Wow! That's the word that best describes my recent trip to Benue state, popularly referred to as the food basket of the nation.
Had to travel over the weekend for a colleague's wedding. I must say, road trip is quite an adventure. The sheer thought of being in a new environment, meeting people, discovering a different culture; now that's something.
Firstly, Google maps came in handy as it was a road never before travelled by moi and the two wonderful people with me.
We set out at 6 am through the Epe route, a first for us as usually one would take the Ibadan route. We cut out the usual morning traffic in Lagos, saved us some time and in no time we were in Ibadan. After encountering slight traffic enroute to Ibadan and a change of tyre an hour later, we settled in and enjoyed the scenery of South-West Nigeria with its hills and breathtaking skyline.
Funny aspect was anyone we asked for directions kept saying go straight, go direct.
The trip ended with us getting stuck an hour to our destination near a village called Ankpa. We had gotten confused by directions given to us by policemen. With nightfall approaching and fear settling in for our safety in a strange environment, we asked the villagers to assist in lifting the car out of the "sinking sand". We were already calculating how fast we would run if we were ambushed and robbed of our belongings and vehicle. My colleague was scared we might get raped. After an hour of cutting branches from trees and using a hoe to dig the sand to level the ground, the car made it out and we heaved a sigh of relief. Many thanks to those kindhearted indigenes.
At last in Otukpo, tired and in desperate need of food which was not lacking . The 13 hour journey should have been 11 hours.
The journey back was much easier as we were familiar with the route. And like they say, the rest is history.
Cheers!
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| Passing by Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) |
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| Hawkers selling their goods |
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| Exterior of FUTA |
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| Exterior of FUTA |
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| Exterior of FUTA |
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| Exterior of FUTA |
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| Exterior of Eatery - Looked like they weren't open |
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| Hills in Ondo state |
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| Hills in Ondo state |
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| Hill in Ondo state |
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| Hill in Ondo state |
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| Hill in Ondo state |
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| Hill in Ondo state |
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| Passing by Owo in Ondo state |
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| Hills in Ondo state |
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| Hills in Ondo state |
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| Hills in Ondo state |
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| Hills in Ondo state |
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| Vehicle carrying goods in Ondo state |
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| Activity in Ondo state |
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| Hills in Ondo state |
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| Ondo state |
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| Bridge just before Benue |
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| Bridge just before Benue |
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| Trucks on the roadside |
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| Passing by Kogi State University |
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| Kogi State University sign-post |
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| Popular round-about in Benue |
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| Man on bike with jerry-cans |
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| Man on bike with jerry-cans |
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| Vehicle loaded with goods |
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| Car stuck in "sinking sand" |
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| Just outside my hotel room |
