First Post…The Road to KD

For weeks I battled the thought of relocating and at every point in time I  wished it was only a dream and I would soon wake up from it. The day finally came and before I knew it I was on that Arik flight on our way to Kaduna. It was only weeks after the last crisis and the security tension could be felt.In that one hour flight a thousand thoughts ran through my mind at this point there was no going back at least not soon. It was a 10:30 am flight, although we experienced a little bit of delay but we eventually left Lagos few minutes after 11am. The plane still had empty seats which is an indication that even though it was the only flight to Kaduna that Monday, the route didn’t enjoy much patronage. I could sence that most of those on the flight were business men/women who are probably on a short business trip (by the size of their luggage).

After an hour of cruising in the skies, the crew made final announcements for landing. It had rained earlier in the day so the weather was a little bit chilly compared to the heat experienced in Lagos as it had not rained for days. We got off the plane and Lo and behold. I was standing on the tarmacmiles away from Lagos considering the fact that the last time I visited the north was over 20 years ago. It was a case of “that which I greatly feared has come upon me”

My failure to remind a colleague who was supposed to pick me up at the airport left me in the hands of the airport cab drivers who saw the JJC  (Jolly Just Come which could mean a stranger, naïve and inexperienced person in local palance )in me and charged me 5k (5 thousand naira) to drive me to Kakuri and even at that he still had another passenger. Lucky driver you say? blame it on my innocense. I felt I got a good bargain because he initially charged 7k and I could only beat the price down to 5k. It was a rather long drive and I told myself the driver was justified for charging me that much. On our way, we discussed so many things (security situation, opportunities, etc) about the town I was yet to explore and I had little knowledge about. He sounded really nice and was ready to offer any help as regards transportation, hotels, etc. he gave his number and I was happy I had met someone who was willing to help. I later found out he is just a business man who was marketing his services.

He droped me off at my new office and said he would expect a call from me.

This is only an intro on my experience while exploring a new city (Kaduna). I hope you’ll find my posts interesting. Kindly drop a comment, I’ll be glad to read it. Thank you

Misterolu

Follow me on twitter @misterolu