Baskadia

It was a bright and sunny day and we were set for excursion to a place of interest to all of us. As our geography master,Mr Ologun,had arranged with us , we were all gathered in our school. Our mission? We were going to climb the tapa hill in Oyo state.

There was so much excitement in the air. We were fifteen in number. The student were looking like mountaineers, dressed appropriately in jeans, T- shirt of various shape , colour and design,caps, boots and sneakers. Their lunch pack and water bottle were tucked into bag strapped to their backs. They were a sight to behold.

We left the school compound In our bus and as we started out, some of the boys who had gone mountain- climbing before chatted incessantly about their experience from former times. This made some of us who were going for the very first time either eager or scared of adventure ahead.

Along way, there more talks about book, magazine and happening in schools. Various songs were rendered with great enthusiasm and laughter.

We went through Abeokuta town in Ogun state, along the Quarry Road, past the Government house. We left Abeokuta town and entered Igbo-Ora in Oyo state. A little distance into Igbo Ora, Mr Claudius,our school driver pointed to a big,ugly looking tree. The width and height of the tree were simply unbelievable. He mentioned that the tree was much revered in the village to the extent that some villager worship it.

We were welcome into Ayete, a town just before Tapa,our destination by many hills. Old mud houses dotted the landscape although there were many buildings. Mr Claudius again pointed out those hill looked like a tuber to yam which drew laughter from all of us.

Soon ,we were in Tapa village. The hills we were to climb were standing to the left of the village. We parked our bus to one side of the road and greeted the villagers sitting in front of the houses. Four guides, native of Tapa village, approached us. They wanted to know if their service were required. They were engaged and off we went towards the hills.

At the foot of the hills,we looked up to the hills towering over us with formidable heights. Many hearts must have missed a beat and not a few climb to the very top of these hills? But there was no time to waste as the guides led the way for us to follow. Up the hills we went. Some of the boys rushed eargerly up enjoying refreshing breeze blowing down the hills. However, this did not last long. Shortly after, some of them started panting from the exertion. It was a pleasant surprise to find small plant and shrubs growing on the hills despite the rocky surface. The surface of the hills was dark and craggy.

Before we arrived at the first stop, a relatively flat surface where rested for a while, majority of us had slowed down considerably and our pace were measured . The chattering was drying up and more attention was being paid to getting firm grip on the hills sides. The climbing soon became tougher as the hills sides were more sloped and sometimes we had to go on all fours so as not to roll down.At a point it became so rough that I started asking my self if I had done the right thing going on the trip.

At last,we were on top of hills. It was an exhilarating experience we felt triumphant. Wale waved his red shirt much like the first American to land on the moon must have done, planting the flag of his country as a sign of victory.

We looked down and Tapa village seemed very small from this heights we felt on top of the world, the world at our feet. After we all had rested for some time, catching our breath, food and drinks were laid out. In line with our mood, it was more or less a celebration. Everyone was jubilating. We ate the food with relish.

The guide reminded us that it was getting late and that we had better begin to go down the hills when there was still daylight. Therefore, we started packing our things and some of us hurriedly scribbled our name on the hills with stones.

Going down the hills was a lot easier than climbing up . It was decided that we should take an easy route . On our way down, we found sizeable number of snails. At the end of the day,it was obvious that we had enjoyed ourselves. It was a salutary experience as we gained that everything is possible with strong determination.