ZubyStar1: am enjoying dis,are u saying u ate all ids food alone?nice photos.

I had to do justice to the food na...

Hello friends,

How are you today? Hope great? And the story, hope I dey make sense?

My updates may be late today as I'm moving from Dakar to Freetown this morning. I shall continue the story when I'm settled.

Thanks for reading..

Bonne journee..

TONYE001: I still felt that a change of environment would help ease the constriction of my vasculature. I really needed a change of environment, even if it’s just for a night. I was thinking fast in search of a solution of my plight. I decided to give another hotel a try. I called an oleya.


The day was already a very long and stressful one so I didn’t have any energy to start doing my explanations in French, I needed to fetch someone that understands English so that I could explain myself and what I wanted comfortably. Fetching a Togolese that understands English isn’t a difficult task as out of every 10, 6 or 7 can fumble their way through the language.


The oleya I called stopped.

“Bonjour monsieur” I greeted.

“Bonjour chef” he replied.

“Please do you understand English?” I asked.

He nodded boldly as a beam of relief flashed through my spine. I took about 2 to 3 (perhaps up to 4) minutes to explain to him what I wanted. I told him that I needed a hotel that isn’t too costly and that it shouldn’t be far from the campus (the general name for the university). As I explained he kept on nodding his head assuring me of his understanding. When I was done, he asked me to climb the bike as we drove off.


We drove around the city of Lome for about 30 minutes, passing over ten hotels that looked cheap. I said nothing as I assumed that he had a particular place in mind he was taking me to. I got uneasy when we were yet to arrive at a destination on the 40th minute or so.

“Monsieur, please stop” I ordered him in French.

He stopped. I asked him where exactly he was taking me to.

“I didn’t understand where you told me you were going to” he said.

I almost fainted. It was just too much for one day. I needed a break badly. I paid him about 500CFAs or so (make him carry him trouble and mumuness go), got another oleya and told him to take me to my Copacabana.

I slept for the rest of the day.

TONYE001: Hello friends,

How are you today? Hope great? And the story, hope I dey make sense?

My updates may be late today as I'm moving from Dakar to Freetown this morning. I shall continue the story when I'm settled.

Thanks for reading..

Bonne journee..

Yea. Sure. You're making a lot of sense. I enjoyed every piece of it.

And I must commend your good writing skills and impeccable grammar. Very sound.

TONYE001: Hello friends,

How are you today? Hope great? And the story, hope I dey make sense?

My updates may be late today as I'm moving from Dakar to Freetown this morning. I shall continue the story when I'm settled.

Thanks for reading..

Bonne journee..

How was Dakar? I am not sure about the food over there but one thing i am certain of is the lovely senegalese clothes they pride in.

OP: You are too much. I gbadun your story and your style of writing. Keep it rolling bro.

Jayfalls:

Yea. Sure. You're making a lot of sense. I enjoyed every piece of it.

And I must commend your good writing skills and impeccable grammar. Very sound.

Thanks Jay. Appreciations.

Jayfalls:

Yea. Sure. You're making a lot of sense. I enjoyed every piece of it.

And I must commend your good writing skills and impeccable grammar. Very sound.

Thanks Jay. Appreciations.

specialguest:

How was Dakar? I am not sure about the food over there but one thing i am certain of is the lovely senegalese clothes they pride in.

Dakar was great. I had an awesome experience there thanks to the over friendly locals.

ecolime: OP: You are too much. I gbadun your story and your style of writing. Keep it rolling bro.

Thanks Ecolime. I appreciate.

Monsieur Ahmed wasn’t the only elderly person in our class. There were two other women that are elderly – a Nigerian (Bayelsa State), and the other a Togolese.

The Nigerian is a tall, black woman whose height defiles 6 feet by a few inches, averagely sized with dead curvatures. She is a woman of wonders. If you go to Village du Benin (my school) and ask of “the woman that always carries a BIG French dictionary in a black nylon”, even the oleya man would show her to you. It was that serious. Question: did she ever get to use it in class? I don’t think so!

There was something peculiar about this woman – she always wanted to be of help. One day, a lecturer was teaching in class. He made some illustrations on the board so as to aid the understanding of the students. Barely thirty seconds after he made the illustration, this woman got up and wiped the board (she didn’t ask if the class was done copying).

“…the board is too untidy” she explained to the lecturer. Lolz.

She was also known as an interruptor. For example, if a colleague tries to say something in English (during break in a free style discussion sometimes), she would jump up in interruption.

“You must say that in French. That is the only way to learn, try to speak French always, me, I speak French always” she would advise. Truly, there is sense in this but the problem is that, before the next five minutes, you would find this same woman in a heavy conversation in English.

One day in class we were having a debate (in French). We were grouped into four (or so) and this woman was in Zika’s group. The debate was on adoption. We were to bring out points for or against the topic (as you wish) and then present the points individually. After this, the other groups (the class) would question the presenting group for the vocabularies they used or for the reasons behind their choices. It was that simple.

Zika and the woman were in the third group. Pandemonium broke when they started their preparation.

“So, what do you think about this?” the woman asked a group member.

“For me, hmmm, I wouldn’t rush into adoption until I’ve utilized all available options” the member replied.

“Wow! That’s great” said the self-appointed moderator, the woman.

She turned to the next person and asked the same question.

“I don’t think there is any problem with that. I mean, one can decide to adopt a child even if he is medically fit to have children. Also, adoption is a good option for those having challenges with having children”. The speaker said.

“No. Je ne suis pas d’accord avec ca (Translation: I do not agree with that). You have to pray to God, if you do, he would answer you” she objected with stiff facial muscles.

Point one, this innocent group member was only expressing his views; another, he didn’t say anything against seeking a supernatural aid; lastly, he never mentioned that he was infertile (the many “yous” in her statement). This turned into a very serious argument as the woman tried to impose her view on all the members.

“Madam, this is all about individual views so you shouldn’t expect everybody’s opinion to synchronize with yours” Zika said in obvious irritation.

“Don’t tell me that I beg, you MUST pray to God….” She countered.

The presentation started. Just before the second group mounted the podium, the woman left to pick her dictionary which she had forgotten in the previous class that she was.

It got to Zika’s group and this woman wasn’t still back. They seemed unbothered as if her absence was relieving. The presentation of the group was awesome. The woman came in with her big dictionary at the time the group was being questioned by the class.

“I do not agree with WHATEVER they said, you MUST pray to God….” She declared unendingly (remember she wasn’t even there when they were presenting).

Indeed, she is a woman of wonders.

Monsieur op there seem to be alot going on in your tale right now. I think you have shifted the emphasis from your experience in Togo to describing the personalities of your classmates. To be honest, id prefer you stick to the original story line of this thread. Merci

specialguest: Monsieur op there seem to be alot going on in your tale right now. I think you have shifted the emphasis from your experience in Togo to describing the personalities of your classmates. To be honest, id prefer you stick to the original story line of this thread. Merci

Merci.

TONYE001: Hotel Eda Oba

na this kind big hotel you won book for 15k CFA? You dey vex oooo
Nice write up, keep the update coming

Ogbeche77: na this kind big hotel you won book for 15k CFA? You dey vex oooo
Nice write up, keep the update coming

Lolz... No be my fault o.. Dem say make we dream big..
Thanks for commenting..
More stories on the way...(Internet service is poor in Freetown so so sorry for the delays in updates)...

TONYE001:
Lolz... No be my fault o.. Dem say make we dream big..
Thanks for commenting..
More stories on the way...(Internet service is poor in Freetown so so sorry for the delays in updates)...

I don grab my pop corn ooo.. From Dakar to Freetown? Seems you were really prepared for this trip, going by the lodging, feeding & transportation expenses.. Kuku work your NYSC posting go Burkina Faso

Friends, greetings.

I'm so sorry for the poor update. Internet access here in Freetown is poor.

I hope to be back on my feet by tomorrow as I'm leaving Freetown for Monrovia.

Thanks for your understanding.

I've got more stories and dozens of pictures from Lome, Dakar, Freetown...and more to share with you.

Please hang on.

Good night.

My View of the Togolese

One thing about the Togolese is that they are always grateful for a favour done to them, no matter how small. Give a Togolese 100CFAs (30 NGN) and he would keep thanking you anytime he sees you. “Merci pour hier” (Translation: thanks for yesterday) they would always say. So what happens if the Togolese doesn’t see you till the next century? Thanks for LAST CENTURY? Lolz.. Just saying.

Once you tell a Togolese you are a Nigerian, you are automatically an Igbo, a Yoruba, or a Hausa man. This is just too funny. I remember the day I went to the hospital. As I sat and waited for my turn to see the doctor, I got into a conversation with a man (actually a doctor).

“You don’t speak French like a Togolese” he observed.

“I’m not a Togolese. I’m a Nigerian” I replied.

“Ah.. I see. So you are Igbo?”

“No, I’m not” I answered.

“Oh. A Yoruba then?” This man just won’t give up.

“No sir, I’m not” and I wasn’t ready to give him the answer easily.

“Ok. Hausa?” his guessing skill was terrible!

“No, I’m not from Hausa” I replied.

“So, where exactly are you from?” bingo! Just what I was waiting for.

“I’m from Rivers State, a state at southern Nigeria” I replied.

“Different from Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba?” I allowed him to figure the answer himself.

It was becoming too boring at the hospital so I brought out my phone to listen to some music with my earpiece.

“Excuse me please” the same man said as he tapped my shoulder from behind.

I paused my music as I removed the earpiece from my ears.

“Do you have some Igbo music?” he asked.

“Hmmm..a few of them” I replied.

“Can I listen to an Igbo music please?” he requested.

One thing about the Togolese that intrigues me is their unexplained love for Igbo gospel music. These people barely understand English (the average Togolese on the street I mean), they know nothing about the Igbo language and yet, they love listening to Igbo music.

The Togolese are peaceful and they are always willing to be of help, not just amongst themselves but to strangers. It’s easy to feel safe in the midst of the Togolese. Often times I’ve had reasons to call an oleya and explain to him what I wanted and he would take me to a place I could get what I wanted without stress. This, though, is not true for all.

Another thing that intrigues me about the Togolese is their attitude to work. This I find too funny. Most of the offices (Banks, Bookshops, etc) close for break between 1200 hours and 1300 hours. They resume normally by 1500 hours. Thus, if you must go to that office, better be there before 1200/1300 hours or you would be asked to come back by 1500 hours.

The French man, not just the Togolese, is a lover of fun. He is ready to sacrifice anything for fun. Friday nights in Togo are always party nights. This, you may say, is the same everywhere but, that of the French man is something else. They love music, they love dancing, they love noise (I once saw a young man blowing a trumpet in broad day light as he walked through the street!)

I enjoyed Lome while I was there, I had some good people around – my Togolese landlord and his family, my housemates, Zika and Odi (Zika’s friend, a French student, that came from Nigeria to stay with us, no thanks to the ASUU strike), and all my classmates.

Surely, Togo shall have me again...

End of Part One.... Next: My Senegal experience..

Wow! Dis is 1daful. Wat a nice tour story. Mehnn... D raw garri n sauce tinz really made me laff. Weldone n kip it up bro!

Jewel Bukky: Wow! Dis is 1daful. Wat a nice tour story. Mehnn... D raw garri n sauce tinz really made me laff. Weldone n kip it up bro!

Thanks Jowel. I appreciate...

My French School...

Village du Benin, Universite de Lome, Lome, Togo.

My room at Lome, Togo...

My Sweet Nopegali...

Zika kept telling me that the woman at Nopegali must have given me juju because I used to go to this restaurant every time, everyday!!!

DAKAR, SENEGAL

One Saturday after my Kung-Fu class at the campus, I went into Zika’s room to have a discussion with her.

“Hello Zik” I called as I walked in.

“Yea, Tony, what’s up?” she said as she paused the movie she was watching with her small DVD player.

“It’s time” I said as I sat beside her on her bed.

“For?” she asked.

“It’s high time I moved Zik. I would be traveling next week to some West African countries” I disclosed.

“Wow. Seriously? So, you are really serious about this your travel thing?” she asked.

“Sure. I’m serious about it. I would be going to a traveling agency to book a flight to Dakar, Senegal, on Monday” I answered.

I met Odi at the parlour that evening (she’s almost always at the parlour).

“Hey mummy” I always called her this.

“Yes grandpa” she answered in an attempt to get back at me.

“That traveling stuff I told you about the other day, remember?”

“Hmmm…..yea, I think I remember” she said as she rolled her eyes in remembrance.

“I’ll be leaving next week o” I said.

“Wow” she said giving away a smile.

“Yea. I’m going to miss you girls” I said honestly.

Later that evening, I called my driver asking him to come take me to a traveling agency on Monday.

“Hello, welcome. Please take a sit” The white man behind the table said in a heavy French accent as I walked into Omed Voyage at[i] Rue Koumore[/i] (not far from Palm Beach Hotel), Lome.

“Hello, good morning. Comment allez-vous?” I asked as I sat.

“Ca va. Vous?” He said with a smile revealing his set of brown teeth.

“Ca va bien, merci” I said returning his smile.

“So, I may I help you sir?” he asked.

“I want to book for a flight sir; Lome to Dakar”

“Ok. When sir?” He asked as he pushed some buttons on his computer keyboard.

“Saturday” I said.

He got busy with his laptop for about 45 seconds.

“Ok. We’ve got Asky leaving Lome for Dakar through Conakry by 1300 hours on Saturday” he said.

“Ok. How much is that please?”

“263,000.00CFAs” He said.

“Ok. Let’s do it” I said.

“Your passport please” he demanded.

We went to work and in about 5 minutes’ time, we were done.

“Convocation is by 1130 hours” he said as he gave me a printout of my flight details.

“Merci monsieur” I said as I stood and left the office.

Nice updates, but shey p not set between you & Zika ni?
Abi you be pope?
Heard night life in francophone countries is second to none, but you haven't shared any with us..
Have also heard about how fetish those from Togo & Senegal are.. Mind sharing your experience..
And you never tell us, where you dey all these money for lodging & traveling oooo...
I'm enjoying your updates, keep it coming

Ogbeche77: Nice updates, but shey p not set between you & Zika ni?
Abi you be pope?
Heard night life in francophone countries is second to none, but you haven't shared any with us..
Have also heard about how fetish those from Togo & Senegal are.. Mind sharing your experience..
And you never tell us, where you dey all these money for lodging & traveling oooo...
I'm enjoying your updates, keep it coming

Yea, most francophone countries have busy night life but I don't have a first hand experience (I don't party)..

It's also true that the Togolese are fetish... Heard one or two stories about this...

Money? Hmmm... Long story.

Thanks for commenting...

Traveling to Dakar, Senegal

G. Eyadema Int’l is Togo’s only international airport situated right at the heart of Lome not far from the campus.

I got to the airport a few minutes before 1100 hours. I bid my driver goodbye as I walked in for screening. Screening entails confirming your booking details, checking your luggage (scanning for drugs, metals etc), and weighing your luggage. It was at this airport that I started writing this story.

The flight from Lome to Dakar is the longest I’ve ever had. It was about 3 hours. The entertainment was satisfactory. We had rice and chicken, salad, Togolese bread, orange juice (or so) and water. My seat mates were a young girl that sat just next to me and a young man after her.

“Hello” I said to the young girl beside me as we got to Conakry, Guinea.

“Hi. Good afternoon” she said releasing a bright, childish smile.

“Good afternoon. How are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m good. You?” She asked.

“Likewise” I said.

Aeroport International de Conakry is Guinea’s international airport situated at the capital. Most West African flights transit this airport because of its strategic position. Guinea rests roughly at the middle of six countries: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Thus, flights like Arik, Ethiopian Airlines, and Asky drop and pick up passengers at this airport. These flights also fuel here.

We weren’t allowed to leave the flight at Conakry (of course). We were informed that we were going to spend about 45 minutes at this airport as we waited to pick some passengers going to Dakar. It was a long wait.

“I’m Tonye, Nigerian” I said to the young girl.

“I’m Grace, Togolese”.

“Wow. Nice to meet you Grace. So, why are you traveling to Dakar?” I asked as I attempted to start a conversation.

“To study” she said shyly.

“Wow. Great. Are you alone?” I asked noticing that she looked too young to be traveling alone.

“No. My mama and sister are behind. So, why are you traveling to Dakar?” she asked.

“To visit” I said as I smiled.

We talked about a lot of things. I learnt that she loved Mathematics and that she would love to be a lawyer in the future.

“Success in all your endeavors Barrister Grace” I teased as she giggled shyly.

The voice of the pilot announcing that we were about to take off was relieving. He announced that we would arrive Dakar in about 1 hour 30 minutes’ time. As we moved to the runway, the flight attendants educated us on safety procedures.

The city of Dakar welcomed us in rains as we arrived at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport. It was evening.

I got cleared at custom, claimed my luggage as I exited the building.

Outside the airport were multitudes of Senegalese doing one form of business or the other.

“Hello, welcome. You need taxi?” a Senegalese said to me as I pulled my box through the exit door.

“Hello, change your money here. We sell CFAs at a cheap rate.” another said.

“Buy your registered SIM cards here” announced an elderly man holding a chain of sim packs.

I walked up to this man.

“Bonsoir monsieur” I greeted.

“Bonsoir. Bienvenue” he said.

“Merci. Please what network is this?” I asked pointing to the SIM packs he carried.

“Orange sir. It’s about the best we have here” he said.

“Registered?” I asked.

“Yes sir. It is.” He answered.

“I want one please; how much is it?”

“1000 CFAs” he said. (Can’t remember the exact price please).

I bought an Orange SIM card from him as well as 10,000CFAs worth of credit.

“Please where is Terrou-Bi’s park?” I asked.

“Over there” he said pointing to a car park marked Terrou-Bi.

I had booked for an accommodation at Terrou-Bi two days ago. Terrou-Bi is a luxurious hotel situated about 20-30 minutes from the airport. I was expecting a pick up.

I walked to the park ignoring the voices that shouted at me in an attempt to drag my attention to the offers they had. In less than 5 minutes or so, a Toyota Hiace marked Terrou-Bi, Dakar, drove in from the right.

“Excuse me please, are you Tonye?” the black driver of about 5 feet five inches asked as he walked towards me.

“Yes, I am” I said.

“Welcome sir. May I help you with your luggage please?” he asked.

“Sure” I said (I was so tired that evening).

He slid the door of the bus as I climbed in and picked a confortable sit just behind the driver’s sit.

We drove off.

“How was your journey sir?” He asked as he drove.

“It was stressful. Too long.” I said honestly.

“I’m Idi, but you can call me Cow-boy” he said.

“I’m Tonye” I said as I smiled.

Cow-bow Idi was going to be my tour guide.

[To be continued…]

Gnassingbé Eyadéma Int'l Airport, Lome, Togo. This airport was named after Late Gen. Gnassingbé EYADÉMA, one time president of Togo.

Sorry for the poor image please...

Another view of Togo's international airport from my seat in Asky..

Were you conversing in english or french with the cow boy and also the lady you met in the plane??