As 2025 wrapped and school holiday kicked in, I decided to make annual pilgrimage many of us Nigerians make - heading back to the village for visit There's just something remarkable and irreplaceable about spending the festive season in your roots (this time maternal side): the quiet nights, family gists that last till dawn, fresh air far from city pollution, and that deep sense of belonging.
My destination was Ndiebe Abam in Arochukwu LGA, Abia State – a nice and beautiful, hilly village where life moves slower and connections feels stronger and almost everyone is family. And we rook off last week Sunday.
I traveled with my younger sister and my aunt, excited but already bracing for the inevitable holiday transport drama. It can be really tough travelling during Christmas holiday in Nigeria.
Traditions and Treats
No trip is ever complete without buying something for the people you're going to visit. And one unbreakable tradition in our part is buying bread. And you have to be generous with it, so yeah a big soft loaves that everyone shares. It's like saying "Oh I arrived safely and I thought of y'all"
We stopped at a newly open supermarket (Spanish Modern Mart) to grab a Special Super Jumbo .
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While there I just couldn't resist my latest obsession: Tayas Orient hazelnut chocolate 🍫. This chocolate was introduced to me months ago by a special friend, and since then the creamy hazelnut filling has melted hooked, so I had to get some for the road and this I shared with Sis and aunt, could have gotten more but I was making sure to save money for the trip lol.
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The Journey Begins: Multi-Stage Nigerian Classic
We left in the afternoon around 2 pm, aiming for a simple trip, motorbike to a junction, Keke to the bus stop, then two buses to village.
But Christmas season? Transport lords know demand skyrockets, so fares doubled overnight. Parks were chaotic, vendors everywhere, travelers bargaining, loaders shouting (typical).
There was no way we weren't gonna get something else to eat and keep busy during the trip so the plantain chips woman came in handy, we grabbed some- crunchy, sweet and a perfect road snack.
I was super thirsty so I also had to get cold bottle water, this weather we are always thirsty though.
First bus was going to Umuahia the capital of Abia State where it will drop us off and when we finally reached there, I snapped the famous tower glowing proudly. Whenever I see the tower I just know we're closer to our destination hehe
Thankfully this bus allowed me to carry my sister on my lap to save the extra money for the extra seat.
For those of us who don't know, the Abia tower at Umuahia is rightly there because that's the capital of Abia State, this tower is more than a structure, it's like a symbolic entrance to Abia State, welcoming travellers from any part of the country or any destination with the bold inscription "Welcome to Abia - God's own State"
It was built as a monument when the State was created and it , this tower is a real brand ambassador for Abia State.
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From there there was no direct connection so we had to trek to the motor park with all our loads, yes we could have paid a wheel barrow guy to carry them but he was charging more than usual so we decided to carry our things ourselves.
My sister turned superhero, balancing one heavy bag on her head like a pro
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I handled the other bags, aunt handled hers too. Along the way, roadside groundnut sellers tempted us – those caramelized peanuts in little bags? Irresistible energy boost. My lil sis loves that thing like madd so does my aunt so she decided to get one for all us
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Parks were packed, holiday rush in full effect.
We hopped between stations because one had outrageous prices. The sun wasn't smiling either, we spent hours waiting for buses to load, negotiate prices and even for our loads gosh.
I helped to carry the big bag back to the initial pack we were waiting and there we decided to exercise enough patience since there's were cheaper but no bus going our destination was available at the moment
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It was past 8 when we finally saw a car going to the neighboring village, the car was over loaded, not just with luggages but with people and there was barely enough space to move.
I begged to lap my sister to save a seat but but the driver refused, full fare for two seats plus extra for bags. We paid, no choice, sleeping at the park wasn't an option.
Bumpy, dark roads... motion sickness hit me hard (threw up, sorry fellow passengers 😂).
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But we made it to a neighboring village late night.
And thankfully an okada guy (motorbike guy) was heading our way. So we Paid him to carry us three + all luggage home. Night bike rides overloaded? Only in Nigeria!
A good thing we reached home safely as the motorbike guy was careful though even though he almost bumped into something.
Mom welcomed us with hot tea first and then a proper meal she made for us.
The trip had very classic elements, from the inflated fares, the roadside snacks, passengers banter, I even met some people I talked with, the endless waiting, and small victories like finding the last motorbike.
Yes we were grateful for arriving safely. Waking up in the village the next morning, birds chirping, the cool breeze, family members around was a make up for all the stress.
I'll be sharing how I spent the subsequent days in the village in my other posts so y'all stay tuned! And thank you for your time here, if you have any questions about the trip or want to share your experience the comment section is always open. See you all in the next post.
