I could not believe my eyes. There i was, amongst dignitaries from all works of life.
I must have been the youngest in the bus. I was not sure how how i found myself there, but i knew that was where i belonged.
Omotola Jalade had sat behind me, and Chimamanda Adichie, in front of me.
I sat in awe, gazing at the sun set from behind an acacia tree.
It seemed surreal, because i had only seen sun sets and acacia trees in pictures and movies. Never had i thought that i would gaze upon such a scenery in real life.
Africa was beautiful that evening, the skys reflected shades of orange, pink and gold.
Throughout the whole tour, i knew that my spirit had been set free. It was no longer with me in the bus, but was soaring.
Trees lined up the streets of Enugu as our bus drove past them. The beautiful black children of the streets ran after our bus, excitedly screaming ‘Oyinbo people,’ which means ‘white people,’ in the Igbo language. They children had mistaken us for Americans, probably because our complexions were light, but we were all Africans. The voices of the children made my heart tingle with an unexplainable excitement.
I saw the little girls, playing the game of ‘ten-ten,’ in which they moved their feet in different directions until one of the players could predict the next direction of the others feet. The young women strapped their Children to their backs with pieces of lappas.
Soon, the driver branched into another street with potholes all over. It was a bumpy ride, but i couldn’t feel it. My mind was caught up in a group of youngsters, singing and dancing to their own beats.
My body was eager to jump out of the bus to join in their gyration. I wish i had done that.
They all seemed so happy, so nonchalant about life. Even when the bus had driven past them, i looked back with keen interest. Soon, i found myself humming the same tune i had heard them sing. It was incredible how i remembered the lyrics, which went thus:
Anyi nwe freedom!
Freedom bu nke anyi,
Anyi ga agbara egwu!
Anyi ga agbara egwu!
Maka freedom bu nke mua!
It means ‘we have freedom, freedom is ours, we will dance because freedom is ours.
The song made me feel free. Soon others in the bus joined in. It was as though the spirit of freedom was encompassing the bus eas each one joined in the singing
That was a tour i would never forget in Nigeria. It madr an imprint in my heart.
The beauty of Africa.
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