Serving Nigeria 1

To the almighty God for giving me the insight and the knowledge to computerise my first seed. Also to Isaac Israel Collins(Afin) whose....you'll see in the story; and Raheem Oluwafunminiyi whose evaluation, judgement and criticism have always been a push-up.
The palest ink, as I was made to believe, is better than the sharpest memory. No matter how amateurish this may look, at all at all na him bad
pass.

I did not want to believe what people told me on phone that I was posted to
Zamfara State. All I did was smile, laugh and giggle placing my mind on a 50-50 state. More confirmations rolled in and everyone kept saying they saw 'ZM' on my name. To console myself, I started thinking of other states with similar state code but the only option that came to my mind was Zaria which is not even a State (where I won't even wanna go). I had to go to Osogbo for self-confirmation. Lo and behold, it was boldly written 'ZM' and the laugh continued, this time, louder. I made jest of myself by singing Ice Prince's "Aboki" song. I organised other graduates posted to the north and
together we started singing Hausa songs. They were songs of consolation before each and everyone of us will go and have individual thoughts (negative and positive) on our respective sojourns.

I cleared myself at school, collected my
certificate and call-up letter. I took it as fate, left for home (Lagos) and started with the travelling processes. I agreed with Salami Abiodun (Alfa) to meet at Oshodi where we will board a vehicle
to Ilorin then we'll move to Zamfara from there. After all said, agreed and done, we met at Oshodi, then our journey began. It was the very sunny afternoon that made me a little optimistic about how worse the weather will be in Zamfara. I had to move my mind away from it and decide to cross the bridge when I get there. The bus (space bus) was encompassed with people of respectable intellects. By their fruits, you shall know them. One could guess
the occupations of the passengers through the ways they spoke. I learnt a great deal, especially in politics. How Awolowo and the rest influenced the political system of Nigeria, how to tackle Nigeria's economic problems, the problem of corruption that had pivoted into the nucleus of every Nigerian and so on. It was a very nice
journey, so nice that I did not want us to reach our destination on time.

We arrived at ilorin around 8:30pm, we had no place to sleep. A hungry man is an angry man, we had to find means to settle our stomachs first. Then, we discussed our predicament with those at the park and liased with them as to where we would lay our heads for the night, maybe staying with them at the garage.
"No problem at all" was what a driver who sleeps at the garage said, "This is where we sleep, even travellers sleep with us here, you are safe." He
concluded.
We pounced on the opportunity, it was a lifeline. I tried to make a comfortable bed for myself with the benches and desk, then, like a bask, I remembered that Israel resides at Ilorin.
"Oh! What have I been thinking? Am I in my right senses?" Series of question-like thoughts banged in my head as I scolded myself for remembering too late. I picked my Nokia 'torch' and dialled Israel's number, that albino boy boasts always of good hospitality, here
is a test. Just like a click, when he discovered that Alfa and I were in Ilorin, he was angry with me at first for not informing him earlier but he immediately embarked on the hospitality mission. He gave me the direction to his house then we packed our belongings with immediate effect. The driver that was poised to provide
'garage' accommodation for us was the same person who told us how to get to the place Israel directed. I couldn't thank him more, he was very helpful, he saw that we got a cab before leaving for his usual sleeping spot. We
alighted from the taxi that very dark night, unfortunately, we didn't get the exact place. Like an Israelite, Alfa complained...
"You would have allowed us to sleep at the park instead of wandering up and down in search of an unsure greener pasture."
I almost fell for that claim but I shook it away with the thought that we were
actually going to get to Canaan Land. He didn't say anything but Alfa joined in the thought. Simultaneously, Israel and his Ilorin friend, Taiwo, were also searching for us. After some hiccups, I heard his voice from afar.
"That must
be Israel's voice." I told Alfa then I screamed "Israel".
God provided echo as a result of the
night that was as quiet as the grave yard, the call was as if it was done with a public address system.
"Iwo omo Lembo yii, o o gbon" (This
Lembo guy, you are not wise) was Afin's response.
That's typical of him. My heart nearly shifted to the right as Alfa and I started to bask in the euphoria of joy. The anxiety in me increased to a conflagratory level. What a friend indeed!!!

I don't think I have ever experienced a greater and more welcoming hospitality. Israel and his household were one of a kind. It was a short notice but we were prepared for like we had informed them earlier. Israel's room was our place of abode, where we'd lay our tired bodies. Appetizers, food, drinks, desserts, shower et al were provided. We ate ourselves
out, almost to the point of constipation. There was a short gist and comedy between Israel and I before the unannounced sleep came. I remembered vividly that I woke in the midnight into a very cold room. The
air-conditioner was obviously blistering air like a thick smoke, the fan running as if the blades were in competition to meet themselves. Alfa had already covered himself with the blanket. I
didn't want to cover myself, as usual, wanting to show my strongness and cold-resisting ability, no one told me to cover myself up to head level when the cold threatened to turn me to ice if proper care is not taken. Don't mind
me.

God woke us early, we took our baths, dressed and in continuity of their unexpected but great hospitality, Israel's dad, the architect, opted to drive us to the park, Maraba park precisely. Who are we to think about the privilege? It occurred to us that we slept in a hotel. Our night was perfect. Even Israel had to see our vehicle 'peugeot' depart before he left for his home.
To be continued.....