We are here today again, just as we always are. As you know, on Baba Onigba’s storytelling channel, each new day brings a brand-new tale. Today’s story is another different one. It is fresh, thrilling, and full of intrigue.
This time, we bring you yet another fascinating tale about Ìjàpá, the husband of Yánníbo, a truly peculiar creature. Ìjàpá, the master of cunning. Ìjàpá, the lazy trickster. Ìjàpá, the greedy schemer. Ìjàpá, the selfish one who always puts himself first.
One day, Ìjàpá pondered deeply: Why should humans possess wisdom? He asked himself, Why should they be allowed to share in intelligence? He reasoned that no other creature should have any wisdom except for himself. He believed that if anyone ever needed knowledge, they should have to come to him and beg for it.
With this thought in mind, Ìjàpá set out on a mission to gather all the wisdom in the world. He visited Alárá’s home and took every bit of wisdom he found there, leaving nothing behind. He traveled to Ajerò’s household and swept up all the wisdom he could find. He even stopped by Ọwáràngún-àgá’s place, ensuring that no fragment of wisdom was left untouched. Ìjàpá traveled far and wide, across the entire land, collecting every ounce of knowledge and storing it in a large clay pot.
After gathering all the wisdom in the world, Ìjàpá decided to keep it safe far from everyone else’s reach in a clay pot. So, he planned to take the clay pot up to the top of a tall palm tree. He placed the pot on his back and began climbing. But as he struggled, the pot was shaking.
At that moment, Ìgbín, the snail, happened to be passing by. Watching Ìjàpá’s struggle, he chuckled and said, “Ìjàpá, wouldn’t it be wiser to tie the pot to your back instead of your placing it ordinarily? That way, you can climb more easily.”
Ìjàpá froze in shock. How? he wondered. Where did Ìgbín get such wisdom? He had supposedly collected all the wisdom in existence. How could there still be some left in the world? Furious, he realized that knowledge had once again escaped him.
So, Ìjàpá decided to set the clay pot down carefully in order to retrieve whatever wisdom collect other wisdom and put them inside the pot. But as he attempted to lower it, the pot slipped from his grasp, fell to the ground, and shattered into countless pieces. All the wisdom that Ìjàpá had gathered spilled out and scattered.
Ìgbín burst into laughter, mocking Ìjàpá and telling him that his so-called wisdom amounted to nothing. Furious and humiliated, Ìjàpá lashed out in anger, So, Furious and humiliated, Ìjàpá lashed out in anger, striking Ìgbín repeatedly with great force so much so that he nearly killed him.
From that day on, Ìjàpá has always respected Ìgbín’s wisdom.