Bashorun, one of the King’s chiefs, emerges as the main antagonist in Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre. He is played by Owobo Ogunde.
Bashorun, a rich and influential man, is not only one of the King’s chiefs but also his prospective relative, as Bashorun’s son, Awolaran, is engaged to the King’s daughter, Princess Omowunmi.
Bashorun finds himself displeased with the other chiefs as well as the King when his suggestion to spend more on military expenses is rejected.
Bashorun is wary of the growing power of the kingdom of Ede. He himself has clashed with the warriors of Ede and suffered defeat as well as lost men.
Bashorun is embarrassed by his defeat, but he has no way of retaliating, considering the chiefs and the King do not allocate funds to arm Oyo with warriors and weapons.
On top of that, the King keeps delaying Awolaran and Omowunmi’s marriage, despite having set the wedding date.
This leads Bashorun to believe that the King does not want to marry his daughter to Awolaran, contributing to his growing resentment towards the King.
A power-hungry man
When Fasogbon tells Bashorun about his doubts concerning Arolake’s death, Bashorun interrogates Adigun, the bounty hunter who reported her death.
It does not take him long to find out that Adigun lied. Additionally, when he hears about Saro’s power to resurrect the dead, he starts desiring it for himself.
He believes that if he gets Saro’s power, no one will dare to oppose him, not even the King. He desires to instill fear in everyone.
Bashorun then threatens Adigun and forces him to find Saro for him. When Adigun fails to return within the allotted time, Bashorun mercilessly kills Adigun’s family.
Bashorun’s greed makes him increasingly ruthless with each passing day. Soon after, he discovers that Saro is married to the daughter of his lover, Awarun.
Even though Awarun makes Bashorun happy and he wishes to marry her, he does not hesitate to threaten Awarun and her family when he suspects Awarun of warning Saro.
Bashorun’s misdeeds and their consequences
Bashorun’s son is nothing like him. While Bashorun is devious and ruthless, Awolaran is righteous and gentle.
Bashorun is ashamed of his son because he treats Omowunmi as an equal. Awolaran has never been able to make his father proud.
Bashorun then learns that the King has agreed to marry Omowunmi to Prince Kuranga, despite Omowunmi’s engagement to Awolaran.
A furious Bashorun challenges Prince Kuranga to fight Awolaran for Omowunmi’s hand in marriage, aiming to make Awolaran cheat.
However, Awolaran refuses to cheat, and Kuranga easily defeats him. Humiliated, Bashorun has Kuranga killed.
Additionally, Bashorun grows suspicious of the woman who sends the King gifts, so he follows the King and discovers that the woman is none other than Arolake.
To spite the King, Bashorun devises a plan to have Arolake executed publicly. Fortunately for him, Adigun finds Saro then. Once he has no use for him, Bashorun kills Adigun.
He plans to have Saro bring Kuranga back to life. In return, he wants the King to marry Omowunmi to Awolaran and punish Arolake.
The King has no choice but to accept his demands in order to prevent the war between Ede and Oyo. Bashorun keeps his promise and resurrects Kuranga.
He takes the amulet from Saro, believing that the amulet holds his powers. What he does not know is that Saro did not actually resurrect Kuranga but instead had a ghost possess him.
Besides Saro’s amulet, Bashorun also gets Arolake’s pouch, the source of her wealth. However, unlike Saro, he does not let her go.
Just as Bashorun believes he has gained immense power and wealth, the warriors of Ede attack and kill him due to rumors about his involvement in Kuranga’s death.
Disapproving of his father’s actions, Awolaran decides to stand up to him. He joins forces with Akin to save Arolake’s life, allowing Arolake to leave with Akin.
Bashorun, who prioritized his self-interest over the kingdom’s safety, must then lead the ghosts to Heaven as he possesses the amulet given to Saro.
The ghosts doubt whether he will be able to guide them across. In death, Bashorun realizes that his life’s work amounted to nothing; all he did was kill and harm people.
Also Read: Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre summary and ending explained