Firstly, I want to thank God Almighty
for granting me the grace to complete this wonderful piece. May His holy name
be forever glorified.
I also want to use this medium to
appreciate my loving father, Chief Justice Abiamowei, for his great care and
support till this very day. May the good Lord grant his heart desires.
Amen!
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my
siblings; Mrs. Esther Ogoigbe, Perekebina Abiamowei, Emmanuel Abiamowei, Ruth
Abiamowei, and Joseph Abiamowei.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
O
|
nce
upon a time, in the ancient kingdom of Apampa. There lived a wealthy farmer
named Ikenga, who had two wives named Ada and Chizoba. The first wife, Ada, gave
birth to a son named Chinonso, while the second wife, Chizoba, gave birth to
two children, a boy named Chinedu and a girl named Ndidi.
Chinonso
and Chinedu lived like brothers from the same mother. They laughed, played, and
ate together, in fact, they did everything together. This brothers and their
little sister lived happily until the day an evil eye was cast upon their intimacy.
Chinedu’s mother, Chizoba, suddenly got jealous of Ada and her son. The reason
for this was that Ikenga showered the most care on her and her son, and also
took Chinonso as his number one priority which made the second wife even more
jealous and later settled to get her desires accomplished through fetish means.
Chizoba
set out one morning, without the notice of anyone, to a fetish priest in a neighbouring
village. On getting to the entrance of the small hut where the priest resides,
a loud chinking voice brought her to a halt.
“Stop
there, woman!” came the voice of the person in the hut.
“Take
off your shoes before coming in” said the voice.
Chizoba
obeyed and immediately took off her shoes, then she went into the hut. When she
got inside, she met a wrinkled old man, who looked more like a spirit than
human.
“Woman!
How much can you pay to get your dirty work done?” the old priest inquired.
“But
baba, I haven’t told you the reason for my visit. Why then are you requesting
for money without knowing the particular job to be done?” said Ada.
“Ha-ha-ha.
Woman, I am Obum, the great and powerful. The one who has ate and dined with
gods and who has lived a thousand years. I am no mortal, I know all things.”
The priest boasted.
“I
ask again, how much can you pay to see the end of your husband’s first wife” he
asked. Chizoba immediately knew that the old man was not at all a human.
“Baba,
I - I will do anything, I will pay any amount to see that Ada goes into the
underworld”. She said
“Then
woman, come here tomorrow with the head of a lion and a sum of five hundred
thousand naira” instructed the priest.
“Baba,
the money isn’t the problem, but where can I possibly get the head of a lion.
Do you want to send me to an early grave?” asked Ada.
“Then
you are not ready to have your job done.” The old priest said and continued his
incantations. Ada didn’t want to leave that place without accomplishing her
mission, so she thought of what to do, to make the old man help her.
“Baba,
what if I pay you a million naira to do the job?” she said.
“If
so, make sure you come with the money tomorrow and your job will be done” said
the priest.
“Baba,
thank you very much” she said and stood up to take her leave as the old man
turned to his fetish items and continued enchanting.
Chizoba
went home and immediately took off her clothes, tied a towel, and secretly went
to the bathroom, pretending to be taking her bath all this while. When the entire
family members woke up, they couldn’t find the second wife, Chizoba, they
searched every corner of the house, except the bathroom, yet she was nowhere to
be found. The search was still going on, when the second wife came out of the
bathroom and made her presence noticeable to everyone.
“Ikenga
my husband, what is the commotion all about?” she asked, pretending to be
unaware.
“Chizoba,
so you were in the bathroom all this while and we kept searching all over the
compound, thinking that you were kidnapped or something” Ikenga said in relief.
“My
husband, no one can ever steal me from you, neither can anyone steal you from
me” Chizoba said and they all laughed, except Ada, who knew what the she meant.
“Since
the missing person has been found, can we all go back to our duties?” Ada said
and every one left the sitting room to do their various activities.
CHAPTER TWO
T
|
he
following day, Chizoba set out with the excuse of going to see her distant
cousin, who just arrived in the neighbouring village. But the truth was that
she was off to meet the fetish priest to complete their agreement.
When
she got there, she gave the old priest a parcel containing the amount that was
required for the work. The priest in turn took it from her and began the
ritual. He made some incantations and a large lion’s head appeared before the
eyes of Chizoba. This gave her the biggest fright of her life, as she has never
seen a real life lion before.
“Take
woman” the old priest handed the head to the woman who was now trembling in
fear. She reluctantly took the head with her shaky hands.
“Kneel
and raise the lion’s head to the sky, then pour out your heart desire and it
shall be fulfilled in no time” the priest instructed. Chizoba did as she was
told. After the entire ritual was over, she went straight home to witness the
fall of her rival.
“Mama
welcome, mama welcome” chorused the three children, who ran happily to welcome her.
