Helloooooooooooooooo!! Good to see you here again :)
Now, I consider myself a very considerate person. Very. Which is why in my consideration, I have noticed a certain marginalization on here (this blog). There are people who absolutely ADORE long, boring stories and I have not as a blogger performed my duty in delivering that. This blog post is therefore both an apology and an "I'll make it up to you".
Today, I'm just gon' give a peep into my wonderful life, and I can almost hear you snort, "Like I care". Well, yeah you aren't supposed to. Because this, my friend, is the point of a blog. So, like you figured, today we're talking about me (of course it involves God now!).
And no, this is not because I ran out of inspiration. I'm serious (this is my straightest face -__-
So, here goes.....
DAY ONE: A
RUDE AWAKENING
Ring,
ring!
Arrgh! I moaned as the raucous sound filled my ears. Quickly, a signal
was sent to my very listless brain which strove through the fog of drowsiness
to interpret it. Several seconds passed as I struggled to leave dreamland before
it finally started to register as my alarm. After this was done, another signal
was transmitted to my body to respond to it. My eyes opened far enough for me
to peer through narrow slits but shut instantly as light flooded them. I had
left the light bulb on before going to bed the night – or morning – before.
I
stretched out my hand – still with closed eyes – and felt for my phone which
was still ringing angrily under my pillow. With a herculean effort, I opened my
eyes again and stared dizzily at the dancing figures on my phone’s screen. 5:30 Am. Already? I felt like I’d only
slept for fifteen minutes. Then, a realisation dawned. Today was The Day! At
last!
As if from
nowhere, adrenaline pumped my veins as I got up from the bed like a spring
wound up too long. My eyes became suspiciously bright then. I got on the move
and did all that had to be done. That morning, everyone seemed so excited. Why
not? After all, today was a long awaited one. We were all going to Abuja for
the NIFES National Missions Conference. A trip I especially looked forward to,
not just because of the conference itself but also because I’d be going to
Abuja for the very first time. Urbane buildings and incandescent lights filled
my mind’s eye. I couldn’t wait. I just knew the campground was going to be a
brilliantly massive one.
Several
hours later, and I was all prepped up for the journey to the Promised Land. I
felt like a kid on her way to Disneyland. Well, maybe not that kinda
‘’excited’’ but you get the picture. I was probably way too old for that kinda thing,
but that’s just the way it was. It was all I could do not to start a tap
dance. But never let it be said that an about-to-be-an-adult
girl was all worked up about something like that. Not good for the image. So, I
kept my cool.
Well, there I was, seated at the back seat of a van, book in
hand, headphones safely tucked in my ears with a quiet unassuming neighbour
whom I was glad didn’t have a lot to say because the last thing I needed was talkative
who couldn’t get a hint to shut up, seated beside me. 8:35 Am and we were off!
This is
NOT Abuja
I was
confused. I didn’t know what to do with myself. The journey was already in full
gear and I was still trying to decide my course of action. Should I read first?
Take a nap? Or just sit, listen to music and enjoy the scenery? I weighed my
options diplomatically. I mused and finally decided on...nothing. Since sleep
didn’t have enough patience to wait for me to make a decision, she took matters
into her own hands.
Several
forceful jiggles later and sleep lost me. I groaned in frustration as the van
hopped ceaselessly over dusty, jagged roads. My rump felt sore, really my whole
body did. We all murmured in protest, either the roads were super horrific or
the driver was. Either way, it was exasperating since it made reading very
difficult. Sometime later, I gave up on the book and settled for music and some
moping. But all these did not temper my excitement. No way was I going to allow
a few bumps – well, maybe not a few –
mess with that. After all, nothing good comes easy; no pain, no gain, I
rationalized.
Bump! Another jiggle later and I was re-evaluating my rationality. I
shut my eyes and played grand cosmopolitan city scenery in my head over and
over. I thought of Aso rock, of beautiful lush gardens, grandiose mansions set
in idyllic landscape, high-rise buildings of architectural masterpiece, of
tarred highways lined by working
halogen street lamps. Ah, yes Abuja was definitely worth the pain. It had to
be.
Without
boring you any further, we finally left Lokoja and entered the Federal Capital
Territory, complete with our “jiggly” van and expectant eyes at about 5pm. We
flew past villages and hills, forests and then...Kwali! My eyes widened at the
sight before me, it was unbelievable!
“Sorry, is
this Abuja?” I asked foolishly and immediately bit my lip at such a ludicrous
question since “WELCOME TO NIFES CAMPGROUND” screamed boldly on a tall
billboard. My neighbour looked at me for the first time since the journey began,
in a funny way, like I had just asked if the earth was flat. “Way to go, champ...way to go. You’ve not
only proven beyond a smidgen of doubt that you’re a JJC but that you’re also
irredeemably blind,” I thought giving myself a mental pat on the back.
I
shook my head and gaped. This was it? Where
were the tall, sophisticated buildings? Where were the bright lights? Where did
the idyllic sceneries go? What about the tarred, busy highways? Traffic lights?
I wondered as I stared incredulously at the large, partially-fenced grounds
surrounded by nothing but rolling hills that towered over dense vegetation.
Then, it
finally dawned like an avalanche. This was not the great capital city. It was a...village! It was Kwali, a
town located on the outskirts of Abuja, as I was made to understand later. I
was crushed, disillusioned and totally disappointed as I looked around as if expecting
the real city to flip up from underground like those hi-tech action movies (no,
not Nollywood, thank you very much), but what can I say? Life is obviously not
a movie. I felt like a kid who finally found out fairy tales weren't real.
We packed our van and got down, I sighed with relief as I stretched
the body that had been cramped up for several hours. We carried our bags from
the trunk and headed for the check point where we were searched thoroughly by
some people I assumed were NIFES staff, guarded by armed soldiers, before we
were let in. Great security, I
thought absentmindedly.
Stepping past
the check point and onto the ground, I took in the scenery before me. There
were several buildings scattered around the massive grounds, with some still
under construction. Our campus group was led to the large tent where we found a
place to settle while we waited for our registration. There were several other
campus groups around and it was very noisy. Typical, I thought. Boisterous
students. Some of them were singing and playing talking drums, guitars, others
were just yelling. A guy was moving around, hollering; “This is Kwali o, not
Abuja. Abeg make una no vex.” I wordlessly accepted the apology as other
students threw repartees at him. After a few minutes, some of my tension began
to ease as I watched the goings-on around me.
Later on,
we were able to get food - for free - and I could not believe how surplus it
was, since we were practically begged to eat, I knew we were going to suffer
for it later. The main programme was not to start that day, so we were asked to
retire early and since the registration could not be done that evening, being for
arrivals only, accommodation was survival of the fittest. I and some of my
campus group friends got a hostel and some mattresses after a lot of heaving
and hustling. But I could not retire as early as I thought since we had
rehearsals that night for the NMC mass choir. I could not sleep until past
midnight but it was well worth it. Singing has a way of easing me up.
Being the
idealist that I was, I was able to look through rose-tinted shades and see the
brighter side of the whole issue. This place was idyllic - well, maybe not the main, student-infested
campground, but the surrounding landscape was. The hills looked really nice and
it was probably better that the campground was far away from the noisy and busy
city. After all, no one builds a campground in the middle of a city. I don’t
know what I was even thinking. Well, I had obviously been dreaming and this was
definitely a rude awakening.
...to be continued
Side note: Stop frowning abeg. I told you 'twas boring stuff. And those of you who just have a penchant for long, boring stories can thank me later. But really, I'm going somewhere with this ok? Just chill and come back later.
See ya!
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