I visited Tafa again, a city in Northern Nigeria, and was warmly welcomed by a friend turned family. The weather was mostly chilly in the morning, and it got really hot during the day with hot winds, then it cools down at night. Over the course of my last trip, I made a friend ‘J’. J is from the North and speaks English. J was ever ready to translate because Indigenes seem to speak & understand only Hausa.
Visiting the market with J, was usually done on a motorcycle, with trailers going as fast as 60km/h on the highway, which made me terrified because they all drove like they have 9 lives. Food items were quite cheap, compared to the Eastern part of Nigeria, as well as clothes, and the fact that once you speak their language you’re considered family and they sell at a fare price. J made me eat ‘Awara’ in the market on one occasion. A cubed shaped fried batter said to be made from soya beans, served with pepper by the side, it looked weird and tasted funny.
Back home, they were about 13 dogs and 4 cats, quite a number of furry animals with lots of space to run around. Whenever we ate, I made sure to feed the cats or dogs that were close by. We played table tennis most evenings, which was an extreme sport because there was cash prizes to be won at the end of the game and everyone brought out their top game.
I did not get to win any cash but my game play improved greatly. I also rekindled with a course mate turned brother, ‘T’, we had not seen each other in over 8 years. I was happy to spend little time with T and get a personal look around the Defense Headquarters.
I am grateful for friends and family, and I wish all our readers a wonderful festive celebrations.
