Udoh Ebaide Joy don become di first African woman to travel alone around di continent on okada.
E bin take di 32-year-old three months to travel from Mombasa for Kenya reach Lagos Nigeria. Na 9000km journey.
“I want somtin extra, somtin wey go be for myself, becos I feel like say I fit do more and I love challenges, I love to feel alive,” Ebaide tok.
She tok to di BBC Africa daily podcast about her ogbonge adventure.
Di bad experience wey ginger her
Nigerian-born Ebaide dey partly motivated to take on di challenge by one traumatic experience almost ten years ago.
Wen she be 23 years, she bin dey involve for car accident wey affect her spinal cord. Afta she use wheelchair for months.
Ebaide only recover afta she do surgery. As soon as she she comot hospital she promise to make di most of her life.
She say, “I no wan do basic evriday life. I want somtin extra, somtin more for myself.”
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Earlier dis year, Ebaide bin buy one 250CC motorcycle wey she call Rory, den she go Nairobi to learn how to drive am.
Criss-crossing Africa
For 8 March, Ebaide start her waka and travel through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Congo, Cameroon and Nigeria.
Her waka carry am enta city traffic and forested areas wia she no see oda pipo.
She say, “I stay for villages, towns and cities to experience dis places. I no ride my okada evriday. On di days wen I drive, I do like 300km.”
Ebaide bin experience different languages, cultures and landscapes.
She eat some of her most most memorable food for Uganda.
“Na for one settlement for di middle of di forest. Na one kain restaurant like dat. Dem bin dey fascinated by a girl on okada and dey interested in my bad Swahili.”
But for anoda part of di kontri, di traffic bin get comma.
“For Kampala, roads dey very crazy. Di roads dey kind of tiny.”
She remember Kenya for di friendliness and remember mountainous Rwanda for di twisting and turning she gatz do while she dey travel through di hills.
Ebaide say dis na wia she fit practice leaning to di side as she dey ride her okada, She call am “a motorcyclist dream”.
Solo biker
Even wit all di different roads, Ebaide say her okada bin survive di trip witout wahala.
“I love her dearly,” Ebaide tok.
She say, “E bin dey quite easy wit her on di trip. I bin get one flat tire. Di fuel wey e swallow dey good until I bin get bad exhaust wire for di Republic of Congo. But di okada behave excellently well throughout di trip.”
For her waka, she bin see plenti places of cultural significance and natural beauty, and she bin dey amazed by di Victoria Falls on di Zambezi River.
She bin lost some times and say to travel for inside forest areas bin dey tricky and hard.
“To dey alone and dey travel for dis roads and to not understand di language bin dey hard to fight wit fear.”
“I bin dey always fear. Always slow down for curve sake of say I no know wetin I go see. I fit see snake, I fit see wild animal for road. Dat na veri scary experience.”
Initially, she bin carry one tent with her but she soon give up on di idea of camping on roadsides.
She say, “I bin no wild-camp becos e dey too dangerous for Africa. Di last camping wey I do na for Jinja for Uganda. I stay for hotels from Kampala till I enta Nigeria.”
For di middle of di trip, she decide say she go send her camping gear go house to reduce her load.
“I mostly dey waka wit my clothes, laptop and some essentials.”
Ebaide also connect wit oda bikers for different kontris on di way wey guide am. Dis, she say bin make her trip even more meaningful.
She use travel friendly apps, maps, local guides and di internet to plan her waka and wia she go sleep and chop.
Her next trip
Ebaide insist say she no get any negative experience. Pipo just dey wonder say she be girl for okada, na wetin she say.
Ebaide continue to dey tell pipo about her waka for social media wey allow pipo wey no dey stay for Africa to follow am online.
Wen she enta Lagos she gbab plenti hailing.
She tok say, “Wen I come, I no fit stop to dey cry. Pipo just dey dance dey cheer. I no fit hide my excitement.”
Dis long journey don change Ebaide mindset. She say, “I bin get di best time of my life for dis trip. Di trip teach me say I dey tough and strong enough to overcome any whaala wey life gimme.”
Ebaide no get plan to calm down at all yet.
“My next trip na from Nigeria to Morocco. I go start on 29 August.”
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