THE SEAT OF GLORY

By BAYO ONUWAJE
 
New Edition 2023
1st Edition 2021
2nd Edition 2022

DEDICATION: The story is proudly dedicated to 4Gees Stitches.

APPRECIATION: Thanks to everyone that contributed positively to the production of this creative story and kudos to you reading it. Thank you and remain blessed.
 
THE STORYLINE
THE SEAT OF GLORY is a story of a youngman named Kolade. He has a special seat which he inherited from his father who also inherited it from his own father and down to their ancestors. It was believed that the seat is the symbol of the glory of the family. It was handed down from generation to another generation because it had not yet gotten to the person destined to activate the glory. It was told to Pa Akinsakin who was Kolade's father that Kolade was the one foretold by the oracle to unveil the glory but the procedure was not communicated to him by his father.
The seat of glory has been with Kolade wrapped in white cloth. It was carefully placed in his room with an instruction that prohibits any member of the family to go near it. Few years later, Kolade was in serious financial problem. He was known in the town to be lazy, jobless and always dependent on friends. He borrowed some money from one of his friends named Lanre for his family welfarism. He intended to pay back in three months but unfortunately for Kolade, he couldn't pay back because he had no other source of income. The debt became a heavy yoke on him till Lanre got angry and brought two hefty body guards to get his money. He couldn't get the money that day but with the help of his guards, he snatched Kunle who was Kolade's son and took him away from his parents as ransom for the N50,000 that Kolade borrowed. Kolade and his wife couldn't believe what Lanre did. Also, there was nobody to defend or assist them financially for the rescue of Kunle. So Kolade went out for help. He met a friend and begged for financial assistance. The friend, Tobi suggested that Kolade should consult a Pastor, an imam or an Ifa priest that would deliver him from all his challenges because he sensed that Kolade's financial problem had a spiritual undertone. Kolade ignored Tobi's advice and met another friend who was a farmer coming from his farm. Lakunle advised Kolade to go see an old woman who lived in the outskirt of the town very close to the deep forest. She was known for loaning money to people. Kolade found this interesting. He quickly went to meet the old woman for money. The old woman demanded for the special seat in Kolade's house as a collateral for the loan. At first, Kolade was surprised that the old woman got to know about the seat he inherited from his father but he never fretted about giving her the seat for the money. The deal between Kolade and the old woman was that, Kolade wanted to borrow N50,000 but the old woman wanted to lend him N100,000 so he could pay the debt of N50,000 and use the balance to start up a small business. There was an agreement that the borrowed money must be returned the same day in the next two months but in the meantime, the seat of glory will be in the custody of the old woman. For the eagerness of Kolade, he went straight home to bring the seat and gave it to the old woman. She collected it and gave Kolade the money he requested for with a warning that if he failed to return the money he borrowed at the appointed time, he should forget his seat in her custody.
Kolade accepted. He went straight to Lanre's house and got his son back. He also used the remaining money to set up a small retail business for his wife according to the advice of Mama but unfortunately for him, the business did not make progress. It happened that all the food stuffs that were meant to be sold out to make profit were used as the meal of the family. It got to the time for Kolade to return the money, he could not. So he abandoned the seat with the old woman. Then his suffering became double. He started making findings to get another help out his predicament. Tobi came to the rescue. He lured him to see a man of God whom he recently heard of. The pastor told him about the essence of the seat and he added that Kolade needed the help of Christ to deliver the seat from the old woman and without the seat, it would be difficult for Kolade to be successful in life. The Pastor told Kolade that the glory embedded in the seat will only be activated by fasting and prayers but first we have to get the seat from the evil woman.
On the final saga of the story, Kolade and his wife went to the old woman with the money to return it and retrieve the seat. The old woman reminded Kolade of the agreement they had on their transaction. Mama Kunle, Kolade's wife stirred up an argument with the old woman. The old woman got angry and turned her into a barking dog. Few seconds before then, Kolade too had started exchanging words with the old woman, he wanted to run into the old woman's hut to take the seat, the woman struck him with the rod in her hand. Kolade ran away as fast as he could and few minutes later, he returned with the pastor. Pastor Sam was surprised when he saw Mama Kunle barking like a dog. He laid his right hand on her head as he spoke in tongues. After some seconds, the Pastor shouted the name of Jesus and Mama Kunle returned to normal. Pastor chastised Kolade for the foolish act for coming to challenge the old woman instead of following his lead. Kolade said he had prayed with his wife before coming but the Pastor insisted that it was not to just pray but to follow due procedures as laid down by the spirit of God. The Pastor returned to the old woman. He talked with her with intention to make her handover the seat in peace but the old woman was adamant. She started reciting some incantations. The Pastor too continued to pray and speak in tongues. The old woman wanted to hit the pastor with the rod in her hand but the pastor stretched the Bible in his hand towards the old woman and with a loud shout of the name of Jesus, the old woman fell gradually and began to cry begging the Pastor not to kill her. She ordered that Kolade should go and carry his seat and all of them should leave her domain at once. The Pastor went into the old woman's house to bring the seat. He gave it to Kolade and they left the presence of the old woman who laid on the ground like a dead person. Few years later, Kolade had prayed and fasted according to the instructions of the Pastor. He became a rich man who owned a big factory where he employed many youths of the town and beyond. He built a mall for his wife, his children were doing great in school and everybody around him benefited from his success. Because of Kolade, the people of the community learnt a lesson that a nobody can still become somebody.

Some notable lessons from the story
- Good inheritance should be handed down to new generation not the other way round.
- Hard work is best appreciated not depending on others
- Loaning money except for the intention of investment is not a reasonable thing.
- It is wrong to look down on people. No one knows tomorrow.
- Don't lend people money that you cannot give out for free. It can lead to conflict if the person finds it difficult to pay back.
- If it is necessary that you borrow money, make sure it is from someone that you know and trust. A strange lender could be very dangerous.
- In any difficulty a person finds himself, God is the best way out.
- A nobody can still become somebody. Treat people with fairness.