I have been pondering on this article for a while. I felt
it would be odd to discuss this but for a second thought I decided to visit the
menace of trekking after the general elections in Nigeria. With due respect to
the trekkers, what they exhibited was the peak of madness in the country. It
was a desperate way of lobbying political leaders. Nigeria is ridden with
abject youth unemployment and since the regular means can't guarantee money,
Nigerian youths decided to do the irregular. Trekking was an activity I engaged
in during my Junior secondary school days because I wanted to save an extra
money for some small chops. It was not something to be proud of as kids
then. Seeing Nigerian youths proudly bring back the culture almost took me on a
voyage to the past. I have therefore decided to make a list of the top trekkers
that did it the hard way to gain the rare attention of Nigerian
leaders.
1) Suleiman Hashimu
He is an indigene of Kastina state, precisely Funtua which is
also the birthplace of President Muhammadu Buhari. He was Born in Osun State
Nigeria in one of the towns that lay by the road side. He resides in Ibadan
Central in Oyo State.
This 34 years old man deserves an award for being the pioneer
of trekking in Nigeria. Hashimu had made a personal promise in 2013 that should
Buhari contest and win the 2015 presidential elections, he would trek from
Lagos to Abuja.
Having won the March 28 elections, Hashimu was forced to fulfill
his promise despite the discouragements he gathered. Then I was working as an Online
Editor. I followed him from day 1 till the end. It was like a joke from the
start but when he got a royal welcome in Niger state, Nigeria. People paid more
attention to him. On the 20th of April, 2015, he finally arrived Abuja where he
met the newly elected Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. A lot of other
desperate Nigerians envied his great feat and decided to embark on the trekking
sojourn. This goes a long way to tell you we are all role model being watched
unconsciously by people around us.
(2) Abubakar Duduwale
Following the successful trekking of Suleiman Hashimu from
Lagos to Abuja, another die-hard supporter of the president-elect, Muhammadu
Buhari, identified as Abubakar Duduwale, shocked Nigerians by towing that hard
line of madness. He started a walk from Yola, the capital of Adamawa state to
the federal capital, Abuja.
Duduwale, who is from Yola North local government area in
Adamawa state and from the Chamba tribe, told newsmen in Yola on Saturday as he
commenced his journey that the adventure was to express his joy over the emergence
of Buhari as president-elect then.
(3) Abdullahi Afolabi Nadabaji
A man identified as Abdullahi Afolabi Nadabagi who was
described as a fashion designer and a father of two, shortly took off from Abeokuta,
the Ogun State capital to embark on a journey to Lagos, on foot. He was well
influenced by the power of the social media I guess. He disclosed that his
mission for the trek was to meet with the former governor of Lagos State and
National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu and thank him for supporting Buhari to emerge winner at the last poll.
The fact is that is always an excuse for the hidden trekking agenda.
(4) Hajiya Talatu
This was shocking when we got a wind of it on the social
media. What a man can do, a woman can do better they say. This forced a woman
to jeer up and represent the women in the history book of political trekkings
in Nigeria. Hajiya Talatu embarked on the trip from Kaduna to Abuja to
celebrate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s win at the polls.
(5) Mallam Hassan Umar
A Nigerian from Borno state, Mallam Hassan Umar, also
embarked on an unprecedented walk from Lagos to Maiduguri, successfully arrived
Ilorin, the Kwara state capital. Umar said he embarked on the trip to celebrate
the victory of the All Progressives Congress in the 2015 general elections.
He said he works with a construction firm, Shelter Care
Company, in Lagos since 2005, and
had been living in Lagos since 2000. Speaking to journalists
in Ilorin, he said the trekking was in fulfillment of his promise to cover the
distance if the then presidential
candidate of the All Progressives Congress, President Muhammadu
Buhari won the 2015 presidential election.
Umar, who spoke to newsmen in Ilorin, reminded youths of the
need to shun violence
while channeling their energy toward promoting the country’s
democratic process.
(6) Agu Chidera Joy
Another female who was patiently observing the trends of trekking
carefully made a different choice. Agu Chidera Joy trekked already for 11 days
before hitting the news headline. Then she was reportedly on her way to Abuja
from Enugu State. She revealed she was trekking for both Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and
Muhammadu Buhari. Most importantly, she claimed her trekking was for the
promotion of unity in Nigeria. This she did during the intense fuel scarcity
crisis in Nigeria. Her trek was quite strategic as she stood the chance of
reaping her gains from both ends.
(7) Oladele John Nihi
Oladele John Nihi from Kogi state announced he will be
trekking from Abuja to Otueke, Bayelsa state, in honour of President Goodluck
Jonathan. Nihi said he decided to embark on the foot journey to Jonathan’s hometown
to celebrate him as a hero of democracy in the country. He is
also praised the president for delivering on his promise of a
free, fair and transparent election in the country.
Oladele was later joined by two other female treks who
successfully completed the trip with him and met ex-President Goodluck
Jonathan. He was fairly successful due to his knowledge of the social media as
he regularly updated Nigerians with his changing locations.
(8) Mohammed Jafaru
While Nigerians were still trying to comprehend the new
frenzy, on April 27, 2015, a 35-year-old Kaduna-born cyclist and supporter of
Buhari, Mohammed Jafaru a father of 4, embarked on another over 750km journey
to meet with the Vice President-elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in Lagos State from
Kaduna State.
Jafaru said he was coming to Lagos on bicycle to thank the
Yoruba for voting for Buhari.
Jafaru, a resident of Hayin Malam Bello in Rigasa district of
Igabi local government area of Kaduna State, took off on his journey to Lagos
at exactly 6.35am at the palace of Sarkin Hayin Malam Bello, Alhaji Kabiru
Gangarida. While addressing journalists before embarking on
the journey, he said, “I have decided to embark on this journey to Lagos because I
want to go
and thank Yoruba people for their immense support and
contributions that led to the victory
of General Buhari during the March 28 presidential election.
(9) Adamu Abdullahi
Forty-five-year-old father of four, Adamu Abdullahi gave his
family a break to embark on a ''lobby trek'' with a similar story. Abdullahi,
who started trekking on April 30 from Maiduguri in Borno State, said he would
trek to Abuja to congratulate the President-elect.
He said he hoped to end his over 800km trek on May 29 so that
he would be able to attend
Buhari’s inauguration. Adamu, while speaking with reporters
shortly before he began his trek,
said he would depart from Jimtilo Park. He asked all Borno
State indigenes to forward their
petitions to him so he could forward them to Buhari.
(10) Ibrahim Musa
This is a bit inspirational. It goes a long way to tell you
there are no limitations to success in life if the will to succeed is there. To
the surprise of many, a 30-year-old physically challenged man, Ibrahim Musa, announced
that he had started trekking from Kaduna to congratulate Buhari in Abuja. Musa,
whose hands have been amputated, said he had a petition to submit to Buhari on
the need for the new government to consider the physically challenged in the
country.
His cause seemed good but is trekking the best way to
advocate for the interests of the physically challenged people?
(11) Paul Tankwa
In a bid not to be left out, an admirer of President Goodluck
Jonathan, on May 1, 2015 said he would be trekking from Taraba to Bayelsa State
to honour Jonathan for conceding defeat.
The 35-year-old man, Paul Tankwa, who hails from Taraba State,
said after ending his trek,
which is not less than 660km, he would present an award to
Jonathan on behalf of Taraba youths.
Tankwa hoped to arrive in Bayelsa State by May 29, so as to
be able to meet Jonathan who would have vacated Aso Rock and returned to his native
home of Otuoke.
(12) Stranded "Atiku three"
These men met their waterloo after trekking to meet ex-Vice
President Atiku Abubakar in Yoka. The men, Salihu Jibrin, Aliyu Adamu and Abubakar
Suleiman, never lost the hope of seeing Atiku or his representatives to deliver
their messages and return to the comfort of their homes.
“I trekked for 38 days all the way from Lagos to Yola to see
Atiku in view of his role over APC
victory in the general election but up to now I was unable to
see him.
“I am now stranded with no money to go back; at times I sleep
in motor park or squat with
good Samaritans,” Jibrin said .
Adamu, who rode bicycle from Kaduna to Yola, said he spent
eight days on the way.
“I want to thank the Secretary, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),
Adamawa Council, Mr Baba Zare, who had been assisting me since arrival to cope
with the difficult situation I found
myself.
“I want to meet Atiku before finding my way back to Kaduna,” Adamu said.
On his part, Suleiman, who trekked from Shelleng town,
Adamawa, to Yola said he had
been squatting from one relation to the other while waiting
for an opportunity to see Atiku
before going back home. *In my Nigerian accent* ''See bad
market, who send them message?"
(13) Alice Daniel
As the trekking season of surprises continued, the worst case
scenario emerged with another female trekker. Mrs. Alice Daniel, 35-year old
nursing mother, to have embarked on an unpleasant adventure; trekking from
Minna to Abuja with a barely two-month old baby. That was a huge risk. She
never considered the plight of the tender baby who must have been exposed to
the scorching sun.
Mrs. Alice, a mother of five, told the media, she vowed to trek
if Buhari won the presidential
elections. She said her decision was fueled after her husband,
Abdulwasiu informed her that he
had a dream that President Goodluck Jonathan was going to
lose the presidential election to
General Buhari.
She said she told her husband that it would not be possible
for an incumbent president to lose the
election to an opposition candidate, adding that even if he
won, he would not be declared winner
as was the case in the 2007 and 2011. At the time, she said,
she was heavily pregnant and due
for the labour ward. She promised that if General Buhari won
the election and was declared winner she would trek from Minna to Abuja to
personally congratulate him for the victory. Mrs. Alice, claimed that there
were efforts by her husband, mother and some family members as well as friends
to stop her, but that her mind was made up to fulfill the promise she had made to
herself. Determination was the key here. She had a sketch.
(14) Gloria
I don't have many details about her but she joined Oladele
Nihi alongside another lady for the Otuoke trip. She initially had issues out
of family pressure which caused her to back out but due to persistence, she was
in again. She saw the tedious task to the end.
(15) Isa Kwarawanga
The 35 year old trekker Isa Kwarawanga of Zubo village in
Shiraz LGA who trekked from Jama'are to Bauchi to congratulate the victory of
the state governor-elect Barrister Mohammed Abubakar reached his destination
but found no one there to welcome him. Mallam Isa trekked for five days and had
informed the APC in Jama'are that he was trekking to Bauchi and had expected
the APC in Bauchi to welcome him...but there was no one there. At least someone
should give him transport fare to take a bus back home.
(16) Peter Ukeme and Ekong Ridd
Peter Ukeme and Ekong
Ridd said they were trekking from Ikot Ekpene to Uyo in honor of
Governor Godswill Akpabio and Governor-elect Dr Udom
Emmanuel. They were welcomed with insults on the social media. Many regarded
them as lazy trekkers and young opportunists who should be busy reading their
books for a better future. '' Can you young folks find
something else to do with your time? This trekking thing is
over-flogged!'' - Top commenter.
(17) Nuruddeen Maimako ''the missing trekker''
Things took a bad turner for this trekker who is yet to
surface to tell his story. That is the problem with following trends and not
setting trends. Nuruddeen Maimako, 38, who embarked on a trip by foot from
Dass, Bauchi to attend the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari
on May 29 was declared missing by his father.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Bauchi
State Police Command, Haruna
Mohammed, said Nuruddeen’s father, Muhammadu Hussaini, a
Deputy Superintendent of police and a resident of Anguwan Abuja in Dass,
reported last week Wednesday at the Dass Divisional Police headquarters that
his son’s whereabouts was unknown.
According to his father, Nuruddeen left Dass on May 15, 2015,
adding that the last contact
he had with his son was when he informed the family that he
was in Jos, the Plateau State
capital.
According to the father, all efforts to locate him had so far
proved abortive.
Hmmmmm *Yawns with mouth wide-open and falls from the chair*
The list finally ends here, when I started the research, I
never knew the list would be this long. I tried as much as possible not to
leave any trekker out as a sign of my humble honour to them. Shout out to all
the trekkers who decided to achieve their aims the hardest way. If you will
entertain my personal view on this trekking saga, I will attribute it to the
high rate of unemployment and poverty ravaging Nigeria. They all tried to hide
their personal ambitions and inner motivations but we all know they did it for
financial benefits and opportunities. I wonder what the next trend would be
like. I just hope it will not be detrimental.
It’s dark here already in the village. The great Town Crier
with an M.sc deserves to hit the sack after a very stressful day of running
errands for the king.
Good night!
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