Flyover

A couple of people will see this title and rollover with laughter even before reading the post. That’s because the title is that significant.
I’m sure a number of you wondered what I was doing for two whole weeks for which I had to stay off the blog and deny you your lovely series. I’m really sorry about that. Things like that happen when you have an only sister who is so precious to you and she decides to go and get married. I was away for my sister’s wedding. The time out was wonderful. You know how these things go; the house is full, you hook up with old friends and relatives you haven’t seen in ages and if like me you happen to be the only sister of the bride without a ring on your finger, everyone keeps chiming “you’re next in line.” From the ridiculous sing-song “you are next in line” to the prophetic “we will come for you own by this time next year.” I got tired of countering them and eventually, all I did was smile and say “don’t worry, as soon as the card is out, you’ll know.” That kept people off my case.
Back to the main story. This wedding was fun for several reasons, so many random incidents occurred and it’s one of such remarkable ones that I have chosen to bring to you today. We called it the “flyover event.”
Emeka, my very good friend was coming to Zaria for the wedding, all the way from Abuja. The trip should last about 3 hours ideally, you know, fast car, light traffic, under good conditions sha. But worst case scenario, 4 hours. So when we spoke at about 4 and I learnt he was just leaving, I was not too comfortable because I did not want him travelling late, especially as he had never been to Zaria before. Regardless, I told him to keep coming, I would be waiting to pick him up upon his arrival.
We kept talking as he made progress and at some point, I asked him to find out from a passenger where they were precisely. That would enable calculate the distance yet to be covered and have an estimated time of arrival. But my very fresh Emeka decided against that. It was late, he was travelling in the north, showing any signs of uncertainty might be a security risk. I tried to understand. Eventually I said “when you get to Zaria, drop at the flyover. There’s a Total Filling station close by. Wait for me there.”
That was the same description we had given to every single person coming from outside of town. A few minutes past 7pm, he called to say he was there. I was excited. Finally! I got my cousin and another friend to join me go pick him up. On getting to the “flyover”, I called him. He described where he was and I began walking in that direction. A few minutes of searching and I could not find him. I called again, asking for a better description of what he could see around him. He said he could see a sugar cane seller. I sighed. It was the north, everybody sold sugar cane. Still I walked and found a conglomerate of sugar cane sellers but I could not find Emeka. He mentioned a shoe seller. I found the guy but still could not find Emeka. At this point I was tired. It had been a long day and the aimless walking about was not helping me at all. Eventually, I asked him to find out from someone around the name of his exact location. It took him a while to get the information and by the time he relayed it to me, I almost passed out. Emeka was in Kawo! Kawo is Kaduna state, still 45 minutes away from Zaria.
Apparently, he had told a passenger beside him that he was dropping at flyover, without adding that the flyover was in Zaria and the passenger said he was dropping there too. So when the man alighted at the flyover in Kawo, he followed suit. I was weak. Luckily enough, there was another vehicle loading Zaria and he got into that one. This time around, he gave the phone to the driver so I could talk to him and give proper descriptions of where exactly he should be dropped.
He got in safely eventually and after we’d picked him up and gotten home, we could all laugh over the incident. Everyone teased him about it all through the weekend and he became “Emeka flyover.” The wedding was fun altogether but I’ve got just one lesson to share from this. When in doubt, always ask. Really, it doesn’t get any easier than that.
I missed being on the blog, I suffered writing withdrawal, but now I’m back and I promise you amazing stories in the coming weeks. I must say you guys are awesome though. Lots of my readers and followers kept checking up on me and asking when I would be back. I love you guys, you’re simply the best. I write only because you’re there to read. So thank you for always being there. Have a wonderful time ahead.
Yours always,
Yougeecash