🎞️ Act 3: Shadows and Sovereignty --- [FADE IN] EXT. BRITISH RESIDENCY – DUSK Storm clouds gather. A British flag flaps weakly. Inside, British officers argue over maps and reports. Papers labeled “Native Administration – Ilorin Division” scatter across a table. BRITISH OFFICER 1 "This Emir… he signs what he must, but he moves only when he pleases." BRITISH OFFICER 2 "And the people adore him. Makes it tricky, doesn’t it?" They share a wary look. --- INT. PALACE COUNCIL ROOM – NIGHT By candlelight, the Emir reads a letter. Around him, chiefs and scholars look on. SULU GAMBARI (quietly) "The white man wants control of our markets… our courts." CHIEF BALOGUN "Shall we resist?" SULU GAMBARI "Ṣùgbọ́n ṣọ̀rọ̀ ní ń tú orí ewúrẹ̀..." (But it is words that split the goat’s head – Yoruba proverb) "We resist with wisdom, not war." NARRATOR (V.O.) He spoke little in public, but every silence was a move. Sulu Gambari played the long game — Mastering the art of saying 'yes' while doing 'no.' --- EXT. MARKETPLACE – DAY British agents try to enforce a new tax. Traders grumble. A young girl, watching from her mother’s stall, whispers: YOUNG GIRL "Will Baba Ilọrin let them take our food?" MOTHER (firmly) "No. The Emir protects his people — like shade protects the kola tree." --- INT. EMIR’S PRIVATE CHAMBER – LATE NIGHT The Emir kneels on a prayer mat. Behind him, a hidden scroll is rolled out — maps, Arabic texts, handwritten notes in Fulani and Yoruba. NARRATOR (V.O.) This was the burden of sovereignty. To smile at oppressors, to speak for the voiceless, To kneel before Allah while standing before Empire. SULU GAMBARI (softly, in prayer) "Ya Allah, strengthen my hand as You have strengthened my tongue." --- EXT. DUSK – ILORIN CITY WALLS Torchlights glow. Young riders patrol the border. Ilorin is quiet but alert. The Emir watches from the balcony, arms behind him. NARRATOR (V.O.) The city slept, but he did not. A lion in the form of a lamb, A Fulani prince with a Yoruba soul… He was the stillness between storms. --- [FADE OUT] TITLE CARD: Act 4: The Crown Never Sleeps (Coming Next By 5pm)