It had struck exactly 10 AM on the wall clock and we had to darken the road. There was no need leaving too early, Innocent hinted out the preceding night. Accra straight to Kumasi, that was the route. That being my first time, I was ruminating on the heaviness of the seven-eight hour journey but that anxiety never stayed. It was instantly chased away by the ecstasy of finally making it to the university despite the odds. Our luggage were set and as usual of her, Mum had gathered a few cookwares for our use. Of course, she did not forget the foodstuffs – powdered pepper, canned tomatoes, onions, salt, two different olonkas of rice and beans, a small bag of corn dough, and the lots. She did not end there either but meted out a little advice to take care of ourselves and primarily, take our studies seriously. Like one would say, a devoted loving African mother she was, and that is without a doubt. Innocent and I had to be snappy because we had to pick the VIP bus from Circle, Accra. Mum, Matthew, Carina, Torgbe, and a few friends having been granted their farewells, we set off while receiving the goodbyes and the best wishes and much later, a safe journey.
The VIP bus was almost full and we had booked our tickets and our luggage secured in the bus' goods trunk. Innocent and I sat together on the doubled passenger seat and were enjoying mince pie. We needed not eat anything heavy because nature call is no 'respecter' of human and could publicly sully your dignity if tampered with. "Eddo, even if this were home, eat like a gentleman! Nonsense!", Innocent's face spoke volume and I staggered back to the passenger seat and nodded but was glad none of the passengers was looking in my direction. A few young ladies and gentlemen came to board the same bus and Innocent told me he was sure they too were students. When the bus was full, a passenger woman volunteered a prayer and committed the journey into God's hand.
The bus had finally hit the Accra-Kumasi thoroughfare. As I adjusted my seatbelt and rested my head on the back of the seat, the thought of Mum, Mr Ebo Sey, Mr Obeng, the drudgeries of the factory work… sauntered into my mind. I was going to miss my people badly but inevitably and pivotally, I had to leave them to embrace what lay ahead of me. Deeply through the journey, we had narrowly crossed the borders of Accra but the bus had to stop by a restaurant for a break and allow hungry passengers to eat. The journey continued when all passengers had come in. The driver drove past little villages, slums, towns bearing buildings with corroded corrugated roofing sheets, small markets, ranches among other possibilities. Its route was a free straight road and lay narrowly between two seemingly endless thick forests. The dreadful silence on the road had made the journey more frightening.
It read seven minutes past 4 PM on my wristwatch and about two-thirds of the passengers had alighted at their respective destinations few hours ago. Soon, we had reached Asafo, a city in Kumasi, a billboard communicated to me. All this while, Innocent had dozed off. At the inception of the journey, he told me we would be alighting at Tech Junction and since I didn't know the place, I woke him up for fear that the driver may drive past the said location.
Behold, we got down and reached out our luggage there. At the vantage point, we could see four to five army vehicles of the KNUST, and we were directed into one of those vehicles to be guided against theft and attack from hooligans. As we were driven away, we were told that the school had put such measures in place to protect the students and the other bodies. "Where exactly is your hostel?", the virile army driver with an untrimmed moustache said after which Innocent told him it's a homestel at Kotei. "WELCOME TO THE KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (KNUST), KUMASI", I read from the institution's vast main entrance as the driver drove leisurely past it. We had not entered the institution itself but my eyes had caught its splendid green environment, the epitome of an emerald. The skyscraping buildings (most painted in cream and yellow), the refurbished stadia and basketball centres…the sight was breathtaking but the modern facilities looked no different from the ones I had seen in books and on phone.
Kotei, indeed, we had reached and it was not too far from campus and was quite more developed than where we came from. Nevertheless, Kotei's land was too red for my liking and that was my only distaste for the place. We had carried our belongings to the partly locked main entrance of the homestel. It was never a bad place and was normal as it should be. Innocent had the manager's contact and that hit up the latter instantly. A man in his early thirties came to meet us at the entrance. "Eish! Innocent, wossop? Your kidi brother that?", he exchanged greetings with Innocent in pidgin. They seem to have known each other and that was clear. Innocent and Matthew had booked the same place some time ago and I was told the main manager had entrusted everything into the care of the young man.
When we were about to delve into the payment, I was as sick as a parrot. Innocent and I had to tell him our story and with several pleas, he finally received the partial amount. We could not thank him much and we promised him we would do the rest of the payments in installments. We were eventually directed into our room, four in one but the rest of our roommates were not yet in. There were about ten bedrooms in the self-contained building excluding the kitchen and bathrooms. Other occupants were in their rooms and I could hear them. No study room? That meant we had to use the school's library. Everything being equal, we thanked the Creator for the safe journey. We had to reach Mum's and Torgbe's lines too and tell them we had arrived safely. Having found something to eat, I washed down myself and lay on my bed, and as usual, read two or three pages of an African novel and did some maths. "Nine fourteen? Not bad retiring to bed.", I parroted and tried to force in some sleep. Lectures would be starting the following week. Orientation for freshers was that very week.
Let me wet my whistle for my throat is dry. How many young people from underprivileged homes and societies had had the chance to fraternize with different individuals from different backgrounds? How many of my colleagues had had this golden opportunity? Apart from You, heavenly Father, please who should I thank most? Mum? My two benefactors? Please, who? Must my soul not thank all and sundry who played their role and made this dream come to fruition? How on earth should I disappoint these very ones?... These questions lingered in my thoughts and I prayed softly to God to give me the strength and gusto to work out my days quite well throughout my stay at the university. I winked one eye, smiled momentarily, added the other, and dozed off while Innocent was still programming on his laptop.