Udala — The fruit of the gods

Ubakaego is the king of Umuasu kingdom, a wise king loved by all his subjects. He is been referred to as the Solomon their generation by other kings due to his wisdom and strategy in resolving disputes. However king Ubakego has been battling with this dispute in his household for a while now. He has been unable to resolve the dispute of who will take over from him when he is no more. Ubakaego has four sons; Obinna, Afam, Uche and Nonso, from his four wives. It was a wonderful news for king Ubakaego and his elders on the day of their arrival, however the unfortunate event of not knowing the first among his sons has been a great challenge to him.

In the culture of the land, the first born is always the rightful heir to the throne. But the fours sons of king Ubakaego were assumed to be birthed the same time, as the news of the delivery by the wives got to him at the same time. Therefore, King Ubakaego doesn't have an heir until this puzzle is solved. He has tried getting the answer from the native doctor, Ezemmou but the gods have refused to speak. "Ezemmou, the gods have been quiet for long now and I am not happy with it, they need to talk! For about 25 years now, they have remaind silent in this issue." The king said to Ezemmou on his latest consultation with the Ezemmou. "The gods will speak when the time is right", he responded. Few days after, the king fell sick. The elders went to meet Ezemmou to know the fate of the king. "The king won't be able to survive this sickness, he only has few market days left before joining his ancestors. The gods gave him the days in order to witness the coronation of the heir to the throne." He said. "But Ezemmou, how would there be a coronation when we don't even know the rightful heir?", the elders asked.

Image Source

"The four sons of the king will embark on a mission towards the Ofara forest to get udala — the fruit of the gods, whosoever returns with a complete udala without any openings on it, is the rightful heir to the throne." The Ezemmou said to the elders. On getting to the palace, the elders delivered the message to the king as they were instructed by Ezemmou. "Let the will of the gods be done" the kings exclaimed as he ordered the guards to make preparations for the travel of the princes.

"My sons don't forget you're all brothers, watch the back of one another, let love lead and the gods of our land will bring you back safely", the king said to his sons as they embarked on the journey. On their way, they saw an elderly woman by the roadside struggling to lift a bunch of firewood. Others saw her but did as if they didn't, but Prince Nonso saw her and rushed to help. They tried stopping him from going but he refused them and still went ahead while others left him. After helping the woman, she gave him an egg in appreciation and told him to break the egg when the gets to the udala tree. Others got to the tree and plucked udala and left as fast as they can. On getting to the tree, he plucked his own udala, then broke the egg as he was instructed. Afterwards, he discovered himself at the back of the palace. He then took the udala to the Ezemmou. Prince Nonso was later crowned the heir to the throne.