Dear Friends,
I guess I have not been very active on my blog for some time. I had thought, as we all do, that I could juggle a number of engagements and still achieve a balance. But a particular project I was handling drove some of my schedules to the back seat, one of which was trying to write a full blog,at least once a month. I suffered as it were a writer’s block. Thankfully a recent road trip to Ghana provided a much needed diversion and in the process got the writers’ juice flowing once more. It is that trip that will be the focus of a three part blog.I had gone for the wedding of the son of Mr. Eddie Onuzo - a mentor and senior old boy of my great alma mater, Government Secondary School, Owerri. In this first part I will try to paint a background including my links and fascination with Ghana, and in two subsequent blogs report on the wedding proper…
I made adequate preparations before the trip including booking hotel accommodation on line and procuring the ECOWAS travel certificate, my international passport being at that time in one of the embassies. I was later to learn that with an identification card you could travel to any of the ECOWAS countries, thanks to the ECOWAS free movement protocol! My choice to travel by road was not only informed by the fact that the only available airline for the trip was fully booked, I preferred to take in the sights especially as that was the first time I was travelling properly to another African country apart from some foray into Seme boarder in my early days in Lagos.
My family, both maternal and paternal has enjoyed early contacts with Ghana and Ghanaians. Three of my paternal uncles lived in Ghana, and two of them married Ghanaians and had children from them. The story is the same for one of my maternal uncles. You would be correct to say I have first cousins with Ghanaian blood flowing in their veins! My uncles’ sojourn predated Nigeria’s independence, when Ghana was the country of choice for any young man venturing to live outside Nigeria, beyond Europe and America. It was as a matter of fact the ‘township’ of those days, so much so that the first modern bungalow built in my family was from money made in Ghana. As a growing child I remember one of my uncles sending gifts to us from Ghana. On another level, I have heard and read so much about Ghana in contrast to Nigeria, that I really wanted to visit and see things for myself. Apart from the wedding, I also thought I could use the opportunity to reconnect with my maternal Ghanaian cousin, who after studying medicine at University of Ibadan, chose to ‘elope’ with the mother, on the pretext of doing housemanship in Ghana. As you may know, Ghana is very much a matriarchal society…
The journey by road was an all day, and we had to set out very early aboard a brand new bus of a renowned luxury coach operator. This was after the completion of boarding formalities, being as it were and international trip. Winding through the deteriorating Badagry road axis we finally got to Seme, Benin Republic, the first international border along the two-country crossing that will take us finally to Ghana. Further crossings at Hillacondji brought us to Togo and finally Aflao into Ghana. Each border crossing provided an opportunity to change currencies or do roadside shopping from the motley of hawkers and shops. One was also quick to notice that in spite of all documents being ‘correct’, money still changed hands between the luxury coach staff and the border officials of each country. The most important observation though, was that the vegetation did not change much between the three countries. What differentiated them was the level of development perceptible as we travelled past the coastline route. No doubt in terms of size, they were much smaller compared to Nigeria. We arrived Accra, Ghana, well after dark. Thankfully the hotel had a shuttle bus waiting to pick guests from the coach station to get some much needed rest before the wedding the following morning ...
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.
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