I went to one of our outstations today – St Raymond Catholic Church, Eko-Oria.
The road was so bad, we had to leave the car at some point and use bikes.
As we went deeper into the terrain, I noticed cow hoof prints on some portions of the sandy parts of the otherwise rugged road.
Quickly, my mind associated cows with Fulani herdsmen and kidnappers. It took the grace of God for me to convince my mind to think of something better.
We thank God for grace!
When we finally got to the station, the parishioners were so happy to see us.
During my interaction with them, I realised that some were Igbos, some Idoma, and others Tiv, all living together in small camps around the small Church.
God bless the early missionaries who took the pains of bringing the faith to these areas.
We had the opportunity of celebrating the sacraments of reconciliation and the Holy Mass.
After Mass, I asked them to oblige me a group photograph. They did.
As close to the Niger as this camp is, I noticed there used to be a tarred road running through it all the way to Illushi River.
There were also old electric poles that told tales of when there used to be constant power supply in this rural area.
Guess what?
On our way back, we ran into a herd of cows.
Gbagaun! COWPHOBIA!!!
Don’t worry, the cows and their herdsmen were harmless.
But Mr Johnson, the parishioner who graciously took me on his bike, said their crops were constantly being eaten up by these cows. And they had no one to cry to.
Anyways, I got home safe. We thank God for everything.
How was your day?
Hope you didn’t run into cows today sha?
© Oselumhense Anetor, 2021.
