- It’s a beautiful morning
The shrill of my alarm wakes me up
‘Oh no! Not now, I need some more sleep’
It takes my head a few seconds to realise
‘Oh shit! I have a bus to catch’
I run through my morning activities
Rinse my mouth, stroke my tangled hair
My bags strapped to my back, I take flight to catch my morning bus
Arriving the park just in time, I get settled in
‘It’s gonna be a long ride’, I whisper to myself
The bus leaves late
‘Why did I rush?’ I wonder
‘My journey of a thousand miles begins with one tyre roll’
And then we’re off
Oh the journey of a Nigerian pilgrim!
The first few hours seem completely uninteresting,
I keep myself busy listening to the rhythm of the tyres
I count the palm trees lining the roads
I envy the animals trotting by the roadside as my butt aches of sitting
I slowly drift into Neverland as sleep steals me
Oh the tiredness of a Nigerian pilgrim!
The grumbling of my stomach wakes me up
I’ve not eaten anything today
I look to the left and see hawkers
‘Agbado! ‘ ‘fried yam! ‘ ‘bush meat! ‘
They all knock on my window
My stomach seems to let out a happy shriek
But my eyes decide to look beyond the meat
Dirty clothes and hands with bare feet
Picking their noses and scratching their hair
‘Better to stay hungry than contact diarrhoea’
I say to myself in sad realisation
Oh the hunger of a Nigerian pilgrim!
It’s almost like the bus is crawling
Why must the roads be so winding
Passing thought the remotest of settlements
People of diverse cultures and different lifestyles
Laughing away their sorrows in the local bars
Others gambling away their month salary
Strange looking food sold by the wayside
Children bathing in the village river
Older children washing clothes by the banks
Oh the realizations of a Nigerian pilgrim!
I shake my head at the Government
Roads deteriorating, cars stuck in mud
The rich escaping with the cushion effect of their Jeeps
Drainages overflowing, abandoned cars by the wayside
So-called police checkpoints
Stooping so low for N20 bribes while harassing the upright
Oh the sorrow of a Nigerian road pilgrim!
As I slowly drift back to Neverland
I imagine a future so bright
Where the children of the rich choose the roads over air
Where the fine scenery of the wayside
Invites everyone both far and near
I imagine a country so great
With no accusations to make
Of a wicked and heartless Government
A dream that starts now with you and I
Oh the joy of a Nigerian pilgrim!
IBRAHIM Gladys Zugwai