spiritual retreats and solemn prayers in different parts of the
western parts of the country which were mostly used by early Christian
leaders like Apostle Babalola, it is difficult to point to any
monument marking the spread of the Christian faith in other parts. Aya
was reputed to be dominated by visible water spirits such that
Okolobe hillock and the Ihwerhe spirits were numerous and other evil
spirits they tormented people in the day time and much more at night
time.
It was therefore perplexing to accept the fact that a Holy Bible could
descend from Heaven and land in a predominantly pagan village founded
by a diviner known simply as Aya, who, like biblical Jacob, did
everything humanly possible to outwit his brethren in order to
dominate the fabulous fishing grounds he just discovered a little
under six kilometres from Aviara, his birth place. For the avoidance
of doubt, Aya is still regarded as the brain behind the Aya cult.
An unlettered aging woman, Mrs. Ofuonwaikie Esievo, with fellow
farmers, was in a hurry to ferry her farm yield, mainly yams, across
the Aya lake just before the pending floods suddenly the woman
discovered a large Bible and a supposedly letter on the tubers of
yams spread on the sandy beach. The yams and everything else were
soaked and dripping with water but the open Bible and the accompanying
letter were dry. Like the biblical story of the Virgin conception, she
became the bearer of a tale that would remain indelible in the
history of the country.
The woman, who has since died unsung, had the onerous responsibility
of carrying a Holy Bible that was said to have fallen from the fading
sky blue heaven. That was in August of 1914 and the lace was Araya in
Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State. That, in a nutshell,
is the bizzare story of the Fallen Bible which has put the sleepy
hometown of the former managing director of the Guinness Nigeria
Plc, Dr. Abel Ubeku, in the world map.
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