Fused with legends and myth, the long-running Effutu kingship conflict is illustrated by a triangular model. The father is at the summit, who is the lion king, and whose power for centuries has been unchallenged. At one side of the base of the triangle are sons and on the other are nephews. The sons traditionally have ascended the pyramid to assume power. Sometimes, upon the death of the king a son may default, thus paving the way for a nephew to assume the throne.
Conflict ensures when a nephew has tested power and the sons struggle for power.
But to usurp power the nephew kills his uncle and destroys the mythic foundation inherited from his uncle-king and replaces it with his own. The result is matrilineal alternative to patrilineal succession being born. In an attempt to entrench the matrilineal succession, power is cleverly distributed among non-royals. In this scheme where the sons have been outwitted, the nephew rests enjoyably on broad base support. Pinned to the wall, the sons' fight back to grab power with the nephews to reclaim their rightful place.