Finally the vehicle started to move and there was a sigh of relief among everyone. at the top edge of the trailer van sat young men including me. we held tight unto the rod up there to gain balance and to avoid falling off the vehicle. right inside the vehicle were mothers,fathers,little babies,kids,young men and ladies who were mostly students all jam-packed like a sardine in there. while sitting at the top edge, i could see them struggling to stand well and gain balance as they hit each other with their bodies left and right due to the vehicle's movement. there were little fights as some individuals refused to have a little tolerance of others who fall on them due to imbalance.
The sun rose with its scourging upon us and everyone began to sweat especially those inside as they had little air in there. they were dehydrating and there was no water for them to drink. gradually some persons began to feel weak. the scary part of the whole thing was that we couldn't tell how long the journey will take to reach Nigeria cause what we could see were only mountains and hills on our left,right and ahead with the tiny routes for our vehicle is to take. each time we see a network mast, it gave us hope but most of the time they are just masts in the bushes not towns.
The heat became much. people sweating heavily and we are not yet close to any town to at least get some water to drink. one young man could not bear it any longer so he fainted. there was panic a bit in the vehicle. those closer to him began to fan him and pour some some little water they had on him to aid him regain consciousness again. after about 30minutes, he was up. as the vehicle kept on moving, i saw a little boy who was struggling to stand and gain balance just like everyone else was doing. he was already hungry,thirsty and crying. some persons had pity on him and they gave him and his brother some biscuit and water to eat. they both managed it to gain strength. they were just kids but had to endure the same pain that matured adults were enduring at that moment. it was annoying,heart-melting and not proper but the situation at hand made it so.
When we got to a town, the vehicle stopped to get some fuel. while we were there, the people there gave us water and groundnuts. that was what they had to offer us. we were grateful cause what they gave us was like a life reviver unto us. i can still recall of a young girl who sells roasted groundnuts that took it all and gave it to people for free out of pity. they showed us love without even even knowing us in details. what a love! all they knew was that we were Nigerians and that was all. as we kept on with the journey, one of our tyre got punctured and bursted so we all had to come down for the driver and his men to fix it. after they were done, we as usual made our way into the vehicle.
Finally, we got to a water boundary between Cameroun and Nigeria. the vehicle was so heavy to cross cause we were much in it. so the young men were asked to go down and cross the river on foot so that the vehicle could cross. as we were crossing, some young men pulled off their clothes and started taking a bath at the river. as they were doing this ladies in the vehicle could see them. but the young men didn't show any concern to what anybody has to think cause all they wanted was to feel refreshed for they've not taken a bath for almost 4 days since the terrorist invasion.
We all got back into the vehicle and continued our journey and as God was helping us, we got to some little village in Adamawa state Nigeria. towards the evening at about 6pm it was almost dark we got to a small town called "Fufure". as we got there, our driver said he's done with us and won't go any further at all. we all were stranded in a strange town even though it was now in Nigeria. no cars were available to head to Yola the state capital because of the curfew imposed on the area by the military. we were confused and didn't know what to do.
TO BE CONTINUED................!!!!!
If You Missed My Survival Series Pt7: The Night at The Camerounian Bush, Click Here
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