For every safari video I’ve watched on NatGeo Wild, I am reminded that the lion is the king of the jungle. Multiple Lion King remakes later, I am sure that in 10 generations to come, our children’s children will never know another truth, other than the lion is king.
Sometimes, I wonder how the coronation must have been. I wonder if all the animals in the jungles near and far, of great diversity and uniqueness, converged at the village square before the continents split up and came to the consensus that this ferocious cat would be crowned paramount ruler over them all. Because my father taught me that the lion was king, just as his father taught him and his father’s father did.
The lion is neither the largest nor the strongest. It is not the fastest, nor is it the most intelligent. The lion doesn’t even live in the jungle for crying out loud. So, who on earth made the cat the king?
The lion and lioness have some amazing qualities and skills under their belts. They hunt all animals, big and small and have incredible survival instincts. Their demeanour is that of a storm waiting to happen, with a roar that can make your heart stop beating. These social cats govern their territory with their pride against rival lions.
A lion can kill its prey with one bite, it is that powerful with vision so good it can see even the littlest prey at night. A lion can leap almost 36 feet. The lion’s walk across the savannah is almost noiseless; so cunning, so unsuspecting, I love it. The tiger exudes similar strengths and are even bigger in size, so again I ask, who made this cat, king?
When I was five years old, right before my joint birthday party with my Dad, he gifted me a book titled ‘Leo’ and a gold necklace with an Arabic inscription pendant. He said to me “Anuoluwapo, this is who you are, a lion born of a lion.” I could read when I was five but we both knew my little wisdom would not understand the book. Over the years, referencing that book, my father taught me valuable lessons on what it meant to be a Leo. What it truly meant to be a leader, how to play to my strengths and make my weaknesses almost irrelevant. My father taught me how to be self-sufficient and interdependent. My tattoo says “Lion of Judah” because I was born of a king, raised by kings and I walk through life with King of kings.
As I got older, my delusional sense of pride and obvious gravitation towards leadership began to make sense. A lion never has to announce its presence. A lion exudes a supreme attitude, that of a ruler. Their actions and thoughts reflect that superiority. When you walk like a king, talk like a king, think like a king, best believe, even the blind will see you and call you a king.
So, who crowned the lion king? The cat did. The cat made itself king.
