ktravula – a travelogue!

Browsing ktravula – a travelogue! blog archives for the day Friday, July 16th, 2010.

Saturday Morning

By the time you read this, I should be on the road. It is a scheduled post. I do not know which way the road might lead, but it is surely not southwards just yet, except maybe they’ve removed that narcissistic governor of ours with several skin colours from the Government house, and then there would be something to rejoice about.

Now here are the choices: Abuja (again), Kano, Sokoto (the seat of the Caliphate), Katsina (where the Christmas bomber hails from), Jos (again, where I had my national youth service, and where the Red Cross had been working with the victims of the January and March clashes), and Nassarawa (where a friend had invited me to come and spend a few days).

None of this destinations is in the Eastern or Southern parts of the country. That trip will have to come later. And definitely not in these days of journalists getting kidnapped for a ransom of up to 30 million naira. And not the Niger Delta area soon either. I may not look like an American, but who knows what a random search of my bag might show.

In any case, I’m on the last leg of my tour and home is calling me little by little. I hope my dogs won’t be disappointed that I left them for so long. I have had my fill of Nigeria, almost. One of the best places of interest in this trip was the Anglican Church at Wusasa, a very prominent place in the history of Northern Nigeria.

The only thing my mother says she is worried about is that I (must have) been wearing “the same shirt all over Nigeria.”

Saturday Morning was published on July 16th, 2010, with the tags , , , , , , under the adventures, Observations, Soliloquy, Travelling category. There are currently 2 comments on this article so far.

Grime!

From the dusty roads of Ibadan to Ife, and later to Akure, Akungba, Ikare and Ilorin, and then Kabba, Abuja, Kaduna and finally Zaria, my pair of black denim(?) jeans has literally seen it all, the good, the bad, and the downright uuuuugly. This is no joke. Through rain, mud, lawns, beer spills, dokunu which Peter made me eat, Chiedu’s ogbono soup, and suya spices from Hamdala Hotel, tonight, it will fairly contest as the dirtiest fabric south of the sahara.

On the other hand, my intermittent internet access has taken all the fun out of spontaneous blogging at historical or memorable sites. While sitting peacefully in front of the open bus park at Jabi in Abuja yesterday, I all but screamed at how much stress it was and no stable enough internet connection to put up a post. Unfortunately, three hours later, a new reality had replaced my latest impressions and I moved on.

Alright, I did changed my shirts many times along the way. I even managed to buy a few more hausa-type fabrics, and a fulani-made leather wallet in Kaduna for my American friend Chris. The problem however, like the fabled cripple, is not up but down. Shirts and tops well scented like fresh dew and a dirty black jeans with all the country grime from Ibadan to Wusasa just does not make a good combination. I am having sleepless nights. I know what you’re thinking: why not take everything off at night, wash them, sleep naked and hope that by morning there would be electricity to make them dry if the rain wouldn’t allow? Ah-ha, ask Wande Coal how that usually ends.

Lesson learnt, next time never ever leave the house again on impulse. Sit down and plan for it. That way, you would hold at least two pairs of jeans so you can change them at will. And wasn’t it Ife that you told them at home that you were going? Now here you are just returned with her from one of the oldest monuments to Christianity in Northern Nigeria. You could get an article or more or out of that, you know. Yes, na article we go chop? And what will you do with this jeans in the absence of another to change it with yet? Buy? Yes yes, I know. Just shut up and go to bed. But it’s raining outside? So what? Get your grimy self up and find your way home.

Picture is that of Zuma Rock at Suleja on the way from Abuja.

Grime! was published on July 16th, 2010, with the tags , , , , , , under the Observations, Soliloquy, Travelling category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Abuja National Mosque

Here is one of the monument to religiosity, a crucial an often inseparable aspect of the Nigerian personality – The Abuja National Mosque. A few metres away from the siting of this is the National Ecumenical Centre where Christian events of national significance is held. The amount needed to build this mosque would definitely run into millions of dollars, but it adds some beauty to the landscape of the city, hopefully to the mind and character of the people who worship there as well.

The auspicious site of the mosque and its sheer size makes it a landmark not to be easily missed. I compare it to the Washington Monument, thinking of how the obelisk guided me to itself through the labyrinth of Washington DC in December. Well, get to Abuja, anywhere from Zone 10 to Wuse Zone 3, you could probably find your way to the mosque on foot if you wanted to. I did, and I was rewarded.

Abuja National Mosque was published on July 16th, 2010, with the tags , , , , , under the adventures, Art, Observations category. There are currently 2 comments on this article so far.