🎞️ Act 2: The Scholar and the Sword --- [FADE IN] INT. ROYAL COUNCIL CHAMBER – DAY Sunlight filters through stained glass. Elders sit in a circle on prayer mats. The air is quiet but charged. Behind them, swords and books hang side by side — a symbol of Ilorin’s twin powers. NARRATOR (V.O.) When the drums of power faded, silence taught the loudest lessons. Emir Sulu Gambari ruled not by fear — but by fiqh (Islamic law), by counsel, and by vision. A scholar rises — old, gray-bearded, clutching a Qur’an. SCHOLAR "Mai Martaba, should we not build more madrasahs? Let the children learn Arabic, history, and the ways of peace." The Emir nods slowly. SULU GAMBARI "Ilimi shi ne haske." (Knowledge is light – Hausa) "Let Ilorin shine with learning brighter than the lanterns of our forefathers." --- EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF ILORIN – WEEKS LATER Builders lift bricks. Young boys chant Qur’anic verses. A new school is rising beside a mosque. Women pass by selling akara, humming. NARRATOR (V.O.) He built more than walls. He built minds. From Agaka to Oja-Oba, from the banks of Asa River to the foot of Sobi Hill, Ilorin blossomed under his pen and his prayer rug. --- INT. BRITISH RESIDENCY – NIGHT A smoky lantern glows. A British officer writes in his journal. BRITISH OFFICER (V.O.) "The Emir of Ilorin is... quiet. But sharp. Impossible to control. He listens politely and answers with scripture." --- INT. PALACE GARDEN – NIGHT Sulu Gambari walks alone, hands behind his back. A young boy walks beside him. BOY "Baba, why don’t you fight the British?" SULU GAMBARI (smiling) "Ọmọ mi, sometimes the strongest warrior is the one who does not draw his sword… ...but still wins the land." He looks up to the stars. SULU GAMBARI (CONT’D) "Time will reveal the weight of patience." --- EXT. ILORIN CITY – MONTAGE Horses parade during Durbar Women perform swange and koroso dances Mosques echo with evening adhan Farmers return from fields, laughing Students recite verses under baobab trees NARRATOR (V.O.) This was the Ilorin of Sulu Gambari… A place where the Qur’an and the talking drum sat side by side. Where the sword slept, and the scholar stood tall. --- [FADE OUT] TITLE CARD: Act 3: Shadows and Sovereignty (Coming Next by 2pm)