Kpalegelege: The bird that sojourns to Boki when it is Winter in Europe

Modlin Odu's fiction from facts

One day, worried about the increasing death of his young offsprings when the weather condition changes, Mr. Awestruck, a white Flamingo bird with long tiny legs and neck, attractive dark eyes and pink eyelids and scanty sleek feathers called his neighbours together for a crucial meeting. 

After everyone had arrived at the venue and taken sits in comfortable positions, he began to speak in a voice humbled by pain. He told them how three days ago, he had buried his 9th child in the 9th season of his marriage and that Mr. Bean and Mr. Parker had buried 6 children respectively and others who have had, same tragedy two, three, four times as the case maybe. They all nodded painfully in agreement with what seemed to be, and uncontrollable situation as no one knew the cause. 

Then he told them how he suspects the weather, narrating how his 9 children had shivered to death as by their nature, they had no thick feathers as cover against cold. Others nodded in agreement, recounting their own experiences. So, they resolved to move to anywhere in the world they can find a friendly weather to raise their offsprings and for many months, all the surviving adult male children and their fathers shared themselves into groups and flew to the four ends of the world in search of another home. They met many other kinds of birds, interacted with them and shared experiences of the complexities of their nature and survival.

Mr Awestruck led his group to Africa and discovered after months of wandering, that Africa had a different specie of Flamingo birds who at first, were hostile towards them until they narrated their ordeal. Tutan Kubuku, a warlord and leader of the African Flamingo birds consulted with other elders and they resolved that the European Flamingo birds be accommodated within a particular time and limited space so as to enable them birth and raise their children until they grow strong to live in Europe. Words went round and the European Flamingo birds started trooping into Africa. 

This was how Boje community in Boki local government area, Cross River State, Nigeria was apportioned to them since West Africa didn't have many flamingo residents. They became friends with some African flamingos, shared ideas, intermarried and appreciated each other's culture, birthing another kind of Flamingo birds and they increased in numbers and are scattered all over the country. As a way of showing gratitude, the European flamingos introduced a trick which till date, children who have heard tales about it, look forward to experiencing it. Marveled at the unusual effortless flip of wings of this strange white birds, the people named them "kpalegelege", a name that has survived many generations and still counting.

Till date, descendants of the "Kpalegelege" native European Flamingos who kept to the tradition, still sojourn in their numbers into Boje community and its environs when it is winter in Europe to birth and breed their offsprings. Many foreign tourists and researchers are visiting to study about the Flamingo Birds.