Every first-time traveler regularly has the same experiences, we see the beautiful buildings, feel the fresh air coming into the vehicle, and experience tremendous adrenaline running through our body, I wanted to find someone to validate this feeling, and I found the right person. Did you experience the same?
Every week on Miles and Moments, we share traveler stories to understand how far people have journeyed and the culture shocks they’ve experienced along the way. There’s always something to learn from each story.
Written as told
I was about 12 when I embarked on a long trip to Kaduna State with my Stepmom, it was really an experience for me to travel across northern Nigeria for the first time.
I had never traveled a longer distance before, never traveled out of Yobe State. I was super exhilarated when I was told that I was moving to Zaria, Kaduna state with my Stepmom, I never thought of it. It was a wedding journey for a relative of my Stepmom. I was super excited to start the journey then.
In Nigeria, everything was ok, in terms of the economy, security, amenities, and social aspects of things to say compared to today.
We set out early in the morning from my hometown town Nguru, the journey started as cordially as expected, nothing ugly happened on the roads to Jigawa state, as of what I could harbor.
We traveled past Jigawa state, passing through many municipalities and rural areas. Then the journey continued to Kano state. Kano state was the first experience I have seen regarding the nature of infrastructure, transportation, and urban settings across the northern part of Nigeria.
It was a marvelous experience for me to witness and see many buildings, the exodus population, government buildings, cars, and other things that I couldn’t ever imagine seeing for the first time. Kano felt like London to me for the first time.
I saw many amazing things. The travel continued to Kaduna state, the roads were fine, so many expressways, cars, lorries on the road, and many things to mention….it was an amazing journey to the narrative.
We finally arrived at Zaria and spent a few days there, the wedding was super cool and amazing as well, we also visited some relatives in Kaduna, went some shopping at supermarkets there, and did many cool things as well. After the wedding and all things, we finally drove back to Yobe State.
Almost immediately, I embarked on my first trip alone and it wasn’t as pleasing as the initial trip
Traveling from Kano to Yobe was supposed to be a straightforward journey, but it turned into a test of resilience and patience. The road, as expected, was long, but I had no idea how much of a challenge it would turn out to be.
We set off early in the morning, The bus was a little too crowded, and there was tension in the air as we all braced ourselves for the long ride ahead.
The driver, a no-nonsense man in his late 40s, seemed determined to get us there as quickly as possible—but not without some bumps along the way.
The first real challenge came when the driver pulled over for the passengers to get some fresh air and continue the traveling, unfortunately after a couple of moments, it turned out that the vehicle crashed and needed a mechanic.
The driver left us stranded on the road in one remote village, all the passengers there and it was almost dawn in the later about 4 pm.
A few moments later, the driver was back with a mechanic the mechanic spent so much time trying to fix the vehicle but unfortunately no luck.
The driver had to go back to the town again to look for another mechanic, so he went leaving us stranded again for other Hours.
We were waiting for him to come back so we negotiated with him to look for an alternative way for all of us to continue our journey.
But despite the challenges, there were moments of laughter too. The passenger sitting next to me had an uncanny ability to turn any uncomfortable situation into humor.
As we hit another pothole, he joked, “If we keep this up, we’ll get to Yobe in pieces!” The whole bus burst into laughter, momentarily easing the tension.
After hours on the road, with intermittent stops for food, bathroom breaks, and mechanical fixes, we finally approached Yobe.
The last leg of the journey was surprisingly smooth, and we made it to the city.
That experience was wild, but I learned some valuable lessons: I realized that traveling is more than just getting from point A to point B—it’s about the people you meet, the challenges you overcome, and the stories you carry with you.
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