My Ilorin trip

I travelled to Ilorin on Thursday with a colleague to represent members of staff at a funeral. One of our colleagues lost her dad #sad. The ride to Ilorin was a bumpy one. Those who patched the road did a shabby job. We left the bus park in Lagos at 12.35pm instead of 10am due to bad management which I really don't want to talk about. Let me just give you a hint by saying some oga at the top told us not to see it as a vacation and made us work till 12pm not considering the distance and the fact that it was our first time going there. I was mad and very upset because I didn't want us to get there late (security issues on my mind). 

There was light traffic jam in Lagos but the road was free after we got to Oyo state. I slept for a while amidst the rough road and cooled myself with a litre carton of Hollandia full cream milk which got warm as the time elapsed. The sun was doing an amazing job of heating up the earth and I think I am a little darker. I started writing this piece to take my mind off a particular long and scary narrow dual carriageway where we had trailers in front of us, behind us and moving fast past us on the other side. We saw a sad accident of a trailer carrying framed glasses. The glasses fell off the vehicle and most shattered. We also witnessed a near miss. A trailer directed in front of us overtook the car in its front and almost hit an oncoming bus on the other lane filled with passengers. We could hear the screams of the people in the bus. Thank God it didn't happen. Also a private car behind us wanted to sharply overtake us but he almost got crushed by an oncoming trailer which made him do a quick swerve off the road into a shallow ditch. Some passengers in our bus screamed for him. He was able to drive out of the ditch after several attempts. Hmmm...how accidents occur. 

The rest of the journey was okay, glory be to God. We got to the final bus stop at 5.47pm where we took a taxi to our colleague's house, another 45minutes drive. We missed the wake-keep and service of song which started at 4pm. We were welcomed warmly by the family members and offered choices of rice or amala. We chose amala with sumptuous ewedu soup and assorted meat. After eating and expressing our condolences, we were taken to the hotel where we lodged. It was two people to a room, I was with one of their aunts who also travelled from Lagos. It was kinda awkward for me undressing in the presence of a stranger but she didn't seem to be bothered by my presence. I tried to sleep as soundly as I could despite the African Magic Yoruba channel that was on all night. 

The next morning we dressed and packed our things to go for the funeral service. It commenced at 10am and we were there on time. I slept throughout the sermon because it was in Yoruba, my brain tried to interpret but shut down in the process. In other words, sleeping wasn't my idea. Blame it on my brain. After the service which lasted for an hour and thirty minutes, we headed to the park. We were off to Lagos at 12pm and as soon as the bus started moving, I decided (not my brain this time) to have a good nap. A wonderful one indeed! An hour and a half in sleep world enjoying the cool breeze as it blew through my hair and my face. After I woke up, I kept myself company with a book I bought recently The family you've always wanted by Gary Chapman author of The five love languages. I started reading it the previous day and just continued from where I stopped. Traffic here and there, bumps on the road and a blazing hot sun. 

We got to Lagos at 5pm but I got home at 6.45pm courtesy the usual Lagos traffic. Welcomed by the bestest family, I did a short private prayer of thanksgiving, unpacked, had my bath, and devoured a delicious Nigerian delicacy of yam with palm oil and pepper soup. After eating, I watched TV a little, then went to bed listening to R&B till I slept off.

BUT!!! I MUST CONFESS, travelling in a bus with no air condition, under the blazing hot sun, on a bumpy and dusty road is no fun. Aside from the discomforts, it was bon voyage all the way!!!! No vehicle breakdown, no robbery, no headaches, no stomach aches, no purging, no missing or forgotten item! So shouting a loud WOOHOO!! Thank you God!