Story & Pictures BY GBEMILE OLUWATOSIN
What kind of experience would you expect on a train ride from Lagos, the famous centre of excellence, to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and back? If you said, unforgettable, you are right, but it now depends on whether it is negatively or positively unforgettable.
It wasn’t a journey undertaken in the notorious old train coaches, but one done in a modern train.
It was a Sunday and the Yaba main terminus the takeoff point, and the motivation was to cut off the huge traffic that normally awaited road travelers.
I can say, that of all the projects of President Muhammadu Buhari, there is at least one that is really working.
And that is, if the railway station business would still be handled by the Chinese in the years coming.
To say that I sincerely enjoyed my journey to and fro, Lagos to Ibadan, Ibadan to Lagos is merely stating the obvious.
It was as if I was out of the country.
Sighting the topography from out the window alone was interesting, the scenery was soothing. indeed “The land is green” as sang by TY Bello readily came to my mind.
In fact the security arrangement inside the train and the stations at each of the stops, was topnotch; one could notice the presence of security men all over.
This was noticed right, from Babatunde Fashola Station, Agege, through Professor Wole Soyinka Library Station Papalanto, to Omi Adio station down to Moniya Ibadan, security men guided the journey all through
As a passenger you had options which class to join – First Class, Business Class and Economy or Standard Class.
No trading is allowed so you come in with your prepared food. In other words, there no “Driver please I want to buy dodo ikire or screaming of mum sha kin mu agbado wa” All you would be seeing throughout your journey is green vegetation once you have escaped the sorry sight of shanties around Agege.
It was exactly, at 8.00 am, that the unforgettable train ride began; it waited for nobody, which means that virtually everybody traveling to Ibadan was already on ground before 8am all checking-in their luggage immediately tickets were bought. This meant also that the issue of racketeering tickets or hoodlums hoarding the tickets would not arise.
At the dot of 10:30am, we arrived Moniya Station, Ibadan.
We left Ibadan 8:am and arrive the Babatunde Fashola Station, Agege, 10.20am, with the train continuing to its final destination of Alagomeji, Ebute Metta, and there was every assurance that it would get there by 10:30am.
Having experienced it myself, I can now categorically tell that you could go to Ibadan today and return back to Lagos same day. Leaving here 8am, you are sure of getting to Ibadan in good time, transacting your business and still be able to join the 4:00pm coach back to Lagos; by 6:30 pm, you are cooling off in Eko.
