Ayo's blog

Visiting Ibadan is probably the most important part of my trip. The last time I visited, it was for my grandmother's (mother's side) burial. Since then my grandfather who turns 90 later this year, has been without the woman who he said made the impossible possible. So, it was very important for me to spend quality time with him because I can't imagine his new life without his spouse and partner of over 60 years. As my uncle said in passing to me, my grandmother was the one everyone turned to to solve problems. Here is some information about Ibadan. It is the capital of Oyo State and once the capital of the old Western Region back when Nigeria practiced a regional form of government. The city is about an hour and a half drive from Lagos. The city is known for its red tin roofs and the first university in West Africa - the University of Ibadan. I met my grandfather at his house he has lived in since 1981 or so. He just got back from his shop, and as usual, whenever fa...

Back to Lagos My dad had a function to attend in Lagos, so I decided to catch a ride back with him. The day before our trip, the car suddenly went off and wouldn’t start. After multiple attempts to start the car and some troubleshooting, we determined the alternator had gone bad. It was dark and we were setting out for Ijero from Ado. We ended up loaning a generator battery from a nearby office to drive the car to a hotel close by. The next morning, we drove the car to some mechanics ‘workshop’ to replace the alternator and fix an issue with the shaft. We then had someone return the generator battery to the office we loaned it from. The mechanic was expecting us since we had called the night before. In a few hours, we were on our way. We had a one hour journey to Ijero to pack what we needed then a four hour journey to Lagos. Usually, we try to travel during the day so we had to rush in and out of Ijero which meant I didn’t get to see my grandmother before I left. She would h...

Greetings from Ekiti State, again Part of this post was written in week 3 along with the first 2 posts. I didn't have the time nor the energy to finish the write up and post it. Each day is very long and after factoring the heat, exhausting. By 7 pm, I just want to eat, take a cold shower and sleep then repeat.  Anyway, I extended my trip to Ekiti by a week to spend more time with my grandmother and to visit other locations in the state. She told me more of her life stories, fed me constantly and showed me how to make some of the meals. Her meals are typically made fresh and consumed within a few days. Nothing is refrigerated  and her only seasoning is salt and locust beans preserved with salt. The locust beans have a somewhat unpleasant smell but makes the meal delicious. In fact, any soup without preserved locust beans is almost tasteless . The soups are usually made with okra or spinach and eaten with a starchy side made from yam. The yam is usually peeled and bo...