Take A Holiday …. Travel By Road! - Part 2

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Dear Friends,

I appreciate so much your comments and feedback on the first part of this blog and do welcome such in future blogs. In response to some of the comments, I am not sure it was deliberate that I did not mention the name of my home town. Perhaps I am waiting for Google to refine their tracking software to Google Earth Ancestral. If they did that and you ‘googled’ my name, you’d probably come up with this: Basil Chukwuezi (name), Umudoji/Umuorihe(kindred), Abo(village), Uzoagba (town), Ikeduru (local government area), Imo (state), Nigeria (country). Don’t expect the West Africa, Africa, Southern Hemisphere part! And ,Google, please ensure you credit me with this idea when it becomes reality! As for kidnappers, who is afraid of them!? Jokes apart (no pun intended on Julius Agwu’s new book of the same title), I would like to conclude the series on travel and holiday.

Village Experience/Human Development Index

In some aspects my village appeared the same, but in a lot of other ways, quite a lot has changed. I will always hold constant memories of the village as a platform where I spent the formative years of my life shortly before the Nigerian civil war ended, then migration to the cities – Aba, Abakaliki, Owerri, Calabar, Jos, Yola, London etc. I remember going to the stream to swim and fetch water, the farm, chasing or at least watching the bigger boys chase squirrels, play with self hand- made toys… These are novel experiences some of the children of today may never have. What with school in major cities of the world, and toys such as iphones and tablets! Of course if you pursued squirrels in the ‘developed economies’ animal rights enthusiasts and the law on animal cruelty will catch you....

My village has witnessed a lot of development. There is I am told, regular public power supply, though during the three nights I spent there, some houses had and others didn’t; depending on how many lines supplying them! The roads are more motor able and a few families have sunk water boreholes to complement the only one done by an NGO, which hitherto served the whole village. My senior brother who resides in Europe had paid a recent visit during which he did a similar thing. In the traditional African hospitality, he also ensured that a pipe through the wall supplied water to others.

There has also been much physical development in terms of buildings springing up in the village. Our own particular house, initially standing alone on a precinct, has been surrounded by new buildings; some by young men I can only relate by who their parents and older siblings are. This of course means that the village is being transformed by the younger generation.

At the relationship level, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my little cousin, Martina was on the way to become a grandmother. Her first daughter got married recently and the first son can qualify to take a wife if only by his height and size! I was also glad I could make it to Urualla Ideato, where I witnessed the traditional wedding between my friend Chimezie and his spouse. We had become family friends both in London, where he is based and Lagos which he visits frequently on business. Though I didn’t let him know I was coming, I thought it was one way to show appreciation for his friendship over the years we have known each other. It turned out that the wedding was a major highlight of my trip as it combined the elements of tradition and tourism in one breath. The colorful ceremony confirmed that the Igbo wedding tradition has been elevated to the mainstream of our people’s contemporary life style.

Friends In Ministry

On the return leg, my trip afforded me the opportunity to touch base with my friends in ministry – Pastors Obi, Sam, John (Onitsha) and Nduka (Asaba). I am particularly thrilled by what God has done through the hand of Pastor Nduka since he founded a church. This is against the trying circumstances that saw him leave the ministry he had served in for over ten years.

Lessons Learnt

When I arrived back to Lagos, the car mileage showed I had done a total of 1,305kms. I don’t need statistics to confirm that this was enough to traverse the length and breadth of some other smaller African countries – an indication of the size and abundance of this great country called Nigeria. However the government and people need to do more to realize its great potentials.
Whereas the Benin-Asaba by pass reduced travel time by one hour, the congestion at Niger Bridge, especially at festive periods extended it by four hours! A second Niger Bridge, long overdue and highly politicized would have made the delay totally unnecessary. The economic waste and human torture due to the current position is better imagined than experienced. I heard the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan had sworn he will ensure a second bridge is built under his tenure. I pray he keeps to his words.

The roads are much better but high accident rate remains a concern. Before I travelled a major accident was reported which claimed lives; and on my return another one involving a tanker and luxury bus was even more devastating - all on the same stretch of road!

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my travel cum holiday and got really refreshed. The only regret I would say is that my schedule did not allow me to visit my alma mater, Government Secondary School, Owerri, to relive some of the sweet memories of growing up .Of course on return, the hustle and bustle took over…. That is life you would say!

Last Line: In the journey of life you need divine covering and protection to arrive destination. ‘For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’. Psalms 91:11-12 NIV. You can activate that cover and covenant of exemption if you know how!

To find out more about God and how you can have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, visit any Bible believing church near you, or: CHAPEL OF DESTINY RESTORATION CHURCH, 2 Akinlabi Lane, off Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, by Round About Bus Stop, Ikeja. Lagos.