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Travelogue
been buffeted by hunger for the
greater part of the journey, so far,
I had continually warded off the
urge to eat. In Mokwa, my resistance
collapsed. With the alluring
aroma and enticing sight of Masa,
rice, amala, eba, yam and other
culinary delights, I summoned
the courage to help myself to two
wraps of amala served with ewedu
soup adorned with two pieces of
“pomo”, the softly cooked cow
hide. The meal was tasty and satiated
my hunger. I wasted no time
in paying for the food, conscious, as
always, that it wont be long before
Goodluck Jonathan would press its
horn again.
After Mokwa we passed Bokani
and got to Tabu at 9:48 before we
proceeded to Kutiwenji at 10:30am.
Kutiwenji was another significant
stop. Thanks to the rail journey;
I was able to establish that they
are predominantly melon farmers.
Large quantities were on sale at the
railway station. I also observed that
Bokani people, both old and young
derive pleasure in waving at the
moving train. They have this habit
of coming out in small groups just
to wave at the train. Initially, I was
waving back at them but I stopped
when my hands started getting
fatigued. Again, the two drivers
who were given to us in Offa were
changed with another set of drivers.
Zungeru
Like most Nigerians, I had
always had mental pictures of
Zungeru from my primary school
days. The birthplace of great
Nigerians such as the country’s first
President, the great ‘Zik of Africa’,
the Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe,
leader of secessionist Biafra,
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu
and former President of the
Senate, David Mark could not but
conjure images of some stupendous
historical grandeur and splendor in
any Nigerian. This was not lost on
me as we strode into the station on
this bright day. Zungeru, former
capital of the British protectorate of
Northern Nigeria, is surrounded
by mountains, giving it a lower
elevation than the surrounding
topography. In addition to the Kaduna
River, the smaller Nnamaye
and Tosheta Rivers flow near the
town. Here, I bought some boiled
corn and groundnuts for my two
friends who had acquiesced in my
chairmanship of our table inside
Goodluck Jonathan. I was very
pleased with Zungeru. However,
the onward journey to Minna and
even Kaduna was exceptionally
challenging and slow due to the difficult
topography. Sharp bends and
frighteningly undulating topography
had forced the train to crawl at
snail’s speed.
At a point in Zungeru, I complained
about the crowd inside the
coach but another passenger, more
familiar with the route, assured me
that many people would disembark
in Minna, thereby creating more
spaces. To ameliorate the suffocation
inside the coach, I requested
the NRC workers to turn the fan
on which they did. It is instructive
to note that only two, out of the
eight fans in the coach worked!
Typically Nigerian you would say.
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