Destined to Rule

The Journey To BUNDUGA

Adegbola's mother asked him to put on his father's sandals in order to follow his footsteps. He should also tie his sword around his waist so as to be able to fight against giants and dwarfs as his father and grandfather did when they were young like him.

Adegbola greeted her, knelt down before her,saying, "I salute you, my mother. You are a great mother. You understand your child's plight anytime. You are a model to emulate.

May the almighty God be with you and help you. Goodbye. I will now leave to visit my father in his kingdom".

His mother kept calm and tears started flowing from her eyes. She pleaded with Adegbola to wait for two or three days so that she could get him things to travel with. Because of the love he had for his mother, he accepted and waited for two days before beginning the journey.

Adegbola's grandfather learnt about the trip. He quickly sent for him. He went to see his grandfather. When Kukimo saw Adegbola, he embraced him, greeted him and blessed him because he did what the king said. He told him "It is good for you to visit your father who is the

reigning king in Bunduga. Don't Go through the land but through the river because the river is safer than the land. Another point is that there is nothing to fear along the river unlike the road. The road is terrible with the activities of the spirits, thieves and kidnappers. And a child like you should not go alone on the bad roads.

Please, go through the river". When Adegbola heard that the road was filled with different evils, he stood still, shook his head and said"God forbid. I won't go through the river. I will go through the land whatever the case may be.Cowards die many times before their death. So,I Won't be a coward".On the third day, Adegbola visited his grandfather to bid him goodbye. He knelt down before him and thanked him for his elderly advice and for his encouragement. He also went to.his mother. They held each other.

Both were emotional about their separation.Adegbola went through the land. His journey was filled with interesting stories as he fought and defeated all obstacles on the road.

He defeated both the thieves and the kidnappers that confronted him on his way.The evil spirits did not come his way because they knew the kind of power he had. He did not even nurse any fear on his way.

One of the people who confronted Adegbola on his way was Koro. This man was terrible. He had a very terrible way of kidnapping people.

In his house, he had a bed which he gave to visitors to sleep on. When they sleep, he usually came to see if their length was more than the bed or shorter than the bed. If the bed is longer,he would stretch the visitor out to be equal in length with the bed. But if the visitor is taller than the bed, he would use a cutlass to cut either their legs or their heads to make them equal to the bed. This made the people who heard about

his wicked act to avoid travelling on that road.

But Adegbola lposed a problem to him. He visited him in his house. In Koro's house, Adegbola was entertained. He gave him food to eat. They both relaxed. When it was time to sleep, Koro gave him a bed to sleep on.

Adegbola stood up and went to the bed to sleep. The bed was too long for him. His head was about one feet off the head of the bed, while his legs were up to one feet less than the edge of the bed. Koro, seeing this, shouted, "Haa! It is an abomination in our and for a bed to be

longer than the person sleeping on it. Wait, my friend, let me balance your body with the bed".

Immediately, he stretched Adegbola's legs and head to match with the length of the bed. This action made Adegbola uncomfortable but he managed to sleep while thinking of what to do.

Again, Koro dragged Adegbola'slegs forcefully in order to break them. Adegbola withdrew his legs and immediately jumped up, removed his father's sword which he had with him and starbed Koro on the stomach. Immediately,Koro fell and died while Adegbola stood up and left the house.

Another battle that Adegbola fought on the way was with one man called Jamba. This man usually snatched people's property from them and threw them into the nearby river. When he saw Adegbola, he thought he was a prey for him.

He did not know that Adegbola was a leopard which confronts a lion. They both met and began to fight. Adegbola used one of his hands to lift Jamba up and threw him into the sky. Due to the atrocities he had committed, he remained in the sky. He could neither fall to the ground nor fall in to the river. Adegbola proved unchallengeable throughout his journey.

Before he could get to Bunduga, the news of his bravery had reached the town. The people of Bunduga started preparing to receive the expected liberator. When Adegbola was entering Bunduga kingdom, he heard the people say We have never seen a man like Adegbola. He is stronger than the strongest. He defeated both Koro and Jamba in separate battles". These people they mentioned had equally defeated those who confronted them in a fight, but they were not as powerful as Adegbola. When Adegbola heard the praises, he walked faster so as to hear what they were saying about him clearly.

As he moved nearer, listening to what the people were saying, he was so glad and

optimistic that his father would give him a warm welcome. To Adegbola, he saw the victories and the praise chants as good things that come to those who wait. He was grateful to his mother for disallowing him from embarking on the journey while he was still young.

He was very glad to meet with his father again after a long time. Baoba was also very happy when he got the news of Adegbola's arrival in Bunduga kingdom. He would have called for a celebration if not for the wrong impression created by his chiefs. They had planned to succeed him on the throne when he (Baoba) joins his ancestors. This made them dislike anybody who is related to the king especially his son. When they heard that Adegbola was coming to Bunduga kingdom, they felt bad about it. They hated his coming to the extent that they planned to kill him.