The Land of Peace and Tourism

I have been in Jos on an official assignment for a couple of days and I can tell you that I was a bit uneasy at first but I realised that we all have to die one day anyway and there were still people living in that part of the country and most importantly the number of my days is dependent not on the gun wielding or bow stringing assailants but on God who alone knows the length of my days.

Anyway, it is interesting to actually visit a place that only a few days before had been a battle ground and I can tell you it was more real than watching pictures being flashed across the television screen.

Anyway this post is about what I experienced and what it must have been to be around during the crises. I experienced for a few minutes the terror those caught up in the crises must have felt a few days after we arrived. We were on our way back to base after our assignment for the day and and were along a major road when all hell was let loose. People on motorcycles jumped off, motorcycle riders did 180 degree turns, cars turned round without warning and pedestrians took to their heels. In a few seconds and I can tell you it was not up to a minute there was chaos everywhere.

Thankfully our driver had the presence of mind and a calm mien and quickly whisked us out of the area to a safe place. My usual heart rate of 80 beats per minute I'm sure doubled within that short spate of time. From our safe haven, after making a few calls it was certain that no fighting was taken place. The cause of all the trouble was an unfortunate thief who would forever rue the day he decided to become a pilferer. He had stolen a motorcycle in broad day light and was caught by soldiers deployed to ensure the peace of the town.

To tell you that news travels first in a few minutes our colleagues at the far end of town were told by people around them not to leave that there was trouble in the middle of town and in less than ten minutes someone from the country's capital had called to warn us about 'supposed' trouble in town. All in all we had a good laugh! Thankfully we could laugh at ourselves after the whole scare and not cry or mourn yet again. Thank God for His protection!

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