It's a custom as health students in tertiary institution to attend a conference each year in promotion of our profession. This conference is usually organised in different state each year in the country. I have attended over three(3) conferences but that of Benin city still remain a memory to me.
In 2017, the regional presidents came to agreement to use Benin state as the venue for the conference. I was happy because I have never been to Benin and others felt same. The journey started as early as 6:00a.m , with students who were full of life from different medical courses. The tales and funny words from some of the students made the journey funful, we lost count of time as we got engrossed in laughing out through the journey and the debate held by some of the students in compete for excellence. We got to kogi state and was stuck in the heavy traffic, somehow other car drivers gave us way whenever they read the bold writing "Medical students,Ahmadu bello university teaching hospital,zaria" on the school bus we were in.
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As we drive pass every city, someone among the students tells us the culture and belief of that community. this makes the journey not only fun but educative. Culture where their belief seem woeful, we stay on that issue for long.
Our bus developed some problems at a point, and we had to do some pushing to reach the nearby village to get some parts the driver claimed was faulty, while the ladies kept giving us Mora ,making young boys pull out their last strength to prove a manliness that some of us was not having then.
The journey got more interesting when a reshuffle happened and a beautiful girl I had been admiring sat next to me. It was like a dream come true, we had been in school not close as friends but the reshuffle did some miracle. Not long after she sat next me, she initiated a conversation and we got talking along the journey even through the night, and few times she rested her body on mine and other times rest her head on my chest. Oh mine, I didn't want that journey to come to an end. We spent the night through that journey discussing about ourselves and that day marked the beginning of our friendship which later led to something beautiful.
The rest of the journey was full of laughter as different people got pressed, the driver mad from the number of times he had to wait to allow students ease themselves, the food show cooked by different female advertising their talents. The journey was packed with lot of events.
Finally we got to Benin and we were welcomed warmly, they appreciated our cultural display of dance from the North during the meeting and we returned with a fun-filled journey as well.