Eastern Nigeria: A Travel Photo Story.

On a good day, traveling by road is a pleasant experience. I used to travel a lot when I was younger, and I loved every state and city I visited; every food, every place I saw, and the excitement of seeing things I would not normally see in my neighborhood. I mentioned traveling to Ebonyi state from Lagos in this post, but I never shared the photos I took along the way.

On a normal day, I am a very explorative photographer. I enjoy taking unusual photos, but I did not do much of that on that trip. The reasons were that my iPhone's battery was running low, I was not particularly enthusiastic, and I was not feeling well. But I did take some pictures from Lagos to Ebonyi state and Abakaliki town, but I did not take many pictures in Asaba.

Asaba is arguably one of the most beautiful places in Eastern Nigeria. It is Delta State's capital, and I arrived late, so my iPhone could not capture much because taking pictures from inside a moving bus at night tells no story and captures no details. Even though the city was well-lit and looked great, the photos I took were very soft and unappealing.

So we traveled on this coaster bus, the company's name was Okeyson. I took the bus from Ogba, Lagos, Nigeria. Their service was truly terrible. Even though it appeared to be in excellent condition, the bus was somewhat unfit for the road. This was supposed to be a 15 to 16-hour road trip, but we spent more than 26 hours on the road. Nonetheless, it was comfortable. The seats were comfortable, and the trip felt enjoyable for the first few hours.

However, I took pictures in Ondo state. A Nigerian inter-state driver's typical behavior is to stop at places like Ikenne and Ore in Ondo state so that passengers can fill their stomachs with exotic delicacies and urinate by the roadside.

Most male commuters and travellers enjoy urinating by the roadside. It is a funny and strange thing that may appear disgusting to someone who is not Nigerian.

So we mostly stop at gas stations because they have good urinating spots, good food joints, and people selling bananas and other foods that are not typical of Lagos as a commercial state. Because these places are more rural, the food is less expensive and more varied.

Fruits and other sweet delicacies are healthier and better, so people who travel from Lagos enjoy exploring these options, unless they are traveling for the wrong reasons. Maybe for a funeral or something else that is not worth focusing on while driving.

I stopped this northern man selling dried meat with indigenous pepper sauce, tomatoes, and other ingredients. I stopped to take a picture because I liked the texture of the meat, the richness of the color, and how beautiful it was. This photo was taken at Ore.

One of the scariest aspects of these roads is the presence of bushes on both sides, with criminals and bandits known to frequent the eastbound side.

I went with my aunt, so I took pictures with her while she was unaware; one thing a journey like this does is bore you. Because you are spending over 12 hours sitting in one position, it is quite certain that you will sleep. When the body is inactive for long periods of time, we sometimes respond by sleeping.

We arrived in Enugu around 10 p.m. and had to sleep in the car park. On iron chairs. The park was specifically designed for travelers and is owned by a nationwide bus company. We slept here, and to be honest, the sight of the place in the morning looked great. Aside from the bad toilets and smelly rooms, the park itself was packed with commuters heading to various parts of the country.

Enugu state looks lovely, but the city is filthy. It is typical of a densely populated urban area. More waste, fuller sewers, and trash on the roads and streets remind me of Lagos, though Lagos is more developed.

The following day, we hired another driver to take us to Abakaliki, the capital city of Ebonyi state. We spent nearly 2 hours on the road. This time, there was a different driver and bus. This time, they drove a healthy vehicle.

Abakaliki City is cleaner, possibly due to its lower population density. I came here as a young stud 12 years ago, and the city was exciting at the time. It is more developed now. So the cities are cleaner, and probably the cleanest city I have ever visited. Despite the fact that there were some dirty spots, the air was 80% clean and smelt fresh and sweet despite the amount of sunlight.

The houses in the city areas are also clean; I did not see any dirty houses, and the electricity was good; you can see pictures of Abakaliki City when I arrived, and the streets were tarred.

However, traveling to the villages was a completely different story. The villages were typical rural, with no transportation, no electricity, no toilets, thatch bathrooms, terrible mosquitoes and water, and good houses, but the village appeared clean despite these issues. I did not take any pictures of the village with my phone because my iPhone was completely dead by this point.

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