“20th of November 2007, I was on Barth Road – in front of St Annes Hostel UI with my roommate, waiting for a taxi so we could attend evening mass at the Catholic Church in Bodija. It was one of those days when the cabs just seemed non-existent and so when our (my roommate and I’s) mutual friend Nedu – pulled up in his tomato red Mercedez Benz 190 and offered us a ride we accepted. Nedu had his friend driving behind him. His friend was Tola. Somehow, Nedu managed to convince his friend that we should all attend the church service that evening.
I rode with Tola, while my friend rode with Nedu. That moment, that ride was our first proper meeting. We had bumped into each other a couple of times around the Social Science faculty of the University of Ibadan. He was in Economics, I was in Law, and we had a couple of mutual friends. I don’t remember us talking much all through the drive – the only memory of that ride was him wearing an Arsenal jersey and a pair of blue jeans.
It was on the way back to the University, we had a mini encounter with the Police. It was sorted out and that was it – we continued with the ride. Back on campus, Tola was clearly intrigued by me. I think he said he was surprised by my reaction to the police encounter. Before he left, he asked for my number. Typically, I hardly gave my number out but on this occasion, I gave out the eleven digits ending with 6753.
Three days later, on my birthday – the 23rd of November, we had our first date at West Grill Restaurant, Bodija. We talked about a lot of things and we pretty much had to be chased out of the restaurant. We talked about our academics – and he was very surprised when I mentioned I was on course to graduate with a first-class degree. We talked about careers & money; we talked about faith and moral beliefs. We talked about Food and Travel. We talked about Family.
Although we’re from different ethnic groups, I’m Igbo and he is Yoruba, I don’t recall us talking about ethnicity. I think the fact that we were in University of Ibadan – an academic environment made this inconsequential. We dated for seven (7) years and we’ve been married for two and a half.
Some of our earliest and finest memories were in that ancient city. We explored the city together – from all the restaurants in UI – Anatomy, Balewa, Conference Centre to those in Ibadan in general.
We’ve seen the amazing view of Ibadan from the top of Bower Tower; we’ve shopped together in the Bodija and Dugbe markets. We’ve journeyed through Ring-Road, Challenge and the Ibadan expressway. Our story isn’t complete without Ibadan, and we’re grateful for this city that brought us together! Ibadan will always hold a special place in our hearts. We feel like a part of the city and the city a part of our story.
We are all now Awa Ti Ibadan!”
[END]
