Traveling is not something I’ve always liked yet it’s something I don’t like to miss.
The last time I traveled to Lagos, my friend told me; “Silvia, I won’t sit on the same row as you again while traveling”. lol.
Guess what I was told this time.
So we were set to travel for the 1st National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FECAMDS) slated on the 24th-27th of November.
We (me and 3 others) got to the meeting point to board an Uber to the park. It was so terrible that network messed with us and delayed us for about 30 minutes. When we finally got an uber and just while we were close to the park, the vehicle stopped due to no fuel. We were inside the car while the driver went out to get fuel. While we were waiting, a speedily moving car stopped suddenly, and 2 heavy guys came out of the car with guns in their hands shooting into the air. Omg! At that point, I was confused. My whole life flashed through my eyes. With my mind racing and my palms sweating, I held my phone and my bag said a prayer, and was just waiting for God to make the final decision. They shot for more than 15mins. I was more scared of stray bullets. The question Is this what it feels like to be robbed? raced through my mind. The place became calm after about 30 minutes, and that was when we got the message that shooting on the air is a tradition in the community as a way of signaling that the king is around a particular area.
Whatever that meant to them, I wasn’t interested. I was quiet for a while. I couldn’t get my mind over the fact that I didn’t inform anyone in my family about my travel.
Before you crucify me, I’m way too scared of traveling and I didn’t want any extra drama in form of tension. Perhaps, that was not the best decision to make but yeah.
We got to the park after all the hitches by 3:30 pm and before we boarded a cab and waited for it to get filled, it was past 5 pm when we started the journey to the University of Benin, Edo State.
This is while we were waiting for passengers to fill the bus.
We got to Delta State (the second state we passed from Rivers State) by 8:12 pm where we stopped to eat.
I mean, at that time, I was famished.
We finally entered Edo State (Next State after Delta State) at around 9:10 pm.
I’ve always thought Edo State to be a small city. I believe I was wrong because I felt like we just started another journey in Edo State.
This journey was endless.
We were driving on the roads of Edo State till 10 pm.
We finally got to the University of Bening by 10:30 pm. We were the 19th school to arrive.
I think I’ve explained the nature of this meeting in one of my previous posts on My 12 hours journey to Lagos where I mentioned that 36 schools from the 36 states in Nigeria were to be present for these meetings.
So at 10:30 pm, we still had other schools on their way.
These are some Photos from the first day of the meeting.
Breakfast time!
2nd day of the meeting and we went on sightseeing.
We visited Kaada, An expensive Restaurant in Benin City. lol, I got one small-sized meat pie for 1000 naira! In Rivers State, a small-sized meat pie won’t cost more than 500 naira.
3 days after the meeting was over, it was time to travel back home.
Wouldn’t want to bore you with the details of the meeting. You might not like how serious it sounds.
On the 27th, we were set to go back to Port Harcourt.
The journey was quite smooth aside from the long wait at the park.
I didn’t understand the impact of the flood till we got to Bayelsa.
These are pictures of people’s farmland that were taken over by the flood.
I’ve heard the Nigerian slogan, “Water get power”. It made more sense now. This was a big pothole that the flood caused at Ahaoda (a part of Rivers State).
Natural Disasters should be the worst because it’s just beyond man’s control.
The earthquake that recently happened in Turkey and Syria reminded me of the flood that took place in Nigeria. The consequences of natural disasters cannot be overemphasized. Thank God the flood is gone now. It is my prayer that Turkey and Syria heal quickly.
The Journey from Edo State to Rivers State was smooth. It was roughly a 4 hours journey.
This time I was told, “Silvia, you were not made for road travelings”.
lol, I should consider traveling by flight. Even though people testify it is saver, I don’t know. But I know for sure that the drama will be a lot for me.
I’ll surely share my experience from my flight traveling. Till then, stay hydrated and happy.
How can you classify my fears for travellings? Is it normal to you?
PS: All the pictures in this article were gotten my my iPhone XR photo gallery.
Omg, I would also be scared after that episode with the guns and shooting. Just incredible how these things are happening :(
The flood is a sad thing, yes, and the earthquake in Turkey, I saw it was terrible...
But let's see the positive side of your post :)) You had a great time and believe me or not, I remembered the title of your post (12 hours travelling) :)))
It was really terrifying @mipiano I felt so bad after the incidence but I had to go on with the intention that the meeting I was going to attend was for God's glory so he'll keep me safe. Which he did. The fact that you remembered the title of my post made me smile. Thank you so much for stopping by. Network has been terrible on my end. I had replied this message before just to come back to see it didnt go through.