Chapter One

The Ifa priest—Baba Abejuka—swayed to the left and to the right as he moved with his goat-skin bag hanging on his right shoulder. He had only one eye; an open space partly covered by the eyelids was visible for all to see where the left eye should have been.

The king’s three special messengers who had been sent to fetch him, followed closely behind him as if afraid he would vanish into the thin air at any time. Indeed, they should be worried; it had taken them seven weeks to locate him and bring him to Idah. Seven weeks in which they were barred from entering Idah or visiting their families. After traveling hundreds of kilometres on horseback, they had finally found him by a cave at Lokoja, close to the point Rivers Niger and Benue meet after five weeks. They had used one whole week persuading him to follow them to Idah and another week returning.

“Attah gabaidu !” Baba Abejuka greeted from the doorway to the king’s large palace. The king and his council of chiefs had been briefed of their coming by one of the messengers who had gone ahead of the others and they had been waiting for an hour for the revered medicine man—a veritable spokesman of the gods. “May your reign be long and peaceful, son of Idoko, the lion of Igalaland!” Abejuka greeted. Attah Ayegba simply waved his staff of office—a horsetail crafted beautifully into a staff—to acknowledge his greeting.

“Agabaidu!” the messengers shouted in unison, prostrating before the king who was now standing on his feet. The chief priest was forbidden by the culture of the people from prostrating before the king or anyone for that matter. He bowed only to the gods.

King Ayegba only returned to his stool after the priest had taken his on the bare ground, as his custom was. Expectations hung palpably in the air. It is not everyday Baba Abejuka appears in public. Ayegba came down momentarily from his stool to handover the usual consultation fee of a cowry to the priest before returning. The priest gesticulated for him to drop it near his “okpele”—his divination tool.

“May the gods have good news for you, oh king,” he prayed. “Amin!” the people answered.

Abejuka picked up the “okpele” with a very serious expression on his face, threw it on the ground, peered into it and picked it up again. He threw it a second time and smiled broadly. All was silent in the palace.

“May your reign be long great king. Inikpi is the reincarnation of your grandmother, Oja Ologoma,” he said tersely. A shout of adulation went up from the crowd and the king smiled broadly. No one had told the priest why he was wanted. Even the servants sent to fetch him did not know. It equally surprised all how the priest knew Inikpi’s name as well as that of the king’s grandmother. “She is on a positive mission,” Abejuka continued adding “she shall deliver the Igala people from the yoke of their major enemies but...it...it...shall be at a great cost. A great cost, oh king. Agabaidu!” he greeted with a tone of finality.

“Agabaidu!” the people responded prostrating before the king. This was good news and called for celebration.

The king smiled broadly. All was well, he reasoned. There was no cause for alarm. If the prediction had been negative, anything could happen. It was not uncommon for a child who is said to be on an “evil mission” to be cast into the evil forest and left there to starve to death or be eaten by wild animals. Every of the king’s twenty one children had a similar inquiry made at their birth. Inikpi’s mission was particularly pleasing.

Baba Abejuka left with three he-goats tied together and dragged after him by one of the messengers. Some tubers of yam were also carried along as payment for his services. As soon as he left, a big party followed with plenty to eat and drink. The chief musicians were hastily summoned and they spiced the occasion with their songs. The party lasted far into the night.

The years passed and Inikpi grew into a very beautiful lady. It was obvious many suitors will soon be around to demand her hand in marriage; she was very fair in complexion with hair reaching to her slim waist. She had a pointed nose and carried herself regally and with dignity. She was forbidden from doing any household chores and got gifts now and again from relations and friends.

Once in a while, however, she disobeys her parents and accompanies some of the female servants to the stream, three kilometres away, to get potable water especially during the dry season.

On one such occasion, she accompanied six of the female servants on the trip. It would have been the usual uneventful type where those they passed on the way curtsied before Inikpi by bending their knees before her but for the fact they ran into Ogbadu—the first son of the war general or “Inalogwu” of the kingdom. Ogbadu was tall, dark and extremely handsome. He had hair all over his chest and spoke with a rare baritone.

“Abumele?” He greeted the maids until his eyes fell on Inikpi.

“Asholafia,” the maids answered bending their knees slightly but Ogbadu did not hear them. His eyes were fixed on Inikpi’s and for about fifteen seconds, time seemed to stop for both of them. He was returning from checking one of his traps and had a machete in his right hand.

“Greetings Princess Inikpi,” he said. No one had told him she was the princess he had heard so much about. “I greet you sir,” Inikpi replied blushing.

“Call me Ogbadu. I am the first son of the Inalogwu,” he said smiling. Even though he had heard so much about Inikpi, he still was dazed by her beauty. “Greet your family for me, please,” she replied. “I will, great princess and may the king live long,” Ogbadu responded and they all soon moved on but something told the two of them they would be seeing more of each other in the near future. Inikpi could not explain it but she felt an urge to try to see him again.

No sooner had they parted, however, than distress cries were heard from the direction of the stream.

“ Megbawa o! Help! Help!” people screamed throwing away their pots and fleeing in different directions. The Jukun warriors who had laid a siege near the stream had decided to strike. Inikpi was dumbfounded into inactivity but the girls she was accompanying had scattered in different directions. Three men appeared clutching machetes. No one needed to tell her they were the dreaded Jukun warriors—age long foes of the Igala people. The three men were momentarily dazed into inaction by the sight before them. They exchanged quick glances. No one needed to tell them the damsel standing before them was from a royal home. Hurting her was out of the question. They would simply abduct her to their territory. The tussle over who deserved to have her would follow afterwards. As if reading their thoughts, Inikpi attempted to run but a vice like grip pulled her back and soon, Tervese, the tallest of the three men, scooped her up unto his shoulders after dropping his machete.

“Drop me! Drop me this minute!” Inikpi screamed but he simply turned in the direction of the stream prepared to go across it as fast as possible.

“Stop there!” Ogbadu commanded brandishing his machete and waving it in the air. No one had seen him approach or even anticipated it. People ran away from danger; not towards it.

“Who are you, young man? Are you not afraid of us?” Gwazza demanded. “Drop her now!” Ogbadu responded putting more bite in the command. “Young man, you just lost your chance to escape,” Terverse said coldly dropping Inikpi in a heap and picking up his machete. He suddenly lunged forward with the weapon aimed at Ogbadu’s head. Ogbadu ducked, picked him up on his right shoulder and threw him hard against the trunk of the nearest tree. Terverse landed with his head and went limp after convulsing for a while. As if on cue, the two remaining warriors took to their heels. Terverse was the strongest of them and if he could be humiliated in this way within seconds, they reasoned, it was better to run away and live to fight another day.

“Quick princess!” Ogbadu urged Inikpi. “Follow me!” It was no use. Inikpi was dazed by everything happening around her and could only stare ahead of her prompting Ogbadu to pick her up on his shoulders and run as fast as he could. He did not know how many Jukun warriors remained and he was not willing to take chances.