Daring the gods – Part 5

(Continued from last week Saturday)

Then he said angrily: “Bodija, or what do you call yourself? This is our worship place and nothing is going to stop us from worshipping here always. Is that clear?

“Fight us if you dare. We are numbering close to a thousand. Fight us at the risk of your life! This is the place of our worship. One hundred of your kind cannot stop us from worshipping here. You rude and shameless braggart!”

“Heh! Me, a rude and shameless braggart?” Bodija angrily replied. “I give you seven days to leave my land. Just seven days!

“If I get back here on the eighth day and you still worship here, you won’t find it funny,” he said and left in annoyance.

“To hell with you. We will kill you!” the whole congregation screamed and laughed uproariously as Bodija walked away, with particles of dust from his sandals following after him.

Exactly on the eighth day, when the religious sect were having their weekly worship, Bodija appeared, holding his megaphone in his left hand and carrying a covered bucket in his right hand, a broom was inside the bucket.

The congregation started singing and chanting war songs immediately they saw him. Bodija raised his megaphone to his lips and began chanting war songs too, to the annoyance of the worshippers.

Some of the members were holding talismans and amulets to snuff life out of him, spoiling for a showdown. And anything could happen.

Bodija instantly headed for their altar in a provocative manner. About seven hefty-looking men emerged as the congregation roared frighteningly and walked towards Bodija with the aim of killing him.

Bodija moved a step backward and opened the bucket beside him. Surprisingly, the bucket was filled to the brim with human faeces. He grabbed the broom and dipped it inside the faeces and was about sprinkling the worshippers with it.

The health consequence for anybody sprinkled with human faeces was leprosy and death. The congregation realised the danger quickly and there was a stampede, as they all ran for their dear lives.

Since that day, the worshippers of Lucifer never ventured to worship on his land again.

All these happened many years back. Bodija, now 86 years old, had a son through his beautiful wife, Ayinke, when he was 57. To prove pundits wrong, Ayinke was 45 when she bore him the son.

He was recounting his experiences to Owodunni, his lawyer-son, who had grown to resemble him in manners.

Ayinke was right beside him as he narrated the stories to him to Owodunni, who was also a no-nonsense man.

Owodunni became a legal luminary in Ibadan and was known throughout the length and breadth of Oyo State for his intelligence and assiduity in fighting the cause of the oppressed and the less privileged.

There was a particular case involving a man whose land was seized by an influential and well-to-do businessman in the country. Owodunni stood in for the aggrieved man and fought the legal battle and the man, Feyi, won the case.

This and many other cases involving the poor and less privileged were cases Owodunni always handled and his brilliance came to the fore. He always won most of his court cases because of his sagacity, fearlessness and outstanding nature, even against threats to his life.

Thus, Bodija’s legacy lives forever.

(Concluded)