Category: Travelling

Politics, Travelling

For the Love of Bans

Jilomes

In January 2020, the Lagos State Government announced a state-wide ban on commercial motorcycles for a range of offences, including causing many road users to lose limbs and other body parts. Whereas the ban was on all motorcycles, it was perceived as a move against Gokada, Max, and similar startups, especially as conventional bikes were soon back on the roads complying with the daily extortionary and ultra-official cash fees paid to enforcers (“agberos”) on the roads. Effective 1st September 2022, there is now another ban covering many parts of the state, which extends an earlier ban that had fewer areas included.

Continue reading “For the Love of Bans” →
Obafemi Awolowo Train Station Moniya, Ibadan
Travelling

Christmas Wedding Bells and a Train to Oyo [Part 2]

Jilomes

Have you read Part 1? During the inbound train journey from Lagos, we heard announcements about schedule adjustments for the Christmas and New Year holidays on the Lagos-Ibadan route. Hence, we had decided to make enquiries on arrival at Moniya to know the new times for the Ibadan-Lagos trip. Unfortunately, we managed to forget to stop at a ticketing booth to make enquiries. It was as if the three-hour train ride had made us anxious to exit the train station as fast as we could, especially, as we planned to first attend our friend’s traditional marriage ceremony scheduled for Christmas Eve before the Christmas Day white wedding. How would we remedy this error?

Continue reading “Christmas Wedding Bells and a Train to Oyo [Part 2]” →
Passengers disembark from a train at Mobolaji Johnson Train Station in Ebute Meta, Lagos State
Travelling

Christmas Wedding Bells and a Train to Oyo

Jilomes

When my wife asked if we could attend her classmate’s wedding at Oyo Town on Christmas Day, my affirmative response came after a bit of reflection on the non-conformism of fixing a “white wedding” on Christmas Day. At this point, anyone expecting a recount of a private ceremony is bound to be disappointed. Whereas I would proudly announce that the Great Ife anthem was mandatorily rendered at the wedding reception, this article is all about transportation on rails.

Continue reading “Christmas Wedding Bells and a Train to Oyo” →
Change, Randoms, Travelling

Much Ado About Seat Belts

Jilomes

I have had this article on my mind for a while but I just never came around to composing my thoughts until now. In checking for a quote to launch this article, I came across one attributed to Plato, which I think captures my aim for this article.

“No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding”

— Plato Continue reading “Much Ado About Seat Belts” →

Politics, Travelling

Jerusalem: Land of Uneasy Peace, Religion and Business

Jilomes

This is the fourth part in a series tagged “A Stroll Through Israel”. If you won’t jump into the fourth episode of a Game of Thrones season, you may want to begin with the first article.

Our trip to Israel began with Tel Aviv, then Nazareth, Bethlehem, Rawabi and Ramallah. Having gone through these cities to view Israel and Palestine from a different lens, it was time to tour what is unarguably the most contested piece of hills in this galaxy. From being a space merely contested for mainly political reasons, Jerusalem morphed into the site of a religiously-charged contest, and has now retained the political dimension, making it a hotspot for flares. It is in this context that the #LetsTalkBusiness entourage went on a tour of Old Jerusalem.  Continue reading “Jerusalem: Land of Uneasy Peace, Religion and Business” →

Rawabi
Politics, Travelling

A Day for Palestine

Jilomes

This is the third part in a series tagged “A Stroll Through Israel”. If you won’t jump into the third episode of a Game of Thrones season, you may want to begin with the first article.

When you hear or read of the Israel-Palestine conflict, what comes to your mind? If all you think of is chaos, poverty, oppression and bloodshed, no one would blame you. The media have ensured negativity is groomed in people’s minds. However, there is more to Palestine than the media presents. Join me through a day spent unlearning and relearning about Palestine.  Continue reading “A Day for Palestine” →

Politics, Travelling

A Stroll Through Israel [Part 2]

Jilomes

Israel meets Palestine

It is commonly said that there are two sides to every story. One thing with life is that we sometimes seek to view life in terms of absolutes—right vs wrong, black vs white, good vs evil—but sometimes life isn’t something that can be linearly modelled as it covers more than fifty shades of grey. In this second part of the series, we relive a day spent partly in Israel and partly in land governed by the Palestinian Authority.  Continue reading “A Stroll Through Israel [Part 2]” →

Politics, Travelling

A Stroll Through Israel [Part 1]

Jilomes

The clock had just gone past 8pm local time when the EasyJet plane touched the tarmac at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. It was the end of a five-hour flight that had departed the UK earlier that day. On board were fourteen UK students, stepping into the warm Tel Aviv evening with eyes set on a trip that was months in the waiting. These students were joined by two others who had arrived on earlier flights. For me, it was the end of a four-month wait after an earlier disappointment.  Continue reading “A Stroll Through Israel [Part 1]” →

Automated "photoshop" at the EU's Parlamentarium Building in Brussels
Travelling

B is for Brussels

Jilomes

They say it is smart to kill two birds with one stone. In obedience to this advice, the “walking around spirit” directed a trip from Berlin to Brussels; a trip made possible by the EU’s Schengen area policy. So off we went to the capital of Belgium, and effectively the capital of the European Union. I hold Angela Merkel and Berlin in high regard, but I must confess that “B is for Brussels”.  Continue reading “B is for Brussels” →

Travelling

A Compressed Tour of Merkel’s Berlin

Jilomes

A few days back, someone in my undergraduate class’ chat group posted something about the different types of students in any given class. One type described students who are “involved in everything”. Immediately this was posted, one classmate replied that I fell into this category. While, I would vehemently argue that I was not exactly a buzzing bee as an undergraduate, I would concede that I was involved in several activities, especially, ones that involved travelling. Now a postgraduate student, this “walking around spirit” has just taken me to see the German capital.

Continue reading “A Compressed Tour of Merkel’s Berlin” →