My One Day Trip to Yola

Social studies class in primary school is where a lot of us initially learn about Nigeria and what it had to offer. For me, the first encounter I had with Yola was when our social studies teacher would make us recite the 36 states with the capital (s)? We certainly learnt it a lot better because we were made to sing it.

Abia – Umuahia

Adamawa – Yola

Akwaibom – Uyo

 

Did you just try to sing it? Ye me too!

For majority of us, that is where the story ended. NYSC for a number of us may have attempted to rekindle our knowledge of Nigeria and even though I think the Youth service is badly managed, I see the original intent.

I’d also say if you were not genuinely interested  in Nigerian history, not sure any of those history books would have helped.

Some brands in the past have tried to take us on a culinary journey around Nigeria but for the most part covering the major regions so context was still lacking or the execution just was not memorable.

When a brand reached out to me and said we would be doing some campus activation tours and we would be starting with the North I panicked. For any lagosian that hasn’t moved around the country much, this request requires serious thought. I asked them to give me some time to think about it.

“What was there to think about really? Either you are in or out.”

 

These were my thoughts.At this point I went into full research mode. I googled the heck out of Yola. From the weather, to accommodation to airport distance to everywhere incase i needed to escape. At this point, I questioned all the clothes in my wardrobe. I wanted to be respectful but not seem as if I was trying too hard to fit in when I got there. Numerous calls were made trying to find friends that knew friends that lived there. That didn’t work out too great because most of them had lost touch with home. 

Thankfully, my mum had a younger friend there so she called to let her know I was coming. Even though I had not found reassuring enough information other than AUN being the safe zone to dwell, I was glad to know someone was there for a worse case scenario. I started to sleep a little less as the day drew closer but that always happens when I am unsure so I ignored all my feelings and powered through.

Day arrived. My taxi guy arrived unusually early to take me to the airport. This wasn’t necessarily positive in my head at the time. I checked in early but was given a boarding pass that said gate closes at 10:05am. My flight was supposed to be at 8:30am. My assumption was this must be the gate at Abuja (which we had to transit through) so instead of giving me two boarding passes, to save the planet they gave me one. It pays to ask questions you know.

I sat at the airport from 7am till 10:15am when we started boarding. I realised in that moment, they wanted the flight to be full and had nothing to do with the Abuja boarding.

Getting to Abuja, we did not need to get off the plane. The passengers that needed to get on the plane to Yola just hopped on and we were on our merry way after refuelling. I slept through the two flights because anxiety didn’t let me sleep the night before. The good thing is we got two snack boxes because it was counted as two flights. This worked out well because I was hungry.

Touchdown Yola!

42 Degrees

 

Jagged Edge’s song “feels like I just walked right outta heaven” started playing in my head. Heaven being the plane and Yola being equivalent to the Ozone layer. Global warming is real guys!

Walked into the slightly underwhelming airport which was basic enough that all the functional things worked but no sights to see but thats the story of most Nigerian airports anyway.

My ride/tour guide at this point took me straight to the event I came for but certainly schooled me on Yola. I voiced my concerns and he reassured me of my safety. I mean its not like he was BH’s rep to know when and where they would strike but at least he spoke his truth.

He mentioned that Yola shared a border with Cameroon which means a lot of dishes and cultural similarities will occur. He also mentioned that there is an overwhelming amount of fish being consumed.

Dishes like Margi Special, Kodo, and Masa are a big deal here, he said.

I also met with a documentary photographer Nelly (My Mum’s friend) who talked me through some interesting Yola facts which I have captured in a list I shared on Twitter but will share here as well.

She also mentioned that everyone eats Masa with everything. She also said I should look out for a tiny fruit that tastes like Mango but its not and its really popular in these ends. We chatted for a little while about life, motivations, religion, living in the North and work. I was so grateful to her for coming to visit. Luckily I found the fruit she recommended on my way to the airport and I am excited to try to create recipes with it.

The mallam said the fruit was called chapule (I may not be spelling it right) If you know the spelling, please correct me in the comments and I would adjust accordingly. Now back to my twitter list and I have added a few more things.

 

My Twitter List

What have i learnt in a day in Yola; 

– The media certainly plays a huge role in how we perceive the northern part of Nigeria

– The roads are generally better than Lagos

– The younger people are not as conservative as the rest of the North

– They love fish!

– Tons of trees

– There are BH prone areas but at the borders close to Maiduguri

– Yola shares a border with Cameroon as well

– 42 degrees seems like the norm weather wise but it’s not super dry heat.

 – There’s still a hut vibe as you drive around but it’s not overwhelming #yola finds

– The Lizards here also look different, looks like they have some wild versions. Ran away at the ATM when it challenged me

– There are a lot of silver roofing sheets

– Keke (Tricycle) is a lot more prominent and dare i say more than actual cars

 – Okadas (motorcycles) are banned (BH issues)

– Whoever is making Faro water / juice is making a killing. I haven’t been offered any other brand

– Not as many security check points in the city

– Traffic is sane

 – GTB and Fidelity and Polaris banks are the most popular

– There are a number of large portion water areas so fishing is a big deal here

– River Benue runs through Yola

– The lines at the ATM’s are insane

– The AUN Hotel is big on recycling and have a good global standing sustainability wise. They repurposed a lot of items and built that into their decor and sales items.

Yola has been a great experience and although this post is not heavily a foodie post, I believe I’d be going back to Yola for a proper food tour. I am now seated at the airport having enjoyed the one day I was here and plotting and planning my next scheduled visit to Yola.