has ambitions of taking over the top seat. He feels that all birds should praise the owls and worship Royal Owl and by default ,they will be worshipping him now that he is the second most decorated owl in the entire history.The Unity pact Celebration was going to be his coronation as the new king.

Red String tells Osongo that power will always remain in the hands of night birds or omnivores and nothing will change that. The Owls will always rule the kingdom because they have the largest eyes.Day birds and grain-eaters will never have a chance to run the kingdom.The owls believe that if they stay in power they will prevent the kingdom from being annihilated by rogue animals from lion kingdom,snake, Mongoose and Hyena. Omnivores and night birds kill and murder grain- eaters and day birds in the name of protecting the kingdom and Parliament of Owls does nothing about it.All they do is pass bad laws that favour laws in a bid to contain the day birds and grain- eaters.The Moonlight Law for instance is supposed to deal with  Osongo and Oyundi.They also use the python to punish their perceived enemies. 

Because of the owls greed for power,there were internal political wars among the big omnivores:the vultures, the crows,the hornbills,the owls ,among others.Dissent was building against the owls; the vultures and the crows argued that they were not benefitting as the big omnivores, from the rule of the owls.They held secret prostest.Royal Trees had to counter it.The rebel owls attempted to pass a vote of no confidence in Mr. Speaker in vain.To get back at the crows and the vultures Money Bag made the ordinary owls believe that vultures and crows are against them.This allowed him to conviniently contract Olik Tiga to provide security- an animal with teeth -to offer security to parliament. He also short-changed the vultures during the awarding of the security tender and grabbed the sacred tree from the crows and converted it into their secret surveillance tower,controlled by One-Eyed and Money Bags' son. During the struggle for freedom, the vultures side with the birds to overthrow the owls.Since the Royal Owl betrayed them,any bird that is an enemy of Royal Owl is their friend.

The Bird Protection Law was implemented purportedly to ensure the safety of birds. However, Money Bags, a powerful figure in the kingdom, exploited this law for his own gain and control. He orchestrated raids on bird nests using snakes to steal eggs, creating fear among the birds and justifying the need for stricter enforcement of the law.When Oyundi sought help from Ochunglo, an ant, to counter these raids with an army of ants, Money Bags was displeased with the interference.Oyundi's failure to seek clearance from Police Owl subsequently led to her being declared an enemy of the parliament of Owls .Despite the Bird Protection Law being in place, birds continued to face threats. Owls maintained secret alliances with adversaries, inviting them to night feasts at Royal Trees where they preyed on fellow birds .  Money Bag had some secret pact with the Mongoose.They even employed a python to punish dissenters within the kingdom . This environment of fear meant birds could no longer twitter quietly in the moonlight to their young without constant vigilance, lest attackers strike and steal their eggs. Furthermore, the law granted the Royal Trees the authority to search and loot nests without warrants, with Olik Tiga conducting inspections, consolidating control over birds.Money Bags exploited his influence by manipulating security tenders, clandestinely awarding them to Olik Tiga, who possessed the ability to read minds .This manipulation extended to political maneuvers such as proposing citizenship for Olik Tiga to secure further control since he could read the kings mind giving him power and control over the kingdom.To amass power he has seized the minds of ordinary owls and made them believe that the vultures and crows and other birds are against them.That their security lies in protecting the parliament of owls.

The owls have an insatiable appetite for food. They are always fighting every night over food.The Fried Frogs for Owls Law is aimed at providing for the needs of owls, allowing them to have additional food items such as fried rats, baked mice, honey, and mayonnaise each night . Feathered Beak and fellow rebels supported this law because they believed it would benefit them too. Feathered Beak argues that the passing of this law was justified as it would compensate them adequately. Iron Lady, however, comparess the bill to a ceasefire. The bill increases the owls' compensation from one fried rat a day to three fried rats, frog soup, and baked mice with honey and mayonnaise . Despite this, owls still consume a lizard at least every last hour of the night, while other birds struggle to find water and have to fly long distances to find it. The owls maintained secret alliances with their neighbours, inviting them to night feasts at Royal Trees where they preyed on fellow birds . The owls live in luxury while other birds suffer from scarcity and hunger .

Royal Owl believes  the gods chose the owls to rule because they are intelligent.To stay in power he has to use conspiracy theory and propaganda.He makes ordinary owls believe they are sorrounded by enemies from outside the kingdom and thus the need to form alliances for his own benefit. He tells the birds that the kingdom is safe because of the owls and their neighbours are not a source of threat to their survival.These are the same neighbours they invite to night feasts at Royal Trees where they feed on the flesh of fellow birds. In fact he has tasked Money Bags with the responsibility of seeking viable alliances with Lion Kingdom and sign partnership deals with the reptiles . He has been able to rule the by making birds believe that there is enmity among night birds, day birds, grain -eaters and omnivores when all of them are just birds. He has created two tribes of birds-owls and the other birds and the other tribes are the  supposed enemy.He thinks the owls will continue ruling as long as the ordinary owls and the birds believe their propaganda(p.56,57).

Royal Owl ordered the killing of his loyal disciple Money Bags for selfish interests;he wanted the golden bead back.The Golden Beads gives the king wisdom and power to govern all the birds.Without it the, parliament of owls crumbles and the king loses his power to lead.He tell Oyundi that he sacrificed Money Bags for the sake of justice before pouncing on Oyundi and getting hold of the bead and hoots many times.Before he learns that the bead is powerless especially now that Oyundi dipped it in the river at the spot where Arum Tidi was murdered , he admires it and declares that he shall rule until he dies for the sake of peace and prosperity of the kingdom.Once he discovers how powerless he has become he groans ,as the Golden Bead fall from his hands.He is even more frustrated when he learns that he has been rendered powerless and no bird can listen to him.The police owl cannot effect his order to arrest Oyundi and send her to python for braking the privacy Laws. He has been using python to punish dissenters but not anymore since python is dead after eating poisoned carcasses of bats.

Money Bags and Red String silence anyone who disagrees with them to make sure they stay in power. They stop debates about unfair laws like the Moonlight Law, ensuring their own interests are protected.The two make sure Iron Lady and Feathered beak do not get a chance to vote on the Moonlight Bill.He further orders Black String to deal with them because they carry the owl's secrets and share them with ordinary birds.They also want to open the parliament to every bird yet according to Money Bag parliament is a revered house of owls,only for the chosen few.The killings of birds like weavers and Arum Tindi was meant to intimidate others into submission.There are also plans to kill Straight -Eyed and Oyundi because of the stand they have taken to ensure there is good governance in the kingdom.Veteran P has been arrested several times for what was termed irresponsible reporting .In Royal Owl's kingdom,speaking the truth that implicates the owls leads to imprisonment.

In summary, characters like Money Bags and Royal Owl create laws that favor themselves, manipulate situations for personal gain, suppress opposition, and use violence to control the population. Their greed leads to inequality, fear, and hardship among the birds, showing how selfish characters can harm an entire community.