COPDEM road to success: a journey of self-discovery from Lagos to Anambra

By Gerry Okechukwu

I still remember the day I embarked on my journey from Lagos State to Awka, the blacksmith’s town in Anambra State, East of the Niger. I was headed for the now popular Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) Academy, a developing institution that was now gaining popularity not only amongst tech enthusiasts, budding designers, and production experts but also amongst media gurus and journalism masters.

It is a media and tech hub of sorts, that was on its way to growing info-tech enthusiasts, ardent professionals and media personalities.

The Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM) has organized this workshop as a stop gap measure to help enrich the number of objective media professionals that would be readily available for any state or national assignment aside from making them leaders in their own right as well as being digitally savvy.

Well, the excitement and anticipation of learning from renowned experts in the media industry had been building up for weeks and I was really looking forward to traveling to Awka for the program.

I was lured not only by the prospects of reuniting with the media professionals which had been my circle some decades ago, but also the allure of Awka town which had a rich tradition of blacksmithing and iron smelting.

I was proud of what they had done in the past especially in the craftsmanship of not only domestic tools and implements such as pots, knives, cutlasses, hoes, etc., but also weapons for war in pre-colonial times as well as during the Nigerian civil war, such as dane guns, spears shields, helmets and the famous Ogbunigwe explosive device, etc.

My town Aku in Igbo Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State had some similarities of dexterity in iron smithing too, hence I always had this nostalgia of returning home whenever I was passing through Awka, an allure that would never fade.

We also had some similarities in vernacular intonations, and this helped to cement the love for Awka as a town.

As we set off by 6:25 AM from Lagos in the air-conditioned Toyota “Covid bus” on the stable of Okeyson motors, I felt a mix of emotions; the eagerness of participating in the media workshop, the nervousness of meeting new people from diverse backgrounds, and a hint of sadness about leaving my family and friends behind as well as my long-accustomed comfort zone in Lagos.

The long journey ahead of me would take between 8 to 10 hours, depending on the traffic and road conditions as well as the drivers speed and dexterity on the steering wheel.

The first few hours of the journey were uneventful, with the usual Lagos traffic congestion giving way to a smoother ride as we hit the open express road on our way to Sagamu. Our driver, turned out to be a seasoned veteran of Nigerian roads, and he regaled us with stories of his adventures on the highway. We laughed and chatted with him, feeling more at ease as the kilometers flew by.

My seat was the window seat which was my favourite seat by the way, considering that it provided an avenue for me to look out and admire the scenery as we chatted while also being able to stretch my legs as there was enough legroom for such.

As we sped through Sagamu town in Ogun State, past beautiful houses and rowdy markets, I watched with wide eyes as these beautiful scenery and kaleidoscope of milling people turned into trees, and a spectacle of landscape on canvas.

I turned my phone on and plucked in my earphones letting the music that I carefully made into a travel playlist fill my ears. The earphones made it possible for me to listen to my selection as the driver also played music from his bus.

I knew the journey was going to be a long one and so I had come prepared so as not to let boredom ruin it for me. In order not to becloud my senses I decided to just watch the scenery for now and save reading the novel I carried for later when it became obvious that I was feeling sleepy.

As we approached Okada town near Benin City, everything was going fine and I had even started to doze off when we were all awoken by a loud bang and a rumbling noise from the bus.

This caused the driver to stop the bus almost immediately after which he got down to investigate what had happened and he returned to inform us that one of the tyres had been torn after he drove through a deep road bump.

The sharp edges of the bump had done their damage, and we were the worse off for it. The road was terrible and overused with the tar peeling almost all the way and terrible bumps decorating over long stretches.

Most of the passengers started to grumble but he calmed everyone down by telling them that he had a spare tyre and so he could fix it but that he would be needing our help.

Most of the men on the bus alighted to help the driver fix the tyre. While two other men walked down to place grasses and wooden branches on the way as a safety guide for the oncoming fast moving vehicles.

As we waited for the tyre to be changed, a few hawkers who really needed to sell their wares swarmed around us. Amongst them, there was one particular hawker who stood out from the rest with his very enthusiastic way of marketing his goods which were herbal products.

He kept demonstrating by throwing his hands in the air and making weird movements with his waist. This made almost everyone on board our bus to burst out laughing while some passengers actually bought some of his products as a way of encouraging him.

In less than an hour later, the tyre was fixed and all those who had alighted got back on the bus and we got moving.

The too frequent Police checkpoints juxtaposed in short distances were really a turn-off. Apart from delaying the pace of the journey and making it slower, it provided an avenue for the military officers manning these checkpoints to extort hard earned money from the travellers and commuters.

It was yet to be understood what gains it provided when these checkpoints were less than one kilometre separating each other.

As we approached Asaba and the River Niger at Onitsha,We stopped briefly on the Onitsha Bridge due to an apparent traffic build up on the bridge. Within me, I marveled at the majestic views of the river below and the newly built second Nigeria bridge.

As we left the bustling city of Onitsha, the scenery shifted dramatically. The lush green forests and rolling landscapes of the southeastern region stretched out before us, a stunning contrast to the urban jungle of Lagos.

The final stretch of our journey took us through the express way leading to the bustling city of Awka, the capital city of Anambra State. The sights, sounds, and smells of the city were overwhelming, but exhilarating.

We finally arrived at Awka City, and then I stopped at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) junction, where I was greeted by the friendly face of Mr. Emmanuel, the DDM Academy staff who guided me to Mgbakwu Park and where we boarded the Keke tricycle ride to Mgbakwu Town where the DDM Academy nestled.

As I settled into my new surroundings, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for the incredible journey that had brought me here, the gratitude of joining up with my other workshop participants as well as the delegates.

The sights, sounds, and experiences of the past 9 hours had been exhilarating and was a stark reminder of the beauty, the bustling and the highly diversified land of Nigeria.

I commenced the program immediately by joining the class where I observed that I was surrounded by like-minded individuals from all over the country, I knew that this journey was just the beginning of an incredible adventure not only in the workshop contents to be embraced but also the changes I would be looking forward to seeing as my future panned ahead of me.

As it seemed, I was ready for the adventures that awaited me. Indeed, I was on a journey of self-discovery and I was ready to make a success of it.

Sir Gerry Okechukwu is a financial consultant based in Lagos.

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