Lessons from Otula Ite - You are more valuable than you look

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The Otula Ite is burnt, some parts charred, yet it is the part we fought over. Your value is not in what you look like; it is in what you are inside of you, which is unique in the whole wide world - one of a kind. Please read the article "otula-ite-scramble-for-joy" to get the context of this article.

When I see the Otula Ite now and how it is often neglected, etc, I understand clearly that our value is not in how people see us.  We are inherently valuable – we need to own it and live like we believe it. Also, no matter how valuable we are, some people will still neglect us. Our worth is inherent and not based on their assessment.

It does not matter where Otula Ite was produced, in the cosy kitchens of Abuja or in the village huts of anywhere, it is the most interesting part of the meal (for adherents like me). Our circumstances do not necessarily define us if we know what/who we are, where we are headed, and what we want in this life.

Our trials like the burning pot may be the critical element that makes us truly beautiful. A while ago, I asked myself what I would love to change in my past if I had the power to go back in time. I did a mental journey that took me on a journey from about when I was 7 years old to sometime in the early 2000s. 

Yeah, I bemoaned a lot of things. I could change some of the things that were done to me like the error that saw me starting primary school later than I should have or remaining a science student after SS1 Class. Then I also encountered a lot of the things I did and decisions I made that are not stellar in nature. It is tempting to change those if I have the power, I must confess. However, after a thorough consideration of everything, my decision was to pass in the reordering of the past - everything I had faced, the storms, trials and failings have been the fire that has made me who I am today, my own Otula Ite, and I would not trade this life for an easier one. How would I have become more purposeful, more determined to do & live right, kinder, more empathetic, and more trusting in God if I had not gone through fire?

Of course, like the burning pot, no trial or hardship is pleasurable, but the result is always great when you have been moulded by it. Who told you it would have been better otherwise? Otula Ite’s ultimate lesson for me is that ‘it is going to be ok & great’. There is nothing to worry about during a crisis.

Yeah, whether you call it 'Ofe Ucha', 'Kanzo', 'Iken Ite' or 'Bottom Pot' the lesson like my friend Gabriel Ijequay succinctly puts it is ‘Never say die’.

 

 

 


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