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The village of Ado was a small yet beautiful village. Amongst its neighbouring villages, Ado village was known for its abundance in agriculture and talent for drumming. For decades, the village of Ado had a reputation as the home of the most talented drummers. Aside from being farmers who planted all kinds of crops, most men in Ado were also drummers, and they passed the knowledge of drumming to their sons and daughters, and this continued for many generations.

In Ado village, there lived two best friends, named Akin and Alabi. Unlike other children who had many siblings, Akin and Alabi were the only children of their parents. The two boys were born in the same year, attended the same local primary school, and were even pupils of the same class. Also, since their houses were next to each other, Akin and Alabi grew up almost as brothers.

Like every other man in the Ado village, Akin’s father and Alabi’s father were also very talented drummers. Not just talented drummers, but they were the best drummers in the village of Ado. While Akin’s father and Alabi’s father believed they were just talented, most villagers believed that they were gifted, and some claimed that their ancestors, who were also drummers, were responsible for their gifts. Rumours also had it that the drumming of the two men could even cause the dead to rise and dance.

There was just something about the two men’s drumming that was different from that of the other drummers in Ado village, allowing them to stand out. 

Since both Akin and Alabi were sons of the most talented and gifted drummers in Ado village, the two boys followed in their fathers footsteps. After school, Akin and Alabi would play their fathers’ drums outside their houses as a way to mimic their fathers. The shocking part was that although Akin and Alabi were still very young and didn’t undergo any training, each time the two boys played their fathers’ drums, they would attract children and adults to dance and sing around them.

This happened all the time until the villagers of Ado eventually noticed that the two boys were just as talented and gifted as their fathers. Initially, when Akin and Alabi began drumming, their fathers were not interested in training them. Since Akin’s father and Alabi’s father were not educated, they wanted their sons to go to school first so they could become people of importance in their village and have a prosperous future. 

The two fathers did not desire for their sons to be local drummers like them. They had been playing drums for many years, and they knew that one could only make a little money from drumming compared to someone who was educated and could explore other professions.

But when the villagers began to insist that the two fathers should train Akin and Alabi because they were exceptionally gifted, they agreed, but on the condition that Akin and Alabi would only become professional drummers after they completed their secondary school education, which was considered to be the highest form of education in Ado village. 

Just as Akin and Alabi had promised their fathers, they stopped drumming for many years and focused more on their education. Even though Akin and Alabi no longer played their fathers’ drums, their bond remained. In fact, because of their close relationship as best friends, there was no one in the Ado village who didn’t know about Akin and Alabi. The two best friends were seen together all the time; they went to school together, ate together and did almost everything together.

Sometimes, some villagers would tease them and call them twins because they had a striking resemblance and were both of the same height. Also, Akin and Alabi were very intelligent in school and they always came out at the top of their class. There was even a time when Akin and Alabi were in the same class, and each time, their results would come out as a tie. When this happened the second time, the Principal of their school was forced to put Akin and Alabi in separate classrooms so their results would no longer tie.

A few years after Akin and Alabi started secondary school, they both graduated with the best results. Just as their fathers had promised Akin and Alabi, they began to train them on how to play drums. Since both fathers were very talented and gifted, Akin and Alabi learned so much from them, and in less than a year of learning, the two best friends began to play drums professionally.

Because Akin and Alabi were younger, much more talented, and could stand for hours without getting tired, most of the villagers who had ceremonies and parties preferred to hire them to perform at their parties. As time passed, the news of the two talented drummers travelled far and wide, and many people from other villages, including Kings and very important people, began to invite Akin and Alabi to their occasions.

Depending on how wealthy the person was, he or she could choose to hire both Akin and Alabi at the same time for their occasion, but if one was not very wealthy, they would either choose to hire Akin or Alabi. 

Soon, Akin and Alabi became the names on the lips of every villager in Ado. Even older villagers who had lived for many years acknowledged that they had never seen drummers as talented as Akin and Alabi in all their years, thereby making Akin and Alabi the most talented and successful drummers in the history of Ado village.

Meanwhile, while Akin and Alabi were enjoying their fame and praises from the villagers, Akin began to notice something about his best friend. Anytime Akin and Alabi went to perform at a ceremony or party together, the party’s host or the villagers in attendance would treat Alabi better. They would talk to him more respectfully, give him more food, or do something else to show that they loved Alabi more than Akin.

At first, when Akin noticed this, he thought Alabi was only being lucky that day, but when it continued over and over, Akin became jealous of his friend and did not understand why Alabi received more favour than he did.

In reality, the reason many people loved Alabi more than Akin was because Alabi was very friendly and more Social than Akin. Despite being educated, successful and famous, Alabi treated everyone equally. He didn’t look down on anyone because he was educated or successful, and as a result, both the poor men and illiterates in Ado village felt a special connection with him. 

On the other hand, Akin was a very proud man who only associated with wealthy people. He refused to talk to or hang out with the villagers who were illiterates or below him. Akin believed that since he was educated, he had no reason to stoop so low and be friends with poor people.

A few weeks after Akin began to brood jealousy toward his best friend Alabi, something unexpected happened. The news of Akin and Alabi’s talent had travelled so far that it reached the ears of a very prominent man who was more wealthy and powerful than the Kings of small villages.

The prominent man was someone who loved dancing to drums, and in the past, he had hired the best drummers from different villages to come to his house and perform for him. Since the man was very wealthy, he did not need to have a party before he could invite drummers to his house. Sometimes, the man would just be in a bad mood, and to elevate his mood, he would invite a skilled and talented drummer to make him feel better.

When the wealthy man heard of Akin and Alabi’s reputation as the best drummers in Ado village, he sent for them, and Akin and Alabi honoured his invitation.

The day Akin and Alabi arrived at the man’s house with their drums, they were shocked at how big and beautiful his house was, the stunning interior decorations and the number of maids the man had. But what shocked Akin and Alabi the most was that no party was happening and there were no people at the man’s house, except for him, his family and his maids.

“Welcome, Akin and Alabi; it is such an honour to meet you both in person,” The man greeted Akin and Alabi as soon as they entered his mansion.

“How was your journey? Was it stressful?” the man added, and Akin and Alabi shook their heads as a way of saying no.

“If I may ask, where is everyone?” Alabi asked the man.

“I was expecting you to ask that question; all the drummers I have invited in the past have asked the same question,” the man laughed as he spoke. Well, since you have asked, I didn’t invite you here for a party; I invited you both to play for me to see if you’re really the best drummers in Ado village, like people say,” the man said.

After the man said that, he ordered Akin and Alabi to begin playing their drums, and they did. As soon as Akin and Alabi began to hit the drums, the man began to nod his head and clap his hands. Then he began to tap his feet on the floor, and the next thing, the man began to dance excitedly. For the 45 minutes, Akin and Alabi played their drums in symphony, and the wealthy man could not stop dancing to the melodious beats until they stopped.

“I must confess, you both are the best drummers I have come across in the last 15 years,” the man said. “So, it is true that you are the best drummers in Ado. I see why many people are constantly talking about you,” the man added.

“Thank you very much. We appreciate your kind words,” Alabi said with a grin.

“You must be Alabi, the cheerful one. I have heard so many things about you,” the man turned to Alabi.

“You know what? Since you both made me so happy today, I will make you both happy, too,” the man said. “Wait for me; I will be right back,” the man added as he stood up from his golden chair and disappeared into a section of the house.

About two minutes after the man left Akin and Alabi, he returned with two small boxes, each containing bars of Gold. Then he walked to Akin and handed him the first box. Then he turned to Alabi, smiled at him, and handed him the second box.

“That is your reward. Because of you both, I’m in a very good mood today. I hope to see you soon,” the wealthy man said before bidding Akin and Alabi goodbye.

When Akin and Alabi left the man’s house and realized that they had been gifted bars of Gold, they could not contain their joy. It was the first time the best friends had received Gold as payment, and they knew that when they sold the Gold, they would make a lot of money.

Some hours after Akin and Alabi left the man’s house, they arrived successfully in Ado village, but just before Akin and Alabi were about to go their separate ways, Alabi asked his friend an innocent question.

“Ore mi,” Alabi called Akin like he usually did.

“Will you be selling all four bars of Gold? I think if we sell just two and keep two, we could make a lot of money in the future,” Alabi said innocently.

When Alabi asked Akin that question, Akin was shocked because the prominent man had only given him two bars of Gold.

“Did you say four bars of gold?” Akin asked, “I only got two bars,” Akin said before going to look into Alabi’s box. Indeed, the prominent man had gifted Alabi four bars of Gold, while he only gave two to Akin. When Akin saw this, he was so furious, but he pretended like it was nothing.

“Maybe the man liked you; that’s why he gifted you an extra two. I guess it’s your lucky day,” Akin said. But deep down, he was very jealous of Alabi, and he was tired of Alabi always being the favoured one.

“I will talk to Mallam Musa later today. That way, we will know how much each gold bar costs,” Akin said before the two friends went their separate ways.

That evening, Akin went to Mallam Musa, the Gold merchant in Ado village, to enquire about the worth of Gold and when he found out how much each cost and how much Alabi would make if he decided to sell all four bars, he was furious. So, he devised an evil plan.

Around 10pm that night, Akin went to Alabi’s house and lied to him that Mallam Musa was waiting for them and that he was ready to buy their Gold. Akin claimed that it was safer for them to make the transaction at night so no one would see or rob them. He even convinced Alabi to sell all four bars of his Gold, and Alabi listened. Since Alabi trusted his best friend and never suspected that his best friend would harm him, Alabi took his box of Gold and followed Akin, his friend, into the dark village.

Shortly after, the two of them left Alabi’s house, and they walked down a narrow village path, and there, Akin hit Alabi’s head with a very big stick, and Alabi died immediately. After he killed him, he dragged his body and carried it to the top of a mountain where no one would find it, and then he took all of Alabi’s Gold.

Akin believed that killing and stealing his best friend’s Gold would make him rich and the best drummer in Ado village, but he had no idea that what he had done came with its consequences, and his life and that of the whole village were about to become miserable.

Watch out for part two

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