The Journey Home

Phew!

That's the best way to describe the past 4 days of my life (not counting yesterday).

I’ve been excited to go home and I’d been planning for it for weeks.

It got to the day it should happen and man, the series of events that took place….

First, I woke up late, which is uncommon of me on the day I'm to make a trip. I mean, unless I plan to, I don't wake up late in the morning of a trip/journey.

So we (was traveling with my sister) missed the first bus.

That's cool, yeah? Nothing to worry much about since there's a second bus.

We got on the second bus and not long, we moved.

About thirty minutes into our journey tho, the bus started malfunctioning. The driver in his good sense decided to turn back and call for a change of bus immediately.

Smart man, smart move.

We stopped somewhere to make the exchange, now since it's a different bus, we were assigned a different driver, to our woe.

The driver kicked off the engine and we were on the road again.

But honey, about thirty minutes into that same journey, we were stopped at a police checkpoint where we were stalled for an hour or more.

Nigeria is corrupt, yeah? So when you get to a checkpoint and see a police man on the road, as a driver, you know to bring your hand out of the window and that hand better be bearing gift offerings (bribe), else they'll stop you.

Well this driver thought that he could get by on good graces and a smile, so he didn't do that.

He was asked to park at the corner of the road and bring out his papers.

Now, I understand if you don't want to indulge in the corruption of the country, but how are you driving a bus on a trip from Anambra to Abuja and you don't have your papers with you??????

Make it make sense!

And you thought a smile would fix everything for you? This is not Nickelodeon my guy.

Well we were there for as long as it took the driver to beg the police and the police to ask him to pay a fine of 10,000naira, and the driver to beg the police again and for them to finally ask for 5,000naira and the driver to beg the police again and the police to maintain their stand and for us the passengers to start making calls to the company, and start scolding the driver and finally until the driver paid the 5,000 and kicked off the engine again.

Penny wise, pound foolish. He'd have given the bribe and saved us from the stress.

Anyway, we got out of that ditch en route to Enugu, which usually takes about 4 hours, but I bet it took more this time.

Our driver, in bid to escape future holdup by policemen or any road agent, decided to pass through the old roads located in the innermost part of Enugu.

The gallops, the red soil dust, the fear of being kidnapped in mostly lonely roads ... .my God!

Well, his attempt did pay off.

We stayed off the major roads and he escaped further inspection from road agents, but he didn't look out for one thing.

We left Enugu, up next Benue state. Depending on what route you're using, Benue can be either long or short.

We used the Loko road which makes Benue long, but this is not a problem, in a trip from the east to Abuja, I recommend you take the long Benue route because the short Benue route, which passes into Lokoja is a really long ride.

Plus it's shorter for me since I'll be stopped at the junction that will lead to where I live in Nasarawa state, my home.

Anyway, we kept on the Benue road for hours until we stopped at the road to find out what happened to one of the company's buses we saw on the road. It seemed to be carrying passengers from Abuja to the east.

After the driver had said hi and sympathized, he returned to an overheated bus.

Now if you do not know this, the process of cooling an overheated vehicle takes a while. I learned this recently.

After the bus cooled down, we continued on the journey but soon came to a halt. Again.

I got tired too.

This time, it was still because of overheating.

The problem, as we found out the next morning…oh yeah, we parked somewhere and slept for the night, since it was already 8pm and our bus was insistent on being hot.

The problem was that as the result of the rough driving on old roads and into gallops in attempt to escape those in authority on the road, the pressure created a leak on the radiator of the bus, so no matter how much water is put in, it can't put off the heat of the engine for so long.

The driver went to the mechanic to get that fixed and we continued on our way again at about 11 am, on smoother roads until my sister and I alighted from the bus.

Don't make me talk about the trauma of sleeping in a congested bus of passengers with nasal congestion and the windows were airtight until I complained.

I've only told you about a 2 day event, I know. The rest of the 2 days I spent cleaning the house. It's usually a tiring experience, so I couldn't find the time to write, cos I was either cleaning or sleeping.

Anyway, we're back home now and if you missed the 'What Happened In Church Today' series, you'll be glad to know it's back too.

So follow and subscribe to stay updated.

And let me know of any experience you've had traveling a long distance.

Also, get my sister’s book BACK HOME now. You can either order for a paperback or an online copy. Like me, it’s essential we have good books by our side when we travel home.