The story of eleven-year-old Agbeke!

Agbeke woke up very early, dressed up, and quickly went outside the door in readiness to go to school. Her dad was so sure she would never back down from going to school after 2 days of being grounded by her mum. For her, going to school was the best thing that could ever happen to her. As the last child of a family of four, she could get away with a lot of things that her siblings could not.

It is three weeks until the “Genius Competition” Back in the day, this competition was held among science students from different schools. But in Agbeke’s school, other talents were allowed to showcase their talent and the best man wins.

Agbeke was competing with other students in her school in the area of public speaking. Princess Agbeke as she is fondly called is an outstanding student in that area. Most of the other students in her school were already intimidated by her prowess in public speaking. As a toddler, she picked up speaking out from her grandmother who lived with them while she was a baby.

Her grandmother used to sing different native songs to her as a baby. Her name was given to her by her grandmother.

In Africa, names were given with meaningful tonation and translation. Traditional African names often have unique stories behind them. From the day or time, a baby is born to the circumstances surrounding the birth, several factors influence the names parents choose for their children.

It could be based on events surrounding the birth of the child, it could be the order of birth (especially twins or triplets), could be based on calendar days or times and seasons. Some babies are even named after the death of someone in the family. Such names like Babatunde, in the Yoruba language, mean ‘father returns’, or ‘ a father has returned’ and Iyabo means mother has returned. The Yoruba culture is very rich in this regard.

Agbeke’s grandmother took delight in naming her because she saw strength in her even as a baby. Agbeke represents power, practicality, ambition, success, inspiration, and discipline. Agbeke is a name that connotes someone who is ahead of her time. Her grandmother believed her intelligence and brightness will enable her to achieve great things in her lifetime and she will be respected by many.

My name is Agbeke, I am popularly called Princess Agbeke. I am eleven years old. I am here to represent my class, myself, and my family. Everyone stood in awe of Agbeke’s presentation which was queued toward sustainability in rural areas for rural women and girls. She emphasized that empowering women and girls like her is key not only to the well-being of individuals, families, and rural communities but also to overall financial productivity, given women’s large presence in agriculture worldwide. Only five minutes into Agbeke’s speech the audience was already wooed by her confidence and eloquence.

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That’s my daughter, exclaimed Agbeke’s Dad as they walked gracefully around the school after her presentation.

The school got government recognition because of Agbeke’s presentation and other children who showcased their talents at the “Genius Competition”. This was an annual event that is inter and intra-related for all schools in that region.

Africans believe that some children were born with greatness, hence anything they come in contact with must bloom.

Is Agbeke one of such children? Time will tell…

To be continued.