Collins' uncle had made a free transport arrangement for all those who wish to grace the occasion from Lagos. A fully air-conditioned coaster bus with Camcorder. I looked forward to enjoying the trip but unfortunately, we were disengaged from the bus by the older people. In African culture, you dare not band words with the elders. It was on this note that we decided to take a public transport to Benin City.
This ill-treatment didn't go down with me. My friends and I felt that since the elders did not register or made their intentions known to travel with the bus, they shouldn't have appeared from nowhere and feel entitled.
Our next option was to join a night bus from one of those famous transport companies to Benin. We heard that it was always fun to travel with the luxury bus at night. So, we bought our tickets and had enough monies to buy fries and all that.
Soon, we were off. The bus sounds like it was crawling at first through the streets of Lagos before it started speeding off on the highway to Ijebu-ode.
We arrived at Okada around 2:00am and the next thing we heard was gunshots from right, left and the front of the bus. The bus was halted in the middle of the road, then some guys wielding heavy guns like pump action invade the bus from the front and rare doors.
All they asked was for all passengers to drop their phone in one bag, cash money in another bag. Before the announcement, all passengers were already lying down, facing the ground. It was a crazy experience to say the least. Though nobody was killed, the guys made away with all our money and phones.
The robbery went on for two hours uninterrupted. There was no trace or sound of coming vehicles, let alone the police to rescue the situation.
At about 4:00 am, when the hardened criminals had completed their mission, they left us without letting us know that the mission had been completed. I can tell you that my heart was in my mouth as the operation went on.
About twenty minutes after they had left, the passengers started standing up one after the other. My friend, Mike did not lose anything. He was able to stock is cash money into his shoes, how he managed to do this still remained a miracle to me.
We gathered and went across the other side of the road where some women who owned bars were still awake and playing music as se truck drivers were there making merry. My friends and I just wanted to wait till there was daylight before we continue our journey.
The journey from Okada town to Benin city is about 30 minutes to 1 hour. We waited till 6:00am before leaving. While we waited, everyone was just busy cleaning up their dirty self and sharing their own side of the nasty experience.
I almost regretted going for the ceremony as all the funds I could muster was gone with the robbers. All I did was to be grateful that I didn't lost my life.
We finally got to Benin and Collins' family welcome us with a warm reception. We took a warm shower and wore new set of clothes.
When Uncle Osanyabor came in, having been briefed of our experience, he refunded us all what we lost. I got a new phone and cash from him, likewise my friends who also lost their belongings in the robbery. I haven't seen or heard of such.
Uncle Osanyabor was a wealthy dude. As someone who was into oil and gas, I knew he had some money to throw around.
The next day, we wore the Benin native attire, white sewn traditional ware with a red beaded necklace and a skirt like trouser to the square where the coronation was to take place.
The night before the coronation, Collins shared some mint naira notes to us so we could spray his uncle. It was a lavish party and as Lagos boys, we registered our presence.
I wish I could meet uncle Osanyabor again for his kind gesture and being humane.