EGG PIE A LA FACE

So, you ever heard the word still-born before? That's exactly what my, our dream of going to Uganda for some ten days became. I guess Idi Amin never forgave me for that slur in my RETROSPECT. I only recently learnt his spirit was wandering all over the surface of the earth. If I had known... The Rwandans didn't ttake lightly to me reminding them of their treacherous past either. So, there.

So, when we lost to UNIJOS after beating them in our first match, it was egg galore, and it was nowhere but on our faces. Your brains might be fast and vast, but you need the hands too cos of some miserable bugger of a device called a BUZZER. How apt - bugger, buzzer.

Disappointment apart, it was a very wonderful expereience and the organisers of the Zain Africa Challenge did not spare any expense in taking care of their own. From transportation via Arik Air, to lodging at the five-star Transcorp-Hilton, it was at least worth the while. It could have been better, but you always have to pay the price for experience.

For that equivalent of 2 days and 2 nights, most of it spent at temperatures resembling the Big Freeze currently sweeping through Europe, it was really cool. The view from the rooms, the plushness and lest I forget, the FOOOOD! An 'onijekuje' would have a field day as dining was a buffet. The only minus would have been that the onikejekuje might have gorged down something unpleasent in the name of experimentation. Not me though,  I Kept It Simple and Stupid, and stuck to familiar sounding dishes or their equivalents. I don't eat much and I didn't suddenly develop a voracious appetite overnight (or morning if you like)

Not some of my team mates though, or indeed our coach. Three wraps of premium 'iyan'? Haba! Kazeem finished his though and visited the toilet a thousand times over the next 12 hours. The coach? Well he bit more than he could chew, literally! Same as Kehinde, same as the liaison. Lesson? For me, two wraps were enough and I couldn't even finish it. Like I said, eating has never been my suite. Lesson? KISS.

There was the new friends part too. Made some and... which reminds me, I need to call someone up like now, excuse me for a sec.

Okay, I'm back and that went well, except that the recipient of the call is in ABU, that's Zaria and I'm in Ife, a million miles away.Then there was the wicked me part. I have a little more experience than usual with hotel and guest house rooms, at least more than my roommate. So, it was bathing time and there's a little contraption you must figure out before you can use the shower. Well, I was gonna test my roomie (my idea of fun), and so when I was done, I reset the pulled knob. Minutes later, I was hearing gurgling sounds like a man swimming and I went like, 'Oh boy, dude can't play'.

More importantly, I guess everybody left with important lessons and insights as to life and the future. I picked up a few things I am definitely gonna put into play, and a few contacts too. No Uganda for now but I see bigger and better in the not too distant future.