So many years ago, Oba Adesua, the King of Benin Kingdom was opportune to travel with six other Kings to Finland. The Nigerian government sends the seven Kings there to explore other parts of life and to also learn how other people are being ruled in other parts of the world.
Oba Adesua went on this journey with Alaafin of Oyo, Ooni of Ife, Oba Elegushi, Awujale of Egba, Onjo of Okeho and Oba Ikire are the six other Kings who went on this journey with him.
“Ye!!! I’m about to fall. This plane is going up and we will fall,” Oba Adesua and the six other Kings screamed while the plane was ascending. It felt like a short time of chaos. Their hearts were beating very fast which lasted for twelve hours and while the plane was descending, the same drama happened.
They have never seen such mor experienced it before.
After twelve hours of fright, the secen Kings finally arrived at Helsinki airport and being welcomed by their tour guide.
“Is this Heaven?,”Oba Adesua asks Alaafin of Oyo, his closest friend among all other Kings while admiring the beauty of Finland.
These Kings were taken to the hotel room where they rested for the whole day and ob the next day, the tour began which will last five days before going back to Nigeria. The Helsinki Islands was the first place to be visited.
“Why are these people exposing their bodies? The ladies are wearing just underwears at the beach. This isn’t great,” Oba Adesua who has never seen such in his village wonders why women will be dressed that way but since they want to explore, it’s a part of the exploration.
“This is summer time when everything is hot so they wear them beside the beach to feel cool and relaxed,” Mr Arvo, their tour guide says to Oba Adesua letting him know that it’s a way to be relaxed.
Mr Arvo took them to other restaurants and resorts ans on the last day of their tour, he thought of making them feel relaxed by sharing with them a cup of coffee at Henry’s Cafe, one of the best cafes in Finland.
“Hmm, this tastes so great,” Ooni of Ife says and he asks for more cup of coffee.
“How is this made and what can I use so that when I get back to Nigeria, I can always make this at home?,”Oba Adesua who also fell in love with the taste of the coffee asks one of the cafe attendants and since they are new faces in Finland, they were honored and taken to the factory where coffee is being brewed.
“Ahh!!! We have so many of this plant in Benin land, my village but we mostly throw them away because it’s not useful. Can you teach me how to make this?” he asks. The workers at Henry’s Cafe were surprised to see some local men who do not know what coffee bean is used for.
Oba Adesua wasn’t only taught how to brew coffee but was given some machines to use for brewing the coffee.
At last, the Kings were back in Nigeria. The members of their various Kingdoms were ready to throw a welcome party for their Kings. All other Kings were ready to dance and party hard when they get back to their various Kingdoms aside from Oba Adesua. All he wanted was to warn his people never to dispose the coffee beans again even though he was the one who ordered them to dispose them because they were not useful.
Oba oh, oba lase oba, the villagers sing in the Benin language to welcome their King. Oba Adesua danced through the crowd with the machine he was given in Finland.
He plugged it in the socket, requested for some coffee beans and started to brew the coffee. This felt like a movie because every villager was eager to know what will come out of it. Their King hasn’t even said a word to them yet.
After some minutes, he was able to turn the coffee beans to a drink and shared it with his chiefs first.
“Hmm, how did you learn this? I’m surprised that this useless seed can be used to make a drink,” Otun, the next to the King reveals how much he admires the drink.
“This is one of the things I learned in Finland and this is called coffee,” Oba Adesua says as he made more and more for himself, the chiefs and the villagers. He taught some youths in the village how to make coffee and it was easy-peasy.
They learned it right away and because of the numerous coffee beans they had, they made coffee for the entire village and it turned to a coffee party.
Since then, coffee is one of the important drinks used as a form of celebration in Benin Kingdom and it’s a drink that can be used to connot unity in the Kingdom.
The comic relief here and there added to the richness of the story. Well done.
Even though this is fiction, it got my head spiraling around facts and details. I am most certain that at the time when Nigerians started to get visas and travel by air, we were already civilized to a large extent and stuff like coffee had become like staples. The Kings were especially refined people at the time, right?
Lol, this had a comic approach from the beginning up until the end. It equally portrays how intercultural exchange can effectively help to transform different places. The villages had the raw materials but without the know-how, it had always been a waste until the king experienced something from another culture and it became beneficial to all. Beautiful lesson there.
wonder where the word eclipse can be found in this coffee-focused story. It is one of the three prompt words to include.Cute story, @bisolamih. We