Despite the soothing green spaces, the powdery blue sky and the softly lit horizon, I was completely unprepared for the flood of conviction which took shape in my mind.
Eking out a living in Nigeria requires far more mental and physical stamina than any other place I have had the opportunity to experience first hand. As I observe the world outside slowly merge with mine, faces blur into a mist of life and the scope of human enterprise is both energizing and challenging.
I am warmed by the ready smiles of the roadside hawkers, eager to sell their freshly farmed produce of corn, yams, tomatoes, peppers, garri, palm oil, plantain and a myriad of organically grown vegetables.
The visual collage intensifies vividly as we pass through the iconic city of Ibadan; famously described by John Pepper Clark as: “scattered among seven hills like broken china in the sun”. In this metropolis of over 3 million Nigerians, Ibadan is teeming with wide parades of people seemingly on the move-engaged in an endless number of human activity.
All around me, in mobile stalls balanced on their heads, young boys, girls, men and women have most of what you might need on a hot humid afternoon and commuters stop here and there to stock up.
Lone bystanders look on intently, buried in their own universe of things to do and places to get to ; waiting for the next bus or vehicle to carry them along to someplace else; moving or standing, humanity here is indeed in motion- man go chop-the hustle moves on.
Despite what for many might seem like difficult odds and uncertain times, like anywhere else in the world, ordinary Nigerians continue to see to their established routines of work, family and enterprise.
Isn`t it these immediate experiences and the relentless energy to keep it moving which gives individual lives meaning and adds value to everyday stories?
