Figurine From Kukawa

Lucas Pezeta

Everything stopped working, even life itself had no life anymore. Most families in Kukawa decided to give life another chance but elsewhere. One after the other, they left Kukawa to other places where they could make ends meet. Adejor and his wife, Bolade relocated to Awoyaya where they began a new life. Their children, Abor, Nekedu, and Akin mixed freely with those of other families at Awoyaya.

Life around Awoyaya was quite different and enterprising. Abor who was the first child of the family made a huge success in the field of archaeology at the university and was retained as a lecturer. He was so good that the university authorities made him the director of an archaeological research institute a short while after he resumed as an academic staff at the university.

One of Abor's interests was to dig up some artifacts in his hometown, Kukawa. A lot of oral traditions have been handed down to children from one generation to another about the traditional occupation of the people of Kukawa. Since Kukawa was in the hinterland, the people were mainly wood carvers who used dead logs to design figurines which are mostly said to have some spiritual inclination that archaeology does not believe in.

The project to Kukawa was undertaken by the final-year archaeology student. Forty of the students went on that excursion cum excavation journey. It was fun as the student traveled in the luxurious bus. Though it wasn't their first time it would be their last as University undergraduates, and this made them so excited.

It's my first time seeing a smoking rock

Melinda said from the back seat as she viewed the landscape of the route to Kukawa.

There are more of such rocks when we get closer to Kukawa

Aminu was heard from behind the driver's seat.

Finally, they reached Kukawa. Everywhere was deserted except for a very few dwellers. There were a lot of dilapidated houses.

When voices are not heard by the walls, they begin to crack.

One of the students uttered.

That's a superstition, man.

Another antagonized.

Walls don't have ears in the real sense.

He continued. They argued and shared their views on the subject of the dilapidated houses in Kukawa

The students and their lecturers visited the palace of the traditional ruler of Kukawa and sought permission to excavate some parts of the community which was granted.

It was the palace orator who took them to the wood carvers' shades near the forest where the student started digging. They dug up a lot of objects, most of which are wooden images. Of all the dug-up images, one image caught the attention of the students and lecturers. It was the image of Moremi, the river goddess in Yoruba mythology.
The train returned to the university campus and made a laboratory recording and dating of the objects they dug-up at Kukawa. It was a profitable trip because it was the first time the department would dig up such an amount of figurines in just one trip. As part of their report, they gave the Vice Chancellor the Moremi figurine as a gift after it had been polished. Professor Omole accepted the gift wholeheartedly, more so because it was a beautiful art piece. Unknowing to him, he just received what would trouble his sleep.

On the morning of the first day that the Moremi figurine was brought to the VC's office, the whole office was flooded with muddy water. The cleaner assigned to the office could not believe her eyes. She ran out of the office and reported to the director of works who sent plumbers to the office to check if there was any leakage but there was none.

Confusion set in. For the rest of the day, they kept wondering what would have caused the muddy flood to take over the office.

The whole place was cleaned up by a team of cleaners. And the VC, Prof. Omole resumed his office. That very day, he worked till late in the evening. When the whole place was silent, all other staff had closed for the day, a whirlwind began to blow, the pictorial frame of the president hanging on the wall fell off and the glass shattered on the floor, then, rain began to drizzle in the office. It was like the sky was let loose as the drizzling got serious. Professor Omole quickly packed his wares and left the office.

It was a frightening experience for the innocent Professor who knew nothing about the figurine from Kukawa. Soon, the news went viral about what was happening at the VC's office. It was then that Abor decided to retrieve the figurine and return it to Kukawa, where it came from.

Upon hearing that the figurine was the cause of the mysterious happenings in his office, Professor Omole ordered that his office be relocated for him to have peace of mind.