Saturday, 20 April 2013
Take A Holiday …. Travel By Road! - Part 2
Bedazzled Photography
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.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Take A Holiday …. Travel By Road! (Part 1)
Dear Friends,
I’d like to wish you my sincere compliments of the Easter season… of course in arrears. As a practicing Christian, Easter for me, is significant for two major reasons, both of which are closely related. The first is that it demonstrates God’s perfect love in giving up His son to die on the cross for the propitiation of our sins. Secondly, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead makes it clear that whatever is dead in our life and circumstances is capable of coming alive – including our relationship with God. We only need to believe and appropriate this mystery by faith!
The Easter season provided an opportunity for me to take a holiday and I would like to share my experience with you in this two-part blog post.
Preparation
I have three places I call home on earth; each located in Lagos, London and my village. The last holds a special place, because it is my family foundation, where it all began and where my father lives in retirement. I have not been home to the village for close to a year, and the ancestral pull was too strong to ignore, particularly for some family issues that required urgent attention. Furthermore, business pressures have mounted so much in Lagos that I had to just get out for some air! Located in the eastern heartland, it was quite a journey from Lagos and I had to make adequate preparations including checking all the essential fluids of the car and replacing a tyre. The trip across six states – Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, and Anambra – to Imo, my home state, was daunting especially as I have not travelled long distance by road in a long while. I was determined, however not only to go by road, but also drive myself.
Lagos
All set, I drove out from my Lagos residence exactly at 6am on Good Friday. My calculation was to start early and cover much ground before the sun came up and weariness set in. Joining Ikorodu Road, the main artery out of town and linking it with the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was not much of a problem; in spite of the early morning traffic.
Ogun
For anyone who has travelled out of Lagos, once you left Berger Bus Stop, you were already in Ogun state, though the seamless development would not allow you know the difference. This stretch of the road will get you through the numerous church camps including those of Deeper Life, MFM and of course Redeemed (RCCG), up until the Shagamu interchange, where a right turn takes you off the Lagos- Ibadan express way and positions you firmly on the Shagamu-Benin Expressway. At this point the journey to the East is fully underway and I enjoy it because the traffic is less of those heading to Ibadan, and the Abeokuta k end of Ogun State. The road network is also much better, and the major landmarks are the old Shagamu and Ijebu Ode toll gates.
Ondo
Ondo State tells the traveler that he has made considerable progress and being at Ore by 9am was remarkable for me; though some speed could do that within a shorter time. I did stop at a travel centre to refresh and stretch my legs. From this point, you get the feeling that you are on the second half of the trip and this is true enough.
Edo/Delta
For me crossing into Edo State means the beginning of the home stretch, as I quickly reached Okada university town, Benin and then soon on the Benin-Asaba by pass which effectively reduced the travel time to the East by at least one hour. Delta State is familiar ground and after the border communities with Edo, Agbor and Umunede, Asaba the state capital increased the comfort level that the trip was already on the last lap. By 1.26pm, and just about 3 kilometers to access the Niger bridge and then enter Onitsha, Anambara State, I was on phone giving my wife a progress report. What happened within the next 2 minutes was unexpected, to say the least. I entered the ‘mother of all hold-ups’, and could only access the Niger bridge by 4.45pm! .....
Anambara/Imo
After the harrowing vehicular pile up, entering Onitsha was such a big relief. It is home to me: having spent 5 years of my working career as a branch manager there, it is my wife’s home town, and I could decide to spend the night there. However, I continued to Owerri, being very comfortable with the terrain. I got into the Imo State capital by dusk and not being in any particular hurry, had dinner in one of my favourite restaurants, before heading to my village. At Emekuku, where a turn off the Owerri – Umahia road takes me twenty minutes to my country home, I called my parents to expect me… and by 8pm was home!
Last Line: Was the journey worth the effort? What were my experiences? Any learning points? Is there a journey you have been planning, or a step you want to take? (“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off”. Prov. 23:18 NIV) I strongly recommend you find possible answers in part two of this blog!
Our hopes are realizable through divine intervention. 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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