I didn't know the route, as most of my travels had been to the north of Nigeria. The driver of the bus was quite understanding as we told him we would trail him behind. We took off quite early, and for the first time, I felt like a king of the road. I was able to press the accelerator pedal to some depth that made me feel fly. Unfortunately, but welcome, the bus driver was cautious of me following behind while my mom kept cautioning me on the speed to which I could go. It wasn't my first time playing that route, but previous times were as a passenger. I had two challenges: keeping track of the road and identifying important landmarks. I gave up identifying landmarks when the driver made several turns within the town of Ekiti.
Nigerian roads and terrain are terrible. It is acceptable that the road cannot be perfect, but it was relatively bad, especially when we entered Kogi State. We got to Kogi in due time, and I received praise from my mom and her family friend for a job well done. The bus driver equally commended me for keeping up with his driving.
My brother's wedding happened to be the first military wedding I experienced, and beyond the military men who stood with their swords drawn to usher the newlyweds, a good number of others were in their outfit to ensure orderliness and security of the event. An unofficial cameraman had asked my mom to excuse the groom and other officers that stood for a snapshot. My brother's words were firm and dangerous: 'Don't you ever touch my mother again.' The cameraman disappeared immediately, especially when the other officers in uniform looked in his direction. I could barely contain my laughter as I watched the unofficial cameraman scurry away in fear. I enjoyed every scene of the wedding and wished I could stay longer, but we had to leave.
The bus I trailed left before me, and you know women; they took their time, and by the time we were set, the bus had gone far. I made efforts to catch them on the road, but unfortunately, I couldn't. It didn't even occur to me to use a Google map, which sometimes isn't reliable. So, we stopped along the way to ask for direction. I can't even remember asking for the route through Ekiti, but I certainly asked for the route to Ilorin. The people we asked directed us through the Egbe road rather than the Ekiti route, and that was the genesis of our troubled journey.
Egbe Road links Kogi State with Kwara and is usually less often traveled, both because the road is bad in structure and also because there are frequent robbery attacks on the road. Egbe Road is one I could say is a "death trap." We left the wedding venue by 4 p.m. with the intention of reaching Ilorin by 8 p.m., but with the wrong route taken, the journey was more horrible. We kept dropping into potholes, and by around 7 p.m., the silencer cut abruptly, stalling the journey. As luck would have it, the car mishap occurred near a village, and we were able to get some good Samaritans who directed us to someone who fixed the silencer for us. By then, it was already 8 p.m., and we had no choice but to seek shelter in that community. A clergyman hosted us on his own for the night and even provided supper.
By following morning, we took off very early and headed back home carefully. I was more relaxed and continued to Ilorin. The Egbe road was straight and had no diversions to make. We got to Ilorin safely the following morning after about two hours of driving.
Embarking on that single journey was my first long-distance travel, which had an exciting start but was very challenging for me at the end. I have had similar troubling times on the road, but I've been able to maneuver my way around easily.
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