The Emperor of Ogbomosho

An emperor in Western Nigeria was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided to do something different.

He summoned all the young people in the kingdom together one day and said: "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"

One boy named Gbadebo was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Gbadebo kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Gbadebo didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Gbadebo's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Gbadebo didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Gbadebo told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened, Gbadebo felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Gbadebo arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Gbadebo put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey! Nice try."

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Gbadebo just tried to hide in the back. "My! What great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Gbadebo at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Gbadebo was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"

When Gbadebo got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Gbadebo," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Gbadebo, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Gbadebo!" Gbadebo couldn't believe it. Gbadebo couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Gbadebo, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Gbadebo was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"

Author: Unknown

Dedication

This piece is dedicated to Veronica Atonlogbo for her dedication to her art and her spirit of self-reliance. I'm always proud of you and I pray that one day, you will find true happiness and fulfilment. May God crown your effort with success. I'm glad I met you.

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