From Lagos to Zaria; A Journey Through Nigeria's Heartland

This is a recollection of the sights of a road trip from Lagos City to Zaria a small university Town in Kaduna State. Again my recollection of the journey is fuzzy for i was half a asleep for a sizable part of the odd 14 our journey.

The journey starts off at around 7.00 AM. Aboard a luuuxirous bus, technically what Nigerians call a bus wouldn't fit the description of a bus in Kenya but rather a bigger Nissan Matatu. We aboard a big Cross-land carrier your Nigerian equivalent of Molo Line or something of the sort. For 6500 Naira we are sorted for the rest of the journey. Astonishingly though cross-land carrier provides each traveller with a base ball cap with their label all offer it. The journey begins with the driver complaining that the luggage is to heavy for his vehicle. " I be say now dat the load on the passengers, be two heavy for my vehicle, de vehicle na use two much petrol, aaa aaa," the driver says.

We set off for Zaria at around 8.00 A.M. I immediately dip my fingers into some tasty jollof rice and some plantain. As we travel I savour the beautiful panorama that are the Nigerians lands, acres and acres of beautiful green equatorial vegetation are certainly easy on the eye. We travel through the city of brown roofs (Ibadan), I can almost imagine Chinua Achebe penning one of his books in one of the houses, I am also quite perturbed that Achebe is not that big a writer in Nigeria as is Ngugi wa Thiong'o as he is in Kenya.

We travel through Nigerian Central states states such as Kogi Oyo and such. As we travel I see huge banners carrying murals of this or that Governor or messages like, "Kogi your home of business, peace and prosperity." Hardly a few miles pass by without I seeing a sign board with Dangote, this or Dangote that, apparently Dangote is the richest black man alive today, *coughs* in uncertainty.

I see rivers, eat galla and notice hawkers selling petrol and diesel on the roadside. We are still travelling aftr sunset and well into the night. My hosts wake me up just in time to catch Kaduna lights around 9.30 A.M. We now have to travel another odd hor before we get to Zaria.

We get to Zaria and I am tired as hell, our accommodation is reserved at the University Gymnasium. The driver though stops at the University Mosque. Amidst all coaxing he will not bulge and will not go past the university mosque. We tell him that the agreement was for him to take us at the university gymnasium. "When I be come to this University now this be nah University gym." He replies. The driver apparently leaves us like a pack of stranded mice in floodlights, We have to look for alternative transport for the two mile journey from the university mosque to the university gymn.