'However you want to do it, I don't know; just make sure you are not posted to Abuja. It is not a very good place. You can go to any other location o, but Abuja? Don't try it!'
This was the advice a 'very dear' friend of my mom gave her when it was time for posting. My mother worked in the Federal ministry till she retired, so transfers were inevitable.
Somehow, God had other plans in mind and posting to Abuja seemed to be one of them. This was around the year 1999 when Abuja was like London... It's been a while I visited so I don't know if it is still as beautiful as we left it.
My innocent mom was scared. There was no place she didn't go to plead for a change in posting but God had His plans and so with a heavy heart, my mother packed her bags, accompanied by one of my elder sisters for comfort, bought tickets from those luxurious bus services and began her journey to the 'land of doom,' Abuja, with the first bus. Those days, there were no mobile phones but the roads were very safe and good.
We bade her goodbye forlornly like someone that was going to a land of no return. Even my father that had been forming King Kong earlier used style to wipe his tears (though he told me that it was fly that entered his eyes), but we had no choice. Go to Abuja or resign, the letter said.
After what seemed like eternity, my sister called from a phone booth in the park around five in the evening. They had arrived in Abuja and were about to board a cab to their destination. She promised to look around for a pay phone to call us the next morning.
She called us in the afternoon after a visit to my mother's 'dear' friend's office.
The same doomsayer about Abuja was having a sumptuous lunch in her grandeur office when my mother walked in unannounced. She hadn't been aware about the transfer, so my mother was the last person she had been expecting to see.
'Ha!' She shouted in surprise as soon as she saw my mother. Her face went through series of emotions before she managed to utter 'What are you doing here?' She was so shocked that she was almost speechless all through their stay.
We were stupefied to hear how beautiful the city was. Turned out that all she told us about Abuja was the extreme opposite! Light was so steady that there used to announcement on radio if there was going to be power cut. To cap it up, this woman had properties in that same 'horrible' Abuja and was living in splendour.
My mother's shock was over- shocked! How someone could be that evil still amazes me till date. No wonder people kept asking us if we were normal whenever we prayed against Abuja transfer. I still wonder what people stand to gain by blocking others. She depicted Abuja as a barren land whereas it was flowing with milk and honey!
It taught me a very valuable lesson; not all friends have your interests at heart; only God does.
'However you want to do it, I don't know; just make sure you are not posted to Abuja. It is not a very good place. You can go to any other location o, but Abuja? Don't try it!'
This was the advice a 'very dear' friend of my mom gave her when it was time for posting. My mother worked in the Federal ministry till she retired, so transfers were inevitable.
Somehow, God had other plans in mind and posting to Abuja seemed to be one of them. This was around the year 1999 when Abuja was like London... It's been a while I visited so I don't know if it is still as beautiful as we left it.
My innocent mom was scared. There was no place she didn't go to plead for a change in posting but God had His plans and so with a heavy heart, my mother packed her bags, accompanied by one of my elder sisters for comfort, bought tickets from those luxurious bus services and began her journey to the 'land of doom,' Abuja, with the first bus. Those days, there were no mobile phones but the roads were very safe and good.
We bade her goodbye forlornly like someone that was going to a land of no return. Even my father that had been forming King Kong earlier used style to wipe his tears (though he told me that it was fly that entered his eyes), but we had no choice. Go to Abuja or resign, the letter said.
After what seemed like eternity, my sister called from a phone booth in the park around five in the evening. They had arrived in Abuja and were about to board a cab to their destination. She promised to look around for a pay phone to call us the next morning.
She called us in the afternoon after a visit to my mother's 'dear' friend's office.
The same doomsayer about Abuja was having a sumptuous lunch in her grandeur office when my mother walked in unannounced. She hadn't been aware about the transfer, so my mother was the last person she had been expecting to see.
'Ha!' She shouted in surprise as soon as she saw my mother. Her face went through series of emotions before she managed to utter 'What are you doing here?' She was so shocked that she was almost speechless all through their stay.
We were stupefied to hear how beautiful the city was. Turned out that all she told us about Abuja was the extreme opposite! Light was so steady that there used to announcement on radio if there was going to be power cut. To cap it up, this woman had properties in that same 'horrible' Abuja and was living in splendour.
My mother's shock was over- shocked! How someone could be that evil still amazes me till date. No wonder people kept asking us if we were normal whenever we prayed against Abuja transfer. I still wonder what people stand to gain by blocking others. She depicted Abuja as a barren land whereas it was flowing with milk and honey!
It taught me a very valuable lesson; not all friends have your interests at heart; only God does.
Danloader Closed WhatsApp Group
