From hiking to Kainji Lake National park
Traveling for adventure appeared fascinating to most youth and it was something we could not do without. During my Junior secondary school three examination, just after completion of the examination, all the graduands arranged for a trip to one of the mountains around our school environment. It was fun as we went with us snacks and drinks to entertain ourselves.
Music accompanied us to the mountain top and we had our bag packs containing garri and groundnut. We took snapshot and laughed, dance and had to see the Ajaokuta steel company from a height. It was an experience not to be forgotten anytime soon.
Another trip that made its way to memory was the two hundred level field trip which was around the school environs at Felele field and later on we used the school bus to convey students to Ajaokuta Steel company for field study. I was born and brought up at Ajaokuta Steel Company but had never had an educative visit before. We were taken to the blast furnace and the production unit.
We were briefed on the use of billet for production and safety measures carried out in the production site. The company was actually billion dollars project as several sophisticated machineries were found in every sector. We were perplexed at the achievement of the Shagari Government in setting such investment but the shocking thing is that the company is not producing what it is suppose to produce.
With the structures on ground, the steel company can boost of producing every parts of a car and with expertise every types of steel will be fabricated at the company and Nigeria will be a self-sufficient country and the gross domestic product of the nation will be on a high side. It is pathetic that our politicians play politics in every sphere they are, as they have refused to do the right thing in making the company work.
A trip to Kainji Lake National park was a blast as we all anticipated towards the trip. We took off for the trip in our three hundred level to Niger state and this one was boom-boom. We took selfie and off we go. On reaching Niger state, we visited the museum there as well and we were made to see the rich cultural heritage of the nation as elephant, monkeys, crocodiles were there in the vicinity. The internal structure comprises taxidermy works of several birds and reptiles.
The view was extraordinary as we have never being to such a sight before. The same day we were taken to our place of lodge in preparation for the Kainji Lake National Park experience. The night was a long one, we could not sleep, we gist in our hostel bed that we were given. The boys were placed in hostel bed while the girls were placed in a very comfortable apartment somewhere a bit far from where the boys were lodged as the accommodation in the park was not enough to contain us.
The next morning the female folks were brought to join us at the park lodge. We exchange pleasantries and off we go to the park. It was another trip and we all prepared to embark on it. Our big expectation was to see lion in its natural habitat. We were on safari for some time and the most commonest specie of animals found was antelope as it was found in every walking distance. We alighted form the bus with the direction of the park guard. He led the group to a water side were we saw crocodiles in natural habitat.
It was as if the crocodiles came out to say good morning to us as they were at the water bank gazing at us. We were earlier given orientation on how to approach a lion paradventure we come across one. We were told that lions in the wild portray territoriality and if we come across it, we are not expected to run from it but use backward movement slowly without turning our back to the lion. The life guard who is familiar with the lion presence will make the lion know that we are friends. We should ensure not to secrete adrenalin as the secretion stimulates interpretation of fear and it makes the lion confuse and afraid as well.
We left the crocodile site and kept on walking through a pathway and we saw troops of monkeys moving ahead of us. Several species of birds were seen flying in the air as they were colorful and species that are feared extinct were in the park. Later on, after several educative note on the richness of the park, the species of plants and animals, their botanical and scientific names and relevance we were taken to the park office which had structures for relaxation. There was a table tennis facility, we commenced play and others joined in the swimming pool. It was fun. Who would have thought campus life could have being this fun.
Our lecturers mingle with us as friends but not as lecturers. It was as if the trip should last a week but we were heading back in two days’ time. The trip was not over yet, we all anticipated to see lion, we all moved up the park to get to see if we will come across lion, we found elephants walking slowly and we immediately started to ask questions and we were given the best answers to our question. Someone asked is it true that the tongue of a blue whale is heavier than the weight of some elephants. The answer was yes as I had read the piece before then.
To some of us, it was the first time to see an elephant for real. We had opportunity to touch the elephant and took selfie with the elephant. We were not able to see lion and time was far spent. We had to leave the park for our hostels. When we arrived the lodge, we were also taken to the museum which was at the lodge where the boys slept. We got to see the cultural heritage of the nation and richness of species recorded there. The skin, mask, skulls of over two hundred species of animals was arranged in various stands.
It was a big museum and we took notes. We had to rest, the ladies were taken to their lodge to shower. We the male folks had shower and thereafter we strolled out to get food with our lecturers. It was fun seeing our lecturers relate as though they were students like us. We laughed and smiled as though we were all colleagues. It was an experience not to forget any time soon. We were going to be returning back to campus the next morning. We all prepared for the journey and off we go. We arrived campus successful and we wish we had spent a week there. It was the pioneer set and the department was able to plan for a three day trip.
