Tèmítọ́pẹ́ Ọ̀jẹ́délé-Adéjùmọ̀

Five years later, a naturalist came to visit. After walking through the man’s garden, the naturalist remarked, “That bird is an eagle, not a chicken.”
“Yes,” the owner replied, “but I have trained it to be a chicken. It is no longer an eagle but a chicken, even though it measures fifteen feet in height.”

“No,” said the naturalist. “It is still an eagle; it has the heart of an eagle, and I will make it soar high into the heavens.”
The owner shook his head. “No, it is now a chicken, and it will never fly.”

They agreed to test whether the eagle could still fly. The naturalist held the eagle in his palm and said, “Eagle, thou art an eagle. Thou dost not belong to this earth but to the sky; stretch forth thy wings and fly.”

The eagle looked at him, then turned toward the chickens feeding nearby. It jumped down from the naturalist’s palm.

Chuckling, the owner said, “I told you, it’s a chicken.” But the naturalist disagreed. “It is an eagle,” he insisted, saying he would give it another chance the next day. The following day, he took the eagle to the top of a house and said again, “Eagle, thou art an eagle; stretch forth thy wings and fly.” But once more, the eagle saw the chickens and jumped down to eat with them. The owner reminded the naturalist, “I told you, it’s a chicken.”

The next morning, the naturalist rose early and took the eagle outside the city, to the top of a mountain. He picked up the eagle and said, “Eagle, thou art an eagle; thou dost belong to the sky, not to this earth. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.”

The eagle looked around and trembled but did not fly. The naturalist then made it look directly at the sun. Suddenly, the eagle stretched out its wings and flew away, never to return. It had been an eagle all along, though it had been kept and tamed as a chicken.

This legend is from Dr. Aggrey’s best-known sermon. Whoever Dr. Aggrey was, I do not know—perhaps a clergyman—but when I came across this story, the message struck me deeply, and I didn’t hesitate to write about it. Without beating around the bush, the story’s message is about discovering one’s true potential.

Different people discover themselves in different ways and at different speeds. For some, their family background or lineage discovers them even before they do. These individuals often come from families known for a particular profession or ability.

In the traditional Yoruba system, some bear names that signify the family’s vocation, such as Ayanwole (drummers), Elegbede (singers), and Odeyemi (hunters), among others.

Most people, however, discover themselves in a society that often suppresses their potential. Using Nigeria as an example, the average youth struggles to discover their talent. Many young people make the mistake of following trends, thinking they’ve found their path, only to later feel confused and frustrated with their chosen direction in life.

Chickens, by nature, are weak and docile; they roam in restricted areas and eat whatever they are given. They easily surrender to being slaughtered. On the other hand, eagles are kings of their world.

Nigeria is like the owner in the story—it does not encourage its youth to “fly.” It doesn’t believe in their creativity, passion, or dreams. Consider the case of the young man who invented an Amphibian Jet during General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime and is still waiting for the former Head of State’s promise to be fulfilled.

While it is no secret that our society does not encourage youth to pursue their dreams, that does not mean we should resign ourselves to this fate. As some say, Nigeria may have its problems, but people still achieve great things through honest, God-inspired efforts.

Sadly, many youth have been brainwashed to believe that the only way to succeed in Nigeria is through fraud or robbery. However, everyone has unique potential within them; we are all created with something distinct to achieve great things.

As individuals, we have our strengths and weaknesses, and discovering ourselves is key. There is nothing impossible—even the word itself says, “I’m possible.” One of the biggest dream killers is fear. In the story, the eagle finally realized it belonged to the sky, but it was initially afraid to try. Once it did, it soared higher and higher.

We, too, are often afraid to fail. But success can only be achieved if we try. Like the eagle, there is only one goal: to fly to the sky and discover our true potential.