Travelling Amid A Contagion

A mixed feeling it was when I heard the part of the president’s last broadcast ordering final year students to return to school in the next two weeks to finalize their studies and write examinations so that they can put an end to that phase of their lives. Within me I was happy to get back to my studies in full gear but the thought of doing so in the midst of a global pandemic made me feel uneasy as I began to think about the new normal. Across the hall, I scanned around to see the expression on my sister’s face which was obviously more of delight and far from sadness.
Quite unsurprising was my mother who gave me a stern look when our eyes met, she could not fathom how some section of students were being asked to go to school even as the number of reported cases of the novel corona virus was fast racing to the 10,000 mark in the country. I made an outright decision to leave before the actual resumption to avoid the crowds at the bus stations which usually occasioned the return of students to school.
Her main source of worry was that I was going to be mistaken at a point in time for having contracted the virus as I always began to sneeze anytime I encountered dust or a foul smell. To allay her fears I sought out to actually improve my own personal hygiene and avoided anywhere there was dust especially. Over the course of the period I took all my drugs on schedule, a mix of orthodox and traditional.
As the day for my departure edged closer, my parents sought out to procure some sanitizers and nose masks for me as has been championed on all forms of media about the importance of possessing and using this items even as we try to contain the virus. The sanitizers were bought however, my mother opted to sew the nose masks herself. She opted to sew, firstly because the local business people taking into cognizance the “window of opportunity” from my entrepreneurship course have decided to sell the surgical masks at a very exorbitant price which knowing the amount it sold in normal times and knowing the total amount to be spent on it made be a bit angry. Secondly, her workplace had resorted to a shift system due to the disease outbreak so she was free from work then she thought why not make use of the sewing machine which was wasting away anyway.
On the day of my departure, I was made to bath hot water which I have not done in a very long time. There after I had to drink some tea which does not usually happen whenever I was going to travel, but just so I can take my medication. The norm of praying for me anytime I was about to travel followed shortly afterwards.
Thereafter, I received the usual admonishments from my dad whenever I was leaving home as he drove me to the bus station. As we approached town he beckoned to me to put on my mask, as a joint military and police operation had started enforcing the compulsory wearing of masks at the beginning of the week. I arrived at the bus station but then it took longer than usual for the bus to be full though the drivers had cut down their capacity in order to ensure social distancing, one of the protocols for preventing the spread of the virus.
What made my entire journey quite frightening was that, my travel is in two folds, as I had to transit in the nation’s capital then to my final destination. Not forgetting the fact that, the region in which the capital is located has the highest number of reported cases.

The journey to Accra was quite smooth but for the usual stops at Asikuma Immigration Checkpoint where this time around our temperatures were checked rather than the habitual checking of nationality of passengers and the police stops and inspections which took longer than the usual in a bid to ensure compliance with safety protocols. As we journeyed I realized that activities in most communities seemed to be going on as normal as they have always been as most safety protocols were simply being ignored or not being adhered to. It was only in the busier towns that I saw some sections of people wearing nose masks, most of which were the locally made ones. Worth mentioning was the fact that most traders no matter what their trades were, had actually added the selling of nose masks to their wares. Hawkers shouted and brought forth nose masks close to vehicles in a bid to sell to anyone who was in need of one. These nose masks had all sorts of inscriptions on them ranging from, names of football clubs, banks, companies, musicians to even international sportswear brands like Adidas and Nike which were mere imitations. The masks served their purpose anyway.
The usual traffic jam that welcomed passengers to Accra was ever present which always certainly was responded to with a lot of chuckles and griming of impatient people very eager to reach their destinations.
At long last, I was done with the first hurdle. I had faired quite well as I had not sneezed or coughed though I had a mask on throughout the journey. I had to take another vehicle to the bus station where I would board a vehicle to Cape Coast. Shortly after boarding a car en route to the station, a man in his mid-thirties gestured to board the car. Rather surprisingly, he opted to sit a bit close to me, though I registered my displeasure and prompted him to take any of the empty available seats behind me, he angrily said he was going to get down at the next stop so I should not bother him. I therefore decided to shift a bit from him though it was not up to the 1m distance.
Nothing much seemed to have changed in the capital physically, but for the ravages of the annual rainfall which always puts our beloved Accra in the spotlight for a brief period. As we drove towards the Kwame Nkrumah Circle I chanced upon some people trying to remove all sorts of waste materials that have choked the gutters and I wondered to myself, “when are we ever to have a behavioral and attitudinal change ?“. Going past a cemetery after the Nkrumah Circle, I remembered the news item on radio earlier in the week about a burial ceremony conducted by city authorities for some lives lost as a result of the pandemic. I began to imagine the scene, the wailing and mourning of the bereaved families even as they registered their displeasure for the presence of media personnel who finally had to flee for their lives. I found some solace in humming a few lines of “Till we meet again” which was sang at such occasions.
As I boarded the bus meant to transport me to my final destination and waited for it to get full, the clouds began to gather. As we began to move out of the city, the drizzling started.

It was not long after then the rains came in full force, and the small gutters full beyond their capacity gave way to the water to flow freely across the road. The usual lamentations of citizens against poor leadership, indiscipline and improper execution of projects had erupted in the bus between the older folks to which I listened attentively. This was cut short by the protests of the pregnant lady behind me, who was asking the driver to exercise some patience and slow down a bit due to her condition. I asked myself, “How many would-be mothers must have lost their babies as a result of some reckless driving?” Finally she switched places with a young man in the seat in front of me, and she slid into a deep sleep afterwards.
Thereafter I switched between some gospel tunes and music from Lamisi who I think a lot of people haven’t heard about yet or aren’t paying attention to because of her style and language. I didn’t understand most of the songs myself though but for the few in English. I just liked the rhythms and originality.
After sometime I switched off the music and decided to read “Purple Hibiscus” the last in the series of books I had obtained while at home written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, doing so quite slowly as against my usual fast-reader self.
I stopped reading only after we had gone past the last town before my final destination. I carefully adjusted my nose mask one more time, used the sanitizer once again and looked forward to the car finally pulling over. It wasn’t long after then, on getting down from the bus I took a taxi and headed straight to campus.

On arrival in my room, I said a thanksgiving prayer and set about cleaning my room. I tuned on the radio on my phone to listen to the news, rather a an discussion was going on between students about how they felt about going to school, if the studying done at home was effective and a whole lot more. Now I look forward to meeting my colleagues again, studying together and all the pressure that came with it and finishing strong even in the midst of a contagion.