This was the state of unparalleled delight I was in when I got my posting letter to Kwara State.
Mind you, I am married and a resident of Kwara but I applied for a posting based on "Marital Ground".
I also wouldn't be able to stay in camp because I was a nursing mother, although, it is a requirement that I should be at the camp for registration.
So, I went with my preparation to embark on my journey to Yikpata camp.
Grab a bowl of popcorn as I take you through my experience:
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The Beginning
It was an early Thursday morning on 14th March 2024, when I set out with my baby and brother (My husband asked him to be my escort for safety purposes) to get a bus going to Yikpata camp.
We set out from my place at Sawmill Ilorin at around 7:00 am and we got to the Maraba But stopped at about 7:30 am where we boarded a car going to Yikpata. Trust your traditional bus parks with time delay, finally, our car drove out of the park at 8:30. The journey was estimated to take two hours to get there, I was relieved with this news as I wanted to come back home on the same day because of my baby and child at home. Unknown to me my journey was about to get more adventurous.
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The Break
We passed through the beautiful but local villages of Kwara state, Some of the views were captivating I must say, especially a big beautiful mosque in a place I can't remember the name of. somewhere along Lafiagi, our car screeched to a stop. This spelled Doom as everyone in the car knew something was wrong. Our Driver came out trying to find out what was wrong but all efforts to get the car starting again proved useless. At this point, worry and anxiety were written on everyone's face as we were stuck in the middle of a very deserted road with no civilization in sight.
After nearly an hour of futile attempts, our driver flagged down a passing motorcycle in hopes of fetching a mechanic from town. As we waited, which felt like an eternity, frustration simmered among us. A pregnant woman and her husband, a prospective corps member from Bayelsa, a woman accompanied by her young son, my brother, my baby, and I exchanged murmurs of discontent. To compound matters, the scant network reception rendered communication impossible. Emotions ran high!
Finally hope dawned on us as our Driver returned with a scrawny-looking Mechanic.
The Light that Dimmed off
Our Mechanic checked the car while we waited patiently with renewed hope. And like a Harbinger of bad news, the mechanic raised his head from the bonnet of the car and said - "you need to tow this car back to town where I can repair it with the right tools ". At this point, I began to wonder if serving my Fatherland was my destiny!
We pondered on the next line of action and decided to hail any empty car passing by but unfortunately, there was still none in sight.
Hope Renewed!
Fortunately for us, like a Godsent, an empty lorry came driving by. The driver, kind enough, after hearing our story decided to give us a lift. He was not going to Yikpata camp but offered to move us closer there while we sorted ourselves out. As you might have guessed, we were happy for this act of kindness and hopped on.
For the first time in my life, I got on a lorry, with my baby!!!
The experience was bittersweet.
And then, after driving for about 30 minutes, the lorry came to a halt. We alighted and thanked the driver, offering to pay him for the ride but he kindly declined. He pointed towards the direction of Yikpata camp and went on his way.
The Destination
One might assume that after enduring multiple journeys, Yikpata camp would be within arm's reach from where we disembarked the lorry. However, reality proved otherwise. After trudging on foot for about 20 minutes, the camp remained elusive. The scorching sun intensified, searing our skin, while the pregnant woman voiced her discomfort and my baby grew restless. Nevertheless, we persevered. Just as despair threatened to set in, another act of kindness emerged. A sleek black Camry, emblazoned with the insignia of" Access Bank", pulled up beside us.
"Are you going to Yikpata camp?" One of the men inside the car asked peeping out.
"Yes sir, we all chorused.
They didn't even ask more questions as one of them who appeared to be in charge instructed one to move to the front seat and make space for the women at the back. We bundled ourselves inside the car and left the men to continue on their journey as they were more fit to do the legwork.
Turns out, they were the officials in charge of opening accounts for the new corp members. We could never express our gratefulness enough with this kind gesture. Truly, it shows that there is still humanity among us
We drove for a while and lo and behold, stood Yikpata camp's gate in sight.
"Are you going to Yikpata camp?" One of the men inside the car asked peeping out.
"Yes sir, we all chorused.
They didn't even ask more questions as one of them who appeared to be in charge instructed one to move to the front seat and make space for the women at the back. We bundled ourselves inside the car and left the men to continue on their journey as they were more fit to do the legwork.
Turns out, they were the officials in charge of opening accounts for the new corp members. We could never express our gratefulness enough with this kind gesture. Truly, it shows that there is still humanity among us
We drove for a while and lo and behold, stood Yikpata camp's gate in sight.
Yikpata camp
With this painfully adventurous journey, I was more than happy to get to the camp, we got there around 1:20 pm.
Immediately, I got to work with the registration, in contrast to the painfully long journey, the Yikpata camp registration process went by smoothly. Although there were many areas to get sorted out, coupled with the fact that I had no intention of staying on camp, the process went by seemingly well, and at About 5:00 pm, I was done with my registration.
Now was the time I did a little bit of exploring, the infrastructure there was in good shape, and the environment was calm and serene, I also heard that the camp was just newly fenced for security purposes. I also decided to have something to eat at the Mami market and I must say, Yikpata camp's Ogbono soup is one of the best Ogbono I've tasted so far- although it was expensive (₦1000 per small plate for corp members!)
I recommend it.
The Reunion
I refueled my energy and also fed my baby girl who was at this point as tired as I was. I headed out homebound.
I met up with my brother at the gate as they were not allowed in with the PCM. We briefly talked about our travel experience and how they (the men) finally walked to the camp and boarded an empty car waiting outside.
"Baba, I hope your car is in good shape?" I asked the Driver
He replied "Yes, Why do you ask?
My brother and I looked at each other and smiled.
"We don't want what happened in 1980 to repeat itself", my brother joked.
It was past 6:00 pm when we drove back towards Ilorin.
Home at last
The Drive back home was relatively peaceful and serene as we were very exhausted and taking short naps throughout the journey back. We arrived at Maraba, at Around past 8:00 pm.
Grateful, to be back home safe and sound and as a new "Kwara kopa", I took another cab home to go meet my family and tell them all about my adventure at Yikpata camp.
About the Author
Hi there, I'm Vivian Igbokwe, a seasoned writer, Freelance guru, and LinkedIn Top writing Voice. I bring you all the spice of everything writing and Freelancing, but for this episode, I decided to give you a glimpse of my personal life and experience. Hope you enjoyed it.
For more information and inquiries, feel free to message me on LinkedIn or Gmail. I look forward to hearing from you.