Seeking Chappal Wadi

Dr Wilson Orhiunu

Babawilly

May 2022

 

My dental appointment took a wrong turn on the Tuesday the 26^th day of April. I lost a right upper molar that was extracted with sweat, muscle and sharp instruments.  I paid my bill biting on gauze with a numb face. By the time I got home I puffed my right cheek and noticed that air whistled through the hole in the empty tooth socket up to my right maxillary sinus and out my nose. I had terrible visions of eating Jollof rice and having my maxillary sinus crowded out with ‘aliens’.  It was pain and spitting out pus and blood all the way. Antibiotics and Paracetamol became my best friends. There were a few work related assignments to complete as I was due to go on leave. My son was coming down from University to run the Great Birmingham 10km race on Sunday the 1^st of May and this was the first time I would be running with a family member.  I could only eat on the left side of the mouth.

We were in high spirits on Sunday morning and I took my medication and felt ok. The race went well and it was one of those happy days when we all went out of a meal to celebrate our family milestone. We were running to raise money for an Orphanage in Lagos and my son and his friends has raised something.

2/5/2022

It seemed the whole of Birmingham was evacuating the City. There were long queues to check in at the Air France counter.

‘Where is your health declaration and screening summary from the Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria’s International Travel Portal Site?’

While I struggled to understand the question he motioned me to step aside saying that I could not board the plane without uploading my Covid Vaccine certificate on the webpage.

‘I thought Nigeria doesn’t require any Covid 19 results’ I said. His mind was on the next passenger and his eyes told me to push my trolley off and go do the needful.

By now my dental situation was seeking attention and relevance. The hole in my tooth socket had now healed but there was pain across the right side of my right face. I meet a friend who was also travelling to Lagos via Charles de Gaulle Airport and he was a dentist. He too was battling with getting on the Nigeria Travel Portal so we formed a small solidarity and support group. We checked in our suitcases and moved to the immigration queues. Thirty minutes to take off we were in line to miss the flight when a staff member called out our flights and took us in line like primary school children to the front of the queue. After an uneventful flight I arrived at Charles de Gaulle and boarded the larger plane bound for Lagos. The first thing I did was walk up to the air host and to request for a Coke. He said he could only give me water. I get nausea when I take tablets with water and I took exception to not getting what I wanted. My mind did the usual calculations; would a First Class passenger be denied a little can of Coke? I took my tablets of Paracetamol and Amoxicillin capsules and settled down with a book for the flight. To break the monotony of reading I ate food, and watched a sports documentary film followed by one of the Eiffel Tower and then listened to the 19 tracks of the African giant by Burna Boy. I dipped into the Book again; Sopona about people dying by the hands of Small Pox in pre-colonial Nigeria and also worshipping the god of small pox (no be today Stockholm syndrome start o). To top it all off I watched No time to die; 007.

3/5/2022

We discussed the various routes to Jalingo namely  Fly to Enugu and do an 8 hours road trip to the Taraba State Capital or fly to Yola; the capital of Adamawa State and go by  road to Jalingo. We settled on the next day flight via Air Peace but later discovered the once weekly flight to Yola had been cancelled.

 

04/04/2022

 

We booked a flight via Aero Contactors Lagos-Abuja-Yola for the 5/5/2022 with a take -off time of 6.30am

The plan was to do the four hours from Yola to Jalingo where we would spend the night, then proceed the next day to Gembu which is an 8 hour drive.

At dinner that Wednesday night I told my mother I was travelling and would be coming back soon.

 

05/04/2022

We took off for Abuja by 6.30am in a B737-500 plane on schedule. Flight time was about 55 minutes.  All passengers disembarked in Abuja but those travelling onto Yola hung around for a few minutes on the tarmac while the plane was cleaned and new passengers joined.

Just before we flew to Yola there was a special welcome to a Senator who was flying with us. It felt like a wedding. We were in  Yola (Adamawa State Capital) in under an hour and took a taxi to the motor park where we hired a commercial car to Jalingo (Taraba State capital)  from the Sauki Transport company ( It was a bit strange to see that the passenger manifest form  had a space to include one’s  Blood Group! This was left blank by us.  We had a pleasant two and a half hour drive through Savanah land.  I was traveling with my long term friend Enate and till now the trip was going well.

In Jalingo we contacted our contact in Bali, Pastor Victor. He was to arrange a driver for us and had booked hotel rooms. We were soon driving in another car to Bali.  The driver spoke no English so we phoned our contact and passed the phone to the driver. At Bali the weather changed and the rains began. We went into see Pastor Victor and he was limping. He had fallen off a motor bike with his wife that morning. His right ankle was swollen and his wife had a large swelling on the right side of her face. They limped around and tried to be hospitable in their pain. They promised to send food to us in the hotel. By the time we got to the Young JP Guest Inn on Takum road, the heavens opened. We were drenched but were happy to get our rooms and change clothes. All our lines went dead. No food came and there was no food in the hotel.

I made do with crunching on cornflakes and peanuts.

By morning we went for a walk and the text came in to say that my mother was dead. She had been getting increasingly frail but it was still a shock. Enate does not panic so he was the best person to be with. We had spoken at length about her so he knew my thoughts. I was not going to mourn and be sad as she had led a good life. The tone was now set for a reflective time on the mountains.

After breakfast at Pastor Victor’s house we met up with a driver he had arranged Hamza Ibrahim who proved to be our Rock. The initial plan we had was flawed;  which was to drive to Gembu and go up to Chappal Wadi from there.

Pastor Victor had instructed his in law to get us hotel rooms in Gembu.

By 12pm we set off from Bali to Gembu, stopping for photographs along the way. The mountain side roads were the best scenery I had seen in Nigeria to date. Some areas were breath taking.

In Gembu the hotels were all booked up and we were kindly lodged in a personal residence.

We visited a Suya joint along the way and it was premium beef. The best I had experienced in years.

 

7/05/2022

Saturday morning was an exciting time. Our 6am stroll through the neighbourhood was enchanting. We stood above the cloud and watched a magnificent sunrise. I did not even know this scenery existed in Nigeria.

By about 12pm we had done three hours down the mountain road and were seated in the lounge of the Gashaka Gumti National Park and the details of the trip was planned after filling the necessary paper work. We were told to travel with three Rangers who would act as the tour guides. Our driver Hamza agreed to come up with us too.

Although there were lodgings at the Gashaka Gumti NP, we decided to set off to the next town of Nguroje to reduce the travelling on Sunday.

The staff put us in contact with motor bike riders – four in all, who would take us to the foot of the mountain, wait for us to ascend and descend, then bring us back to the hotel; a four hour journey both ways.

By 4pm we were off on the drive back up the mountains; now carrying two armed rangers. By about 7pm the heavens opened and it was impossible to see where we were going. That was when the call came for Enate that his senior brother had died. There was tension in the car as the rain crashed on the roof and the windscreen wipers fought a losing battle.

We arrived at the Hamdalla Hotel Nguroje by 8pm and took four rooms.  The noise from an English Premiership game could be heard from a local viewing centre. We huddled in a Masai café for fried eggs and bread before settling for the night. I was on antibiotics and chewing only on the left side of my mouth but my dental pain was subsiding.

8/05/2022. Sunday

We were up and ready by 6am. Four motor bikes had arrived and we speed off with the Rangers and me on one bike each and Enate and Hamza on one.

It was like being on a roller coaster as we speed through farms, hills, valleys, wooden planks over streams and uphill through dusty pebbles filled paths. We drove through farms villages and so many check points that I lost count.

By 9.30am we stopped at a village for food and it was great to see the traditional setting. The sole of my left boot was now flapping in the wind and the village cobbler came down to collect it for stitching while I used the plastic slippers he brought.

We had breakfast and continued our journey to Njawe which had a Rangers camp. We picked up a third Ranger who owned his own motor bike making us a party of five. We all speed through the rough terrain to Jauro Haman Sale, a tiny village at the foot off the mountain. We had a short rest and said hello to the leader of the community there who served us food. A corn based dough with soup which the guys gathered around and eat with their fingers. I watched from a distance.

By 12pm we started walking up the mountain range. It was beautiful and we were relieved to be off the motor bike. The sole of my left boot came apart and I yanked it off. The right boot suffered the same fate soon after.

The Okada ride had taken its toll. We were exhausted and had walked for three hours when a guy led a horse past us. Enate had the idea of riding on horseback but I was not keen and I imaged the animal galloping off down the mountain side. Eventually a trained horse was brought and things went fine. As I started to slow down, the Rangers felt I too should hop on a horse and another one was found.

I got off the horse close to the summit and struggled to the top. By 5.30pm on Sunday the 8^th of May 2022; I was the Nigerian with two feet on the ground standing on the highest altitude. I felt one with myself and my destiny. I felt at peace with the passing of my mother. Nature cannot be wrestled with and defeated. It was ordained that I was to be here at this time. I waved my mother goodbye; alone in my private thoughts.  The mountain top is a spiritual place, a beautiful lush wilderness where no distractions lay. You are one with your maker there. We celebrated and took pictures and it was time to go down.

We went down a gentle incline but by now my bum had been stretched to the limit with siting on the motor bike and the horse for so long; something I had never done in all my life.

I had to dismount and walk. Enate left us far behind as he rode  on his horse and was soon out of eye shot. The period of good weather grace was over. The clouds moved in and the loudest thunder ever shook the heavens. This was not those types they call ‘bedroom weather’. The lightening looked like it was seeking someone to kill and I was the tallest in the group. In a few seconds I was drenched to the underpants and my sole-less boots had no grip. I slid and fell four times. As the Ranger walked he slipped twice. The other ranger fell also. Nothing dangerous; as we landed well; breaking our fall with strong hands. As it grew danker it was time to focus on each step. Our torch lights shone and the Jukebox that is my mind began to play Amy Grant’s song

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

The rains stopped and we were making good progress. I was not tired but my boots had no grip. It was obvious we were not going to the hotel in Nguroje tonight so the aim was to make it down, sleep and move in the morning.

By about 7pm we had crossed a familiar looking stream and the senior guide then took a wrong turn and we were walking around the jungle for 2 hours. At a point Hamza had joked, ‘Sir, do not fall to your right. Put your entire mind on the left, if you fall we would never see you again’.

It was a sheer drop into an abyss on the right. This was not a time to trip over a stone.

Amy Grant’s voice came back.

Angels watching over me, every step I take

Needless to say I was in a prayer session.

‘Why don’t you ring your colleagues to come and fetch us?’

‘We dey Cameroon.  Where we go see network?’

In all activities that involve exertion there is always that point you ask yourself, ‘na who send me message o??’

Why am I even here?

I suddenly remembered all the Parables of the lost sheep stories. My mind told me, ‘Wilson, no bi today you loss. You don loss tey tey’ (You have been lost for a long time).

Hamza whispered to me he knew the way back but didn’t want to say as he was just a driver. He had worked with cattle for five years prior to going to Polytechnic and his custom when entering any bush was to note land marks.

At this stage I heard it clearly as if a Bose speaker was playing in the jungle.

I’m lost without you

Bebe and Cece Winans sang that song of comfort

Don’t ever go away

The senior ranger conceded he couldn’t lead us anymore and Hamza led us. We were soon climbing over a fence I recalled from the ascent earlier in the day.

Back down at Jauro Haman Sale, we meet some of the crew in a large room without a door. Enate was on one bed and the other bed was reserved for me. The Okada guy vacated the bed. I took off my water logged boots and socks, yanked off my soaked sweater and slept in my wet jeans shorts. By 2am I two my jeans shorts off.

I walked out bare footed in my underpants to urinate by the side of the house with my torch light. I thought about scorpions.

9/05/2022

By 4.30am the crew assembled to say that they did want to be in Cameroon at sunrise as they didn’t want any problems with the border officials. I wore my wet jeans and boots; without the socks and we speed through the darkness heading for Njawe. My clothes dried on the journey but the boots remained wet. We sustained two tyre punctures and had to double up on the bikes but fortunately this happened close to Njawe.  A guy was found to fix the tyres. We ate a breakfast of beans and bread at a local village Café and then hit the road. My thigh muscles ached from being on the bike so long.

Two and a half hours later, I was glad to see the hotel at Nguroje

. I made a mad rush for new clothes and inspected the skin of my feet which was now macerated. We said goodbye to the Okada men and continued with the two Rangers for three hours to Gashaka –Gumti NP where they dropped off and we continued with Hamza to Bali.

After a brief stop we hired another vehicle to take us to Jalingo and we arrived Pacy Hotel at 8pm. The tickets for the return flight to Lagos were booked while driving with help from a contact at Yola Airport. We arranged a vehicle to take us to Yola in the morning

10/05/2022 Tuesday

The booked vehicle did not turn up so we took a taxi to the motor park and hired a car to take us to the airport in Yola. We were there in two hours and flew Max Air Flight VM1649 to Abuja.

We did visits to Enate’s bereaved family members and I visited the Discovery museum in Wuse 2 which I really enjoyed as it had brilliant staff; Ezinne and the crew and really cool exhibitions.

We were back at the airport for our 10.55pm Green Africa Flight in an ATR 72-600 propeller plane.

I slept most of the way.

I arrived home by about 1.40am at my mum’s house but she wasn’t home.

She had gone home

 

 

 

Dedicated to Mrs Charity Orhiunu

My Mother

02/03/1944 to 06/05/2022

 

Chappal Waddi (also called Gangirwal) translates to 'Mountain of Death' in Fulfulde, because of an insurmountable gully that exists in the Southern corner of the Nigerian side of the range.

Nigeria's highest mountain, Gangirwal, stands at 7,963 ft (2,419 m) and is found in the Adamawa mountains in a remote corner of Gashaka-Gumti National Park (GGNP).

PS: For more pictures and videos from the trip to Chappal Addi go to may Facebook page (Wilson Orhiunu) and check out the Posts Seeking Chappal Waddi Part 1, Part 2 Part 3. Part 3b and Part 4. 

It is a Public page

ROOFTOP GOODBYES 

Dr Wilson Orhiunu

(Babawilly)

I came to the roof

To wave goodbye

My solitary private

Tears

My pride my joy

My years

Few come to the roof

It’s arduous pathways

Will test the spirit

No walls to protect

No walls to shield from the winds

No shelter from the rain

A soul planted

In terrestrial a vineyard

Drawing sustenance

From the umbilical cord

The cord that broke

And released me into the world

Ye! She was my vineyard

I was her fruit

We were owned by the owner

Not her, not you , not me

The owner has called her

And she must go

I am at the roof of Nigeria

Alone with tears and rain

Lightening visits fleetingly

Thunder is heard from a distant place

A tearful thunder

A painful noise

My pride my joy my years

The dark clouds possess the skies

I lift my hands to wave

My shoulders do my bidding

You waved back and I am delighted

Because your strength has returned

Your mastery and supreme command of your body is back

You can now fly

Who would have thought this day would come

In flight you look majestic

A vineyard at the speed of light

You came in as a seed

But you leave a luxuriant forest

You waved goodbye to yours

I waved goodbye to you

On the roof of Nigeria

My eyes have seen like Elisha

A beautiful seed; you came alone

You bore fruit by your Labour

You saw your children’s children

You are the blessed one from above

Charity Arigo ORHIUNU

02/03/1944 to 6/05/2022