OCEAN WAVES

Niger area

Chapter Six 

(Niger area) 

We have been on the Atlantic Ocean for about12 hours. It was midnight; I was with Mr Kosoko at the control room when I sighted a mass of land afar off. Mr Kosoko nodded and said, ‘we are getting close to the coast, the Oron of the Niger delta area’. I was greatly relieved because I was bored of seeing body of water for almost half a day. But at that point, the news I read about Oron some years back flashed back to my mind. It was on August 29, 1995, a ferry carrying more than 300 people smashed into a giant rock in the sea near Oron; as many as 200 were feared drowned. And fear griped my heart at this remembrance, all I could do was to pray as I watched Mr Kosoko turned the wheel. Tattinny should be fast asleep at this time, I thought. The speed of the ferry dropped drastically as we approached the bay of Oron. There were many campers at the bay. I could see young people (between 25 and 30 years of age), and some elderly ones in pairs discussing. I could hear a lady laughing raucously even at that hour of the night. A naval officer, I supposed, moved near to the ferry and made some record on a booklet with him. I thought he must be monitoring the number and the name of ships that come into the bay and leave at every point in time. Mr Kosoko greeted him and mentioned some numbers to him. That should be the registration number of the ferry. The officer came on board and checked the whole ferry but did not check the cabins. After he was through with this assignment, he said gazing at me, ‘welcome to Oron, and hope you’ll enjoy your tour around here’. I nodded and said, ‘I hope so.’ He grinned, climbed down the ferry and walked away. It was quarter to 1 am, the following day, my eyes were now heavy, a sigh of tiredness and sleepiness. Without wasting time, I bid Mr Kosoko good night, and dashed down into the last cabin. I found out that everyone was fast asleep. I quietly jumped on my bed and for next six hours, I was completely off.